Author Archives: Canarius

Bromeliads according to their type of flower

Bromeliads Canarius | Monday June 13th, 2016 |
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Bromeliaceae or Bromeliads are a family of monocot plants consisting of shrubs or perennial, terrestrial or epiphytic grasses.

Bromeliads have rosette leaves, flowers and colourful and showy bracts, as well as the typically twisted stigmas. A typology that differentiates, precisely, due to the type of flower that’s born and its particular shape. In this case we will talk about the Billbergia, Aechmea and Neoregelia genera.

Billbergia

Billbergia

The genus Billbergia, belongs to the large family of Bromeliads and particularly includes many epiphytic species, growing over any other plant without parasitising it. Although there are also some terrestrial species.

The Billbergia bromeliad is known for its intense green, elongated, strong leaves, bearing numerous very small thorns, placed along its margins.

The leaves are arranged forming a central cup, collecting rain water used by the plant as a water reserve and where flora and, often abundant, fauna will accumulate: plant and animal remains that are partly digested with decomposition.

The flowers are held on long rigid or twisted stems, protected by bracts of various colours depending on the species and variety, commonly attached in hanging clusters. Even without a long life they’re splendid.

Aechmea 

Aechmea

The genus Aechmea, also belongs to the Bromeliad family. However, this species has a reduced root system, absorbing the water needed for its development through the foliage.

The particularity of its leaves is arranged so that the water is channeled inside a central cup caused by widening of the leaves in which rainwater is collected in nature.

Spike inflorescence emerges from the central part of the cup, where there are numerous flowers surrounded diffusely by rigid coloured bracts (pink, yellow, red or orange) and long lasting.

Neoregelia

Neoregelia

In reference to the bromeliad family, we also find the so-called genus Neoregelia. It’s a species that doesn’t reach considerable size, as it doesn’t exceed 30-40 cm in height; the leaves can reach a width of 60 cm and a length of 40 cm.

The particularity of the Neoregelia is the rosette arrangement of the extending leaves in the central part forming a type of cup in which rainwater is collected in nature. A cavity in which there is a water reserve, where flora and fauna accumulate, often abundant.

Also, inflorescense emerges from the centre of the rosette, typical for its coloured bracts, from which usually white or blue flowers sprout, attached in rounded inflorescences which develop in the centre of the cup.

Mango Cultivation in the Canary Islands

Mangifera-cv-Gomera-1 Canarius | Wednesday June 1st, 2016 |
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mango-trees-orchard

Image ICIA (Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agraria)

The Mango fruit was introduced in the Canary Islands at the end of 18th century, originating from the Philippines. Although throughout 19th century came to the archipelago numerous Cuban and Venezuelan mangos. In a short period of time, this fruit is become in a common tree in gardens located in the coastline of the Canary Islands, where climate noticeably favors its development.

The best areas for mango cultivation in the archipelago are warm sites of coastlines in the South. Despite the tree is very rustic and it can grow in any sort of soil, due to the subtropical climate in the Canary Islands, mango (Mangifera) prefers those soils with a great depth (minimum 80 cm).

Mango blooming is presented in the Canary Islands in February or March, as a direct consequence of cold in winter. The minimum temperatures in those dates are relatively low and, therefore, there are some problems for bearing fruit.

The most important variety of mango tree for our archipelago it is the local Gomera 1.

Description of the Mango Gomera

hardy-canarian-mangoMango Gomera is a very robust medium sized tree, with dome shaped crown, and stiff, thick, arching leaves. Flushes of new leaves are deep red-burgundy. It is able to flower up to 3 times a year. If it is too cold or wet, it will lose the inflorescences and flower again, about 2 months later, until the right season for fruit set is matched.

Fruits are yellow with pale dots and sometimes with a hint of pink. They are produced in groups, with a small to average size (250 g average), very good flavor, aromatic, with a high content in fibers.

