Project News
Updated August, 8th, 2010
Also this year we couldn't travel to the island again, but fortunately one forum colleague from the forum Palmen & Co. was helpful to us, best thanks to him! He was by vocational reasons already on the island in March 2010 and there was also in the forum one thread about this. But I couldn't update our website yet for long time because I had barely time and the new edition of my banana book had to be completed. I plan to write several books, also one exotic plant guide for Heligoland is planned, one book about our project on Heligoland. My goal is to make me more vocationally independent from Germany. One sabbatical is planned, perhaps one 2/3 part-time job plus part disablitiy pension to stay in Brazil for longer time where I'm building one banana collection and breed, the soil in my new yard has to be changed to get better growing conditions for bananas, by much horse manure and red clay. Now is my new edition of my banana book ready and to the lector in Greece to check and correct. So that I make good for updating the for long time delayed update of our website, thereafter I will begin to write the book about the "exotics" on Heligoland. The visa ask because of the longer stay in Brazil is now clarified with the Brazilian embassy in Berlin by email contact.
Updated March, 12th, 2010
Our page is moved to the Brazilian webhost locaweb.com.br because of the cost reasons, the old webhost brinkster.com has become too expensive and has only limited webspace, locaweb.com.br has unlimited webspace. Therefore it had to be updated and adapted to the new host. Whether we do make one new island exotic trip in this year, is still unclear, because Chris Stührk is very professional involved, he makes his doctor thesis in the Switzerland. And Wolfgang Ciossek is new in our team, but currently he cannot go to the island. And I also am involved to Brazil. One island exotic trip should be made only on one weekend, since my total vacation entitlement and the free days are all reserved for Brazil. Ulf should tell us again soon.
Updated August, 3rd, 2009
The web page "Jardim de Banana Lucianópolis" is renamed to "Bananas Raras", for one option to build a company in Brazil, it's working to get one residence permit for Brazil for me. Also with Frutas Raras we are now working together, Helton Josué supports us at our breeding program for hardy fruit bananas, "Frutas Raras" is added to the sponsors, some of species which are offered by "Frutas Raras" might be hardy on Heligoland.
Updated June, 15th, 2009
The page "Exotis On Heligoland In Spring 2009" is updated, because one exotic friend from Leverkusen/Germany accidently made one round and also took photos from the "exotics" included of the Jubaea at the hotel "Insulaner", best thanks to him! Also one photo gallery is created and linked. At the same the links page was checked and dead links corrected or renewed.
Updated May, 1st, 2009
Unfortunately no exotic round could made on the island in the past year, there did exist several disablities. At the first Chris is emigrated to the Switzerland and is making the doctor, has found a good job in St. Gallen. And at the second I'm emigrated partly to Brazil, have two residences, one in Hamburg in Germany and the another in Lucianópolis in Brazil in the South Brazilan state São Paulo, where I'm always spending the yearly vacation. one and half to two months every year. My new exotic garden in Brazil is kept by the dad of my Brazilan guest daughter, he is former banana farmer and also former trucker. My new project in Brazil progesses, the page of the "Jardim de Banana Lucianópolis" will also be updated soon, my new yard was perused in past August and September and one inventory of the fruit trees and the exotics was made. Ulf has now obtained 2 large parcels from me, first of all trachys and yuccas from the closure of my old garden in Hamburg and also one Wollemia nobilis. Wollemia nobilis has survived even 9°F in my now unheated greenhouse completely undamaged, seems be also completely hardy on Heligoland at windsheltered places. Dear Heligolandians, try with Wollemia nobilis, is hardy on Heligoland! One third smaller parcel still will follow. Unfortunately I had on October, 17th, 2008 an awful accident, one van driver collided with me and has commited reckless injury under violation of the traffic regulations, the police said this too. The van driver shouldn't have to turn backwards and should have to make another way to change his route. I broke my right tibial head, the tibial head is one part of the knee joint. I had to be operated and got one titanium sheet with 5 screws implanted, they will stay one year in the leg. I had to stay in the wheelchair for 3 months and was certified unfit for work for 4 months, then at first for one month to Brazil, the travel should already to place in January and had to be shunted to one month later. I had luck, that my doctor didn'nt have doubt against the travel which was caught up in February. My doctor found that my fracture of the tibial head was repositioned very well, the surgeons have made one very good job, so that I can walk normal again like before the accident. Unfortunately I couldn't protect my bananas in my old yard because of the accident, one friend of Chris and me had protected them provisional, but they died back to the ground totally. As much more amazed I was, as I got one email on 26th April 2009 from Mr. Harlichs with pics about flowers of Musa basjoo 'Sapporo' at the power station. One island sensation! Banana flower on Heligoland! It's reported about the first banana flower on Heligoland on the page "Banana Flower In April 2009 On Heligoland". Soon further exotic pics from Heligoland will follow, we are interested what our "exotics" on Heligoland are making today, at all the Jubaea at the hotel "Insulaner". To one given time if no historical and world critical things like civil wars and social unrests in the U.S.A., Europe, U. K. and Germany, World War III., world collapse, financial collapse, dollar fail or anythings do happen, Chris and I will travel to the island and make one new round, this can be made on one weekend, my annual vacation shouldn't used for this, I need this for my secondary residence in Brazil.
