For many years now I've enjoyed watching a Canary Island date palm grow and flourish in a garden by the traffic lights near the end of my road.
For many years now I've enjoyed watching a Canary Island date palm grow and flourish in a garden by the traffic lights near the end of my road. Stopping at the red light, I've been able to watch this Mediterranean palm grow taller and bushier.
As we haven't really experienced 'challenging' winter weather for many years now, I doubt if this Phoenix canariensis has had to put up with much in the way of cold during its lifetime, but there has been some frost and snow. From what I've observed over the years this doesn't appear to have done it any damage. This seems strange as my RHS A-Z of Garden Plants tells me that this palm needs greenhouse protection and a minimum temperature of 10-16°C (50-60°F).
It has certainly been colder than that in the past, and during the last two months temperatures have dropped way below this 'minimum' temperature. For the last couple of weeks our night temperature here has dropped several degrees below freezing every night, and not been much above this during the day either.
So, will the Canary Island date palm survive? Time will tell, and I'll be keeping a close eye on its performance during the coming months. Gardeners being tempted to grow tropical and exotic plants outside have often been lulled into a false sense of security by talk of global warming. Tree ferns have become popular, and many people leave tender dahlia tubers in the soil over winter instead of lifting and storing them. Until this year they might have got away with ignoring the rulebook and taking a chance, but this might the winter to catch them all out.
Of course, if my neighbour's Phoenix canariensis does survive, despite such a freezing winter, then perhaps this 'tender' palm is actually far hardier than we've been giving it credit for. Oh, the joy of gardening … and proving the experts wrong!
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