I am batting for the native palm,
Phoenix loureiri var loureiri or
voyavoy, to become the next in-thing in Philippine landscaping. The palm could very well give
Cycas revoluta (
oliva palm) a run for its money. The only problem I perceive is that voyavoy is not known in local landscaping and that there are no specimens commercially available. Another thing is that Batanes is a protected area so more than any part (with the exception of Palawan) of the Philippines, it is hard to bring out plants from there. But am hoping this would not be the case for long.
The other weekend I again made a trip to the Tabang gardens. I have not been there for 3 years. So I got the surprise to see these pictured palms being sold at one of the shops. They very much resemble the voyavoys of Batanes. I once read in a newspaper article that a few landscape people have already ventured in growing the local date palm
from seeds, but personally have not seen these seed-grown stocks anywhere in the metro. Could these mystery dwarf date palms be the ones mentioned. I could not resist buying a plant and compare the leaves to a confirmed voyavoy specimen. And if they are, I hope one day most of our landscape designers would realize that this palm is indeed a beautiful specimen to hold a place in any local garden.
I am batting for the native palm, Phoenix loureiri var loureiri or voyavoy, to become the next in-thing in Philippine landscaping. The palm could very well give Cycas revoluta (oliva palm) a run for its money. The only problem I perceive is that voyavoy is not known in local landscaping and that there are no specimens commercially available. Another thing is that Batanes is a protected area so more than any part (with the exception of Palawan) of the Philippines, it is hard to bring out plants from there. But am hoping this would not be the case for long.
The other weekend I again made a trip to the Tabang gardens. I have not been there for 3 years. So I got the surprise to see these pictured palms being sold at one of the shops. They very much resemble the voyavoys of Batanes. I once read in a newspaper article that a few landscape people have already ventured in growing the local date palm 
from seeds, but personally have not seen these seed-grown stocks anywhere in the metro. Could these mystery dwarf date palms be the ones mentioned. I could not resist buying a plant and compare the leaves to a confirmed voyavoy specimen. And if they are, I hope one day most of our landscape designers would realize that this palm is indeed a beautiful specimen to hold a place in any local garden.
2 comments:
I read from an agricultural magazine that a farmer/gardener from Batanes who is residing in Batangas is actually growing the palm (voyavoy) and other plants from Batanes. I just forgot the name of the farmer/gardener. I'll try to find out his name if I could get hold of that magazine again.
sige keep us posted. thanks
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