Tag Archives: Canarius

Bottle palms with super roots

Canarius | Thursday October 14th, 2010 |
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This picture shows a picture of a bottle palm, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, cultivated in the Canary Islands in a 12 cm pot. This palm shows a spectacular root system, just like many of the palm species we ship from Tenerife to your home. When a palm like this gets to your home, it will need to be transplanted to a pot of 17-20 cm . The stronger root system will soon fill the new pot and your palm will quickly jump to a much larger size.

Unpotted Hyophorbe lagenicaulis

The bottle palms we ship from Tenerife show a spectacular root system

The palms we offer are grown in shade houses, in different areas of Tenerife, where the use of chemicals is kept to a minimum. We enjoy an even subtropical climate with a cool winter but our nurseries are not heated, in order to produce strong hardy plants that can be grown in cooler climates. The only exception are the heated areas for seed sprouting and rooting. Our plants are free from pests and diseases.

We offer more than 120 species of palm trees. Come and check our quality in the Palm Shop.

Read more about Our Plants

Bromeliad Shop – From the Canary Islands to your home

Canarius | Friday June 11th, 2010 |
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Bromeliads, or Bromeliaceae, are highly appreciated plants because of their incredible colours and inflorescences, and their ease of growth in pots. Canarius.com  offers on the internet tough-leaved species with colourful leaves, grown in the Canary Islands. Our bromeliad nursery was expanded in 2012 so our offer is continuously growing with new products. We ship worldwide !

Neoregelia chlorosticta

Neoregelia chlorosticta is a colourful bromeliad


Our Selection of Bromeliads

Billbergia elegans

Delicate flowers of Billbergia

Our shop offers a fine selection of tough-leaved bromeliads that are never available through garden centres.

Most of them belong to the genera Aechmea, Billbergia and Neoregelia. In the Bromeliad Section of our Shop you can buy the most unusual bromeliads with the thickest and most colourful leaves, better adapted to hot and cold conditions of outdoor life. We also offer a selection of “classic” hybrids that have succeeded throughout the years.  Our species grow well in non-tropical climates. Here they are grown outdoors because they like temperature changes and stand outdoors conditions in general. Our bromeliads will better tolerate:

  • Hot direct sun
  • Wind
  • Occasional frosts
  • Drought for weeks

Different light intensities will give plants with different growth and different colours. We grow our plants outdoors, with little or no shade, in order to achieve robust growth and bright colours.

We ship bare rooted plants and “pups”

Aechmea nudicaulis - Bare-root pups

Bare-root pups of Aechmea nudicaulis, ready to be packed.

All bromeliads in catalogue are sold as large pups, which are the robust basal suckers produced after blooming. This type of cutting is the safest way to reproduce bromeliads, because all pups are identical to the mother plant with no unwanted crossings. Futhermore, pups are much stronger than seedlings.

We pre-root the pups for weeks so most of our “pups” will already show some roots when you open the box. Most of these plants are more than pups will reach flowering size in about one year.

In some cases, especially for larger species, pups will be collected shortly after you place the order. They will show few or no roots. Bromeliads can resist for weeks and months without any root because they rely on the water they keep in the leaves. They will quickly set new roots when put in a draining soil at warm temperatures.

Aechmea pectinata pups

Aechmea pectinata pups produced in the Canary Island

  • Large species give large pups: We select and ship to your home cuttings of 35-50 cm for large species such as  Aechmea blanchetiana, A. callichroma and Neoregelia joannis. Their weight is 300-600 grams. Pups of large species will often lack roots. The largest species are can take 2 – 3 years to reach maturity.
  • Small species give small pups. Plants like Neoregelia maculata, Aechmea gamosepala and Billbergia elegans can measure 18-30 cm and weight just 150-250 grams. Pups of small species will often have roots. They will probably bloom in one year or less.

If you want to see more pictures of the plants we sell, then visit THIS LINK and see our plants on the packing desk and learn more about what we ship.

Neoregelia burlemarxii

Neoregelia burlemarxii becomes purple during the blooming months

Our Shop

Please visit the Bromeliad Section of our Shop and check back often, because we offer different bromeliads at different times of the year. We ship plants to anywhere in Europe and soon to the rest of the world. Our bromeliads are already growing in most European countries. In 2013 we start shipping worldwide our products !

Aechmea blanchetiana grows

Aechmea blanchetiana grows in full sun and takes light frosts

BACK TO THE BROMELIAD SHOP

In the garden, sunny patio, balcony or terrace, being Subtropical and Mediterranean to Warm

Natural Palm Honey was our best seller in 2009

Canarius | Saturday January 9th, 2010 |
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Palm Honey is not bee-honey. It the syrup obtained from the sap of the native Canarian palm (Phoenix canariensis). As Canarius.com started to work online, this unique product soon became the best-seller of the shop. This is because our website is visited both by plant-lovers and by people interested in the Canarian foods and cuisine. We plan to improve our offer in 2010 by adding new types and sizes of Palm Honey.

