Palm Trees - Did you Know? ~ Tropical Landscapes UK

Palm type trees have been around for about 65 million years, about the same time the last dinosaur roamed the Earth. Believe it or not, Essex once had a 'tropical climate' with Palm trees and dinosaurs! OK it was 65 million years ago but now we at Tropical Landscapes UK think it is about time we witnessed the incredible beauty of Palm trees in the Essex Countryside. We can't bring back the dinosaurs, but we can supply mammoth Palm trees! You could be one of the very few people to have a monstrous mature Palm tree in your garden or at your business premises. The lowest temperature in Essex of -9C was recorded at Writtle, Chelmsford in the 1962-63 winter. There are dozens that are hardy enough to survive our winters with little or no protection. In fact Spain experienced colder weather than Essex a few winters ago. Southern Mainland Spain had -7 C while parts of Northern Spain such as Barcelona and Madrid had -12C. Amazingly the Palm trees survived. The Balearic Island of Majorca even experienced snow. It takes a lifetime to grow a large Palm!

Lets take the traditional Date Palm for example. This two year old seedling (pictured) was grown from a seed from a box of dates bought from a supermarket. It has three leaves, the largest being about 30cm (1 foot).

It will take about 15-20 years to grow about 30 cm (1 foot) of trunk, overall height 3m. After that things speed up a little! It can gain an additional 5-6cm (2-3 inches) of trunk a year. A six metre example (20 feet) with 3-3.5 m of trunk will take about 75 years to grow from seed in the UK. Can't wait that long?

Cordylines, Torbay or Cornish 'palms' otherwise know as New Zealand cabbage trees are in fact not Palm trees at all. They have been popular since the 1970's. Many people will say they have a 'palm tree' in their garden, but it is likely to be one of these and not real Palm trees like those supplied by us. Most Palm trees like water! They are found in deserts around oasis, by rivers, streams and close to the coast. In fact anywhere where their deep roots can access underground water. It is vital after planting and during the establishing stage, they are watered regularly especially in hot weather.So for optimum growth we can include as an option and install automatic watering systems (max. 50m from tap) and we plant in our specially formulated growing medium. Once established Palm trees are drought resistant. Countless people's lives were saved from the Asian Tsunami, when they climbed and clung on to Palm trees-often the only thing left standing in some villages.