Turning a Water Oak Forest into a Tropical Paradise in NW Orlando

[Merlyn]

It feels like all I've done this year is trim, transplant, and hack out bamboozles.  I've now removed 11 different clumps since May.  It takes a remarkable amount of time to cut them up and dispose of them at the curb, since I have to cut them to 6' long chunks and then cut off side branches so they'll fit in a trash can.  I did burn some in my bonfire spot, but the culms literally explode like firecrackers when you burn them!  Small culms and branches sound like ladyfingers, but the big culms sound like M80s or small caliber gunfire! 

As of today my removal list is: Bambusa Maligensis (Seabreeze); B. Pervariabilis x Dendrocalamus Daii #3; B. Cornigera; B. Lako (2 clumps); B. Eutuldoides Viridi-Vittata (Asian Lemon, 3 clumps); B. Chungii; B. Guangxiensis; and Gigantochloa "Bali White Stripe."  These all grew way too big for the spots, either by vigorous culm production (Asian Lemon), culms way bigger than advertised (35' 3" culms on B. Guangxiensis) or by both (B. Maligensis).  I still have 23 different species, but I'm steadily removing any "big boos" and am planning to keep only the smaller ones generally 20' and 1" culms or less. 

Here's the Bambusa Guangxiensis aka "Chinese Dwarf" that is NOT A DWARF.  It stays small if you routinely cut the tops to 6-8' tall, but if you just let it grow you end up with 35' tall 3" culms and fast growth.  It's very bushy, so it does a good job of blocking the neighbor's house.  But it might get even bigger...and isn't frost tolerant.  That makes this one a loser in my view:

It took about 8 hours to slice and dig out the culms on this clump, because they were tangled up underground and growing nearly 3 feet deep in a 6 foot diameter clump.

[Merlyn]

I did find the time to clean up some of the front yard from a few plants that died after 27-28F and frost.  In the area I lost a small Thrinax Radiata, an 8' tall Pandanus Tectorius, a 10' tall Foxtail, 3 Dypsis Lanceolata seedlings, small Aloe Goliath and Aloe Africana, and an Encephalartos Trispinosus.  Some notable survivors are Leucothrinax Morissii, Copernicia Macroglossa, and Coccothrinax Argentata.  In that area I transplanted a Yucca Aloifolia to replace the Foxtail, and last weekend I planted a partially-pinnate Butia x Parajubaea Sunkha that I bought from Patrick Schaefer.

[The Gerg]

The bamboo adds such a nice look to your garden. Personally, I know I could not handle the maintenance you have to put in to them though. Plus my yard is not as large as yours so I feel it would sort of dominate the landscape. It sure does look great though.

[Merlyn]

10 hours ago, The Gerg said:

The bamboo adds such a nice look to your garden. Personally, I know I could not handle the maintenance you have to put in to them though. Plus my yard is not as large as yours so I feel it would sort of dominate the landscape. It sure does look great though.

I really love the look of bamboo too, and am definitely keeping some of the big Dendrocalamus like Latiflorus, Maroochy, Hamiltonii and Brandisii Black.  I removed my last cluster of Asian Lemon and my B. Oldhamii "Shoot Production" this morning.  The Oldhamii is really nice, with medium-large deep green leaves and very vertical growth.  Oldhamii has a reputation for being an "open clumper" but the "Shoot Production" was growing fairly tight.  But I planted it buried in an area that was going to become inaccessible due to flanking Arenga Engleri and a Pindo.  I'd probably try that one again in a more accessible area.  I'm experimenting now with some of the smaller boos, mostly in the 10-20' tall range.

[Merlyn]

Last Sunday I lopped off the Dendrocalamus Minor "Amoenus" aka "Ghost" bamboo.  It was a really nice clump that I planted in April 2020 from a single cane.  It took no damage at 24F with frost, and did provide some good canopy protection during that cold snap.  But last year's shoots were 25-35' tall and 2.5" diameter and this year's culm collection was 15+ culms at 3" diameter and were 30-40' tall...and hadn't finished growing when I lopped them off!  You can see last year's shoots towering over the 15' tall Beccariophoenix Alfredii in the foreground.  One issue is that the spread of the top easily reached 30-40' overall diameter.  This could be a big bonus if you need some fairly quick canopy over a big zone.

The clump was about 5' diameter at ground level and not too difficult to remove.  I found that generic Lenox 6TPI bimetal wood cutting blades worked better on the underground culms than my favorite Diablo carbide 3tpi pruning blades.  The Diablo tended to gum up cutting the live culms and then the saw would end up with a weird bouncy resonance and just shake my arms instead of cutting through the culms.  Here's the culms covering the entire backyard, and the last removal of all the chunks of culm:

And in the open spot I planted a Dypsis Lastelliana (bottom left, from Floribunda), transplanted a Ptychosperma Macarthurii and Schefferi (center L and R) from my pathway area, and planted a Butia x Lytocaryum Weddelliana semi-pinnate seedling just peeking up from behind the sunburned Encephalartos Ferox double.  I'll probably add a couple of smaller cycads or something else in the middle, I have a Wallichia Oblongifolia/Densifolia that might go in the open spot to the bottom right.  But it's too sunny at the moment, maybe next spring!

[Meangreen94z]

Looking good. I bet that helped block out the highway noise you heard previously.

[Merlyn]

3 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Looking good. I bet that helped block out the highway noise you heard previously.

