Katia Michael on the wonders of Cyprus’ palm trees
THE PALM tree symbolises all things tropical. Here in Cyprus it adds beauty to our landscape, lining our roads and growing in our gardens. Many are now placed on front porches, balconies and inside the home to give an exotic feel to living space.
With the climate as it is on the island, you can even grow and cultivate them yourself. You will need a seed, the right soil mix, a fertiliser programme and plenty of irrigation. There are dozens of books to help you get started, but for those of us who choose not to go this far, there is help close at hand — in the form of readymade palm trees to take home.
Morphakis Palm Tree Nursery is the island’s only garden centre dedicated entirely to this plant. Based in Lakatamia, Nicosia, it spans 3,000m² of land, which houses an impressive 2,000 or so trees. Palm tree heaven. Agriculturalist Morphakis Kleanthis, who runs the family business, began planting seeds fourteen years ago. The first rule, he said, was to start before spring. “You need to place the seeds under three centimetres of a special soil for them to germinate. You plant them in January, February or March. It really depends on the temperature at that time. If you have enough water and good soil the palm will grow faster, very fast.”
Palm trees, he added, vary hugely in size. “You can get a small one for the house or you can carry on growing the tree for many years in your garden. They can grow in excess of 20 metres,” he said.
There are, in fact, around 3,000 different species of palm tree around the world with more being discovered all the time. At the palm tree nursery, three types are grown. “The three are the ones that are produced here in Cyprus,” said Morphakis. “Of them, the most common is the Dactylifera canariensis palm which is for the garden. This one produces dates. The second is the Dactylifera canariensis palm without the dates. And the third is the less common Washingtonia, which has more rounded leaves that are slightly more yellow in colour,” he added. “They are all acclimatised to Cyprus conditions. I basically wanted to work with this type of plant to be specialised, so I didn’t import other plants from abroad.”
Prices start from around £120, the amount depending entirely on the stem. “Although I have plants here with 30 centimetre stems, we sell the plants from one metre stems onwards,” said Morphakis. “Of course, if somebody buys more than one palm tree, then the price comes down. You don’t calculate the price by the leaves, you sell only by the stem length, and you can spend less money on a wonderful shorter stem palm tree to put inside your house or flat.”
It comes as no surprise that palm trees have become increasingly popular in the home. Not only do they provide a tropical atmosphere, they have also proven to be tolerant of a wide range of interior conditions. They are practically maintenance free. A ready-grown established palm will need only a little sunlight in order for its leaves to retain their colour. It will also need a little water in order to survive. “You can water your plant once a week. If the root doesn’t grow the palm will not grow, it will stay small,” explained Morphakis. “Of course if you put a lot of water under the soil, for example, if you let it go about two to three metres under the soil, all this moisture will make the root grow. But in the house, palm trees in a pot are irrigated just to keep them alive, they do not grow. The leaves stay very nice because the palm tree is very hardy.”
“The only thing to watch out for when putting the shorter palm tree in the home ” he warned, “is the spiky leaves, particularly when there are small children around.”
If you are wondering how a palm tree might improve the look of your garden, Morphakis offers some useful instructions and tips. Palm trees, he said, are particularly spectacular in the garden as they are able to grow to great heights in a comparatively small area of land. “You can plant, lets say, maybe three to four all together in an area of about two square metres. If you have different heights of palm trees next to each other you can create a kind of oasis.”
“The palm tree,” he continued, “has only one branch, so it is extremely easy to control. You will notice that if you were to have other trees grouped together in such a small space, the branches will inevitably grow into each other.
“You must not forget,” said Morphakis, “that you will not be clearing up any leaves either.” Unlike the leaves on most other trees, he added, these ones do not fall down, allowing us to admire and enjoy the palm tree’s subtle colouring, form and texture whatever the season.
