My Garden in South Florida

[GMann]

Over the last year I have been planting a lot of palms in my new garden. In the front of the house I had 3 large phoenix palms professionally planted with clear trunk. But everything else I planted myself from 3 - 15 gallon containers, so they are all pretty small at the moment.

The garden already had a few large palms (not pictured) and a lot of Roebellinis and Adonidias (can be seen in the background of the pictures), but there was also a lot of empty space available for me to have a lot of fun learning, choosing, and planting. Below are some photos of my project. I will post updates every few years so people can see the growth. Sorry for the poor quality photos, they were taken from my phone this morning before the sun was overhead.

From left to right: Majesty Palm (may not survive), Bismarck, Coccothrinax Miraguama. Adonidias are in the background.

The Coccothrinax is planted 5 feet from the Bismarck, I never intended to plant it so close, but the original spot I had chosen for it, the soil was too rocky and hard to dig into. I am hoping that the Bismarck will grow much faster and the Coccothrinax will grow up below the canopy of the Bismarck. Do you think that is likely what will happen.

From Left to right: Hurricane Palm, Adonidia, and Coccothrinax Azul

A grove of Archontophoenix with some Arecas and an Adonidia (far right). The Archies were sold to me as Cunninghams but from my online research I believe them to actually be Mylonensis.

Left to right: Mango tree (a volunteer that I moved from elsewhere in the garden) and a Travellers Palm.

Left to right: Hurricane Palm, Bucaneer Palm, Triangle Plam. There are also some Roebellinis and Montgomeries in the background too. It is hard to get a good photo of this area because of the child fence around the pool. (there is actually another Bucaneer Palm behind the triangle and a Montgomery triple in there too)

[GMann]

Left to right: Roebellinis, Phoenix Sylvestris, Phoenix Rupicola.

A Blue Latania Palm and two Chaemarops that will be planted on either side. There are also some Areca volunteers that fell from the neighbours yard in the background. The Blue Latania is planted 3 feet from the low wall, which I am hoping is enough room for it to grow straight and healthy. (lets hope the neighbours get rid of that dying Ficcus bushes on their side of the wall.

Italian Cypress trees with some Adeniums (Desert Rose) and Bromeliads. This is the only area that has no sprinklers.

Any criticism and advice is definitely welcomed. I know I still need to add in some nice ground cover / under growth.

[Josh-O]

be careful of crowding that Bismark. That's a big palm in a tight sport with all you other palms.

Nice pictures!! Happy growing

[GMann]

Thanks for the feedback. The Coccothrinax was never intended to be put so close to the Bismarck (they are 5 feet apart trunk to trunk).

I had let that small Coccothrinax grow into a larger container, and I was planning to put it somewhere else, but the soil was just way to rocky and tough to dig a big enough hole. And even if I had really put the effort in to dig through those rocks, I don't think it would have drained well or would have allowed the roots to get through the rocks. So the only place left where there was plenty of sun was close to the Bismarck.

I am hoping that the Bismarck will grow up above the Coccothrinax as they are fast growers. But if they get in the way of each other, I suppose I could move the Coccothrinax to somewhere else, maybe in the front yard.

I wonder how easy it would be to transplant the Coccothrinax safely (if necessary) in a year or two in the future....

[paulgila]

looking great! keep up the good work!

[Josh-O]

Thanks for the feedback. The Coccothrinax was never intended to be put so close to the Bismarck (they are 5 feet apart trunk to trunk).

I had let that small Coccothrinax grow into a larger container, and I was planning to put it somewhere else, but the soil was just way to rocky and tough to dig a big enough hole. And even if I had really put the effort in to dig through those rocks, I don't think it would have drained well or would have allowed the roots to get through the rocks. So the only place left where there was plenty of sun was close to the Bismarck.

I am hoping that the Bismarck will grow up above the Coccothrinax as they are fast growers. But if they get in the way of each other, I suppose I could move the Coccothrinax to somewhere else, maybe in the front yard.

I wonder how easy it would be to transplant the Coccothrinax safely (if necessary) in a year or two in the future....

I've dug cocothrinax before and they didn't even skip a beat.. you should have no problems

[Alicehunter2000]

Thanks for posting....the bizzie will far outpace your cocothrinax so no worries there....I wouldn't move it.