They are still building the highway to the West/Southwest, so at the moment that side is totally quiet.  But the D. Minor had no leaves below about 10-15' so it wouldn't be an effective noise block.  Noise goes right around bare culms, like they aren't even there.  That's another part of the reason it had to go.  The P. Macarthurii is a pretty dense clumper, and P. Schefferi is a little sparse.  So I might put something really dense in the middle like a Zamia Furfuracea or Philodendron Revolutions. 

Along the pathway I replaced the P. Macarthurii and P. Schefferi with...a smaller P. Schefferi!  The Schefferi in the bottom right side is actually the same age as the other, but was stuck in a 1g pot and neglected in my nursery area for a year while the other was happily growing in the ground.  It needs some fertilizer, bad!  To the left of the yellowy Schefferi is a Cycas Simplicipinna, then a Hyophorbe Indica (from Floribunda) and a fast growing Elaeis Guineensis behind it.  I've really got to take the time to kill all those weeds...

[Merlyn]

Back in May I transplanted that Sylvestris from the center of the backyard up to the front yard, but it's been empty ever since.  Obviously I thought about this for a while, and my favorite palm is the Beccariophoenix Alfredii...for now!  So in the center front are some ferns, tricolor gingers, and a little Truly Tiny banana that I forgot to move.  These were left over from the Sylvester planting and surprisingly survived the full blazing sun of summer!  The two that were NOT happy in full sun were a couple of Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii that were in the open dirt spot just to the left of the ferns.  I repotted those, they just burnt and yellowed in full sun.  I also moved a smallish Pseudophoenix Sargentii Navasana that was in the dirt spot behind the Dioon Edule on the right.  It's now along the pathway in the SE corner.

So the initial plantings are a 2-headed Encephalartos Transvenosus just behind the gingers and ferns, about a 6 foot gap, and then a triple Beccariophoenix Alfredii of DOOM, another 4 foot gap, then a Thysanolaena Maxima (Tiger Grass), another 4 foot gap, then the row of white bird of paradise.  I got the Alfredii from @Hferrell87 a couple of months ago and they were enthusiastically rooted into the ground through the 3g pots.  So I sliced the pots apart to save as many roots as possible.  They are planted about 10" center-to-center so hopefully the trunks won't crush each other...but will start pushing each other apart once they get to a decent size.  It might work to get curved trunks...and it might not!   

I haven't figured out what else is going to go in this area.  There's a Cycas Panzhihuaensis x Debaoensis on the middle left that I might move up to the front left, and I was thinking of putting a Revoluta x Debaoensis on the front right.  I'd probably put them in the open dirt spots or thereabouts.  I'll leave some of it open for future shady-area palms and cycads as the Alfredii start dominating the middle.

[Merlyn]

I was just cleaning up some photos and discovered this gem from July 2021...the largest single stump I removed from the yard!  It was a solid mass of roots 10-12 feet in diameter and 2-3 feet deep.  I've decided that I really do NOT like the Milwaukee reciprocating saw.  The quick release clamp is okay, but I honestly prefer the old style clip-and-pin method.  The twist clamp is tough to turn when it's dirty, and is frequently too hot to touch with bare fingers.  But the worst part is the "counterbalance weight" concept.  This is awesome when doing light cutting, but when the blade gets gummed up or partially stuck then the weight ends up shaking the saw and forcing a nasty oscillation in your hands and arms.  This is WAY worse than a regular saw without the counterweight.  I would go back to a standard nonweighted type like the discontinued Bosch RS7 or try the new "orbital action" RS325.

[Merlyn]

Last weekend I added a couple of small 3-4" caudex Spinulosum/Rzedowskii to make a triple near the driveway.  These are in full sun with a Magnolia on the right and "Cousin It" on the left, an ~8 trunk ponytail.

[Merlyn]

Well it's Labor Day weekend and I'm laboring!!!    On Friday I spent 10 hours out in the yard.  I had another 10 cubic yards of cypress mulch delivered and spread about 5 wheelbarrow loads, stepped up 3 Beccariophoenix Alfredii to 7 gallon pots, put Daconil + hydrogen peroxide mix on a bunch of palms still struggling from the frost in January, moved a small rubber tree to a shady spot (they hate full sun here), planted a small Encephalartos Tegulaneus up front, transplanted a clump of Truly Tiny bananas, and of course removed a wide variety of native and imported hardy perennials = weeds!

56 miles on the bike of intervals and TT efforts was enough for me yesterday, so I'm back out in the yard again today!  This morning I moved a Gaussia Princeps double (the third died after the January 2022 freeze) over to the left side of the Arenga Pinnata.  It used to be on the bottom right.  I planted the Encephalartos unknown "Species" that (likely a Natalensis) in that spot.  Just behind the Pinnata you can see a few leaves from the Philodendron "Evansii" that took a lot of burn in January but is bouncing back quickly.

Over in the SW side the Butia x Lyto and Ptychosperma Macarthurii & Schefferi clusters got an additional 3 clumps of Zamia Furfuracea (Cardboard Palm) and a nice layer of mulch!

