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Posted

Well I'm thinking that the 20 ft tall C. alba will not survive. The trunk is really cool, it just has ino head. Besides a tiki, what do you think could be planted on top to give it a new cool head. It should be something that does not need supplemental water and also be able to survive zone 9.

I was thinking about screwing a pot of some sort to the top and planting a agave Americana variegata ....that would be cool looking. Of course would have to wire it down to keep the wind from blowing it out of the pot.

This thread may need to be moved to "Plants other than palms section"

post-97-0-12845300-1399603342_thumb.jpg

I'm going to plant a T. princeps near the base....but until it gets bigger...the trunk stays

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

Posted

You could wire some orchids like Oncidiums all around it, or other epiphytes like Staghorn fern, Resurrection fern, etc.

if the agave takes a tumble it might hurt something or someone below it.

Los Angeles, CA and Myrtle Beach, SC.

Posted

Not plant based suggestion but how about some solar downlights to add mood lighting to your other palms at night....or maybe you could buy just a palm canopy from our website co-sponser to attach to the top of the alba. :-) Here in Cali someone would turn it into a cell tower.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

Posted

Birdhouse? :winkie:

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

Posted

Just get a fake palm tree head, if you already have the trunk, maybe PalmTalk sponsor Palm Oasis can give you a deal on a new plastic crown. think of it like going to a dentist, after a root canal, you just get a crown. :)

Axel at the Mauna Kea Cloudforest Bioreserve

On Mauna Kea above Hilo. Koeppen Zone Cfb (Montane Tropical Cloud Forest), USDA Hardiness Zone 11b/12a, AHS Heat zone 1 (max 78F), annual rainfall: 130-180", Soil pH 5.

Click here for our current conditions: KHIHILO25

Posted

I thought about bromiliads. .....not cold hardy enough. ....they would surely die with the next Vortex. Actually maybe a dickia "Cherry Coke" Might work or some other super cold hardy brom. I would wire it down really good to make sure it didnt go anywhere. Maybe bolt a piece of Cypress to provide a better surface. Maybe fern as was suggested could be used as well.

We got a great sponsor, but don't really want to use artificial when I prefer living plants. I'm really not much into statuary or yard art either. Just really not my thing.

My also suggested a birdhouse or bathouse to help with mosquitoes and other insects or for songbirds. If it was not front and center of my backyard. ...maybe, but this thing is one of the prime locations in the

garden.

The Light idea is interesting. .....but really doesn't give me anything to look at during the day. Most lights on landscape trees I see are up lights .....not sure angle or location would be correct for light there.

Going to look into some big Cold hardy Dickia's and epiphytic ferns....I think that would look pretty cool.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

Posted

What about aechmea distichantha? They're cold tolerant enough, not sure about frost though. I'm not sure any of the ferns could tolerate that exposure to heat and wind.

-Krishna

Kailua, Oahu HI. Near the beach but dry!

Still have a garden in Zone 9a Inland North Central Florida (Ocala)

Posted

I'll probably just put a few bromiliads on the trunk. For the head will take a small roll of chicken wire and roll up a bunch of sphagum and pine bark around a post on the ground to form a cavity. Ill slip it off the post and onto the stump. Then will go cheap and effective. ....boston fern....and just stagger more colorful broms down along the trunk.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

Posted

Lots of great ideas :)

Confederate jasmine would give you a nice green column and lend a nice scent to the garden this time of year.

Another idea that I've done on a few of my Sabal Palmettos is to grow lipstick hibiscus up the trunk and tie it on with some green garden tape. It will drip with red when they hit their peak of blooming. They bloom sporadically throughout the year as well.

Here is one of mine to give you an idea, I need to do some more tying tucking and trimming :)

post-9514-0-07177600-1399640863_thumb.jp

Posted

Well I'm thinking that the 20 ft tall C. alba will not survive. The trunk is really cool, it just has ino head. Besides a tiki, what do you think could be planted on top to give it a new cool head. It should be something that does not need supplemental water and also be able to survive zone 9.

I was thinking about screwing a pot of some sort to the top and planting a agave Americana variegata ....that would be cool looking. Of course would have to wire it down to keep the wind from blowing it out of the pot.

This thread may need to be moved to "Plants other than palms section"

attachicon.gif20140201_133325.jpg

I'm going to plant a T. princeps near the base....but until it gets bigger...the trunk stays

David,

Do you think the C. alba froze to death? Might it have carked because of its recent transplant + the cold winter? What are your thoughts? I like C. alba but I'm a shade nervous even here in Central FL. We have 4 now.

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

Posted

Thanks Palmdude, nice visuals.

Well I'm thinking that the 20 ft tall C. alba will not survive. The trunk is really cool, it just has ino head. Besides a tiki, what do you think could be planted on top to give it a new cool head. It should be something that does not need supplemental water and also be able to survive zone 9.

I was thinking about screwing a pot of some sort to the top and planting a agave Americana variegata ....that would be cool looking. Of course would have to wire it down to keep the wind from blowing it out of the pot.

This thread may need to be moved to "Plants other than palms section"

attachicon.gif20140201_133325.jpg

I'm going to plant a T. princeps near the base....but until it gets bigger...the trunk stays

David,

Do you think the C. alba froze to death? Might it have carked because of its recent transplant + the cold winter? What are your thoughts? I like C. alba but I'm a shade nervous even here in Central FL. We have 4 now.

Yes and Yes.....they are not a extreme 9a palm......I would think moderate freezes in the lower 20's that don't last too long, maybe 8 hours or so wouldn't be a problem. But I had 2 events that lasted 30 plus hours of below freezing weather, ultimate low of 20 degrees, advective AND frozen ice.......I still hope the smaller 2 of the three will come back from the dead. The big one never transplanted to my conditions to begin with.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

Posted

Palmdude I like the idea of the lipstick hibiscus you mentioned. How tall is it's reach? I've always seen hibiscus as shrubs in my area. I'm in zone9 like David and looking to add some more color to our yard this spring.

David, we've stayed away from vines in our yard but along the lines of Palmdude's suggestion a flowering climbing vine might work for the trunk. I see wisteria growing here all over the place (some fragrant, some not). Usually planted next to pergola or trellis structures. Very pretty when in bloom. The foliage dies back in the winter here but pops back out in the spring pretty reliably.

I don't see your yard having much color yet. Are you planning on adding some? I could see a bench partially facing the house at the alba and filling in the rest of the circle behind the alba with some nice flowering shrubs as a background, maybe using pots with various plantings flanking the sides of the bench for more color. The bench would give you somewhere to sit in the yard and enjoy the garden. I think adding to the base of the palm would help deflect attention to the pole effect.

We used some tall pots with short hybrid phormium outside our dining room and like the look of it. Also considered a number of draping lantana and such. The phormium held up nicely in our temps this winter. They don't like a lot of water at the base so a planter works well for them. Also did planters with Mexican grass I think it was. Not sharp and an interesting look. Mostly wanted to use evergreens and low maintenance plants. There were a number of shrubs we looked at that were evergreen and grew to 8-10 feet. BTW my comment about the artificial canopy was really made with a wink.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

Posted

Agave americana roots really adhere to rocks,wood,etc,so if you mount one up there bareroot with a bit of soil/sphagnum,it would tightly adhere to the trunk with its roots with no fear of falling,if it fell it would take the trunk down with it due to its weight and the trunk roots rotting... But i really hope your alba survives,give it many months or even 1,5years before giving up on it,its too big and too old a palm to go to waste.

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

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