Plumeria/frangipani . . . a follow-up

Bryan, a local reader, has contacted me regarding my August column about Frangipani plants. He wrote:

“I am currently growing cerise hybrid frangipani. It has not yet flowered as it is only in its second year from seed, but is already about five feet tall and very showy with large leaves. The plant may flower within the next month or so, but, more probably, will not do so until its third year.

They are readily available from seed from Jungle Seeds in the UK, which is where I purchased mine, and, I have to add, are one of the easiest plants I have tried to cultivate from seed.

They have no problem posting seeds directly to Greece and mine always arrive seven to 14 days after placing an order. Check them out at: www.jungleseeds.co.uk.”

Thank you for that information Bryan. I am sure that many readers will find it most useful. Having looked at the site, I find it very interesting (and tempting). The Plumeria are to be found under ‘conservatory F-Z’.

I too, by chance, have found a coloured Plumaria plant. Early this summer I found some unlabeled plants for sale in a nursery in Iraklion. One was bought and planted in an urn outside the Aquaworld Aquarium in Hersonissos. Imagine my delight when its first flower opened in a beautiful shade of red with a yellow throat.

Seed buying on the Internet can be a useful way of obtaining plants that are rarely seen over here. Please, however, be sure to buy from reputable, professional sources. This way you should ensure that your purchase would be true to type, and clean.

A Readers Query:

“I'm hoping you may be able to help; my friends (from Bury in Lancashire) have recently bought an old house on a hillside in Crete, and they're keen to create a vegetable garden. They are looking for a book which shows what can be grown and, in particular, what special measures have to be taken for pest control, as they've heard that this can be an issue on the island. Any information or recommendation of a book would be gratefully received.”
Well, dear reader, I have received similar questions before and, I am afraid, my answer is the same. No, I do not know of any English language books that deal with vegetable growing on Crete. Maybe another reader can help?

Meanwhile, I refer you to my columns of March and April 2007, which looked at organic growing, and the column of February 2008, which dealt with crop rotations. These should give your friends some confidence that the bugs can be overcome. All the columns can be found online in the “archive” link of our website: www.ko-go.gr.

If your friend still feels he needs to go down the pesticide route, he should be aware that “amateur formulations” are not very common on Crete. He could find himself dealing with some pretty potent “professional” chemicals that he wouldn’t be able to buy in the UK.

Also, if he wants to know what to plant, and when, he should watch what the local growers are putting in, and what is for sale in the local farm shops.

Red Palm Weevil - an update

Well, the pest is spreading. I know of a confirmed case in Sissi and am sure that it is now very widespread.

It appears that local government officials are now taking the pest seriously and are checking nurseries for evidence of the bug.

By next month I hope to have tracked one of these officials down and, if successful, I will give you the latest details and recommendations in my next column.