And in the SE pathway area I took out a big cluster of Bambusa Eutuldoides Viridi-Vittata (Asian Lemon) before it got totally out of control.  From left to right are Cycas Debaoensis (MB Palms), Butia x Lytocaryum Weddelliana (Patrick Schaefer), a Cycas Revoluta x Diannanensis ( @Scott W), a youngish Pseudophoenix Sargentii v. Navassana (ChuckG), and a pair of Cycas Revoluta x Multifrondis (also @Scott W).  The Rev x Multi closest to the Pseudophoenix was a freebie barely germinated seed that I got from Scott as part of an order.  So it's literally the "first from seed" that I've ever grown.  Hiding behind the Psuedophoenix is a Cycas Diannanensis from @edbrown_III.  These are pretty small but reasonably fast growers and not stabby like the Encephalartos Whitelockii on the far right side.  

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn Love seeing the updates!  Keep up the good work... and the exercise regimen.

[Merlyn]

This morning I decided to plant my only Licuala Grandis at the front door.  I had a variegated Calathea Lubbersiana in that spot, but it was going absolutely nuts and taking over the area.  So I moved it towards the center of the front porch area.  Hopefully this one will survive in that spot, the Peace Lily has been there for 30+ years and burns badly every few years...but always comes back.

[Looking Glass]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

This morning I decided to plant my only Licuala Grandis at the front door.  I had a variegated Calathea Lubbersiana in that spot, but it was going absolutely nuts and taking over the area.  So I moved it towards the center of the front porch area.  Hopefully this one will survive in that spot, the Peace Lily has been there for 30+ years and burns badly every few years...but always comes back.

Man, that looks good there.  Will look even better as it grows in.  The tricolor ginger looks happy too.  It’s one of my favorite little accent plants.  Like sticking a happy little clown in there.  

[Merlyn]

36 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

Man, that looks good there.  Will look even better as it grows in.  The tricolor ginger looks happy too.  It’s one of my favorite little accent plants.  Like sticking a happy little clown in there.

Yeah I struggled with that palm, just trying to figure out where it could live and survive in the ground.  This area is full shade all year and always wet, so hopefully it'll be happy.  The pot was basically solid muck soil and it definitely liked that.  I bought it from @NatureGirl as a 1 gallon ~3.5 years ago.

The tricolor ginger is one of my favorite accent plants, it grows pretty well in full shade or full sun, and doesn't go absolutely nuts like some other gingers.  I have some on the other side of the sidewalk too, more or less where I was standing when taking the photo.  There's also a "Rattlensake" Calathea to the right of the Grandis, and a Philodendron "Moonlight" just to the left, along with some creeping caladium randomly popping up wherever they feel like it.

[Merlyn]

I finally remembered to take a photo of the center rear bed when it wasn't night or storming...  This was obviously from a ladder, just trying to pick out the spacing of the palms and cycads:

In the front there's an agave/cacti/aloe bed with the red lava rock.  From left to right just behind the agave bed is an Encephalartos Altensteinii x Lehmannii, a Dioon Edule, and a sunburned Cycas Wadei.  The next "row" back is a 2-3' trunk Cycas Pectinata-ish big one, a Cycas Panzhihuaensis x Debaoensis, a double Encephalartos Transvensosus (yellowed fronds to the right behind the tricolor gingers, a Revoluta x Debaoensis small one hiding behind the Dioon Edule, and a short Arenga Engleri hiding in the ferns.  The next "row" back is an Allagoptera Arenaria (between the Pectinata-ish and the Panz x Deb), a triple Beccariophoenix Alfredii, and an Encephalartos Gratus.  And the last row in front of the white bird of paradise are a Rhapis Excelsa (Lady Palm), Thysanolaena Maxima (Tiger Grass), and another small Arenga Engleri.

I might end up moving the Rhapis, since it's in full blazing sun and starting to yellow.  But it took zero damage at 24-25F last January, so maybe it has earned its spot...    The Alfredii should grow up over the cluster and provide some PM shade in about 2 years, so eventually it'll look nice there.

[TropicalGardenSpain]

Very nice project! Seems to be growing very quickly and everything looks very healthy! Nice work! 👍

[Merlyn]

Here's the temperature data at my place.  I left the "nursery" sensor on the back porch this time, just out of curiosity.  The nursery area is about 6' from the house on the South side, and the porch is not enclosed and right next to it.  Overall it looks like the two spots are identical, just based on previous year's data.  The frost protection is a bit better on the porch.  The nursery area has a couple of 15' queens and some 6' tall Bottles and Flamethrowers, but that's not as complete as a roof.  The porch sensor is in direct sun during the afternoon, so it's reading up into the 80s.  Out in the yard it didn't exceed 50F on either day and barely hit 55F on Monday:

I'm not sure which weekend was worse...here's the temperature data from the end of January 2022.  There were a lot more hours under freezing this Christmas, and it barely made it to 50 two days in a row.  But last January had overall lower lows and two nights of frost:

[Merlyn]

I recently bought a couple of new boos and transplanted my Gigantochloa "Malaysian Black."  It was in one of the colder areas of the backyard and burned to the ground at 26-27F.  In that spot it would never make a consistent sound/sight block, so I moved it to the side of my walkway on the East side.  The spreading top should be nice over the top of the pathway area.  It's next to a Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens clump that also got burned almost to the ground:

Along the front walkway I've tried a couple of Cocos and several Hyophorbes, it's just too cold and exposed for them to survive long-term.  Bottles, Spindles and an Indica all died in the corners, defoliated in the winters followed by crown rot.  So on the NE corner I planted a Bambusa Textilis "Ladyfinger" aka "Richard Waldron" that I bought from Beautiful Bamboo at the Leu Gardens sale.  It's supposed to be a 10' max 0.25" diameter culm plant with small leaves, but should be totally hardy there:

