That jubea is gorgeous!

Great selection of palms, very nice specimens.
Surprised your Trachy had only that little bit of damage from -23C.

Ensete is beautiful.

Thanks for the photos!
Barb

Great photos, Ivo! What cultivar of olive is that? Are there other people growing olives in your area? If so, do they protect them during the winter, and will you protect yours?

Great photos, Ivo! What cultivar of olive is that? Are there other people growing olives in your area? If so, do they protect them during the winter, and will you protect yours?

They are 4 cultivars, still with "temporary" names, because they are new one: two of them are from our nursery owner Kiril Donov, selected by him, so I call them " Donov 1" and two. The biggest one on the photos. Two another one are still in pots - I decided to grow them a year that way, couse they're still too little(in April when I take them, they were 30 sm(~1 ft) tall. You can see one of them here in the brown pot:
They are from some French nursery, Donov said, located on 800 meters above sea level and not so close to the Mediterane or the ocean(which means not so mild winters).

They grow very well (this from last photo is already twice taller and more) and I plane to test him in open ground next year, but another 4 (Donov 1 and 2) already in OG will be tested this winter. With different protection, most of them - passive(no heating). Depends from winter - if we have another one February 2012(HOPE NO!! 🙂 ) they surely will die (that part above snow cover), but if the last one - 2012/13 they surely will survive with no protection.
About another your question: In the southern part of the country many enthusiasts grow different cultivars of olives many years and even decades, some of them are bigger trees and they harvest from them olives for own use 🙂
But till last years most of that trees was situated on Black Sea cost or in non-inversion hill parts of the south of the country, 8a zone and in sheltered locations in the yards. So, my experiment is maybe one of the first in the most continental northern part of the Balkan. So, propose it will be interesting.
Another notice: cultivars I described above are the most tested and proved from that nurceryman - 3 the most hardy from tens of tested last 2 decades. They grow without any trouble and they survived even historically 60-year-most-hard last February(2012) with NO protection in the south of country. So, next winters they will try to make the next step in 7a zone and wi shall see how that will work. 🙂 Thanks for attention and have a niece day! Ivo

My Velutina blooming:

Think it is too little(3 leaves only on the blooming p-stem, 2 ft tall) and didn't believe will have friuts, but no matter, the flower is beautiful 🙂

And another one nice surprise for me, and the best proof the way to sprout Jubaea seeds is to FORGET about them for few weeks 🙂
So I taked a look in the beginning of the month(June) - still no results. 2 weeks ago i forgot air conditioning in the country-house(Rancho" :)) ) on 26C/79F
When take a look last Sunday ... surprice! Almost a quarter from approx. 100 Jubaea seeds i put in Vermiculite on a bottom of 30-litter pot in March sprouted:

Hi Ivo, nice palms.
Do you have information about attempts of Spanish scientists to start massive production Olive in Petrich with «special cold-resistant brand, which endures severe low temperatures - down to minus 22 C». Is plantation still a live? Supposed cold hardy Olive cultivar is Arbequina (Arbequí, Arbequín). Also, experimental fields started in Gluhar village of the Municipality of Kardzhali, Ivaylovgrad, Benkovski area, Kumovgrad etc. I found Bulgarian article that the pilot project in Kardzhali has failed because temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees and olives frozen to the ground level. School of Agribusiness was got new financial support for second attempt.

http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2006-09-22&article=887

http://www.vestnikataka.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=31613&edition_id=509&format=html

Olive trees withstand -18 degrees Celsius (Bulgarian article). And successful growing Olive tree in central Bulgaria, city Karlovo.
http://www.24chasa.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=381199

Do you have information about attempts of Spanish scientists to start massive production Olive in Petrich with «special cold-resistant brand, which endures severe low temperatures - down to minus 22 C»...

