Palms, Mediterranean & Exotic Plants

It’s not as hard as you may think to create a tropical paradise in your own garden. This Mediterranean and exotic plants guide will give you all the help and advice you need to ensure success.

General Guide

Most retailers sell a wide range of Mediterranean and exotic plants in order to have something a bit special for your garden. Many of them are much easier to grow than you might think. They’re quite low maintenance once established, and are much hardier then they look. If given the proper care, they will thrive in the UK.

Some plants that we import from Spain and other warmer countries may have a white film or powder on the leaves when you receive them. Don’t worry – this is not evidence of disease or malnourishment. It is highly likely to be residue from fertiliser which is sprayed with water onto the plants. Because of the hot conditions in the nursery in these hotter countries (or sometimes in a greenhouse in the UK), the water evaporates very rapidly and this residue is sometimes left behind. This usually disappears quite quickly when washed off by our good old British weather!

On Receipt

The vast majority of Mediterranean and exotic plants are supplied as established potted plants, which are ready to plant out straight away. When your plants arrive, unpack them carefully and check them. If you cannot plant them straight away, keep them somewhere sheltered and frost-free, such as a conservatory, garage or greenhouse. You’ll need to plant most of these plants within a couple of days of receipt.

Planting

• Grow your plants in large pots as this will warm the roots – aiding growth. 
• It will also enable you to move them to offer protection from frost or very low temperatures – they look great in pots! 
• Use large pots that are 25cm or more in diameter. 
• Use a few stones or crocks at bottom of the pot for weight and to aid drainage. 
• Use good quality compost, firm down well with your heel, and water them in well. 
• In a few years you may need to re-pot into larger pots. 
• Grow in the warmest, sunniest part of your garden – they are used to much better weather!
•  Against a south-facing wall is ideal. 
• If growing in the ground, make sure your soil is well drained as they generally don’t like having “wet feet”. 
• When planting, add some grit/sand along with compost/ organic matter. 
• Feed and water them well in summer – almost all growth will be during the summer months.
• Whilst these types of plants are very drought tolerant and can survive long periods without water, they will grow much better if well fed and watered in that period. 
• Feed them with a general purpose fertiliser such as Fish, Blood & Bone.

Position

Grow your Mediterranean and exotic plants in the warmest, sunniest part of your garden – they are used to much better weather in their home climate! If growing straight in the ground, make sure the soil is well drained as they don’t like having ‘wet feet’. When planting, add some grit/sand along with compost/organic matter for best results.

Watering

Feed and water them well in summer – almost all of their growth will be during the summer months – even palms. Whilst these types of plants are very drought tolerant and can survive long periods without water, they will grow much better if well fed and watered in that period. Feed them with a general purpose fertiliser such as Fish, Blood & Bone.

Winter Protection & Hardiness

With the colder winters of the last few years, protecting plants over winter has been important. Move potted plants indoors to a greenhouse, garage or conservatory until the risk of frosts has passed. In most cases, over-wintering them somewhere with little light will not harm your plants – just make sure they don’t dry out.

If you are growing your plants in the ground, cover them with Fleece Covers to help to increase the plant’s temperature, and grow them in warm, sunny spots such as against a south-facing wall. Cover the ground around each plant with a generous covering of mulch, to add an extra layer of protection for the roots. The more established a plant is, the more likely it is to survive harsher weather, so protect your plants well in the first few years.

Whilst many plants are quoted as being hardy to a certain temperature – say, -6°C for example – it is generally more complicated than this in practice, as there are a number of factors that will affect a plant’s hardiness – such as the age of the plant, moisture, or how recently it was planted. This absolute figure is correct in that they will survive short exposure to this temperature. If exposed to prolonged low temperatures around or below 0°C, the plant will deteriorate. Also, if the soil/compost you’ve planted it in becomes waterlogged, many “exotic” plants will also struggle. This is often more important than the temperature factor. That said, the plants we supply are all known to thrive in the UK if well looked-after, and will become much more tolerant over the coming years as they establish.

Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)

These are evergreen and will look great all year – perfect for framing a door or path. They’re very hardy and don’t need protecting from frosts. Younger plants will need sheltering from the worst winds, so for best results use tree stakes and ties to support young trees. They will not spread as much as other evergreen trees such as Leylandii – so much easier to control. For best results, remove fir cones as they form – this will keep the plant in best shape.

