International delivery
Minimum order 150€
Evergreen plants
Still pictures of the Botanical Gardens in Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife), with lots of close ups of exotic species. It is the oldest botanical garden in the archipelago, known all over the world for its beauty and diversity.
Der Jardin de Cactus ist nach Plänen von Cesar Manrique angelegt worden. Er wurde 1990 eröffnet und ist Manriques letztes größeres
Projekt gewesen. 1420 verschiedene Arten sind hier im weiten Kessel eines ehemaligen Steinbruchs am Fuß einer restaurierten Gofiomühle
versammelt. Schwarze Lavasteinchen und hohe Steinsäulen verstärken noch das seltsame Ambiente. Man kommt sich wie in einer anderen Weltvor.
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.
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.
Ceratozamia hildae
These Cycad species are protected by law because they are endangered by the illegal trade. “CITES I” is the highest degree of protection. Some of them are available in our shop, all from legal trade, reproduced in artificial conditions.
The Palmetum de Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the best botanical garden to see palms in Europe, with 470 species of palms. This fine video shows beautiful sceneries with piano music.
C.I.T.E.S. is the “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”; an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Living pandas, elephant tusks and rare orchids are all under this shield with many more species. Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, such as the tiger and elephants, might make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the time when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s, international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. Many years have passed and illegal trade goes on. Europe has a flourishing black market and sudden inspections of producers, traders and collectors increased. The list of protected species is regularly revised every few years and you can find the latest on the CITES page of your government.
Encephalartos arenarius is one of the many cycads protected by CITES I
Canarius at times offers plant species protected by CITES, in our sections of Cycads and Succulent Plants. These are all legal specimens, reproduced sustainably, with official papers available.
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 grown in clean volcanic cinder
Grafting mango trees of different varieties
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Many Ravenala plants ready to be shipped
Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. This climate is found in the Mediterranean Basin, as well as in SW California, SW Australia, SW South Africa and Central Chile. All share the same rainfall pattern with a peak in the cooler season.
The Mediterranean Basin, between Southern Europe and Northern Africa is surely the best example of a typical mediterranean climate. There is a big termical difference between the North and the South. Northern latitudes are much cooler. Southern France is the Northernmost extension of the Mediterranean. It is not as hot as other areas but there is a very good climate, because of the protection of the Alps, that block the cold fronts from the North and keeps the cimate very Mediterranean. In the lower latitudes, on the Northern African coast, winters are much shorter and sunnier while frost is absent or very uncommon.
Many subtropical species grow outdoors with minimal effort in coastal gardens of Mediterranean countries, in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. More than 50 palm species can take regular light frosts, exotic flowers such as Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) and many Cycad species. Hundred of species of Cacti and Succulents can grow and bloom as long as they are kept dry in winter. Palm-like desert plants, such as Yucca and Dasylirion, thrive to perfection. Some tropical fruit trees can produce outdoors, such as avocado (Persea) and Feijoa sellowiana. Occasional frosts limit the spread of tropical horticulture in the Northern side of the Mediterranean Basin.
Aloes from South Africa are used as garden plants in Mediterranean Climates
A warmer Mediterranean climate is found in the Southern Mediterranean, where winters are shorter and sunnier and frosts seldom occur. Some writers state these are Subtropical climates. Even some fully tropical species can grow in the better, warmer spots of Southern Spain and Portugal, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily, the Greek Islands and the whole coast of Northern Africa have eccelent climates to grow exotics. Tropical fruits grow freely, as Mango, Annona and Avocado are produced commercially in various regions.
Avocado fruits regularly in many coastal areas
An impressive number of Palms and Cycads is kept by collectors. Many tropical flowers will winter outdoors. Bromeliads and Plumeria hybrids can be used freely as garden plants and Plumeria is the official flower of the city of Palermo, in Sicily. In lower latitudes, Cacti and Succulents are simply part of the landscape. Different species of Agave, mostly from Mexico, grow wild on the hillsides of Mediterranean Europe and Aloes flourish in pots and gardens. Large specimens will often enhance the garden of the villa, in the ground or in large pots. Southern Spain and Portugal are even sunnier, almost as Northern Africa so Cuban Royal Palms (Roystonea regia) and Royal Poincianas (Delonix regia) thrive in many coastal location, papayas will fruit with little effort.
Mexican Agaves thrive in Mediterranean Climates. These Agave attenuata are grown in Tenerife as ornamental plants.
Tropical climate is often used in a generic sense for any place that is warm to hot and moist year-round, often with the sense of lush vegetation. However, there are places in the tropics that are much different. Mountains are often cooler and the highest peaks are often snow-capped. Large regions are deserts and semideserts, with abundant heat and minimal rainfall. To be precise, Tropical is any climate within the tropics, located at approximately 23° N latitude (Tropic of Cancer), and 23° S (Tropic of Capricorn).
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is a symbol of the tropics.
Tropical plants from lowland rainforests will hardly survive outdoors anywhere in Europe. On the other hand, plants from higher elevation or drier environments will be easier to grow. Plants from the higher, cooler, tropics will need less heat to grow. 20-25 C (68-77 F) will be enough to push new growth on most plants, while plants from the tropical lowlands will need 27-32 C (81-91 F) to resume active growth. High elevations always have cooler nights and higher peaks might experience short freezes. Plants from the mountain tropics make excellent plants for the conservatory. Canarius offers a wide selection of high elevation palms, bromeliads, cycads and Pandanus. Plants from tropical deserts and semideserts can be grown in Europe if they are induced to rest during the long and dark winter months. It is possible to grow cacti anywhere as long as they are kept dry and at a mild temperature above freezing. Shop our store to find Cacti and Succulents, as well as many palm-like species from dry areas, such as Yucca and Dasylirion.
