Check out this great Gardening board!
http://www.loveonaleaf.com/

In article ,
Dave Poole wrote:
On 4 Oct 2005 09:30:10 -0700, "queencln"
wrote:

Check out this great Gardening board!
http://www.loveonaleaf.com/

Typical web-based, highly superficial rubbish and completely
irrelevant to gardening in the UK. One of those sites to visit when
you're suffering from insomnia - open two messages and zzzzz.

And you are one of the few people who might be able to grow plants
with leaves big enough for the purpose implied by the address!

Ignoring the bananas (and, of course, kelp), is there any plant with
leaves larger than Gunnera manicata that will grow outside in the UK?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

Ignoring the bananas (and, of course, kelp), is there any plant with
leaves larger than Gunnera manicata that will grow outside in the UK?

Well-manured rhubarb?

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/roobarb4.jpg

--
Rusty

The message
from Janet Baraclough contains these words:
The message
from Anthony Anson contains these words:
The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

Ignoring the bananas (and, of course, kelp), is there any plant with
leaves larger than Gunnera manicata that will grow outside in the UK?

Well-manured rhubarb?

Not even in the same ball park. Gunnera manicata is bigger than any
rhubarb. I recall six of us sheltering completely dry from a
west-Scotland downpour, under a *single* leaf of a gigantic gunnera
plant at Inverewe :-)

Pile on more horshhhh! Bucket of phostrogen! Daily dousing of nettle soup!

I'll have six heffalumps sheltering under mine in no time...

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Dave Poole wrote:
[...]
There you go Nick, unfortunately for those who like and answer in a
single 8 worded sentence, you've caught me in rambling mode!

I'm glad he did: it was a very good ramble.

--
Mike.

In article ,
"Mike Lyle" writes:
| Dave Poole wrote:
| [...]
| There you go Nick, unfortunately for those who like and answer in a
| single 8 worded sentence, you've caught me in rambling mode!
|
| I'm glad he did: it was a very good ramble.

Agreed - it was what I hoped for. I regret that I don't have a
garden appropriate for such plants, but such information is always
interesting.

I didn't even know that Gunnera manicata's leaves would get as big
as 3m x 2.5m - I have never seen them above about 2m x 1.75m.
Which is still impressive :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:

The
Canary Island date palm, which is being very widely planted in the
south at least develops leaves to well over 5m. long before the trunk
forms - not good news for those who have planted them in tiny gardens.

Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?

Maybe you should join a dating service, Jaques?


"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:

The
Canary Island date palm, which is being very widely planted in the
south at least develops leaves to well over 5m. long before the trunk
forms - not good news for those who have planted them in tiny gardens.

Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article ,
"Cereus-validus......." writes:
| Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?
|
| Maybe you should join a dating service, Jaques?

This is getting perilously close to jokes about the use of palms.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
"Cereus-validus......." writes:
| Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?
|
| Maybe you should join a dating service, Jaques?

This is getting perilously close to jokes about the use of palms.

Hmm...dactylifera...

--
Mike.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

In article ,
"Cereus-validus......." writes:
| Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?
|
| Maybe you should join a dating service, Jaques?

This is getting perilously close to jokes about the use of palms.

And - er - we won't go there.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Dave Poole wrote:
Rusty wrote:

Canary Island date palm, which is being very widely planted in
the
south ...

Do you get dates? How long does it take, on average, any idea?

Unfortunately the fruits are small and the flesh of the Canary
Island
date is very dry and mealy, so it has no culinary value. The 14m.
high, 120 year old plant here in Torquay flowers regularly every
late
spring, but probably needs a nearby pollinator for fruit and viable
seed to be set. There are lots of them being planted around town
and
a few that will be flowering size in the next 4 or 5 years

Phoenix dactylifera is the one for fruits, but there are only
comparatively young plants being grown out of doors so far. Maybe
we'll know whether they can ripen sufficiently in another 10 years
or
so. There's no doubt that it can be grown in some parts of the UK
at
least, but whether you could harvest decent quality fruits is
another
matter.

Commercial date palms have to be artificially inseminated, as far as
I remember. So you'll need to do a bit of climbing when the time
comes.

--
Mike.

The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:

Phoenix dactylifera is the one for fruits, but there are only
comparatively young plants being grown out of doors so far. Maybe
we'll know whether they can ripen sufficiently in another 10 years or
so. There's no doubt that it can be grown in some parts of the UK at
least, but whether you could harvest decent quality fruits is another
matter.

Hmmm. I could ask Sheikh Said al Kindi if he could slip a decent-sized
one in a diplomatic bag for me...

I have one of them in a pot, and it has absolutely done osd-all this year.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:
Nick Maclaren wrote:

This is getting perilously close to jokes about the use of palms.

No problem for hands-on folk such as us.

But must resist playing the hands ohm card...

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:

Commercial date palms have to be artificially inseminated, as far as
I remember. So you'll need to do a bit of climbing when the time
comes.

Sounds like fun - and entertainment for the neighbours. Rusty having it
away with a tree in his front garden...

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/