Plant in pots or directly into the ground. Dig a hole the length of the rootball and twice the width, fill your hole back in and water in well.

Keep watering about twice a week for the next month, then once a week thereafter.

Olive Trees

These make excellent decorative bushes – our standard form olives will look excellent when framing a front door. They will probably never produce any meaningful fruit in the UK, unless grown under glass. It’s just too cold and wet!

Oleanders

In order to ensure that your Oleander plants have the best possible chance of flowering, you need to plant them in the hottest, sunniest part of your garden – they are from a much hotter/sunnier/ drier climate than ours. Weather will play a factor – cool, wet summers are not conducive to good flowering, whereas in recent summers which have had a sustained period of hot, dry weather, the plants on our nursery have been smothered in flowers.

Feed and water them well in summer – all their growth will be between May and October. Whilst they are very drought tolerant indeed and can survive long periods without water, they will grow much more if well fed and watered in that period.

They also need to have the right nutrients in order to thrive. Feed them with a good quality general purpose fertiliser in spring – such as our Blooming Fast Superior Soluble Fertiliser for Flowers & Fruit – then when the buds appear in early summer, a high potash feed like tomato feed, to encourage flowering.

Oleanders can take short exposure to -5°C when well-drained. However, in winter they do not really grow much so we advise moving them to shelter.

Oleanders are reported to be toxic, as are many common garden plants if ingested, like daffodil bulbs, foxgloves, and poinsettia. The truth is that to come to serious harm, the amount of leaves needed to be eaten is a lot, as well as the amount of contact with sap. There have been no reported incidents in the UK or Spain on nurseries where people are in direct contact with Oleander plants on a daily basis. The advice we give is:

• Wear gloves when handling plants
• No need to trim or prune your Oleander
• Avoid places where young children/pets may come into contact with the plants

Canary Island Date Palms

Date Palms are supplied between 2 and 4 years old. They thrive in the UK and are winter hardy to -6°C (see Hardiness notes above). Grow them in large pots – certainly for the first couple of years – so that you can move them somewhere that will offer protection from frost. Plant by digging a hole the length of the rootball and roughly double the width, then fill the hole back up & water in well.

New growth will form from the centre of the plant during summer. When outer leaves turn brown and unsightly, chop them off at the base of the leaf, please do not be alarmed if the outer leaves of your plants start to die off shortly after you receive your order. New ones will shoot from the centre. The pineapple-shaped “trunk” seen in photos of mature plants is formed over 10-20 years from the stumps of removed leaves. Feed with Fish Blood & Bone every 3 months, when the temperature is above 5°C.

Dicksonia Antarctica Palms

Dicksonia Antarctica will thrive in a sheltered, humid and shaded position, with plenty of room to spread. For best results, plant in humus-rich, neutral to slightly acid soil.

Planting Advice for Dicksonia Antarctica

Soak the base of the trunk, then plant just enough of it to ensure that the plant remains stable. After planting frondless tree ferns, water every day until the foliage starts to emerge. To encourage rooting, don’t feed the plant during its first year. Tree ferns can also be grown in pots and should be planted in loam-based ericaceous compost, adding about 20 percent peat-free potting media for additional humus. Apply a half strength liquid fertiliser once a week during the growing season or add a controlled-release granular fertiliser at the base of the plant in spring. Top-dress container-grown plants or pot on annually in spring.

Aftercare Advice for Dicksonia Antarctica

The trunk and crown of tree ferns will not tolerate drying out, so water regularly to ensure the trunk remains damp, and spray the trunk with water during hot weather (and also during dry conditions in winter). After the first year of planting, apply a liquid feed to the fronds and trunk once a month, from mid-spring to mid-summer, when the plant is in growth. Alternatively, spread controlled-release fertiliser around the base of the plant in spring. Young plants can be stood outside in the summer but keep out of direct sunlight. Avoid indoor temperatures greater than 32°C (90°F). Winter protection: Hardiness tends to increase with the height of the growing point above the ground so young plants with no trunk are not suitable to overwinter outdoors except in very sheltered sites. To protect plants growing outdoors to avoid damage to fronds, put a handful of straw in the crown and fold the fronds in on themselves. Container-grown plants in milder areas should be placed in a sheltered position and the container bubble-wrapped from late October. More substantial wrapping is needed if you have a more exposed garden. Remove wrapping in spring, before new fronds come into growth. In cold gardens tree ferns are best lifted and brought into a conservatory or greenhouse.