A best seller in Canarius.com

Palm Honey is typical from the island of La Gomera and can be used in many ways. It is darker than typical bee-honey, less dense and richer in vitamines. The unique aroma is reminiscent of maple syrup. About 10 liters of fresh palm sap are needed to produce one liter of this sought after product. Sap extraction is done manually by climbing tall palms one by one, processing is done in small and clean official factories, without artificial ingredients. So, it is relatively expensive if compared to bee honey, even on the local market. It is collected in a sustainable way as the native palm is not killed when the honey is extracted. Just as bee honey it is used as a sweetener for tea and other hot drinks. It is often spread on fresh cheese or traditional desserts, such as Leche Asada, Frangollo, Quesillo, or as a topping for Banana Flambe. It is mixed with the Canarian roasted flour called “gofio” and served as a delicious dessert. Some Canarian restaurants use it as a topping for salads and meat. CANARIUS offers different types of Gofio and  Frangollo, which can be combined with Palm Honey. You can also buy living plants of Phoenix canariensis, the palm species that is used to make this unique “honey”. It is native to the Canary Islands but it is resistant to moderate frosts and grows as a fine ornamental palm.

Our Nurseries

Canarius | Tuesday January 5th, 2010 |
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Our plants are produced in certified nurseries located on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. We enjoy an even subtropical climate, where nurseries are not heated and the use of chemicals is kept to a minimum. Cacti and succulents are chiefly grown in full sun, while other plants are produced under shade cloths. The winter in the Canary Islands is much cooler than in the tropics, so we can grow robust plants, better adapted to  live  in Northern latitudes.

Agave shoji-rajin

Agave shoji-rajin grown in clean volcanic cinder

  • We sprout our seeds and we root our cuttings. We don’t import and re-sell plants. Our plants have no stress from a past importation from a remote county with a different climate.
  • We are not in a tropical climate.  Plants like cacti and cycads will stop in winter and grow in the right way thanks to this rest.
  • We use no greenhouses, except for seed sprouting and rooting.
  • Our plants are grown from cultivated stock, never collected in habitat.
  • Propagating material are obtained from reliable sources, chiefly from a number of mother plants existing on the island.
  • Our Fruit trees belong to selected cultivars and most of them are hand-grafted trees, one by one over the stronger rootstocks.
  • Our plants are all LEGAL. Protected species are started from seeds with official CITES papers.
Grafting mango trees of different varieties

Grafting mango trees of different varieties

What to do when you get the box?

Canarius | Tuesday January 5th, 2010 |
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You bought some unique plants from Canarius. The box took some days to reach you and all plants now need attention. Some are potted, some are bare rooted.

Here is a list of tips you might want to follow when you get your package, in order to give them the right care.

1) Unpack the box

Plants should be unpacked as soon as possible. Carefully unfold all wrappings. Some are potted, some are bare-root and different species can be differently wrapped. Be sure to keep each plant with its label. Please recycle the packing material and the box.

2) Expose them to light

Mangifera indica

Mango trees in tall pots

Put all plants standing upright and expose them to light. Avoid direct sunlight for a few days, because they have been in total darkness for a while. Potted plants will often need some water. Bromeliads will need some water within the funnel. Consider where to place your plants: if it is spring or summer, outdoor conditions will be the best. During the colder months, the house, greenhouse or conservatory might be a better choice.

3) Planting and transplanting to pots or larger pots

- POTTED PLANTS -

Archontophoenix cunningamiana

Young potted Archontophoenix palm

Our palms, cycads, yuccas, fruit trees and others are grown in small pots to reduce shipping costs and handling problems. You will need to transplant them to larger pots shortly after you receive the package, within a few weeks. You will often need to double the original pot size. A palm received in a 12 cm pot needs a 24 cm pot, etc. Canarius will ship only the strongest seedlings, with strong roots ready to occupy new soil. Most species will enjoy a layer of bottom drainage. Some of our plants are large enough to be planted directly in the ground, if your climate is good for them. This is the case of larger palms and cycads, and most of out fruit trees, which are grown in tall pots.

- BARE ROOT PLANTS -

Bare root Cacti and Succulents

Echinopsis aurea

Echinopsis aurea on the packing desk

There is no rush to plant them. Most succulent plants can wait for weeks or even months, bare-rooted, until weather warms up. Planting should be done when temperatures are warm enough. Pot size suggested is usually 1,5 times the size of the plant. Succulents should not be watered until 3 or more days after planting. If you are going to plant out hardy species in the garden, chose spring or early summer, so they will have a long growing season ahead.

Bare root Bromeliads and Heliconias

Aechmea nudicaulis

Bare root bromeliad pups ready for packing

They need to be planted as soon as possible. Bromeliads are shipped as bare root pups. Pups should be planted by lightly burying the base in the pot just 1-3 cm. Pups are often heavy and sometimes will need to be staked in order to stay in place and permit rooting. The center of each plant (funnel) must be filled with water.

Heliconias are sent as rhizomes. They are large, field-grown rhizomeswith at least two active growing points. Plant them out in large, shallow pots with good drainage, about 30 cm wide, or directly in the garden.

4) Planting outdoors in the garden: Tropical plants and cold winters

If you are growing tropical plants in northern climates, please be careful. Young plants are often less resistant to cold than adults. An adult hardy plant can take -20 C, but a young plant of the same variety should not stay outdoors in January during a storm. If you are purchasing young plants that are “marginal” in your climate, protect them in winter during a few years. Even if you are going to plant out fully hardy species in the garden, chose spring or early summer, so they will have a long growing season ahead.

5) Learn more about their needs, write back and enjoy

Be prepared to give them the best. Learn as much as you can about the plants you purchased. Different growers suggest different growing conditions. Some people prefer clay or plastic pots, different soil mixes Some of them can take snow, some can live indoors or in pots, and some are very tropical and tender and do need a greenhouse. Canarius offers a blog with abundant information. Check our pages about Tropical Gardening up North . Browse plant-related websites to find more information about the plants you are growing.

Plants are living beings – be responsible.

Ravenala madagascariensis

Many Ravenala plants ready to be shipped