Love that P. rupicola

Why are you doubting the majesty survival?

[Kostas]

Awesome palm choices, well done! Bismarckia can get in the way of things big time but I also think it should grow fast enough that shouldn't cause major problems. You can just tie the leafs away from important palms to prevent excessive shading and causing them to lean away from it.

Especially like your Coccothrinax azul and Phoenix rupicola!

[GMann]

Thanks for posting....the bizzie will far outpace your cocothrinax so no worries there....I wouldn't move it.

Love that P. rupicola

Why are you doubting the majesty survival?

I actually have two Majesty palms, one was along the side of the house (not in the pictures) and is doing fine. The one in that picture only has three leaves and the spear in the center is looking a bit brown and straggly. I am not too worried as they were $15 from Home Depot, and if it doesn't make it, it will free up some space for something else.

[Bismark]

Good choices. Bismarckia will grow fine and will outpace the Cocco no problems at all. Whatever you do don't move the Bizzie, they don't like to be disturbed. looking forward to seeing the progress pictures.

[Ben in Norcal]

Interesting mix of tender and cold hardy palms! Where exactly are you? I love that rupicola...hope mine looks like that one day.

[GMann]

Thanks, I am in Hollywood, which is South Broward County. I took those photos on impulse, but now I wish I had cut off the brown leaves on the Rupicola before taking the photo.

[Dave-Vero]

I planted a number of palms too close together. To some extent, they're sorting out by height, but I need to consider a couple of removals.

One bit of experience: unless you know precisely which Coccothrinax you have, predicting mature size can be somewhat difficult. One, with C. barbadensis parentage, has a canopy about the diameter of a Washingtonia. I should post a few cautionary photos.

[Pete in Paradise Hills]

Over the last year I have been planting a lot of palms in my new garden. In the front of the house I had 3 large phoenix palms professionally planted with clear trunk. But everything else I planted myself from 3 - 15 gallon containers, so they are all pretty small at the moment.

The garden already had a few large palms (not pictured) and a lot of Roebellinis and Adonidias (can be seen in the background of the pictures), but there was also a lot of empty space available for me to have a lot of fun learning, choosing, and planting. Below are some photos of my project. I will post updates every few years so people can see the growth. Sorry for the poor quality photos, they were taken from my phone this morning before the sun was overhead.

From left to right: Majesty Palm (may not survive), Bismarck, Coccothrinax Miraguama. Adonidias are in the background.

The Coccothrinax is planted 5 feet from the Bismarck, I never intended to plant it so close, but the original spot I had chosen for it, the soil was too rocky and hard to dig into. I am hoping that the Bismarck will grow much faster and the Coccothrinax will grow up below the canopy of the Bismarck. Do you think that is likely what will happen.

From Left to right: Hurricane Palm, Adonidia, and Coccothrinax Azul

A grove of Archontophoenix with some Arecas and an Adonidia (far right). The Archies were sold to me as Cunninghams but from my online research I believe them to actually be Mylonensis.

Left to right: Mango tree (a volunteer that I moved from elsewhere in the garden) and a Travellers Palm.

Left to right: Hurricane Palm, Bucaneer Palm, Triangle Plam. There are also some Roebellinis and Montgomeries in the background too. It is hard to get a good photo of this area because of the child fence around the pool. (there is actually another Bucaneer Palm behind the triangle and a Montgomery triple in there too)

nice garden Gmann. that Bizzie will get pretty massive I'm sure...Wish I could grow Coccothrinax Azul here. If I were in your climate I'd also be growing Copernicia Hospita, Fallaensis, and Ekmanii...As for what you say might be Myolensis, they sure are a much darker shade of green than mine here in SoCal. Mine are lime green...

[Ben in Norcal]

Yeah, the Archies look like Alexandre to me...don't they?...hard to tell w/o closer pics.

[GMann]

The guy who sold them to me had Alexander, Cunningham, Maxima, and Mylonensis on his inventory. He was the nursery owner, but he had to keep calling one of his employees on the cellphone to locate different species. I asked for Cunninghams so he pulled those out, he said that the Cunninghams have a lighter, more lime green color than the Alexanders. I doubt they are Alexanders because the Alexanders were the one type of Archies that he had that were actually labeled (so it was easy for him to know that those were not the Cunninghams).