No, this is not the way. Maybe not all of them, but certainly a lot of, of those projects, was "fake' - they was just a way to "absorb", if directly said, to thieve money from some EU funds. Unfortunately that casts doubt to another one, who really wants to introduce this famous variety in coolest regions, but its true...
In Donov's forum some of members posted photos and gave information, that these "scientists" planted little olive trees in the end of....you can't gess! DECEMBER! I guess they hurried, because had to show planted field before the end of the year. Unfortunately the year (i'm talking for Kurjaly region in central South of country) was 2011 and February 2012 followed... 😕 Naturally, they all froze.
Another reason is, Arbequina( I quote Donov) is NOT enough hardy for our country, excepting some subregions in extreme SE( sea cost) and south(near Greece border).
So, I will have my own Olives. Question is with what kind of winter protection they will be. Surely at least half of winters they will not need it. I plane to plant another one 15 psc in my place, and I'll form it lower, maybe not more than 2-3 ft tall(only as experiment somethime up to 5 ft(150 cm), to be in possibility to protect IF winter condition needs. Forecasts are another part of my job, so a week before deep frost danger will know and will have time to react 🙂
Notice: These cultivars(Donov 1 to 3) MUST be enough hardy to -15, -16 C/3F or even a bit below that. We are talking about real, not "PR" hardiness : )
So, I.m realistic: maybe once at 2,3,5 or(hope! : ) ) 10 years they will need some winter support, but before clear experiment/trying can only supposition.

Henoh,

I take a look at these articles - they are from 2006/7 : ))
Ehh...2006/7 winter, this is a great legend and hope will became more often in all North Hemisphere... :))
So these samples from 2006, 2007 must be almost 8 yrs old
If interested, and if(and when) have enough time, look at this topic, Gtranslate is OK 🙂

...
Surprised your Trachy had only that little bit of damage from -23C.
...

Sorry, I missed that! -23 was 2m air temperature - at that time Trachy was shorter than height of snow cover, so this child of severe 2012 February saved another child - of warm subtropics : )
- Surely will be dead at -23 with no snow cover! /this one, with a PE-foil is not the trachy, but the Canarian date palm).
- And two weeks later - left closer corner
Must to say that below snow cower and significantly smaller, 2 yrs ago the condition of that palm was better than last, most milder winter, but already too tall to be covered with snow 🙂
Last winter the palm was already taller , but frosts were -12C/10F only(approx -14/7F around the palm) and with no protection survived with some damages. Last week she had 4 new leaves and till November I hope would reach 11-12 like last year.

at that time Trachy was shorter than height of snow cover

thanks for the explanation.

Barb

my Cerifera in OG, planted a week ago/with the chicken Philip the Nice:)) and Laurel /:

And Velutina little bananas/about to 1'', 2.5-3 cm/

Great photos/plants everyone!

those cold hardy olives are very interesting. 8)

Enjoyed all your picture,esp the Cerifera and Armata 😀

Nice of Phillip to get in on the action too.......
Looks like a good climate for trying some cactus 😀

BTW

Are you growing any Bulgarian Trachys?

.......
Looks like a good climate for trying some cactus 😀

BTW

Are you growing any Bulgarian Trachys?

The second question - yes, I have 4 in OG, and 2 already killed, but...no, no by freeze but the dryness in summer 2 yrs ago. And that's the relation with your first question: in summers the ground became dry in few(3-4) days on upper 100's F heat... Only last summer I put automatic every-day watering (some kind of hand-made drip irrigation) and the results are excellent. The soil in this location is VERY sandy.
Promise to put some photos this week.
I have 5-6 another BG Trachys in pots, but they are going to prepare for next spring in OG(planted in deeper pot, to gain).
Notice: I'm not talking about that one above in this tread because when I bought it in autumn 2008 had not ANY IDEA of Trachys, another palms and its hardiness, so I'm not sure what origin it is. Although she survived 2 winters already, incl. last "infernal", though with some help from snow cover and this with particular damage only. So, who knows, maybe it is this form. The future will give the answer 🙂
Whether or not, I'll stop the experiments with it, at least until others(proved from that source, BG origin) will grow enough to form some "architectural" palm-effect 🙂
And maybe when they succeed to produce some seeds, some of that seeds will add another one 1 or 2 degrees hardiness... Hope) And hope will live to test that 🙂
P.S: Cacti - almost: Planted some Agave Americana near the solid(concrete-stone) fence(wall?). His parent-plant was beautiful 5ft plant in nearest village and few winters it owner protected him with some light PE-foil. Died last February(2012), and think this wall will give some help to protect him. Grows very fast in my soil and summer conditions.