Northern Cyprus Palm Trees

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:10

Hi, does anyone know where i would get semi mature Palm Trees please , around the Iskele / Bogaz / Magosa area please

Many thanks , Simbas

Lambousa Gordon


Joined: 03/11/2007
Posts: 1992

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:16

Which type?



Do you want the fan-palms or the date palms?



The former are like weeds and you should be able to get the seedlings for next to nothing if not free.



The latter are much harder to cultivate and actually quite expensive.

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:24

Hi Lambousa , i would like the Date Palm , But do they come in a med height size or is it just the tall ?

Many thanks , Simbas

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:38

Simbas - WARNING - DIKKAT!!!



I see in your avatar that you are holding a baby - please, please, do not even consider putting in date palms!



These have the most VICIOUS spines - highly dangerous enough when pruning!



If at low level, these are lethal for children, as well as adults - as are the Yukka types with the sharp spines at the end of their fronds.



Date palm fronds have 9" spikes - the tips of which carry a poison!



I've been around and pruned these for many years, and despite being SO careful, when I was chainsawing the [bottom] fronds, as one must do every year, I inadvertently just touched a spine at about the level of my cheekbone - I nearly lost my eye!



You may, if you haven't been in tropical climes, seen in films, Arabs with one white eye - this is what happens from from even just SLIGHTlY touching a date palm spine - the poison simply destroys the cornea and the pupil [very quickly] - no medication can prevent it.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:42

Cont'd:



That is how, and the main reason that Arabs and Gulf people lose their eyes - I guess in their quest for dates.



Anyway, the variety of date palm in Cyprus is normally the 'wild' variety and only produces very small dates, so the chances are that by the time 'your' date palm reaches the maturity stage that it will produce dates, they are more likely, than not, to be this miserable little 'wild variety'.



PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS ADVICE!!!

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 20:43

Hi TenaKoutou , many thanks for your advice , i do appreciate it , what species would you recommend ?

Simbas

Pipie


Joined: 05/01/2008
Posts: 5499

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:00

Fantastic info Tenakoutou.



Any pics you could post, to alert us on species of these palms please ? also do we have to be carefull on planting palms near a building ? sewage plant etc would they disturb foundations as they mature ? Cheers .

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:01

simbas/Msg 6:



If you have children, or intend to do your own pruning, remember even the 'fan' type palms [ we call them 'Pandanas palms' in New Zealand] - same type in Cyprus - have curved, slightly poisonous, vicious spikes on their fronds.



If you look along the main streets in Girne - you'll notice beautiful palm trees, with fronds looking like date palm fronds [but MINUS the spikes] - these, I think, may have been imported, either from Egypt, or I think someone told me, from Azerbijan - nor sure - but you could ask at Girne Beleydisi. These are known as 'soft palms' - they can't harm anybody, as they don't have any spines, or other dangerous protuberances.



Hell - 'dangerous protuberances' - mostly to be found in 'jocks' and 'Y' Fronts - oh, and date palms!

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:09

Bless you , thank you so much Tenakoutou for taking the trouble and explaining , the information is invaluable to people like me who have no knowledge

Simbas

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:28

No worries, 'simbas' - that's what 'Kiwis' are for!

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:40

Pipie/Msg 7: Too right you have to be careful re the siting of any tree - be it palm, or whatever!



For instance, an almond tree's roots will 'go' for a septic tank 50 metres away - so will Bougainvillea!



Palms, generally, have more of a [shallow] 'tap' root - but shouldn't be planted in close proximity to structures such as houses, or swimming pools - because, as they grow [rapidly!], they displace the earth around them - i.e., shove it out of the way - that could be your house, or pool!



Don't ever underestimate the power of a tree - think how a little weed pokes itself up through concrete!



Also, when planting a tree, try and imagine it at maturity [full size] and try and envisage whether, or not, it will interfere with power and telephone lines.

Lambousa Gordon


Joined: 03/11/2007
Posts: 1992

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 21:47

Thanks Ten'k'tou,



Terrifying prospect though Palm Trees undoubtedly are my 8 siblings, 48 first cousins and countless other clan members and I all somehow managed to evade the invidious embrace of the dastardly palm; whether Pandanas or Phoenix Dactylera.



That said, we have lost members of the tribe to traffic, booze, drugs, disease and, in one case, man. Other past relatives were also lost to anzacs ;)



Our dates, though small, are so fantastic that we have to fight off hordes of the giant fruit bats just to keep even a handful.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 23:10

Lambousa Gordon/Msg 12:



The difference is that you guys grew up knowing the potential danger of the [dreaded!] palms - but Mr. Charles Negwort of 999, Canal Drive, Barnsely, West Yorkshire, England, plus most of his compatriots don't!



We suffer the 'scourge of the fruit bats' every year - they gorge on the bunches of little black berries on the two 'Phoenix Dactylera' in front of our house. Our walls are white before they come - after a coupla three nights the walls are spattered with bat excreta that tries to resist removal by even the pressure washer!



Traffic, booze, drugs, disease, have a lot to answer for - but not so much as politicians - and recently, or not so recently, the clergy!

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
21/05/2010 23:16

jraz tenk you have so muck knowledge i am in awe. i know the company who supplied the palm trees and i am informed they were fro syria and egypt. god to live here and keep agarden we need david bellamy xxxxxxxxxx