Tag Archives: Tenerife

Tenerife, a dream place for exotic fruits in Europe

litchi-fruit-at-canarius Canarius | Tuesday December 13th, 2016 |
Leave a reply

Scientists working at the Canary Islands Institute of Agricultural Research (ICIA), an autonomous body attached to the Minister for Agriculture, Stockbreeding, Fisheries, and Food in the Canary Islands Government, continue to analyze the enormous possibilities of growing exotic fruits in the Canary Islands to explore new marketing opportunities.

To this effect, researchers focus their analysis on the farm Cueva del Polvo (Guía de Isora, Tenerife) with a collection of recent exotic fruit species in the Archipelago, such as Mamey Colorado or Jackfruit.

Particular attention in this field should be made to the lychee trials

Click To Tweet

Particular attention in this field should be made to the lychee trials, also known as litchi, carried out with different varieties and which have shown the interest of this fruit of appreciated taste qualities to the point that, in ancient times, it was reserved for the emperors.

online-mango-treeTo these studies are added those developed in Papaya, aimed at identifying the best varieties of this exotic fruit to determine the most outstanding aspects of each of them.

We also seek to clarify whether, in the future and using innovative breeding techniques, crossbreeding could be achieved with plants considered more optimal to obtain better-adapted varieties in the medium term.

Additional tasks have also been developed related to the mango fruit aimed, among other aspects, to analyze the evaluation of plantations and the development of new cultivation techniques.

All these investigations allow to diversify the agricultural activity and that the farmers have a greater variety of the crop as a complement to the traditional ones; As well as obtaining better commercial-quality fruits.

The exotic plants we have at Canarius are grown within greenhouses in different areas of Tenerife, where the use of chemicals is kept to a minimum. Some of our nurseries are completely organic, and others are energetically self-sufficient.

In the Canary Islands, we enjoy a subtropical climate with a cool winter. However, our nurseries are not air-conditioned to produce robust and resistant plants that can be grown in colder climates.

Some Kinds of Litchi Chinensis in Tenerife

Litchi-chinensis Canarius | Wednesday July 6th, 2016 |
Leave a reply

Lychee is a subtropical evergreen tree native to eastern China, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. The tree has a medium size reaching up to 2-3 m (6-8 ft).

Its fruit is smooth, aromatic and juicy inside the thin, rough, slightly spiky and leathery pink to red shell. Litchi chinensis has a small inedible brown seed. Rich in vitamin C, it is available mainly in mid-summer. Eaten fresh, used in fruit salads, also bottled, canned, frozen and dried (lychee nuts).

At Canarius we have Litchi chinensis. This variety thrives and fruits regularly in the warmer coastal Mediterranean. It does not grow well in the tropics, because it needs cool winters, with temperatures below 12º C in order to induce flowering. It only takes short, light frost.

LITCHI CHINENSIS KWAI MAI PINK

The “cold-hardy” lychee tree. This Chinese lychee variety produces fruits in cooler locations and and fruits very late, in mid-summer. Fruits are greenish-pink and quality is very good.

Kwai-Mai-Pink

LITCHI CHINENSIS EARLY LARGE RED

The variety “Early Large Red” has a fruit slightly more than 2,5 cm (1 “) long, usually obliquely heart-shaped, crimson, with green interspaces, very rough, skin very firm and leathery, adhering slightly to the flesh. Flesh greyish-white, firm, sweet and flavourful. It is a moderate bearer, early in season.

Early-Large-Red

LITCHI CHINENSIS TAI SO

“Tai-so” is a vigorous chinese cultivar of Lychee. It produces regularly and abundantly. The fruit is sweet, pink to red. It is also called Mauritius Lychees in the western trade, but also Hong Huey or Hong Huay, Da Zao and Tai Tsao in Asia.

Tai-So

LITCHI CHINENSIS KAIMANA

One of the best tasting large lychees. It is a subtropical perennial tree native to eastern China where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. The tree has a medium size reaching up to 2-3 m (6-8 ft). Its fruit is smooth, aromatic and juicy inside the thin, rough, slightly spiky and leathery pink to red shell.

The variety “Kaimana” has a large fruit, deep-red, of high quality, and the tree is a regular bearer. Lychee thrives and fruits regularly in the warmer Mediterranean. It needs cool winters, with temperatures below 12º C.

Kaimana

Here we present some of the newest in our online shop:

LITCHI CHINENSIS SUEY TONG

LITCHI CHINENSIS CALCUTIA

Curare enano: fried, baked or boiled

Curare-enano-banana Canarius | Friday April 15th, 2016 |
Leave a reply

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

Click To Tweet

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.