Genetic analysis shows thant it is very closely related (not the same) to the Cuban Mango “Filipino”, and to the Floridan Mango “Turpentine”. It is possibly the same of the Cuban “Manga Blanca”.

Scientific Literature in Spanish about Mango Gomera

“Mejora del Mango en Canarias”, Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias (ICIA)

“Gomera-1 en el programa de mejora del Mango”,  Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias (ICIA)

Buy cold hardy mango trees in our Shop

In our shop, Canarius, you can purchase small trees of Gomera mangos and also a wide selection of mango trees of different varieties. All trees are grafted by hand, with specific cultivars. We ship to any countries in Europe. Try also our delicious Mango jam with or without sugar, in the honeys & jams section, produced with the mangoes of the Canary Islands.

How to grow Cycads? Maurice Levin tell us:

Cycads-Canarius Canarius | Thursday May 19th, 2016 |
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cycas-tanqingii-specimenCycads (division Cycadophyta) are unique plants from remote and primitive ages. They’re a species with similar forms to palms and ferns, despite not being related to each other. They’re also gymnosperms, in the Cycadales order, so do not produce flowers but do produce cones, such as pines and other conifers.

Cycads live in tropical and subtropical environments: humid rainforests, dry rainforests, cloud forests, pine-oak forests and shrubland. They’re often in danger and restricted to innaccessible or hard to reach areas. However, others grow in mountainous areas with cold temperatures, even tolerating frost and snow.

Some Cycads have become popular ornamentals

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dioon-edule-specimenMost Cycad species grow well in the garden and they’re excellent potted plants. Some have become popular decorative plants, while others are very rare and are protected by law, such as CITES species (an international treaty against over-exploitation due to international trade).

Cycads are easy to grow because they do not require particular treatment. Watering frequency depends on the temperature and exposure of the plant: the soil of a plant that’s exposed to the sun will dry very quickly, so it should be watered more often. Although we must also be careful with waterlogging plantpots as it’s not a species that’s very tolerant of this.

Of course. Farmers should be very patient, since they’re slow-growing plants. As a revealing fact, we can highlight that Cycads can live for more than 2,000 years.

Maurice Levin, Cycad Expert

Below, we share a video in which planter and preservationist, Maurice Levin (founder of Jurassic Garden — A&A Cycads, a family-owned rare plant nursery in California), explains what Cycads are and their most optimum growing methods:

At Canarius our Cycads are plants grown from seeds, two or more years old, and grown in tall planters. All plants are grown legally.

We offer the largest selection of Cycads genus in Europe, with many new Chinese species resistant to cold. Visit the Cycad section on our blog and find out why our plants are of excellent quality.

Palm Honey from the Canary Islands VS. Palm Honey from Chile

Canarian-Palm-Honey-vs.-Chile-Palm-Honey Canarius | Friday April 29th, 2016 |
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We know palm honey as the food product obtained from the sap (fluid carried by the conducting tissues of plants) of a number of different palm species. However, there is a clear distinction depending on their place of origin.

Palm Honey from the Canary Islands

Canarian-Palm-Honey

Canarian Palm Honey is a typical product of La Gomera island (Canary Islands, Spain), obtained from the sap of the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). This sap is commonly known as guarapo.

It’s a type of syrup that’s obtained from the heart of the Canary Island date palm. With an intense flavour and a dark colour, it’s used in the making of many typical desserts of the Archipelago.

As for its production, the inhabitants of La Gomera climb to the top of the palm trees to get the guarapo: they must cut the top leaves to reduce layers and so that the sap can be channeled to the outside of the palm tree. Once the fluid has been collected, it’s boiled by slow cooking until obtain the palm honey.

Although this honey is only produced in La Gomera, it’s distributed across national territory and part international. Outside Spain, in central Chile, we can also find a type of palm honey: a sweet syrup kind, which is extracted from the sap of Jubaea chilensis, the Chilean palm.

Palm Honey from the Canary Islands or Chile. Which one you prefer?