In the center hedgeline in the backyard I've lost 3 or 4 plantings of Viburnum in the same spot.  There was an oak tree in this spot so I'm pretty sure it's a root rot problem.  I planted a Dendrocalamopsis Variostriata back there.  This is listed on Tropical Bamboo as a 13' plant with 1" culms, a very tight clumper with a slight "V" shape, draping tips and dense leaves to the ground in shade or sun.  It's only listed as hardy to 28-29F, but TB thinks it's a variety of Multiplex...which is hardy to about 18F.  So I'll find out if it'll make a good long-term sound and noise break in that area:

In the SW corner I had a Gigantochloa Luteostriata "4447" that was defoliated in the December and January freezes.  This wasn't a particularly horrible freeze here, so it's also clearly not going to be a good sight/sound block in that corner.  I moved it to the NE corner and replaced it with a Bambusa Glaucophylla "Green" aka the non-variegated form that used to be called B. Heterostachya.  Glaucophylla green is supposed to grow 15-20' tall and 0.75-1.5" diameter but still fairly dense and bush-like with 25F hardiness.  Here's the new Luteostriata spot:

I'm also going to try B. Multiplex "Fernleaf" from Tropical Bamboo.  This is a 10-20' tall plant with 0.5" culms and tiny fern-like leaves.  Supposedly it loses the "fernleaf" characteristic if grown more than 10' tall, and the leaves revert to more typical Multiplex form.

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn A lot of new replacements.  I think the new choices are good.  Pushing your luck is fun to an extent, but removing dead plants gets old fast.

 

[Merlyn]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:26 PM, kinzyjr said:

@Merlyn A lot of new replacements.  I think the new choices are good.  Pushing your luck is fun to an extent, but removing dead plants gets old fast.

Yes....yes it does!  Speaking of which, I finally removed the 99% dead Dypsis/Chrysolidacarpus Pembana.  It regrew from 28F with frost around Christmas 2020, and lost most of the top leaves to frost burn.  Recovery was fairly quick.  The end of January freeze in 2022 was very different.  It saw temps about 25F for 4-5 hours and then heavy frost 2 days later and was 75% defoliated.  Two of the trunks had crown damage that killed them, but a couple of other trunks very slowly survived and started to regrow towards the end of the summer in 2022.  But it looked like crap most of the year.  The 4 day freeze over Christmas demolished what was left, killing all the trunks and leaving only two small offsets at the base:

I had a Pindo triple up front and the smallest one got a crown infection.  So I split them up and replaced the Pembana on the right side of the below photo.  The fronds will be an annoyance over the pathway for a couple of years.  The Pindo on the left of the path is *almost* tall enough for fronds to not be head-whackers. 

The other healthy Butia from the triple ended up in the back yard to replace a defoliate-every-year Bambusa Vulgaris Wamin aka "Buddha Belly" bamboo.  The Buddha Belly went up front where it's a couple of degrees warmer.

[Merlyn]

I finally got around to cleaning up the ferns, vines, spider plants, and other various weeds that had taken over the garage Bismarck bed.  This had been studiously ignored for a couple of years, and I decided that I needed a spot for about 10-15 pots from 3-15 gallons.  This is my "tropical bed" that has a bunch of fan sprayers and gets drenched every morning.  At some point I'm going to shut off the ~10 sprinkler heads that are quite effective at growing weeds and moss...but a big waste of 300-400 gallons of water per day.  So step one is ripping out the weeds:

And around the garage door side before:

 

And after...amazingly enough there were already 5 big pots buried in the weeds...

And I still need to snip off the dead leaves on the Orange Bird of Paradise, but it's about time for a thick layer of mulch!

[NickJames]

Very nice. Last weekend I thinned out my bamboo - which has already become quite unruly after just a year. It seems the older, narrower canes have a tendency to flop over after a heavy rain and they were creating shaded, moist spots on my lawn and therefore fungus was starting. 

[TropicalGardenSpain]

Hi Merlyn,

beautiful garden you have! lots of hard work that you have put in! I know that feeling 😂.

You seem to have a lot of experience in bamboo so I was wondering which type you would recommend that looks nice but is not too much maintenance? I do have plenty of space so that not a problem but don't want to be having to cut it back all the time and worrying about it spreading too much. They look great in your garden but I know nothing about them.

Thank you. 

[Navarro]

3 minutes ago, TropicalGardenSpain said:

Hola Merlin,

hermoso jardin tienes! mucho trabajo duro que has puesto! Conozco ese sentimiento 😂 .

Parece que tiene mucha experiencia en bambú, así que me preguntaba qué tipo recomendaría que se vea bien pero que no requiera demasiado mantenimiento. Tengo suficiente espacio para que no sea un problema, pero no quiero tener que recortarlo todo el tiempo y preocuparme de que se extienda demasiado. Se ven muy bien en tu jardín, pero no sé nada sobre ellos.

Gracias. 

Bambusa oldhamii sería mi opinión ,no lo he cultivado pero quiero hacerlo y me empapado de información,es de los menos agresivos expandiéndose 

[Gottagrowemall]

46 minutes ago, TropicalGardenSpain said:

Hi Merlyn,

beautiful garden you have! lots of hard work that you have put in! I know that feeling 😂.