New packs of fruit trees directly from Tenerife

Canarius | Friday September 4th, 2015 |
Leave a reply

Packs-from-Canarius In our online store, Canarius, we take into account the importance of a good service regarding to our customers. That’s why, we have created different packs focused on several kinds of species; from subtropical palms or showy flowers to fruit trees. We love what we do! That’s a fact. For that reason, we don’t resign ourselves to cultivate some species… we want all of them! Below, we present some of our packs with plants belonging to the same family. In this case, we are going to make reference to fruit trees cultivated by Canarius:

  • Superfood-Fruit-TreesSuperfood Fruit Trees: As every plant lover knows, fruit trees produce fruit as foodstuff for people. However, there are some cases where the tree produces what is known as “superfood”, unique pieces such as Dwarf Red Banana, Punica granatum or Kasturi (a sort of Mango). These special fruits are especially beneficial for health; they have more vitamins and useful compounds. The truth is that “superfood” is a recent term used to name any food which is very rich in nutrients for health.
  • Hardy Fruit Trees: It is clear that we are specialists in exotic tropical fruit trees, but we also grow and offer some fruit trees that are not tropical at all and can withstand frost. For instance, Almonds trees, Persimmons and some Canarian cultivars of Fig Trees are perfectly suited to Mediterranean to Temperate climates.
  • Subtropical-Fruit-TreesSubtropical Fruit Trees: Depending on the weather, there is a great variety of this sort of trees. In our online store, we have some examples of subtropical fruit tree; some of the most exotic species that are able to grow in cold areas. Places where Tropical trees can’t grow due to its own features. These trees produce fruits as the well-known banana Orinoco or Topocho, Spanish variety of Japanese or Chinese plum, Custard apple or the commonly known Guava tree.

Would you like to take advantage of our packs? Visit our online shop and choose your favourite one!

Canarian honeys, some of them unique worldwide

Canarius | Thursday August 13th, 2015 |

bee-honey The exclusive plant life in Tenerife, with a great variety of endemic species, makes possible that bees can be working all year. That’s why in the island is collected many kinds of honeys. Even, some of them unique around the world. The combination among heathers, chestnuts, fruit trees or grass in Tenerife forms an endless number of species where these insects can extract nectar for making bee-honey. A natural foodstuff which has been protected by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). In the present day, there are 13 sorts of honeys catalogued in the island. Although we are talking about a chageable number because it could appear new variants. As we have said, the Canary islands are home to a deep tradition of sweet preserves.

There are 13 sorts of honeys catalogued in Tenerife

Click To Tweet

palm-honey On our online store, Canarius.com, we count on some honey made by, both bees and human beings. We shall select for you only the best brands, the favourites of the Canarian citizens. Right after, we will present some of them. On the one hand, an amazing product is the unique Palm honey, obtained from the sap of the endemic palm Phoenix canariensis. The main features of this palm is its big size, tapeworm or its thick trunk with more than 30 metres high. Palm Honey or Palm Syrup is an edible sweet syrup produced in the Canary Islands from the sap of the native palm tree, by tapping the tree in a sustainable way. To sum up, it is not necessary the natural work of bees. Palm Honey is thinner and darker than bee-honey. On the other hand, also we can find on our online shop the well-known Pitera bee-honey (Agave americana). It is about a syrup that is sweeter than honey and tends to be less viscous.

A Baobab Tree Growing in Europe

Canarius | Tuesday June 17th, 2014 |

In the heart of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain there is a beautiful African Baobab Tree (Adansonia digitata), planted in the year 2000, when it was a few years old and 3-4 m tall. It is not exactly “Europe” but yes… this is still Europe!

This tree was purchased in Senegal, by the City Council. It is now adult and it is becoming quite large. It is flowering and fruiting since 2012. It is located in the commercial downtown, by the intersection between Calle del Pilar and Calle Suárez Guerra, close to the popular square named Plaza del Príncipe.

This is the only large baobab in the city, except the ones the botanical garden Palmetum de Santa Cruz, which are also adults but just a bit younger.

It sheds leaves for three or four months, chiefly between February and April. Its large white flowers are developed between July and September. In summer 2013 they were featured in a local newspaper, because they are truly attractive and people do notice them. This picture of the flower is from the article linked here.

Picture featured in the newspaper (see link above)

The latin name of the baobab is Adansonia digitata. It is a beautiful symbolic tree, able to attain a gigantic size. It is easy to cultivate in pots, as long as it is kept above 8 C and kept dry in winter, when leafless. Leaves are dark green, glossy and palmate. Flowers are an absolute beauty. The fruit is edible.

These are our pictures taken in May 2014, when it is growing the new leaves.

Adansonia digitata (2)Adansonia digitata (1)  Adansonia digitata (3)

Canarius is your web-based plant shop, with lots of unusual species available.  We ship worldwide, directly to your home. Visit THIS LINK and see pictures of our plants on the packing desk and learn more about what we ship.

A Palm from Tenerife growing outdoors in the UK for 16 years

Canarius | Tuesday January 18th, 2011 |
Leave a reply

This video by HTUKDave shows the life History of a Washingtonia Palm,  from seed collection in 1992 to November 2009: 16 years.

Seeds came from the Canary Islands. They were collected by a hotel in South Tenerife in 1992. This Washingtonia robusta palm has grown in Chalk, Kent for 16 years, and survived various snowstorms and even a blizzard in Feb 2009. Although badly damaged the palmtree has recovered fully over the following summer.

Not all palms are tropical plants. Many palm species can resist snow and frost. Come and visit our shop at www.canarius.com . We offer above 100 palm species and will ship to your home.