General Palm Care Tips

Planting a Canary Island date palm requires a full sun location and plenty of irrigation when the palm is young.

On average provide water every week to help the plant establish deep roots. Once the tree is mature, you can reduce irrigation.

Canary palm tree care includes feeding the tree. You’ll want to fertilize it every spring just before new growth appears.

These trees need high levels of potassium and magnesium. They can easily come down with deficiencies of these nutrients under landscape conditions. You’ll identify potassium deficiency by the pale colour or spotting of the oldest fronds. As the deficiency progresses, the frond tips get brown and brittle. 

Canary palms require little maintenance, but removing discoloured, rotting or dead fronds, flowers and fruit stalks helps keep your tree looking tidy and healthy. Prune your palm in the spring using sharp loppers. Avoid removing green leaves and fronds pointing out horizontally or upward. Pruning out fronds beyond the horizontal often stunts foliage growth and increases the risk of plant diseases.

Palm Leaves Turning Brown

• The tree isn’t getting enough water; The soil is short on key nutrients like nitrogen or magnesium;
  
• Pesky palm tree weevils, spider mites, aphids or some other insect got a hold of your tree;
• A fungal infection like Ganoderma root rot is at work; or the natural ebb and flow of palm leaves is putting a temporary yellow tint on your tree.
  
• If just the tips of your palm tree’s leaves are brown, don’t pull out the pruners just yet. Brown tips are a sign of a stressed tree that has a chance at bouncing back.
  
• Full-on brown leaves should be pruned to keep your palm looking and feeling healthy.
• Remember that yellow leaves sometimes appear as part of a palm’s natural growth process. As long as yellow leaves are only in the bottom of the canopy, and the top is nice and green, your tree is alright.
  
• If you suspect Mother Nature isn’t at work, next stop is the soil. Soil that’s dry to the touch points to a dehydrated tree, but over-saturated soil can also make leaves change colour. 
• For a happy medium water your palm tree before the soil hits a dry spell, and monitor the amount of water going in.

Water Supply

Water absorbed through a palm tree’s roots flows through the tree’s trunk, or stem, all the way up to the tips of the leaves. Brown tips on the fronds of the palm tree could mean that the tree’s water supply is inhibited either by not getting enough water or by the roots being oversaturated with too much water.

• Check the soil between 6 and 12 inches below the surface.
• Soil should be moist but not soggy wet or crumbling dry.
• Check the roots. Easy to spot fibrous roots are located within the top 12 to 36 inches of soil.
• Palm tree roots should be firm and white to tan. If your palm’s roots are black or wilted, they could be oversaturated or suffering root rot.
• Check the soil’s drainage by digging a hole near the palm and filling the hole with water.
• Monitor the duration of time needed for the water to drain completely; less than 1-inch per hour indicates poor drainage. Palm trees prefer sandy, well-filtered soil.

Sunlight

Palm trees are tropical plants and do enjoy ample light but, too much direct sunlight can burn the fronds causing them to turn brown. If the fronds are burning on a regular basis, it is not healthy for the longevity of the tree.

You can consider either relocating the palm tree or providing shade in the area by planting taller trees or installing shade-covers to remedy the situation.

Nutrients

• Outdoor palm trees thrive when the appropriate nutrients are found throughout the soil.
• Discoloration of the fronds could indicate that your palm tree is suffering a nutrient deficiency.
• Add a palm-specific fertilizer to the soil by carefully following the instructions provided.
• Consider consulting a local, palm tree trimming/landscaping company to evaluate your tree’s fronds and soil to recommend how to remedy the nutrient level.

Potassium Deficiency

Translucent yellow or orange spotting on the palm’s fronds is an indicator of potassium deficiency. Lacking potassium is commonly found throughout all regions where palm trees grow.

Magnesium Deficiency

Palm fronds with green centres and broad, yellow bands along the edges indicate a magnesium deficiency. 

Most commonly affecting Canary Island Date Palms, magnesium deficiency can be remedied with proper fertilization of the soil.