Monday, June 9, 2014

Tina Turner Tree


Day 252: Okay, so it's not exactly what Christine Lavin meant when she sang about "a fine warm western breeze stirring up the Tina Turner trees," but I never see a palm that I don't think of that line from "Santa Monica Pier." It made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it.

I've seen enough Tina Turner trees growing in the general area to believe that they don't need California climate and are actually hardy enough to withstand Pacific Northwest winters. Of the three varieties I saw offered for sale today, I selected Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus x fortunei) which at maturity will be 10-20 feet tall. It falls into the category of "fan palms," as demonstrated by the many-fingered foliage. If by some stroke of bad luck it doesn't survive my ministrations, I'm only out twenty bucks. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

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