Help me choose a Palm

[JimR]

My new neighbors have a built an enormous house right up to the setback line, shutting out my light and air on one side. Worse yet, my balcony now seems to look right on their porch. It is partially screened out by an existing Washingtonia. I would like to screen the rest of it out with another palm (or something). However, this is now a spot that gets very little direct light (maybe an hour a day or so). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Chuck B]

My new neighbors have a built an enormous house right up to the setback line, shutting out my light and air on one side. Worse yet, my balcony now seems to look right on their porch. It is partially screened out by an existing Washingtonia. I would like to screen the rest of it out with another palm (or something). However, this is now a spot that gets very little direct light (maybe an hour a day or so). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Boy they did kind of screw you over with that big house.It's hard to say without actually seeing the situation,but you could plant another Washy,which would effectively block some of their view of your house.You could also raise the one side of the railing on that side or set it up with hanging baskets of Pothos or even bromeliads or almost anything.Good luck.

[peachy]

Invite all the over 70 nudists you know for a balcony picnic every couple of weeks. The neighbours will soon plant stuff or do something to give you more privacy.

Peachy

[rozpalm]

Jim, that happens a lot here in South Florida to homes on the water. In my MIL neighborhood on Singer Island, people are putting up 6-8000sqft homes on postage stamp size lots. She has a 7500sqft monstrosity next to her modest 2200sqft home. She had a 16'ficus hedge installed, but the problem with that is that she now has to have it maintained by a company that specializes in tall hedge maintenance. My guess would be that if you want to go with palms, you would need some sort of fast growing, tall clumping palm that could handle frost and cold. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any. You can plant solitary trunk palms but the problem is when they finally grow past the deck area. Assuming you want to maintain a tropical look, you may want to consider some kind of tropical bamboo that is cold tolerant. Most can take temps to 26deg.--some even colder.

[Walter John]

Bambusa oldhamii

[ricky]

id go with peachys idea they'd probably put the for sale sign up before the party ended but failing that i would go for the bamboo depending how much room you have it may be better to plant a fast growing tree eucalyptus or pinus come to mind but i think you could get away with a ficus here's a link for bamboo

http://www.bamboogarden.com/Phyllostachys%20edulis%20%20Moso.htm

or it looks like a great spot for a multiple planting of trachycarpus or livistona chinensis

ricky

[Xenon]

What about a Ravenala madagascariensis?

Jonathan

[Just1MorePalm]

Again...BAMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Tyrone]

Dendrocalamus latiflorus Mei Nung. The big guns.

[DoomsDave]

Elderly nudists, parties, conventions.

Bamboo.

Whoo-hooo.

[Creekside]

Nothing beats bamboo for quick privacy. Go for something beautiful and hardy like Bambusa oldhamii or Bambusa chungii. Both will grow quickly and get rid of those neighbors lickety-split. My 2nd-floor dining room is very close to my next-door neighbor's bedroom windows, so we put in a couple oldhamiis and everyone was happy with their new-found privacy (and exotic bamboo) by the end of the growing season. Oldhamii will reach mature culm diameter and height only four years from a new cutting. Now that I think of it, I don't think chungii is any slower, and although it's a loose clumper down low, up on a 2nd-floor level it will be full and leafy.

[RyManUtah]

um... i agree with peachy. get them to do it =] hehe