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Palm Honey from Chile

Dark-palm-honeyChilean Palm Honey has been consumed in Chile since the time of the conquest (16th century). Although it’s presumed that it was known to the indigenous peoples before the arrival of the Spaniards.

This sap, like its Canarian version, is reduced with a large amount of sugar. It’s currently marketed with a specific composition: palm sap and coconut juice with added cane or corn. Chilean Palm Honey is also used as a dessert accompaniment, as well as a fruit sweetener.

This type of natural, healthy and great-tasting honey is rooted to the traditions of southwestern South America’s own food traditions; consumed by a large sector of Chileans.

Curare enano: fried, baked or boiled

Curare-enano-banana Canarius | Friday April 15th, 2016 |
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The banana is an important source of food in rural areas of most tropical and subtropical countries. Curare enano is a dwarf cooking-plantain from Central America, with excellent fruit quality.

The Canary Islands

In Honduras, Curare enano is the second most cultivated fruit and it’s available all year round. However, as we have already mentioned in the past, thanks to the subtropical climate of the Canary Islands, at Canarius we also have Musa “Curare enano” – Dwarf Cooking Plantain.

Thanks to the subtropical climate of Tenerife, at Canarius we also have Curare enano

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Also, the variety of Curare enano plantain is found mainly in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Colombia, where it’s exported all over the world.

The preferred method for consumption is normally fried, but it can also be baked or boiled. In addition, it’s ideal for making patacones or plantain chips.

Some features of this banana

musa-curare-enano-dwarf-cooking-horn-plantain

The plant normally doesn’t exceed two and a half metres high, making it less susceptible to wind damage. It also requires a low dose of water for production and is quite easy to grow.

A Curare enano is harvested nine months after planting and yields between 35 and 40 bananas per cluster. It’s advisable to keep them in greenhouses when you want to grow them in areas that aren’t of a tropical or subtropical climate.

These types of advantages are part of the great current business opportunity regarding the Musa “Curare enano” on the international scene. Although good agricultural practices are also crucial for providing good yields of this variety of banana.

Alluding to these banana leaves, often have wavy blades. This is not a disease or disorder but it is typical of this dwarf cultivar, a difference in morphology just like its dwarfness.

What do we ship?

packing-canarius

We ship a stout rooted sucker, not a potted plant. You will receive it with the corm wrapped in a bag with moist sphagnum or perlite. In spring, suckers may not have roots. In this case, suckers are easy to root if temperatures are kept between 20 and 30º C.

Neither Brazil nor Colombia; Coffee in Canary Islands too

Arabica-coffee-Canarius Canarius | Friday April 1st, 2016 |
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cafeto-coffee

Coffee arrived in Europe around 1600 via Venetian merchants. And, despite first being rejected by the Church, coffee has become one of the most popular and in demand drinks in the West.

In the 19th century, demand in Europe was quite often outstripping supply. However, world coffee production isn’t focused only on this continent, but also in tropical areas: South America (Brazil and Colombia in particular), Vietnam, Kenya and the Ivory Coast, among others.

A production line that, despite assertions, makes a stop in Europe: the Canary Islands. Favourable weather temperatures, low rainfall, features volcanic terrain… The Canary Islands have become one of the few (almost only) coffee production sites in Europe.

Coffea arabica plant (local Canarian)

Namely, at Canarius we grow a unique coffee thanks to the excellent weather conditions of Macizo de Anaga (Tenerife, Canary Islands). Such is the case of the Coffea arabica plant (local Canarian).

One of the secrets to obtaining this coffee is condensed heat of the Massif and the plant’s acclimatisation to the ground conditions. Also, camouflaging among various fruit trees such as avocado, orange or mango provides shade to the plant needed to grow and make coffee beans.

The arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is a shrub of the Rubiaceae family, native of Ethiopia and Yemen; it’s the main species cultivated for the production of coffee (obtained from the roasted seeds), and the oldest known as yet in agriculture.