A new variegated Agave attenuata from Tenerife

Canarius | Wednesday December 1st, 2010 |
Leave a reply

We grow a new variegated form of Agave attenuata with striped leaves. It is unique because it appeared in the Canary Islands from a normal plant. In 2004, the local plant grower Luís Borja obtained the original variegated branch from a plant grown in Tegueste, Northern Tenerife. Agave attenuata Tenerife is only reproduced by pups, so it takes a lot of time to make many plants.

We reproduced the plant on a small scale and it was released in 2010 with the name Tenerife.

Agave attenuata Tenerife is a very stable variegated clone of Agave attenuata. Stripes are yellow, often close to the margins but sometimes scattered anywhere in the blade. Leaves are particularly waxy.

Variegated Agave attenuata Tenerife

Variegated Agave attenuata Tenerife

Agave attenuata Tenerife is a good grower if compared to other variegated types of  Agave attenuata, because it is quite fast growing and it will seldom or never burn in full sun.

Agave attenuata variegata Tenerife

Agave attenuata variegata Tenerife

You can buy rooted pups of this succulent plant in the Agave Shop, at Canarius.com.

The following pictures show normal, non-varigated pictures of Agave attenuata, which is a widespread ornamental plant in the Canary Islands,

Normal Agave attenuata in Tenerife

Normal Agave attenuata in Tenerife

 

Agave attenuata Clump

Clump of a typical, non-variegated Agave attenuata

Bottle palms with super roots

Canarius | Thursday October 14th, 2010 |
Leave a reply

This picture shows a picture of a bottle palm, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, cultivated in the Canary Islands in a 12 cm pot. This palm shows a spectacular root system, just like many of the palm species we ship from Tenerife to your home. When a palm like this gets to your home, it will need to be transplanted to a pot of 17-20 cm . The stronger root system will soon fill the new pot and your palm will quickly jump to a much larger size.

Unpotted Hyophorbe lagenicaulis

The bottle palms we ship from Tenerife show a spectacular root system

The palms we offer are grown in shade houses, in different areas of Tenerife, where the use of chemicals is kept to a minimum. We enjoy an even subtropical climate with a cool winter but our nurseries are not heated, in order to produce strong hardy plants that can be grown in cooler climates. The only exception are the heated areas for seed sprouting and rooting. Our plants are free from pests and diseases.

We offer more than 120 species of palm trees. Come and check our quality in the Palm Shop.

Read more about Our Plants

List of the Palm Species grown in the streets and parks of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands

Canarius | Tuesday July 27th, 2010 |
Leave a reply

This list is retrieved from the Palmtalk forum of the International Palm Society. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is called the Capital City of Palms in Europe, because a large number of palm species is used in public landscaping. There are more than 60 species in streets and parks of this city in the Canary Islands. Furthermore, almost 500 species can be found in the Palmetum de Santa Cruz, which is a large botanical garden located in this city.

You can buy all these palm trees and many more in the Palm Section of our Shop – We ship young plants to anywhere in Europe.

Below you will find the List of the Palm Species grown in public spaces of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The Cuban Royal Palm, Roystonea regia is very common in the streets of Santa Cruz

  1. Acoelorraphe wrightii
  2. Archontophoenix alexandrae
  3. Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
  4. Bismarckia nobilis
  5. Brahea armata
  6. Butia capitata
  7. Caryota mitis
  8. Caryota urens
  9. Chamaedorea costaricana
  10. Chamaedorea elegans
  11. Chamaedorea metallica
  12. Chamaedorea seifrizii
  13. Chamaerops humilis
  14. Chamaerops humilis cerifera
  15. Chambeyronia macrocarpa
  16. Cocos nucifera
  17. Coccothrinax barbadensis
  18. Copernicia alba
  19. Dypsis decaryi
  20. Dypsis leptocheilos
  21. Dypsis lutescens
  22. Elaeis guineensis
  23. Gaussia maya
  24. Howea belmoreana
  25. Howea forsteriana
  26. Hyophorbe lagenicaulis
  27. Hyophorbe verschaffeltii
  28. Latania lontaroides
  29. Latania verschaffeltii
  30. Licuala spinosa
  31. Livistona australis
  32. Livistona chinensis
  33. Livistona decora
  34. Phoenix canariensis
  35. Phoenix dactylifera
  36. Phoenix reclinata
  37. Phoenix teophrastii
  38. Pritchardia hillebrandii
  39. Pritchardia pacifica
  40. Pritchardia thurstonii
  41. Ptychosperma elegans
  42. Ravenea rivularis
  43. Rhapis excelsa
  44. Roystonea oleracea
  45. Roystonea regia
  46. Sabal minor
  47. Sabal sp.
  48. Syagrus romanzoffiana
  49. Thrinax radiata
  50. Trachycarpus fortunei
  51. Veitchia sp.
  52. Wallichia disticha
  53. Washingtonia filifera
  54. Washingtonia robusta
  55. Wodyetia bifurcata
Spindle palm in Tenerife

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii is planted in many streets of Tenerife

Canarius Bromeliad Nursery grows the colourful species hardy to outdoors conditions