Some pictures from the Torquay micro-climate on new years eve. Pretty good winter so far, mild and wet which I don't think the palms mind too much!

A Date Palm & Cordyline Red Star at Cary Gardens

Cordyline Red Star catching the last sun of 2013

Butia Capitata (Central America) A hardy feather palm

Amazing pictures you would never think it was the UK

Thanks! There's some really hardy palms around the world, most people think beaches when it comes to palm trees but there's more than a few palms which are native to mountains. The date palm in the top picture is Phoenix Canariensis more commonly known as the Canary Island Date Palm (the most widely planted ornamental palm in the world) and its native to the mountains of the canary Islands not the beaches. In habitat it will have winters where it can be quite wet at its elevation and average temperatures of about 12C. In Torquay it will be wet with an average of 9C (30 year avg) so not too dissimilar. But it can't fall below -6C to -12C especially for long periods or its bye bye palm tree. The tallest on the UK mainland is in Torquay and is about 130 years old so we don't have a history of long periods of cold weather. Here's a picture of it, its a beauty:

Great stuff

They should be quite safe then , I shouldn't imagine it gets to -6 that many times ?

Great images for great temperatures.

I don't think I've ever seen -6C here near the water at least. Its amazing though how fast temperatures drop off when you move more than a mile inland. I've made the mistake before of thinking it was mild because it was in my neighbourhood right above the water and travelled 1.5-2 miles inland and its been frosty! Torquay has a varied climate, built on seven hills with deep valleys between them there are some neighbourhoods much milder than others. The mayor has put a date palm out on a roundabout at the gateway (2 miles inland) and someone has told me it can fall to -8C out there during very cold weather but I'm not convinced. Southern comfort, a garden growing a lot of exotics in Torquay's Meadfoot Valley has recorded a temperature of -3C before but that was as low as it got. Six miles inland in Newton Abbot it was -12C! I've read that within half a mile of the water here its considered to be USDA Zone 9b that would mean an annual temperature extreme of -3.9C to -1.1C. Inland you would be heading into zone 9a -6.7C -3.9C.

Thanks ART!

Indeed, looks more like Canary Islands than UK

We've got some large Canary Island Date Palms being planted this spring outside a new complex on the seafront. I'm not sure exactly how big each one will be and how many will be planted but in the plans there are 4 outside the complex and another 4 shown in the immediate public realm. They will be complimented with other Mediterranean plantings. Can't wait to see them, even though we have lots of date palms down there now these will be the tallest yet.

Plans 1

Plans 2

BTW Dew, love The Spectator! I have 8 volumes on my tablet and I've read most of them too.