Yesterday were further new pics from Heligoland arrived! Mr. Udo Harlichs has made further photos and sent them to me. The best and warmest thanks to him! There are news again from the "exotics" on the island, of all from the Washingtonia and from the lemon! A new page "'Exotics' On Heligoland In Spring 2009" was created now. Further updates will follow soon!
Updated July, 25th, 2008
It was noticed that our page wasn't desinfected yet, the virus was in the domain helgopalmen.com. Therefore our page had to be separated from the virus infected domain and got one new domain, namely helgopalmen.de.vu. The domain helgopalmen.com is disconnected now. So that every visitor can visit our page without danger.
Updated July, 21st, 2008
Last June two plant shipments could be made to Heligoland to Ulf. The total palm nursery for Heligoland was sent to Arnold to Cologne to exonerate me, because they still are not ripen for outplantings on Heligoland and I move my exotic garden to Brazil completely and give my greenhouse because of the energy financial reasons up and want to sell the half of my yard in Hamburg, but the partly sale lies on the ice because of the currently insurmountable differences between my dad and me, but immediately after his demise I will sell in any case. Unfortunaltely I couldn't ship banana corms to Brazil because of one Brazilian importation prohibition law for bananas, one part of the bananas I will sell by Ebay and some will come to the island too, probably into the yard of the power station and to the sheltered gardens in the town. However I will ship banana seed to Brazil soon, this is limited allowed. And one partner in Brazil is found, who supports my project in Brazil. One link to my page of my new project "Jardim de Banana Lucianópolis" in Brazil is also added onto the page "Links", but still only in the German language, one English and one Portuguese version are planned. Also the page "History" is updated because of the new project of Arne Weber, it's about the planned island enlargement and reunification of the main island with the Dune.
Unfortunately our website is infected by one hacker with a script virus, the virus infection is found by two of our friends, so that I have to upload the page newly, hopefully it will be virusfree then. But if one virus infection despite of this is found by you, please inform us by email!
Updated, March, 26th. 2008
Because of the many temporal, vocational, financial, private and origanizational reasons our website couldn't be updated anymore, we also couldn't go to the island and also couldn't organize further plant transports to Heligoland in the past year, but Ulf also had made some outplantations. Chris couldn't travel to the island because of the private, financial and vocational reasons. But now Chris has found one place to make his doctor finally in Freiburg and is moved to Freiburg and has left Hamburg. But the brother of Ulf, aKay, took some pics about the status of some of the exotics on Heligoland which surprised us positively, one short commentary is added to the pics of Kay Martens, at the same one new gallery with the new pics.
