Who started it all for the PNW?
I’m interested to know who started growing palms in BC and the PNW. Did it start in Vancouver from a fellow from Switzerland?
Who is Bruce M? What is his last name? Is the small grove of Trachies in Beacon Hill Park the location where it started for Vancouver Island?
Does he still live in Victoria? People in Europe are also curious. How did the PNW Palm Society start? I’m under the impression that it was like a decade ago because exotics seem to be a new concept for the PNW.
Many residents of the US seemed shocked when they see my photos of BC.
Most Californians are surprised to hear about palms in Seattle.
The following thread was started by Denis -Victoria, BC on December 27, 2001 at 5:36 am PST
Denis, there were Trachycarpus palms in Stanley park around the turn of the century; one of them expired at around the age of 70 years while another lived for some time longer but may have been a victim of the zoo demolition. I don't know how old the oldest trees in Seattle are but there were at least 2 by 1940 (at least one of these is deceased).
They were rare for a long time, but at least a few people knew about them because there was a long tradition of trying anything that grew on the British Isles. There have been Trachycarpus palms there for a long time. I visited one in Ireland that was 130 years old when I saw it; and I am fairly sure they were cultivated earlier than that.
Not sure when Chamearops humilis first showed up. It was in cultivation by the early 1970s but I do not know how much earlier than that.
The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on December 27, 2001 at 6:47 am PST.
i am curious as to how old trachycarpuses can live? because 70 years doesnt sound like much of a lifespan for a tree.. considering jubaeas can live for many hundreds of years!!!
The above followup was added by Cody on December 27, 2001 at 8:00 pm PST.
The tree that died at about 70 years of age in Stanley Park was in wet soil and had gone through an unusually hard winter.
[because 70 years doesnt sound like much of a lifespan for a tree]
The one I saw at 130 years of age in Ireland was showing definite signs of old age. I doubt that they make it much past 150 (and that is baring accidents and disease...).
Palms don't produce new wood in their trunks, so their trunks slowly break down with age. Jubaea has a massive trunk that lasts a long time. Ditto the fairly long-lived Phoenix palms.
I would bet that the bigger species such as T. takil live the longest among the Trachycarpus.
I think that the longest-lived monocotyledenous trees are probably Dracaenas and Cordylines. They have some sort of secondary growth in their trunks that is unique among the monocots.
The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on December 27, 2001 at 9:06 pm PST.
Denis,
In response to your question here, the old fellow from Switzerland is Gerard Pury. He began planting trachies in Vancouver during the 70's, I believe. Many of the palms you see in Vancouver are in fact descendants of those still living in his garden near Oakridge Mall. At the slideshow Gerard presented at the last PNWPEPS meeting, he showed pictures of himself in Swiss gardens in the 1960's. He has more exotic gardening experience than anyone I know.
Denis, also please see my response below regarding the photos you sent. Michael Ferguson was impressed and would like to include some in Hardy Palm International, rather than the website.
Jay
The above followup was added by Jay on December 27, 2001 at 10:21 pm PST.
I have given a brief summary of the history of the Palm Society and will give another quick one.
It started in 1984 or 85 by Richard Woo who had a desire to grow palms outdoors but there was nowhere to go for information other than uninformed nurseries. There were seven original members and they met at Richard's house periodically. There was no journal and membership grew slowly at first.
The club was linked to a journal by a palm society in California but THE PALM (Interesting how the IPS now uses this former name of ours for their journal previously known as PRINCIPES) was started to be more useful for more northerly climes. It lasted about 2 years. Nick Parker joined the club in the late 80's when there was no journal and he started editing HARDY PALM INTERNATIONAL in 1989.
The club has always encouraged experimental exotic gardening and pushing the limits of hardy palms and this has proven to be very successful.
Today there are about 260 members in about 12 countries and everyone involved in the club is a volunteer. I co-edit HPI and still pay my annual dues gladly.
Perhaps with more time and thought I may do a proper article for HPI. I hope this helps shed a little light on the club.
Regards, Michael Ferguson
The above followup was added by michael on December 28, 2001 at 6:03 am PST.
In 1852, another Swiss immigrant named Peter Britt ended up in Jacksonville - a small town west of Medford, Or. He loved the area's climate which he touted as being mediterranean. Sometime in the late 1800's he planted at least one trachy near his home. I know that his home burned to the ground in the 1960's or '70's. But don't know if the palm was still standing at that time. There are a number of very old trachies growing in Southern Oregon. One growing near an old Victorian home in Roseburg is probably as old as the home. There is also a small company town on the Central Oregon Coast called Gardner that has many old trachies that were probably planted when the town was built. My guess is in the '20's. The first time I noticed a palm growing in Portland was in 1965. It was the old one on NE 26th and Glisan. It was about 15 or 20 feet tall back then. Not knowing anything about palms, I figured they were the same I'd seen all around LA (Washingtonias) but they just didn't grow as big in Oregon.
The above followup was added by Chuck Fulton-Castroville,CA on December 28, 2001 at 11:30 pm PST.
I've read that the first Trachys were introduced into southern Switzerland around 1852 , by a Scottish botanist . Gerard in Vancouver started planting Trachys. in various parts of Vancouver in the 1960's . I've photopgraphed many of the now mature specimens that he planted more than 3 decades ago . There is a very large Trachy. growing in the back alley , between 46th and 48th on the east side of Cambie street . Gerard planted it in the spring of 1967 . I've talked with the original owner on several ocassions . He showed me how he protected it in Dec. 1968 , and still had the prefab plywood cover he used back then . Joe
The above followup was added by Joe ,SaltSpring Island on December 29, 2001 at 3:12 am PST.
There is actually a pic. of one of Vancouver's older Trachys on my web site . It is the one Gerard planted in 1967 . Go to www.gulfislands.com/foxglove , click the Garden icon and scroll down . You will see it under palms in my Barnacle newspaper archives . Cheers, Joe
The above followup was added by Joe, SaltSpring Island on December 29, 2001 at 4:47 am PST.
There's a wonderful older Trachy palm which can be seen from the back lane between 14th and 16th Ave just east off Sasamat St. in Point Grey. It's the tallest one I've seen in Greater Vancouver other than that one on Rumble St. in Burnaby.It hasn't been pruned of it's lower fronds giving it a little bit of a petticoat,which I prefer.Has anyone else seen this palm?
Does anyone know how old that larger palm growing in Stanley Park near the Aquarium is? It must be the oldest palm planted in a public place still surviving.
The above followup was added by bruce8 on December 31, 2001 at 4:10 am PST.
The tall old Trachy. in Stanley Park was planted some where between 1966-1968 . I believe it was a gift from the city of Odessa in Russia . I know of the palm in Point Grey area and it is a large specimen . There is also another very tall one growing in someones back yard just off of south Granville . Nick and I photographed over a decade ago . Hopefully it is still there . Cheers, Joe
The above followup was added by Joe ,SaltSpring Island on December 31, 2001 at 5:29 am PST.
One of the largest Trachys in the Lower Mainland is definitely the one on SeaView Drive in Tswwassen - boundary bay. It over 20 feet tall, for sure, and has a very large crown. ~marc
The above followup was added by Marc from Delta on December 31, 2001 at 8:36 am PST.