The reason I doubt them to be Cunningham is because they have no ramenta on the underside of the leaves, and the underside is also a different shade than the top side, perhaps with a slight silver tint (which Cunninghams do not have).

I doubt they are Maximas because the trunks are quite skinny, so assuming that the labels on the Alexanders were correct, that leaves only Mylonensis.

[Ben in Norcal]

I really don't think they are myolensis. The color is nothing like as vivid my myolensis. If they aren't cunninghamiana, I stand by my alexandre assessment.

Definitely get some real experts to chime in however!

[GMann]

They are in the shade and the photo is early morning. It is also conceivable that they are not all the same species. I bought them in two sizes (7 gallon and 3 gallon).

The 7 gallon ones are the two bigger ones on the right hand side at the back, the 3 gallon ones are the smaller ones in the center and in the front. They came from different lots at the nursery.

The 7 gallon ones look darker, I assumed that was a product of them being more mature. But they may be different types.

He got the 7 gallon ones out and said they were Cunninghams, then we went to another lot and he searched for the 3 gallon Cunninghams, he walked to one batch that looked like Cunninghams, but there was a label that said "Alexander", so then he went to another similar looking batch and declared them to be the Cunninghams. he then showed me that this second batch had a lighter, more lime green colour than the batch labeled as "Alexander".

So it is possible that the 7 gallons are in fact Alexander, and the 3 gallons are Mylonensis. But I am pretty sure that none of them are Cunninghams (unless the Ramenta on the underside of the leaves only appears when the palms are much older).

Edited December 31, 2014 by GMann

[Ben in Norcal]

No, I think you are on to something in terms of them not being cunninghamiana...not just the ramenta but the silvery undersides are the tell-tale signs.

Maybe post some close-up pics of both sizes and some of the pros here can weigh in with definitive IDs.

[GMann]

OK, that would be great to know what they are.

[GMann]

No, I think you are on to something in terms of them not being cunninghamiana...not just the ramenta but the silvery undersides are the tell-tale signs.

Maybe post some close-up pics of both sizes and some of the pros here can weigh in with definitive IDs.

It's been a while, but I finally had the time to upload the close up photos, here they are:

[Mandrew968]

GMan, How long have you been at that house and where in South Florida are you, exactly? I am in Cutler Bay(dade county). Looks like you have a good start to your landscaping. Know this, taste changes. If you hang around Palmtalk, long enough, I see a few of your choices will no doubt be replaced later on down the road. A word of advice, from someone who has had to do just that, take out those Arecas(Dypsis lutescens) while it is still easy to do! They are one of the hardest to remove, when large and also one of the most ubiquitous palms in our South Florida landscape--If you are really keen on this palm, then grow it from a seed, as any of the ones you buy are most certainly multiplanted; a multiplanted, heavily clustering palm eventually equals a busy mess, down the road. From what I saw, they are also planted too close to that wall; I have seen that palm push over walls as it grows... If you ever have the chance to come my way, it would be my pleasure to show you around my gardens and give you some ideas and introduce you to some rare species of palm--those Coccothrinax are an excellent choice. Welcome to Palmtalk. I have kids too

[GMann]

Thanks for the feedback Mandrew. I am in East Hollywood. We've been at the house for about 2 years. I'd love to see your place sometime. One of the reasons for the Arecas is that we wanted some privacy from the neighbors lot, which is a multi-story, multi-family building and the Arecas can act as a screen. I agree that they are not particularly attractive though and I don't plan on planting anymore. I will see if I can remove the ones that are closest to the wall.

As it happens I was planning on getting some Everglades Palm (Acoelorrhaphe) for another area that we want to screen off, which I have seen a lot of people use as a privacy screen.

I recently visited an upscale hotel in Cartagena Colombia that had a beautiful tropical courtyard and they had planted some of those Arecas as very small clusters of two or three (rather than big clumps) to fill up space between other palms, the result was very attractive. I was actually thinking of doing something like that with some of my bare areas between palms.

My son turns 1 year old today, and he will have a daughter in 2 months.

Edited May 5, 2015 by GMann

[Jeff Searle]

Congrats on your new daughter soon! Always need some weed pullers for down the road! I'm a Bulldog grad...many years ago and know Hollywood pretty well. Good luck with the yard this summer, just be careful on planting things to closely. Welcome to PT.

