Kees and Judith have a garden full of palm trees: ‘I pollinate the flowers with a brush from HEMA’

In the backyard of Kees and Judith van Leeuwen you feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The leaves of five types of palm trees wave at you as soon as you enter their hidden gem in Rokkeveen. “At wind force 10 I’ll pinch it.”

In addition to the five types of palm trees in the backyard, Kees has a greenhouse with another five types of palm trees on his allotment. “It’s a hobby that got a bit out of hand,” says Judith.

Birthday gift for life

More than thirty years ago, Kees asked Judith for a palm tree for his birthday. “During a trip to Israel, I saw all kinds of palm trees in the landscape when I landed,” says Kees. “I was so impressed by these beautiful trees that I also wanted one in my garden in De Leyens. I come from a family of gardeners, so my interest in everything that grows and blooms is great. But I wanted to know everything about these, then relatively unknown plants.” Judith continues: “I looked very hard for a palm because they were barely available at the time. I found a small tree for 60 guilders.”

Making babies

Kees planted the small palm in the open ground and the plant slowly grew into a larger tree. “I think the color and shape of the leaves are the most beautiful. Look at that bluish glow in the sun. I looked into it more and bought a few other types. I also wanted to help fertilize the plants so that I could grow other varieties. I bought a brush at HEMA and got to work.”

In the spring the males wake up and blossom. The female and male trees fertilize each other, but Kees also wants to give them a helping hand sometimes. He removes the pollen with a brush and strokes it over the female flowers. With a bit of luck, the female plant will form seeds with which new palm plants can be sown. “The first baby was fun,” says Judith. But now I sometimes think ‘another baby’.”

The first baby was fun. But now I sometimes think ‘another baby’

Seed from Thailand

Kees meets other palm lovers in an online palm friends group. “There are about fifty very active members,” says Kees. “In the group I share my special crosses of different types of palms. Sometimes we make an appointment or someone comes by to look at my palms. I don’t sell my plants, but I sometimes give some away. For example, both the neighbor and our daughter have a few of my palm trees in their garden. Our son will soon be bringing palm seed for me from Thailand. I can experiment with that.”

Code red

Palms grow surprisingly well in the Netherlands: “The plants thrive because of the warmer temperatures,” Kees explains. “At 11 degrees in winter, the palm continues to grow. The only challenges are too much moisture, freezing cold and storms. I’ll pinch it at wind force 10.” In winter, Kees looks at the outdoor thermometer a lot. Judith says: “Before breakfast, Kees stands in front of the window to see how his palms are doing.”

If there is a code red, all the alarm bells go off for Kees: “Code red means severe frost, which means I have to intervene. I place heating cables around the trees so that they stay warm and do not die from the cold. Or I pack them with protective covers. Sometimes one dies, but more are added than die. There are seeds drying all over the house, so I can move forward for now.”