You seem to have a lot of experience in bamboo so I was wondering which type you would recommend that looks nice but is not too much maintenance? I do have plenty of space so that not a problem but don't want to be having to cut it back all the time and worrying about it spreading too much. They look great in your garden but I know nothing about them.

Thank you. 

I do a lot clumping bamboo sales in palm coast Florida. The handful of types I highly recommend for ease of maintenance are graceful bamboo (bambusa gracilis), Asian lemon, bambusa oldhamii for a big one but not aggressive, angel mist (dendrocalamus amoenus) and yin yang or bambusa emeiensis 

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, TropicalGardenSpain said:

Hi Merlyn,

beautiful garden you have! lots of hard work that you have put in! I know that feeling 😂.

You seem to have a lot of experience in bamboo so I was wondering which type you would recommend that looks nice but is not too much maintenance? I do have plenty of space so that not a problem but don't want to be having to cut it back all the time and worrying about it spreading too much. They look great in your garden but I know nothing about them.

Thanks!  It's a lot of work to get it going, but after a couple of years of hard work it's finally growing in.  And most of my time and effort now is mostly "maintenance" like trimming, weeding, and replacing clogged sprinklers or regulators.  One big improvement in the last year or two was putting down a THICK layer of mulch.  Initially I tried to "save money" on mulch by putting down just enough to cover the dirt.  Weeds just grew right through it like it was some kind of fertilizer.  A true 2-3" layer really helped knock back the weed growth. 

The one huge effort last summer was the overgrown bamboo.  I've kept only three "big boos" in the yard: Dendrocalamus Latiflorus, Maroochy, and Maximuslamina.  These are (so far) relatively slow growers.  So while they may be 4" to 8" diameter culms when mature, they are only putting out 5 or so culms per year.  And I have them planted in a spot with a "drop zone" so I can cut and just let them fall in an open area of grass.  I'll just have to see if these become a problem over time.

The boos that became a nightmare were Bambusa Guangxiensis (3x bigger than advertised and not frost hardy), Dendrocalamus Minor Amoenus (tight clumper but rapid growth of 3-4" culms and 30+ foot diameter spreading top), Dendrocalamus Hamiltonii (rapid 4+ inch culms and flopped over in Hurricane Ian), and the worst was definitely Bambusa Maligensis with 30+ culms at a time and 3-4" diameter.  Many of these would be totally fine if I had the space for them, or if I didn't live in a hurricane zone.  Some of the others I removed because I felt that they would become a problem, such as Bambusa Pervariabilis x D. Daii #3, B. Cornigera, B. Lako (probably great in a frost-free area), B. Chungii (open clumper), B. Vulgaris Vittata, D. Bambusoides and D. Brandisii "Black" (burnt to the ground at 28F). 

I did remove B. Eutoldoides Viridi-Vittata "Asian Lemon" because it was a rapid grower even though it was only about 2-2.5" culms.  It was also relentless at growing lower branches, and made it impossible to keep the pathway clear.  This feature would probably make a good hedge.  Initially I liked the yellow culms, but from a distance the yellow sort of blends into the lime green leaves, and it just looked like it was generally unhealthy.  I think the big yellow culms (and no lower branches) of B. Vulgaris Vittata (Hawaiian Gold) look a lot better.

As far as lower maintenance boos go, I decided to stick to under 20' tall and 1" diameter maximum culm diameter.  My current total list is:

Bambusa Boniopsis - small but not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Cerosissima - unknown if it'll be 25' or up to 50'

Bambusa Glaucophylla Green - the bushlike larger green-leaf version, the typical one sold is the variegated one

Bambusa Multiplex "Fernleaf" - an experimental small one

Bambusa Nana (Quail large leaf clone) x Thyrsocalamus Liang - a large draping-leaf type 30' and 2" culms

Bambusa New Guinea Black - a smaller version like B. Lako but not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Suberecta "Jesse Durko" - a great variegated leaf boo, also not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Textilis "Ladyfinger" "Richard Waldron" - a tiny 10' tall dwarf

Bambusa Textilis "RG Dwarf" - similar to other tight clumping Textilis at 20' and up to 1.5" culms

Bambusa Tuldoides "Swollen Internode" - 20' 2.5" diameter claimed to "belly" like Vulgaris Wamin.  So far these are NOT bellying and I may trash them.

Bambusa vulgaris Wamin Striata (dwarf Buddha Belly) and Bambusa vulgaris Wamin (dwarf Buddha Belly) - my top choice for a low maintenance, but not hardy under 30F

Dendrocalamopsis variostriata - 12' 1" very tight clumper

Dendrocalamus Dumosus, D. Elegans and D. Longliensis - three similar 10-20' draping culm types but not hardy under 30F

Gigantochloa Luteostriata 4447 - 20' 0.75" with nice variegated leaves, also not hardy under 30F

Gigantochloa Malaysian Black - another smaller version like Lako, with big leaves and 20' max height, also not hardy under 30F

Thysanolaena Maxima – Tiger Grass - burned to the ground at 27F

Overall my lowest maintenance is Vulgaris Wamin "Dwarf Buddha Belly" just because it only grows about 5 culms per year and grows to about 15 feet tall.  But I only recently planted some of these.  Most are in the ground for a year or less, so it's hard to say if they'll become a problem or not.  One thing I'm definitely avoiding are "open clumpers" like Chungii.  In your area some of the "problem boos" might not be too bad, because the growth rate without high humidity and daily thunderstorms might not be too bad.  I'd still avoid B. Maligensis "Seabreeze" under any circumstances (except to cover acreage) but "aggressive growers" in Florida might be moderate growers in your area.