With luck and patience, you could grow coffee at home by roasting the seeds in the oven. Remember that on our online store, Canarius, we offer a branched plant ready to bear fruit in about a year.

You could grow coffee at home by roasting the seeds in the oven

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There are other places in the Archipelago also struggling to preserve their coffee making tradition. Such is the case of coffee from Agaete (Gran Canaria), another area that’s become a major tourist attraction of the island.

World Coffee Production

Infografía---World-Coffee-Production

Let’s talk about our Canarian Honeydew Honey

Banana-Honeydew-honey Canarius | Thursday March 17th, 2016 |
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These bees are doing something really special! They are collecting resinous secretions from below the bracts of a banana inflorescence. They will use them to make a different type of honey, the renown honeydew honey. “Honeydew” is made out of anything except flower nectar and it is different from all other honeys. It is considered healthier than typical bee honey.

Honeydew honey or ”forest honey” is a sticky liquid, rich in sugar and produced by bees from the sweet secretions of aphids or plant lice (group of soft-bodied, sap-sucking, disease vector insects) and other plant sap-sucking insects. It can be found in banana (banana inflorescences) or avocado plantations.

Other species from which honeydew honey is normally extracted from are pine, fir, oak and cork trees, along with other shrubby plants. However in Tenerife, it’s most common in the aforementioned plants.

Honeydew honey is produced in the northern part of Tenerife Island during the warmer months

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Honey-bee

Aphids or “plant lice” inject their mouthparts into the phloem (plant tissue consisting of vessels or sieve-tube elements that carry the produced sap) from which they extract the sugary liquid forced out of the end opening of the gut.

Unlike the common honey extracted by bees from flowers, which is more transparent and sweeter, honeydew honey has a much darker colour. It also tastes less sweet and solidifies with difficulty.

Honeydew honey is very healthy and often recommended. It’s a food that is high in minerals, especially in iron (because it has more conductivity than other types of honey). So it is recommended when there are deficiencies in body iron levels. The sugar levels are also lower than the other honeys.

Honeydew honey is produced in the northern part of Tenerife Island during the warmer months. This type of natural food is very popular in Europe and Turkey for its medicinal use.

On our Canarius online store we sell honeydew honey (also called forest honey) certified, in a glass jar with a net weight of 485 grams. Go ahead and try our honeydew honey. Remember it’s healthier!

Bloomed Huge and Smelly Flower in Australia

Titan-Arum Canarius | Monday February 22nd, 2016 |
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A specimen of the well-known “corpse flower”, with its particular nauseating smell, has reached two metres high in Australia. Gardeners at Mount Lofty Botanic Garden, about 18km from Adelaide, jubilantly announced a few weeks ago the long-awaited flowering of the extremely rare Amorphophallus titanum “Titan Arum” (more commonly known as “corpse flower”).

Amorphophallus titanum “Titan Arum”, more commonly known as “corpse flower”

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Mount Lofty Botanic Garden

amorphophallus-titanum-titan-arum

First opened in 1977, the crescent-shaped Mount Lofty Botanic Garden is situated on 97 hectares on the eastern slopes of Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide in South Australia. The cooler, wetter location suits plants from temperate climates which are difficult to grow on the Adelaide Plains.

Thousands of visitors have flocked to the gardens to discover the species. According to one of the coordinators of gardeners at Mount Lofty, “its flowering is weird because the plant is to difficult to grow”. That’s why only 80 specimens have growed worlwide in the last 30 year.

The plant, whose seed was donated in 2006, has grown 20 centimetres every day on average. the “corpse flower”, which hails from the Sumatran rainforest, takes 10 years to grow and can reach a height of three metres. Although the Adelaide specimen is just under two metres.

Amorphophallus titanum “Titan Arum”

The king of all growable flowers, Titan Arum produces a gigantic inflorescence with an unforgettable size, shape and smell. Amorphophallus titanum ”Titan Arum” is native solely to western Sumatra, where it grows in openings in rainforests on limestone hills. The plant is cultivated by botanic gardens and private collectors around the world.

