7 years of growth

[Matt in SD]

As I posted in another thread, we moved a few months ago to a new house on a MUCH bigger lot. We had been in our previous house for 7 years, palm obsessed for about 5 1/2 of those years. We're keeping the old house/garden and will be renting it out. One unexpected benefit of this process is that we've spent the last several weekends cleaning up the yard, pruning, raking, and taking all the crappy kids toys to the new house, and just generaly making the garden looked the way I had intended. I have my fingers crossed that we'll have renters in there within a couple weeks, so I went out with my camera today and documented what my last 5 1/2 years of obsessive gardening has produced.

I may try to dig up some "before" photos, but they are so different that it's almost pointless. There are a total of 8 trees/plants still on the property that were there when we moved in. We re-graded both the back, front, and side areas, added 4 retaining walls, two patios, and about 300 feet of fences. Not to mention planting over 80 species of palms, 20 varieties of banana, and I have no idea how many orchids, bromeliads, fruit trees, flowering trees, and other stuff. I may have to space this out over a few days, took a lot of picks. I hope you all enjoy...

Here is a panorama of the back yard. This was the first area of the yard that we re-did, so it has the most mature stuff.

[Matt in SD]

And for the palms, I'll start with what I think may be my all around favorite palm, Pritchardia viscosa. It's not only the most beautiful Pritchardia hands down, but turns out it's one of the fastest growing, and always looks perfect.

[Matt in SD]

And another fan palm with silver leaf undersides, Cryosophila warscewiczii (although I'm not 100% sure of the species)

[Matt in SD]

I'll guess I'll continue with the theme of fan palms with glaucus or tomentose leaf undersides. Kerriodoxa elegans. I'm still completely shocked by how happy this palm is.

And Pritchardia martii

[Matt in SD]

Pritchardia sp. 'lanai' from Phil, I believe this is now considered a form of martii, which is a highly variable species

And a smaller martii, showing how the leaf underside color doesn't develop till the palms get bigger.

[Matt in SD]

And I think the last of my silvery fans, Colpothrinax cookii

Wait no...there's also Sabal mauritiiformis, a little wind battered...can anyone spot the monarch chrysalis?

[Paco]

Matt! Thanks for the pictures.

Those Pritchardias seem very happy. P.Viscosa and P.martii are stunning. Where have you got them from?

Im amaze by the Kerriodoxa, how much cold can they take? Would they thrieve in cool conditions?

And yes I can see the monarch pupae, any Asclepia arround?

Paco

[quaman58]

Awesome garden Matt. It's nice to see some of the species that I'm striving for will actually grow here in SoCal. That P. viscosa...wow.

Bret

[paulgila]

thats a great garden,matt,one i always enjoyed visiting.

[MattyB]

We'll see if it's actually P. viscosa once it flowers. I think it's P. minor. In yer face Patricelli! All kidding aside, Matt's garden is once of the best looking around. His growing skills are amazing. That and all the crack that the neighbors smoke helps keep the microclimate warm.

[Kim]

I'm amazed by the Kerriodoxia. Is that in the shade of the big Phoenix on the south side? Which Pritchardia is that in the panorama shot? If I were leaving that garden, I'd have to come back to visit the Clinostigma once a week.

[Shon]

Wow Matt those are awesome pictures everthing is so lush. You should ask MattyB to be your rental agent.

[Matt in SD]

Funny Matt. That viscosa is the real deal...the P minor that I bought as viscosa is to the right of my greenhouse in the panorama.

I'm not sure how much cool the Kerriodoxa can take, but it does grow through the winter better than some other palms in my garden, so it's somewhat promising.

Here's another Kerriodoxa photo that hadn't uploaded yet when I was posting yesterday

[Matt in SD]

Here's the front of the house. The bananas always look like crap in the winter, but they do a great job of giving the palms some shade until they're ready for full sun

You can see the P viscosa to the left of the entry, then there's a Burretiokentia hapala to the right, and a Hyophorbe indica to the right of that.

And the fruit is a great side product

[Matt in SD]

Burretiokentia hapala is easily the fastest New Caledonian palm I've grown. This was a ~6-leaf seedling when I bought from Phil in March 2003 (I think this is off of Pogobob's plant). The base is about 6" across now, I'm guessing that I'll have trunk in 12-18 months.

And you can see that strange orange petiole in the foreground of the last shot...from my red form Hyophorbe indica. I have to admit it's sort of an ugly palm overall, but it has a lot of interesting colors

And on the trunk

[Matt in SD]

By the way, that Hyophorbe indica was a 1g from Floribunda in July 2005. They are very fast.

Another shot of the P viscosa...wait, what's that incredibly cool trunk in the foreground?

It's another incredibly fast grower, Dypsis pemana. This was a 2g from Phil in August 2004. That trunk was all produced in 2008...not bad! I have a feeling this will get about 12" in diameter at the base within a couple years, it's about 6" right now.

[Matt in SD]

And across the lawn from the pembana is another one of my favorites, Dypsis lanceolata. This is a bit slower, maybe, but they're both pretty fast. I got this from Phil in October 2006 as a 15g, it was just starting to form a second stem.