[Merlyn]

Yesterday afternoon I did a bunch of moving and planting.  I had created an Encephalartos Laurentianus triple in the back yard, which was a little crazy to begin with.  But it was also in the coldest area of the whole yard, so it got 100% defoliated every winter.  I split this up and moved it to the front.  In the NW corner I moved a Ptychosperma Scheffleri and Macarthurii clump, both of which were burned to the ground in the backyard @ 26-27F.  From left to right: Encephalartos Ituriensis giant, P. Scheffleri bottom left, one of the Laurentianus center left in the background under the Ituriensis frond, P. Macarthurii in the center, and Bambusa Boniopsis in the foreground right.  In the upper right corner is a Bambusa Vulgaris Wamin (Dwarf Buddha Belly) that also used to be in the backyard.

Another 6" caudex Laurentianus ended up in the front NW corner, about 15' to the left of the above photo.  A Bottle died here from the 28F low in this area:

And the third Laurentianus ended up in the East side of the front yard, in probably the warmest area.  The Arenga Pinnata just to the right is working on the third frond after defoliation:

[Merlyn]

Along the East pathway I planted a few things under the canopy of my largest Beccariophoenix Alfredii.  From left to right: Chuniophoenix Hainanensis, Zamia Pusila, Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii (just a single unopened spear right now), Lanonia Dasyantha (foreground left of center), and a pair of Zamia Vasquezii flanking a new planting of Chuniophoenix Nana.  The Nana was in way too much sun in my nursery area, so hopefully will get a bit more green in the part shade:

And last week I received another order from Floribunda, Chrysolidocarpus/Dypsis Baronii; Chuniophoenix Hainanensis; Cyphophoenix Nucele & Elegans; Syagrus Schizophylla & Ruschiana & Sancona; Pinanga Phillipinensis; Laccospadix Australasicus; and Ptychococcus Lepidotus:

And the last big item I planted was a Copernicia Gigas that I bought from MB Palms at the Leu Gardens sale.  This replaced a Butia x Parajubaea Sunkha hybrid that I bought from Patrick.  The BxPJS had been in the ground a year and was just continuing to shrink.  It had grown basically no new roots and easily fit back into a 1 gallon pot.  I think it just couldn't handle full sun at that age, but the Gigas should like it:

[Merlyn]

And in the SW corner I decided to just plant this struggling seedling of Attalea Butyracea.  This spot used to have a Bambusa Lako (removed May 2022) and a Kentiopsis Oliviformis (defoliated and repotted in April 2022).  Butyracea and Phalerata have been reasonably hardy, so this is an experiment:

And the K.O. (now C. O.) finally went into the front NW yard in the warmest part of the yard.  This lost all the fronds to 24-25F in January 2022, then mostly recovered in a pot only to get defoliated again at 28F at the Christmas freeze 2022.  I am not sure if it'll really survive long-term, and may give up on Oliviformis until I have some solid canopy.  It's got a single half-burned frond and a new spear growing, so hopefully it'll recover:

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn Doesn't hurt to throw the ones struggling in the ground and let nature do its thing one way or the other.  I love these journal threads, especially yours.  Keep up the good work!

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

@Merlyn Doesn't hurt to throw the ones struggling in the ground and let nature do its thing one way or the other.  I love these journal threads, especially yours.  Keep up the good work!

Yeah, that's what I figured with the KO/CO...put it in a spot with the best opportunity for it to survive and thrive.  If it lives, it lives...if it dies I'll put something else there.  In that spot I tried Dictyosperma Album/Rubrum, and they all died from the dips into the upper 20s and bud rot.  This one came back twice from defoliation without a spear pull, so I hope it'll work there.  As someone recently said, I "have a yard full of natural selection." 

Sometimes the "yard journal" threads are just long and I struggle to read through them, but ironically it's also where I found the most useful info about what works, what doesn't, and how people managed to get a palm to survive where it normally wouldn't...like your Cocos. 

[Merlyn]

And today I added one of the Syagrus Ruschiana to the SE side, to replace a dead Pandanus Utilis.  I decided that it made more sense to just plant the 4" pot from Floribunda rather than step it to a 1 gallon for the summer and then plant it in the fall.  On the left side is a ridiculously silvery Brahea Clara that I bought from TCHP a couple of years ago. 

[TropicalGardenSpain]

On 7/3/2023 at 4:54 PM, Merlyn said:

Thanks!  It's a lot of work to get it going, but after a couple of years of hard work it's finally growing in.  And most of my time and effort now is mostly "maintenance" like trimming, weeding, and replacing clogged sprinklers or regulators.  One big improvement in the last year or two was putting down a THICK layer of mulch.  Initially I tried to "save money" on mulch by putting down just enough to cover the dirt.  Weeds just grew right through it like it was some kind of fertilizer.  A true 2-3" layer really helped knock back the weed growth. 

The one huge effort last summer was the overgrown bamboo.  I've kept only three "big boos" in the yard: Dendrocalamus Latiflorus, Maroochy, and Maximuslamina.  These are (so far) relatively slow growers.  So while they may be 4" to 8" diameter culms when mature, they are only putting out 5 or so culms per year.  And I have them planted in a spot with a "drop zone" so I can cut and just let them fall in an open area of grass.  I'll just have to see if these become a problem over time.