However Yahoo brought us a big mess. Yahoo has acted agaist our interests because of the shutdown of Yahoo Photos and introduction of Flickr, so that we lost much precious time. However Flickr is not free since 23rd January 2008 anymore and Yahoo Photos was always free, I decided to move the galleries to Photobucket.com. I was also traveled with my wife for 4 weeks to Brazil to the parents of my guest daughter last January and February and purchased one cottage with a large yard at a good price, there I began with a new project, namely one setup of one banana garden with a large banana collection, there I will try to cross Musa basjoo with diploide and tetraploide fruit bananas to create hardy fruit bananas. It's completely uncertain whether Chris and I can travel to Heligoland this year again, because Chris still earns poorly and also still hardly has because of the doctoral work and is living more far away and also because of the financial, organizational, private and vocational reasons in behalf of me, I will be only 10 to 10 and half months every year in Germany because of the vocational reasons and 1 and half to 2 months every year in Brazil (2 times per year at a time 3 to 4 weeks). And in the addition that Rickmers had sold the Helgolandkontor and it's also uncertain whether the new owner will handle with transport of large plants at the same like Rickmers before, therefore it's still uncertain because of this, whether and when the second large Jubaea chilensis for the power station will come to the island. However it's planned to ship plants and seeds to Ulf to Heligoland by postal and DHL.
We request you to excuse us for the hindrances in the past year 2007 and in the first months of the year 2008.
Updated, November, 24th, 2006
Our webpage could be updated right now finally! After all of the difficulties to get one overnight stay place on Heligoland, we could make one inspection on Heligoland from October 19th to 20th and get many new experiences, about them now reported on the new page "Inspection Round October 2006" with a new photo gallery.
Updated, September, 18th, 2006
In the reason of the place problems and the planned overwintering of cold tolerant bananas in my greenhouse I have vacated the greenhouse mostly and sent 10 huge packets to Ulf to Heligoland, so that the page "Plant Donations And Acquisitions 2006" is updated again. One part of the plants still should plant out and one another part should overwinter at Ulf frostfree and the most of them will be outplanted later. In the meantime is now known when we do travel to Heligoland again, Ulf will take us to Heligoland at the end of his vacation travel to Berlin and Hamburg. There he will visit me and see my garden.
Updated, August, 14th, 2006
One little update of our webpage could made now, a new newspaper article is added, which reports about the climate warming in Germany in allusion on the summers 2003 and 2006. In the meantime let Ulf take photos by one photograph so that the webpage will be updated quickier and more comprehensively again. Also the donation page is extended with plant donations for 2006. It's to hope that one accommodation at the mother of Ulf will be free for us in September or October 2006 at finally and we can retrieve the delayed things on Heligoland.
Updated, June, 16th, 2006
Currently updates of our webpage aren't possible, in the reason of the problems to get one one accommodation on the island Heligoland and time problems. As soon as the accommodation problems are solved the outplantations of 2006 and will be retrieved. One part of the exotics which were already shipped to the island are already outplanted by Ulf. Please be patient, dear readers, at the latest in the late summer 2006 the page will be updated at all, how the exotics did survive the long winter 2005/06 and whether they did recover. Surely there will be many surprises. At the current condition the palms on the islands are now resprouting according of the telephone call of Chris Stuehrk with Ulf Martens again! Even the eucalyptus trees from the outplantations of 2005 have survived according of Ulf the past winter well! The plan to plant one Musa basjoo 'Sapporo' beside of the Washingtonia at the power station is now already realized! Your patience will be recompenced in the every case!
Updated, November, 27th, 2005
English version of the website with start page redesigned. One new sponsor, "Hardy Exotics Nursery" (one English exotic nursery), added to the sponsor page. Donation list updated once more (4 Chamaedora radicalis and 2 Olearia x traversii shipped to Helgoland by postal packet to Ulf on November, 25th, 2005).
Updated, November, 18th, 2005
The translation of the report about the "Inspection Round October 2005" is ready and donation list updated. One link about sea surface temperatures on the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links" added and two less good links removed. A new photo gallery added. One link for reading from the e-book from Arnold Krueger about Trachycarpus wagnerianus added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links". One new sponsor, "Bellmann, Gröning & Partner", added to the sponsor page.
Updated, November, 6th, 2005
The guestbook is closed because of one defect (hacker attack or server error?). A new guestbook is planned. Also one translation of the report about the "Inspection Round October 2005" from German to English is now in work.
Updated, September, 15th, 2005
One new link to our new online shop for alpaca wool products from Peru added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links".
Updated, August, 31st, 2005
One new link to my banana website added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links".
Updated, August, 26th, 2005
A new link to the article "Die ungleichen Schwestern" (The Dissimilar Siblings) on the website "SPIEGEL ONLINE" added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links".