[GMann]

Thanks Jeff. My two hurricane palms and the little buccaneer palm came from your nursery.

[waykoolplantz]

Looks very nice...thanks to our mild winter and lots of recent rain

[Mandrew968]

Thanks for the feedback Mandrew. I am in East Hollywood. We've been at the house for about 2 years. I'd love to see your place sometime. One of the reasons for the Arecas is that we wanted some privacy from the neighbors lot, which is a multi-story, multi-family building and the Arecas can act as a screen. I agree that they are not particularly attractive though and I don't plan on planting anymore. I will see if I can remove the ones that are closest to the wall.

As it happens I was planning on getting some Everglades Palm (Acoelorrhaphe) for another area that we want to screen off, which I have seen a lot of people use as a privacy screen.

I recently visited an upscale hotel in Cartagena Colombia that had a beautiful tropical courtyard and they had planted some of those Arecas as very small clusters of two or three (rather than big clumps) to fill up space between other palms, the result was very attractive. I was actually thinking of doing something like that with some of my bare areas between palms.

My son turns 1 year old today, and he will have a daughter in 2 months.

Happy birthday to your son and I assume you mean YOU will have a daughter in a couple months? lol otherwise, I should see your family on the evening news If you are looking for privacy from your neighbors, I would say look into mast plants--the ashoka tree; they are pretty rare but have a great look and are very architectural.

My boys are 4 and 2 and they have changed my life for the better--no more running guns from south of the border! joking...

Everglades palms are nice, I once thought, but far too slow and deficiency prone. Unless you have a super soggy spot and can afford a large one, I would look into interesting species of Ptychosperma and Dypsis--your sandy soil should be complimentary for them, granted you fertilize properly

Palmtalk is a great place to ask for advice on particular places you may want to landscape. I always recommend staying away from the commonly grown material as our climate allows us to make better choices that others could only wish they could grow...

[GMann]

Opps, yes I will have a daughter, he will have a sister.

[GMann]

I just sold this house and took some last nostalgic photos of it.

It is now 3 and a half years since the last pics I posted, so here is an update:

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎33‎:‎49‎, GMann said:

 

From left to right: Majesty Palm (may not survive), Bismarck, Coccothrinax Miraguama. Adonidias are in the background.

The Majesty palm did not make it, in fact that spot was bad luck for me so I ended up putting a bed there instead. The Coccothrinax was moved and is doing really well (about 6 foot now). But look at the growth on that Bismarck!

[GMann]

Area behind the pool:

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎33‎:‎49‎, GMann said:

Left to right: Hurricane Palm, Bucaneer Palm, Triangle Plam. There are also some Roebellinis and Montgomeries in the background too. It is hard to get a good photo of this area because of the child fence around the pool. (there is actually another Bucaneer Palm behind the triangle and a Montgomery triple in there too)

Here is another photo from 2014 from a better angle:

 

[GMann]

And here is the same area now. That mango tree on the right was cut down as the mango flowers were staining the pool.

[GMann]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎34‎:‎01‎, GMann said:

Italian Cypress trees with some Adeniums (Desert Rose) and Bromeliads. This is the only area that has no sprinklers.

You get a lot of growth on Italian Cypress in 3 and a half years:

 

[GMann]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎33‎:‎49‎, GMann said:

 

A grove of Archontophoenix with some Arecas and an Adonidia (far right). The Archies were sold to me as Cunninghams but from my online research I believe them to actually be Mylonensis.

The arecas really drowned out the Archontophoenix, which is not what I was hoping for:

 

[GMann]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎34‎:‎01‎, GMann said:

A Blue Latania Palm and two Chaemarops that will be planted on either side. There are also some Areca volunteers that fell from the neighbours yard in the background. The Blue Latania is planted 3 feet from the low wall, which I am hoping is enough room for it to grow straight and healthy. (lets hope the neighbours get rid of that dying Ficcus bushes on their side of the wall.

 

[GMann]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎34‎:‎01‎, GMann said:

Left to right: Roebellinis, Phoenix Sylvestris, Phoenix Rupicola.

Added a Coccothrinax to the frontyard too:

 

[GMann]

And here is one more shot from the front of the house. I planted Chinese fan palms under the windows by the wall: