The seedling from the village, St. Pierre de Bat, planted out in May 2009. Picture from June 2009
August 2009, it seems that one new leaf grows each summer month.
Winter preparation of the seedling. I have added a wireless termometer, but I fear the electric batteries will die during the winter, September 2009. I added spruce later.
Seedling from St. Pierre de Bat in March 2010 after more than three months covered with first spruce, then 30cm/10in of snow! I have hope still! Temperature below the snow was at its lowest -9°C/15.8°F.
The seedling seems to be surviving late March.
Late May 2010 there is finally growth to see. Behind the 3,3 cm damaged leaf there is a new leaf (1 cm) on its way.
In July yet another new leaf is emerging, and the leaf from May is about 8cm.
This little palm seedling is beginning to look good by the end of the - too - short growth season. September 2, 2010.
March 25, 2011. The seedling seems able to struggle for a new season.
June 2011: Still struggling. I am sure it will recover. But I wonder: Does the winter set back mean that we are back at the beginning of last year, or is there any progress? Will I see a real leaf this year?
July 27, 2011: That morning I thought I had seen all my outplanted small seedlings had died, but not this one. It is just coping. In the beginning of the month we had to be away for a little week, and since the met offices forecasted rain and cold, I covered some of the seedlings with Ikea plastic storage boxes to give them some warmth. But the weather turned out to be better than forecasted, so this one have obviously been kept too hot and dry.
Autumn 2011: Not a good year for this little fellow, I hope it will survive the winter. In general, it is my experience that the palms are diminishing in the kind of climate they get here in Southern Sweden, hopefully a sign of adaption.
I could not resist buying a more mature specimen (of Italian origin) in a garden center, August 2009
Winter preparation began in October 2009 after a little frost, same specimen to the left. I added branches of spruce later.
Air temperature at its lowest during the winter 2009/2010 was probably -18°C/-0.4°F. Picture of the bought specimen from March 13, 2010.
The specimen uncovered late March 2010. It may recover, but I have to think of some other kind of winter protection next year.
A new leaf grew up in June, so it did survive, and the winter protection thus seems to be adequate. But the palm is considerably smaller than that I bought last year.
A greater leaf is appearing in July, but the palm is still much smaller than last year.
The palm is quite good looking by September 2, 2010.
In the beginning of the winter a deer seems to have eaten a bit of the leaves, but otherwise this palm has survived with "normal" winter damages! March 25, 2011.
June 2011: The new leaf - in the middle - is damaged (rotted horisontally), not easy to illustrate, but I am sure this palm will look like a small Trachycarpus fortunei, really small, late this year.
July 27, 2011: Good growth, new leaves, but small leaves! (The black pot to the right contains one the tiny seedlings sowed outside in May, 2009. I just want to see if there is any life left if it is treated better).
September 25, 2011: A healthy, but small palm to look at. In the wet autumn I constructed a little shelter for the palm. It will be used as a winter protection as well, besides the normal covering with spruce and leaves on top.
November 28, 2011: The winter shelter. It looks like it's going to be a mild winter, I do hope so...
May 2009 I sowed somewhere between 15 and 20 seeds in the ground, two different places. Germination of one of the seeds, September 2009
Late September 2009 I had a lot of seeds germinating, one at each stick. Later covered with spruce for the winter.
The majority of the sowed seedlings have survived March 2010, but about a third have been eaten during the winter! I have not seen the hungry fellows, only their holes, probably mice or water voles.
Later, in May, it seems, I have lost half of the sowed seedlings, but still eight tiny Trachys are clinging to life.
Some of the seedlings have been more damaged than others. (The Ikea "web adress measure" is 3,3 cm/ 1,4 in).
Late in July I noticed that one of the seedlings is growing a new leaf. It is actually optimistic news; it means that that seeds can grow without much care up here.
Well, you might say it is promissing as well as disappointing that a few of my struggling seedlings have got new a leaf - however small it might be. A new leaf is great, but why not two new leaves? We are now in September 2010.
I protected some of them later with bottomless plastic bottles, dead leaves and spruce for the winter.
March 25, 2011. A few of the small seedlings have died, but these two seems fit for fight. See next photo.
May 30, 2011: The bottomless bottle does the trick! The right seedling has been covered and sheltered throughout the autumn, winter and spring with the bottomless bottle as greenhouse. What a difference!
July 27, 2011: The right seedlings seems even better by now. In the meantime I had switched the bottle to the left seedling, but with little succes.
Should winter temperatures kill my specimen outdoors, I keep a few potted specimen indoors, but not much safety here. The malefactor turned out to be a small snail with a taste for a midnight snack. Snail did not, palm did, survive! (Sabal minor in the background).
Same seedling planted out early June 2010.
After winter 2010/2011. Photo quality could have been better, but the seedling seems alive.
May/June 2011: The seedling is still growing.
May/June 2011: A neighbouring seedling is growing, too. But I will have to clear the area, wild raspberries are invading.
July 27, 2011: No picture, no life in any of the home grown seedlings that have been planted out! Several small spearpulls, but no life.
Newest kid in the block! A beauty from Ikea (May 9, 2011). Please notice the basis with the alpine skewness that should make it more hardy.
July, 2011. A closer look at the skewness and the leaf sheath.
November 28, 2011. Winter shelter: Anchored bubble plast, spruce and leaves underneath.