Updated, August, 16th, 2005
One new sponsor, Fortunei & Co., to the sponsor page added.
Updated, August, 8th, 2005
Photo Gallery to the report "Outplantations And Inspection Spring 2005" and the page "Outplantations And Inspection Spring 2005" updated.
Updated, July, 17th, 2005
A new link about the "exotic" project of Prof. Dr. Kuckuck (1904 - 1910) added to the pages "Exotic" Projects - A Tradition" and "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links".
Updated, July, 9th, 2005
New pages "Outplantations And Inspection Spring 2005" and "Photo Gallery" added. Pages "Plant Donations And Acquisitions" and "Sponsors And Supporters" updated, two new sponsors added.
Updated, February, 28th, 2005
One new sponsor, one palm nursery in Kiel/Germany, to the sponsor page added.
Updated, January, 11th, 2005
One new sponsor, one transportation company on Heligoland), to the sponsor page added. Two links from the page "Webcam, Newspape Articles, Forums and Links" removed. Page "Inspection Round October 2004" updated (Fruiting of one olive on Heligoland).
Updated, December, 27th, 2004
One link removed from the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums and Links" and a new page "Picture Motives (Christmas and Postcards)" added.
Updated, December, 25th, 2004
One new sponsor from Belgium to the sponsor page added.
Updated, December, 17th, 2004
One link removed from the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums and Links".
Updated, December, 9th, 2004
Two new links about North Sea weather and wind added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums and Links".
Updated, November, 13th, 2004
Page "Inspection Round October 2004" updated (Whereabouts of the palms and oleanders of the hotel "Atoll").
Updated, November, 1st, 2004
One new page "Inspection Round October 2004" with new photos and photo gallery and one new journal article (article from the journal "Der Helgoländer" from July 2004) added. Donation page updated.
Updated, October, 10th, 2004
One link to one web site about palms in Scandinavia added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums and Links" and the page "Site Surveys August 2003 And January 2004" supplemented with one reference about palms in the Tertiary in Southern Greenland, Spitzbergen and Scandinavia.
Updated, September, 24th, 2004
One new sponsor from Chile to the sponsor page added and the donator list expanded. Further plants shipped to Heligoland. It is reported by Mr. Ulf Martens that the most of the palms and "exotics" are grown on Heligoland on well. One inspection round is planned for October, 15th and 16th, 2004. One second inspection round will made by Mr. Joerg Witticke in December 2004.
Updated, August, 27th, 2004
Two links to similar projects in the Brittany and in Norway added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links" and the page "Plant Donations And Acquisitions" updated.
Updated, August, 17th, 2004
Two links to radio contributions added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links"
Updated, August, 2nd, 2004
Provider change and rearrangement of the web site.
Updated, July, 16th, 2004
One discussion forum about hardy palms and other "exotics" added to the page "Webcam, Newspaper Articles, Forums And Links".
Updated, June, 24rh, 2004
Page "Site Surveys August 2003 And January 2004" and the list of the already on Heligoland outplanted "exotics" completed.
Updated, June, 21st, 2004
Further new sponsor added.
Updated, June, 12th, 2004
New sponsor added.
Updated June, 10th, 2004
A guestbook is added.
Updated June, 5th, 2004
Page "Plant Donations And Acquisitions" added. One further picture on the page "Outplantations 2004 And Jubaea Premiere On Heligoland" added and at the same time the report updated.
Updated May, 30th, 2004
About 230 plants in about 114 species, varieties and provenances on Heligoland planted.
Most of the pages updated and the page "Outplantations 2004 And Jubaea Premiere On Heligoland" added. New pics added,
Updated March, 15th, 2004
Preparations for the planting work in May begin.
Telephonic enquiry to an outdoor location of Nerium oleander successful. Outplanted oleanders exist on a business area on the South Beach for several years under a roof lead. Two acacias also shall already have survived 3 years without winter protection in pots in a garden. However, the species is unknown to the owner, but he will take photos of them and e-mail the photos to me. This is a good sign that our tests with further cultivated areas of oleanders and acacias could have success..
Updated March, 21st, 2004
Sponsor page updated with logos.
Updated April, 4th, 2004
Climate page completed with DWD table about the climate of Heligoland and diagrams completed and another sponsor added on the sponsor page.