The truth is that the smell, similar to dead bodies, is part of the plant’s survival mechanisms in the wild and is much more powerful at night. But it hasn’t deterred interest with a long line of onlookers, winding around the gardens gate.

Experts have credited the smell to a combination of: “Dimethyl trisulfide, isovaleric acid, dimethyl disulfide, benzyl alcohol, indole, and trimethylamine”.

Adenium socotranum is grown in rocky slopes

The-Socotra-Desert Canarius | Friday February 12th, 2016 |
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Adenium socotranum is an endemic species from the rocky slopes of the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean (South of the Arabian peninsula and east of the Horn of Africa). Place where the authorities are very protective of the natural resources.

Socotranum is one the most admired species in the genus Adenium

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adenium-socotranum-canarius

Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea. In the 1990s, a team of United Nations biologists conducted a survey of the archipelago’s flora and fauna. They counted nearly 700 endemic species, found nowhere else on earth; only Hawaii, New Caledonia, and the Galápagos Islands have more impressive numbers.

Socotranum is one the most admired species in the genus Adenium. It attains a huge size, of two, three or more meters in height. Showy clusters of pink flowers are regularly produced in Adult plants. The pink flower of the plant appears for a couple of weeks in spring. Moreover, the species is similar to a miniature baobab.

As we have said before, Adenium socotranum grows among stones in grit or on other well drained soil. The species shows several morphological and physiological adaptations to cope with the dry climate and strong winds.

This magnificent species is virtually unknown in cultivation, so its performance cannot be described with confidence. Here it grows from may or june to december, so it will be resting leafless from january to may or so. At Canarius, we offer a1-2 year old plant, Container size 10 cm. Plants can be sent bare rooted.

Would you like to discover the marvelous atmosphere of Socotra in a Adenium socotranum? Have a look!

How to Root Sugarcane Cuttings

Canarius | Tuesday January 12th, 2016 |
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Sugar-canes-in-Canarius

saccharum-officinarum-ceniza-bengala-striped-sugarcane

Sugar Cane is a 3-5 m tall tropical grass that produces most of the world sugar. Saccharum officinarum grows outdoors in tropical to warm mediterranean climates. Canes can be peeled and eaten at any moment, they are best after blooming. Sugar cane is very fast growing in hot summer weather, with abundant water and fertilize.

Cuttings are the best way to reproduce sugar cane, because they root easily and will give a plant exactly like the original mother plant. Reproduction from seed is much slower and it is only used experimentally in order to produce new cultivars.

The best rooting temperature is 20-30 C. Cuttings can be planted directly in soil or they can be rooted in water. New roots and new shoots will develop from the nodes: these are the dull-coloured rings present on each stem, formed as leaf-scars when old leaves fall off. Usually roots come first and then the buds wake up and form new primary shoots.

  • In soil: use a fluffy, sandy, draining soil. You can do it in two ways: stick the cuttings upright, burying 2/3 or them in the soil mix, or place the cuttings horizontally underground, lightly buried for a few millimeters. Keep them moist.
  • In water: put the cuttings upright in a tall glass filled with water. Roots will show up in one or two weeks. Move the rooting cuttings to soil after about one month from the start of the process.

how-to-root-sugarcane-cuttings

Cuttings can be rooted in sun or shade. It does not matter, because during about one month the rooting plants will live at the expenses of the sugar stored in the stem. After this time, the rooted plants should be moved to full sun as soon as possible, so the canes will start to grow thick thanks to their own photosynthesis.

Buy sugarganes from the Canary Islands

Saccharum_Caña_de_AzucarCome and visit our shop, www.canarius.com, and you will find different cultivars of traditional sugarcanes from the Caribbean, Polynesia and the Canary Islands. We ship to our customers packs of two super-thick cuttings ready to root and sprout.