The lanceolata trunk is very different from pembana, but I couldn't say which I like better.

[Matt in SD]

And you can't beat the color on Dypsis lanceolata

[Matt in SD]

Right next to the lanceolata is a palm that has really surprised me. Pinanga javana just really does not look like a palm that would grow in SoCal, but it does more than just grow, it looks good all year. This was a 4" pot from Floribunda in March 2004. It has one little ring of trunk now, I'm hoping that it will fatten up as it grows, it's about 2.5" in diameter right now.

[Matt in SD]

Going the other way from the front is a Dypsis decipiens, Ravenea glauca, and Sabal mauritiiformis. This is the sunnier side of the front planter.

And a little surprise on the leaf boot of a Caryota gigas around the corner. The kids planted milkweed all over the place and the monarch's definitely have our address now. You can see the chrysallis it just crawled out of in the background.

[Walter John]

Lovely palms Matt, especially the Pritchardias. Thanks for posting.

[Matt in SD]

In August, we had actually given up on moving, so I planted some palms to express my intent to stay at this house forever. This Hyophorbe indica was one. The orchids on the rocks are Dendrobium speciosum (to the left) and Dendrobium kingianum. I'm sort of shocked at how well the bottle is doing so far, it was out all winter in a pot last year, and this is it's first winter in the ground. This is actually my son's palm, Jesse Bergman gave it to him as rescue project a few years ago because he really wanted a bottle palm for some reason.

And I planted this Cyphophoenix nucele, which was also a rescue project/gift from Tom Simpson in ~2003 as half dead 2 leaf seedling.

[Matt in SD]

Across the path from the Cyphophoenix nucele is this Cyphophoenix elegans that I got as a liner from Phil in August 2003. It's about 7 feet tall overall now. A rare palm that can sit in full shade all winter, and then get blasted with full sun all summer and look good.

OK, it's not a palm, but probably one of the most coveted non-palm by palmophiles, Ficus dammaropsis. The banana to the right of it is Musa cheesemannii which I received 100 seeds from by accident from Ortanique...I only got one to germinate.

[Matt in SD]

And then we go through the gate into the back yard. This is the path...we'll go that way, but there are a couple more things to see on the way

Turning left from this point, this is a rather small planter area that I experimented with what I thought was overplanting. Actually turned out OK I think. From right to left is a Rhapis multifida (small 5g from Phil in March 2003), an Archontophoenix purpurea (5g from Steve in San Diego in May 2004), Laccospadix australasica (7g from Rancho Soledad in June 2003), some Chamaedoreas that I'll show cloeups of, and a Pinanga kuhlii (5g from Jerry Andersen in August 2003)

[Matt in SD]

I forgot to mention, in the previous shot, the Laccospadix was getting a bit too much sun in the summer. It was growing well, but was getting some burn after more than a year in the ground. It was about 3-4 feet tall. So I planted the Archontophoenix, which at the time was only about 18" tall, figuring it would outgrow the Laccospadix by a ridiculous margin and give it some shade. And a few years later, the Laccospadix is happy as a clam, with a couple rings of trunk, and it's first flower spike.

And the Chamaedoreas, geonomiformis and adscendens. The geonomiformis are triple planted with two males and one female, the adscendens are both males.

[Matt in SD]

One last shot before I get some sleep. I think this Chambeyronia hookeri has a slight edge on my Clinostigma savoryanum (will post that one tomorrow) as the palm that people spend the most time looking at, and also a palm that I'm not sure I can go without looking at every day. Without something in there for scale, the photo is sort of a joke, this palm is HUGE. Unlike any other C hookeri I've seen. I planted it from a 20g pot in June 2003, purchased at Bluebell Nursery in Anaheim.

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

I'll guess I'll continue with the theme of fan palms with glaucus or tomentose leaf undersides. Kerriodoxa elegans. I'm still completely shocked by how happy this palm is.

And Pritchardia martii

Yeah, Matt:

The fan palm theme DOES work well in your setting! I'd re-create it!

Keep us up to date; the photos are a wonderful "story-teller!"

All the best!

Pablo

[epicure3]

Nice pics Matt. I would have to say that your house value just shot up hugely with that Ficus dammaropsis. Maybe that's how we can get house prices across the US to inflate again. Have everybody plant one of these.

[DoomsDave]

Matt!

Such a garden!

(Hope Matty's joking about the crackheads . . . .)

I've been in my place for six years palm obsessed from the beginning, but not doing much until about 2004.

[LJG]

Matt, you have a great garden with some of my favorites for sure. I am with you on Hyophorbe indica. It really is an ugly palm here if you like a nice, green leaf crown. I can never get more then two green leaves (3 if I am REALLY lucky) at one time on my green or red version. The rest are yellow or brown.

Also, I like the orchids on the rocks. I hope you did not patent that because I am going to steal it!

I am glad you did move. Now you can feel the pain of growing in a real SoCal climate, not some ridiculous super-microclimate you have at this house.