The boos that became a nightmare were Bambusa Guangxiensis (3x bigger than advertised and not frost hardy), Dendrocalamus Minor Amoenus (tight clumper but rapid growth of 3-4" culms and 30+ foot diameter spreading top), Dendrocalamus Hamiltonii (rapid 4+ inch culms and flopped over in Hurricane Ian), and the worst was definitely Bambusa Maligensis with 30+ culms at a time and 3-4" diameter.  Many of these would be totally fine if I had the space for them, or if I didn't live in a hurricane zone.  Some of the others I removed because I felt that they would become a problem, such as Bambusa Pervariabilis x D. Daii #3, B. Cornigera, B. Lako (probably great in a frost-free area), B. Chungii (open clumper), B. Vulgaris Vittata, D. Bambusoides and D. Brandisii "Black" (burnt to the ground at 28F). 

I did remove B. Eutoldoides Viridi-Vittata "Asian Lemon" because it was a rapid grower even though it was only about 2-2.5" culms.  It was also relentless at growing lower branches, and made it impossible to keep the pathway clear.  This feature would probably make a good hedge.  Initially I liked the yellow culms, but from a distance the yellow sort of blends into the lime green leaves, and it just looked like it was generally unhealthy.  I think the big yellow culms (and no lower branches) of B. Vulgaris Vittata (Hawaiian Gold) look a lot better.

As far as lower maintenance boos go, I decided to stick to under 20' tall and 1" diameter maximum culm diameter.  My current total list is:

Bambusa Boniopsis - small but not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Cerosissima - unknown if it'll be 25' or up to 50'

Bambusa Glaucophylla Green - the bushlike larger green-leaf version, the typical one sold is the variegated one

Bambusa Multiplex "Fernleaf" - an experimental small one

Bambusa Nana (Quail large leaf clone) x Thyrsocalamus Liang - a large draping-leaf type 30' and 2" culms

Bambusa New Guinea Black - a smaller version like B. Lako but not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Suberecta "Jesse Durko" - a great variegated leaf boo, also not hardy under 30F

Bambusa Textilis "Ladyfinger" "Richard Waldron" - a tiny 10' tall dwarf

Bambusa Textilis "RG Dwarf" - similar to other tight clumping Textilis at 20' and up to 1.5" culms

Bambusa Tuldoides "Swollen Internode" - 20' 2.5" diameter claimed to "belly" like Vulgaris Wamin.  So far these are NOT bellying and I may trash them.

Bambusa vulgaris Wamin Striata (dwarf Buddha Belly) and Bambusa vulgaris Wamin (dwarf Buddha Belly) - my top choice for a low maintenance, but not hardy under 30F

Dendrocalamopsis variostriata - 12' 1" very tight clumper

Dendrocalamus Dumosus, D. Elegans and D. Longliensis - three similar 10-20' draping culm types but not hardy under 30F

Gigantochloa Luteostriata 4447 - 20' 0.75" with nice variegated leaves, also not hardy under 30F

Gigantochloa Malaysian Black - another smaller version like Lako, with big leaves and 20' max height, also not hardy under 30F

Thysanolaena Maxima – Tiger Grass - burned to the ground at 27F

Overall my lowest maintenance is Vulgaris Wamin "Dwarf Buddha Belly" just because it only grows about 5 culms per year and grows to about 15 feet tall.  But I only recently planted some of these.  Most are in the ground for a year or less, so it's hard to say if they'll become a problem or not.  One thing I'm definitely avoiding are "open clumpers" like Chungii.  In your area some of the "problem boos" might not be too bad, because the growth rate without high humidity and daily thunderstorms might not be too bad.  I'd still avoid B. Maligensis "Seabreeze" under any circumstances (except to cover acreage) but "aggressive growers" in Florida might be moderate growers in your area.

Thanks for the great info Merlyn, I will see if I can get my hands on any of those and give them a try for sure! Its more difficult here in Europe to find the sort of selection that you can get your hands on but if they are out there I am good at fining them 🤞🏻 

[Merlyn]

Today I moved a few things around in the backyard.  An Encephalartos Gratus (or Kisambo or possibly something else?) got defoliated the last two winters, so I moved it over to the SW side where it'll have a little bit more shelter.  So now it's hiding behind stuff in this fairly packed corner.  From L to R an Encephalartos Whitelockii crowding a "Whole Leaf" Elaeis Guineensis, with the Gratus hiding in the center at the opening in the hedge.  On the right a new blue-green flush on an unknown Cycas steals the show from a Cycas Guizhouensis in the bottom right, and an Arenga Engleri fills in the background right. 

It used to be in the back center, and I planted a variegated Schefflera Arboricola in that spot.  To the right of the Schefflera is a pair of Cycas Debaoensis (likely Multifrondis) and in the center background behind them is another Arenga Engleri that I moved from the front yard.  You can just see a white PVC pipe in the background, holding up a recently received Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Baronii from Floribunda.  This is sort of a "back row" near the Viburnum hedgeline:

Another move from the front yard is this Arenga Engleri, which was next to a Bismarck.  Even though Engleri isn't stabby, it was starting to become a real pain to mow past it.

