dig those royals!

[paulgila]

a few months ago,oh lets just call it march,i visited a nearby garden with 2 large mature roystoneas.

a few days later i began to realize that i had planted mine WAY too close to a large bismarckia so i thought:

"hmmmm,who can i get to come dig these up for free."

"before" shot.things are squeezed in like sausage in its casing.

ewww.

another with matt for scale.also he refused to move while i took the pic.

the ground was fairly easy to dig.

"haha,i can get matt to do anything!" i am thinking here.

[R.E.Var Kotobuki]

how big of a root ball dig you get with that royal Paul?

[paulgila]

root ball & matts "big bird-like" feet.

"dont be cheeky!"

closer root ball shot.

matt scrapes off the extra soil to make it easier to lift the palm into his

truckster of greed.

[paulgila]

still scraping.

it took him a long time.

i have to do all the real work myself.

you need tunes for this kind of work.

plus playing northern indian pop music annoys the neighbors.

[paulgila]

smaller one didnt put up much of a fight.

"after."

now that bizzie has some arm room!

thats how we dig those royals.

[BS Man about Palms]

Coo-lee-o.

[BeaumontTropics]

That royal looks fantastic! I sure hope it pulls through, wherever it's going! I can only hope mine look that good in years to come...How long did you have that puppy in the ground?

[Shon]

Nice bizzie Paul. That thing is almost white. It looks like it really enjoys lowlando.

[Kumar]

The Bismarck looks exquisite - the best I've ever seen !! I am often tempted to get one myself but it's just too big and the fronds are too sharp at the edges

[Rafael]

Nice work and pictures!

And what about some shots of royal's new place?

[paulgila]

thanks all.

i think it was in the ground for 4 yrs or so.took a big hit in the '07 freeze. small one was planted approx 2 yrs ago.

after pix are already posted.

[epicure3]

Nice job, Paul. I hope Matt cleaned up the place when he was done. He's very messy.

What's that tall stick looking thing in the first picture on the far right? Is that a Schizolobium?

[Gileno Machado]

Whitest looking Bizzie I've ever seen, Paul...no irrigation there, I presume??

[rozpalm]

Good luck with your transplant. Royals have a habit of going into shock when they are transplanted (at least the big ones do). Do Royals grow reasonably fast in Cali?

[MattyB]

Ron is right. The little one has grown 14" of spear and is showing no real signs of stress other than an initial single brown leaf. The larger one immediately lost all but one leaf, which also turned half brown, and has grown only 2" of spear. I dug another large one from my old house about 2 years ago and it's still not recovered. They take about 3 years to regrow a new crown we've learned after moving another one at Paul's several years ago. I've got time.

[Don Little]

Paul, that Bizzie is spectacular. Apart from the Royals being to close they would only obstruct the view of the bizzie. The bigger Royal his looking pretty good with what looks like nice growth on it. What are your plans with them? Are you just relocating them somewhere else in your yard, it would be a shame to get rid of them especially the larger of the two.

[Don Little]

I guess Matt just answered my question

[MattyB]

This is the day I planted them. The large one won't look this good for another 3 years. I'm not exagerating.

[Jeff Searle]

Any reason why you couldn't move the Bismarckia instead? Maybe this weekend,ok? Just asking, it's your yard. Right? Instead replant the Royals and add one more so it's an odd number. Group of three.

Oh...glad to see you knocked off all the soil, it made it's weight much lighter.

Yellow gloves?

[Mark_NoVA]

I agree with those other comments--what a great-looking Bismarckia!

It's interesting how big the base of that older Royal is--makes the rootball look small. You need the later pictures to see how big it is. If there are no busted backs and the plant's alive, success!

[paulgila]

Nice job, Paul. I hope Matt cleaned up the place when he was done. He's very messy.

What's that tall stick looking thing in the first picture on the far right? Is that a Schizolobium?

yes,he is & it is.

[paulgila]

Whitest looking Bizzie I've ever seen, Paul...no irrigation there, I presume??

just got it on drip a few months ago along with the rest of the yard,gileno. before that it was hand-watered.

[paulgila]

Any reason why you couldn't move the Bismarckia instead? Maybe this weekend,ok? Just asking, it's your yard. Right? Instead replant the Royals and add one more so it's an odd number. Group of three.

Oh...glad to see you knocked off all the soil, it made it's weight much lighter.

Yellow gloves?

those gloves are leather. yellow leather.

jeff.

[paulgila]

Paul, that Bizzie is spectacular. Apart from the Royals being to close they would only obstruct the view of the bizzie. The bigger Royal his looking pretty good with what looks like nice growth on it. What are your plans with them? Are you just relocating them somewhere else in your yard, it would be a shame to get rid of them especially the larger of the two.

thanks,don!

[ariscott]

Well... Paul, while you are posting photos, why stop at Bizzie?? Come on... post more...

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

thinking about it ari. maybe this weekend.

[MattyB]

Paul is too good to take pictures of his own yard. He wants someone else to do it for him. He tried to get one of his "vagrants" to do it for him but it's hard to hold a camera and a 40oz. with only one hand, especially since that hand only has 2 fingers and what one can only refer to as a nubbin'.

[paulgila]

you said in a pm you were gonna snark me so where is it? this is not snarkiness.

no sir,not by a long shot.

[Walter John]

Well I'll be hog tied to a wheelbarrow full of Rhapis, that's one beautiful Bizzy there Paul. You got that royal just in time, another season and you'd have to call in the Kenny Johnson team.

[paulgila]

thanks,wal.

yer right,it woulda been a big job if i'd waited.

[MattyB]

[paulgila]

wow,spitting image of me.

[realarch]

Your dying your hair again!

[paulgila]

how could you tell?

[DoomsDave]

a few months ago,oh lets just call it march,i visited a nearby garden with 2 large mature roystoneas.

a few days later i began to realize that i had planted mine WAY too close to a large bismarckia so i thought:

"hmmmm,who can i get to come dig these up for free."

"before" shot.things are squeezed in like sausage in its casing.

ewww.

another with matt for scale.also he refused to move while i took the pic.

the ground was fairly easy to dig.

"haha,i can get matt to do anything!" i am thinking here.

Dang, that Bizzie looked like the Mighty Samson knocking over a couple of drunken Philestines . . . .

[paulgila]

who are you calling philestines?

[Jeff Searle]

Are the royals dead yet? Next time, try to dig them with a good ball of soil and throw a piece of burlap around it to hold it together. You guys in Cali should consult with us guys in Florida before attempting something like that.Just saying... And did they get watered in? If they die Matty, I'm sure Paul will compensate you for your time.

[iamjv]

Nice pics, bizzie looks fabulous, I totally understand why you want to show case it. Jv

[paulgila]

thanks,jv!

jeff cali rootballs dont just fall apart at the 1st sign of trouble like the ones in fla,

plus we dont have those quaint packing materials like "burlap."

SOOOOOO "20th century."

[ariscott]

still waiting, Paul

Regards, Ari