[Joe palma]

Wow, those are some nice looking palms Matt and their growth rates are really good.

Between your growing skills, micro-climate and soil, you have something going for you!!!

I am impressed at some of the species that you are able to grow.

I can't seem to keep a Pinanga javana alive for anything!

[Walt]

As I posted in another thread, we moved a few months ago to a new house on a MUCH bigger lot. We had been in our previous house for 7 years, palm obsessed for about 5 1/2 of those years. We're keeping the old house/garden and will be renting it out. One unexpected benefit of this process is that we've spent the last several weekends cleaning up the yard, pruning, raking, and taking all the crappy kids toys to the new house, and just generaly making the garden looked the way I had intended. I have my fingers crossed that we'll have renters in there within a couple weeks, so I went out with my camera today and documented what my last 5 1/2 years of obsessive gardening has produced.

I may try to dig up some "before" photos, but they are so different that it's almost pointless. There are a total of 8 trees/plants still on the property that were there when we moved in. We re-graded both the back, front, and side areas, added 4 retaining walls, two patios, and about 300 feet of fences. Not to mention planting over 80 species of palms, 20 varieties of banana, and I have no idea how many orchids, bromeliads, fruit trees, flowering trees, and other stuff. I may have to space this out over a few days, took a lot of picks. I hope you all enjoy...

Here is a panorama of the back yard. This was the first area of the yard that we re-did, so it has the most mature stuff.

Matt, your garden look great, with such a nice selection of palm species. I know such a garden can make the decision tougher to move, but one has to do what one has to do. But the upside is that you can even do more at your new place! Further, you will be able to do things far more quickly now that you are more experienced in palm growing.

[amazondk]

Thanks for the pictures of your garden Matt. I am sure garden number two will come out even better.

dk

[osideterry]

Matt - You give us something to shoot for... very healthy specimens of some not always easy to grow palms. Many I'm going to try, only in not as great a microclimate.

Regarding Hyophorbe indica: I have 2 red and 1 green (all 5-gallon size) I'm going to plant as a triple. The south-facing location has plenty of sun but is protected from wind. I'm hoping it is enough to make for a nice planting.

[Matt in SD]

Thanks everyone. Len, no patent on the "orchid on a rock" idea...but if you want me to tell you how to get them to stick on there, there will be a fee.

I realized there were a few more shots before moving to the back yard. Here's another view of the planter with the Rhapis, Archontophoenix, and Laccospadix

And the crown on the Archontophoenix purpurea has developed some great color

[Matt in SD]

And the Rhapis multifida. This thing really blew up. When I bought this plant, Jesse (Phil's son) told me that he thought multifida grew to the perfect height at around 10-12 feet. I agree.

Moving along towards the backyard, here's a Ravenea 'manompana' from Jerry Andersen. This is a great palm. It gets full sun in the summer and never complains.

[Matt in SD]

Continuing down the path, here is a Rhopalostylus baueri I got from Jerry Andersen as a 1g in May 2003. You can see the leaf of the C hookeri peaking in at the top. I planted the Rhopie and the hookeri on each side of the walkway, about 12 feet apart figuring they'd make an archway some day... and you can see the connection is now complete.

This Rhopie has gotten VERY big. I don't know when it will trunk, but the base is already over 12". The green bromeliad to the right is a fully size Vriesia 'jungle jade' from John Arden. Anyone who knows this brom will have an appreciation for how fat this Rhopie is getting (it's at least 3 feet in diameter, a hieroglyphica cross).

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Hi Matt

Would be so hard to leave a garden like that behind , did you dig any out like i did before you left ?

Love the Rhopalostylus baueri , they are'nt the fastest of grower to replace .

I moved into my new place in april last year and had to start all over again .

cheers Troy

[Matt in SD]

Looking back up at the planter with the hookeri

Maybe I don't get around to enough gardens, but this is probably my biggest non-palm surprise grower. A jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), going through it's fourth winter outside and second in the ground. I grew this from seed, actually grew 50 or 60 from a few different jackfruits we bought, and let them weed themselves out in the winters. I actually sold some of the best ones after a couple winters before I realized I actually had a spot where I thought it would grow. I'll let you in a little secret: for some odd reason Jackfruit will not take full sun in SoCal (at least not at the sizes I've grown them to). I killed several in a very warm bright area of the yard. This one is in a cool spot that is a bit breezy, and only gets a few hours of direct sun a day. It's about 7 feet tall now.

[Matt in SD]

OK, back to palms. In the same planter I have a couple multi-planted Chamaedorea glaucifolia. I really like these in dense clumps and plan on using all the seedlings I've grown from these plants to make a serious hedge at the new place. At the base you can see an utterly pathetic Licuala ramsayi. These kept turning white on me in pots after I improved my potting mix, at least the other palms all liked it. I planted it hoping my soil would work it's magic. No luck. I've since had some success adding dolomite lime to the pots of Licuala ramsayi and elegans and gotten them to green back up.

And just in front of the Chamaedoreas is a Dypsis that I think is ambositrae, although it came from Jeff Marcus as onilahensis.