As a super-hardy cluster with really beautiful silver-undersided leaves, it found a spot in the center back yard.  I'm not sure yet if this is the "tall form" or "wide form" but it should provide some shade for the Lady Palm (Rhapis Excelsa) just in front of it.  To the right background is a resprouting Thysanolaena Maxima (Tiger Grass) just behind a young Beccariophoenix Alfredii triple.  The Tiger Grass burned to the ground at Christmas 2022 with lows around 27F, so it is definitely not a hardy option.  But the Alfredii only took some leaf tip burn and is growing nicely.  This will (I hope) become a ridiculously huge center point in the future:

[Merlyn]

Here's a couple of other recent plantings.  Along the East pathway I replaced a dead Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Cabadae with my last Archontophoenix Maxima.  The Cabadae died after the Christmas 2022 freeze at about 27-28F with frost.  The shade grown leaves blanched and sunburned, but the new one is growing out pretty decent.

Just a few feet North of that one I transplanted my misidentified Elaeis Guineensis (actually it was a clustering Phoenix) and replaced it with an actual Elaeis Guineensis seedling.  This also blanched and burned a bit, but looks like it is going to grow out nicely:

And in the backyard next to my big Alfredii I planted a Cryosophila Warscewiczii (bottom left and a bit yellowed out) and a Cyphophoenix Nucele (upper edge with the yellow arrow):

[Merlyn]

Today I converted one popup sprinkler to a dripline regulator, and ran 1/2" tubing around the perimeter of my "tropical bed."  This was getting drenched for 15 minutes every morning with I think 4 spray-heads on a stick and 5 popups...probably 300-400 gallons every day just to grow an enormous amount of weeds.  Now it has about 15x 1gph drippers and 10x 2gph drippers...a total of 9 gallons of water per day targeting specific spots.  I do have one sprayer still running in the bottom left of the photo, this hits all the nursery pots.  I put down 5 cubic yards of mulch over the area to cut back on the weed growth.  I'm sure I'll need to rip out a bunch more of the arrowhead vine that was trying to dominate the bed.

At the corner the Dendrocalamus Elegans is starting to fill in nicely. 

And the centerpiece of this bed is the slightly lopsided-looking Bismarck.  I had to chop off a couple of fronds on the right side that were attempting to crush the pair of Spindle palms.  This palm was one of the very first I ever planted, around July 2018 from a 3 gallon big box store purchase.  It's definitely trunking now, but I haven't stripped off the old leaf bases to show it yet.  Though not super-fast it's pretty big for 5 years from a 3 gallon:

[Merlyn]

This week I did a lot of pruning, cleaning weeding and a few plantings, despite heat indexes routinely in the 110-125F range.  August is usually when I question the sanity of moving to Floriduh... 

I planted a couple of Archontophoenix on the West side of the yard ~1.5 years ago from "large seedlings."  On the left is a Maxima, and on the right is a double Cunninghamiana, theoretically.  I decided that these were just way too close to the Sabal Causiarum between them, with one big fan sticking up.

In the front yard I had an ultrastabby Phoenix cluster.  Last weekend it stabbed me for the last time.  I think I'm pretty much done with the entire Phoenix genus.  I can get poked by agaves, cacti, and pretty much any other palm species with no problems.  But if I get stabbed by a Phoenix it hurts for a week or more.  So on Sunday I dug it up and trashed it, and replaced it with the Cunninghamiana double on the right.  In the center is the Maxima, which replaced a Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Pembana double.  Behind them is a Ficus Auriculata that's going nuts:

 

And the Pembana ended up on the NE corner of the driveway, between a few Gaussia Princeps.  Those burned pretty bad this last winter but are slowly recovering:

[Merlyn]

On the other side of the now-giant Ficus Auriculata are a few new and older plantings.  On the left is the huge Spindle.  In the foreground center is a Beccariophoenix Fenestralis (from Neil at the CFPACS spring sale), and a transplanted Dioon Mejiae just to the right of it.  The Fenestralis is still not totally thrilled with full sun, and could probably use a little bit of iron supplement.  Just behind it is the Archontophoenix Alexandrae, hiding in partial shade under the edge of the Dwarf Cavendish bananas.  The Ficus Auriculata was burned to the ground in December 2022-January 2023, but is growing incredibly fast now.  Likewise the "Jesse Durko" bamboo on the upper right is now getting to be 10-15' tall:

I bought this "orange crownshaft" Euterpe Edulis from MB Palms at the Leu Gardens sale in March.  I planted it in full sun along the driveway on the NE side, but it just kept growing nice green leaves that matured to yellowed and sunburned.  I was hopeful that it'd acclimate, but after almost 6 months in the ground I moved it to a more shady area on the West side.  It'll still get PM sun, but isn't getting blasted all day next to the hot concrete:

Eric @ Leu said that they pretty much need moist acidic soil and some shade.  There's a lot of info on that palm here:

 

[Merlyn]

Last weekend I had to cut down a lot of Caryota Mitis trunks, which just weren't recovering from the Christmas 2022 3 day freeze.  I think the 20+ hours under freezing and barely hitting 50F for two whole days just did them in.  I honestly should have cut them down earlier, as one trunk looked very much like it had Thielaviopsis.  There's a good chance I'll have to remove this whole cluster.  Here it is with just 1 taller trunk still trying to grow a new spear.  Behind it is the largest Beccariophoenix Alfredii, which just had a few browned leaf tips from the same cold front:

And here's all the trunks I removed with my handy dandy battery powered reciprocating saw.  You can see one trunk in the center has a lot of rot.  This was taken a couple of hours after I cut them down, so they all look browned.  Most were white and appeared to be not infected when I cut them.  I'll just have to keep an eye on this and see if it survives: