companion plants for palms

[Gbarce]

I am just beginning with palms - particularly the understory/ shaded area varieties.

Along with palms I have shade loving plants particulartly birds nest ferns that have somewhat mutated from the normal.

What other plants do Palm enthusiasts enjoy growing?

[Gbarce]

another angle

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Nothing but palms...  anything else is palm-blasphemy!

[Gbarce]

close up of a birds nest fern

[Gbarce]

Oops ok.  New to the forum.

Haven't been broken in.

HEHE

My bad.

[Kim]

Hey, not so fast!  There are palm collectors (obviously PiousPalms is one ) and palm gardeners -- those who create a complete garden around palms.  Your ferns are a fine complement to your palms, keep up the good work.  

Other kinds of plants to include:  Cordylines (ti plants), crotons, bromeliads, ensetes and musas, colorful foliage plants such as Strobilanthes dyerianus, Setcreasia pallida, and Rhoeo spathacea; cannas, orchids, tropical flowering vines, tropical flowering trees, and in dryer climates, succulents and cacti.  All these merely serve to show off the palms to their best advantage.

My palms are still small, too; we must amuse ourselves with something while they slowly grow:  look down the list for the post "Newly planted C. gigas" for examples.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

OK, OK... I'll take it easy on ya cause yer a newcomer...  ::  WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!!  

As far as other plants, I must admit there are a whole plethera of other plants that are beautiful...  I just don't know a thing about them!

[TikiRick]

I have an affinity toward low growing plants that enjoy the same typical environment of the palms planted around them. As my palms have gotten up in size, they provide the perfect filtered light for crotons, bromeliads, and philodendrons.

I use "seasonal" plants such as coleus and other flowering annuals to compliment the palms during the specific times of year.

All in all, it is what you enjoy and what works for your environment. Many of my palms need damp soil, so cacti, for example, would not be a good match.

[Peter]

I'm partial to Begonias and Aroids.

[Mike4284m]

What type of variegated banana do you have there?

[Gbarce]

Don't really know the type of banana.  I think it's just a local banana in the philippines.  The vendor didn't know either  she just noticed a mother plant was producing variegated children and just tooke care of them to sell.

[Gileno Machado]

Hi Gbarce, welcome to this Forum.

Your garden looks very nice. I guess most palms will look perfect among the nice plants you have. I also like the contrast with colourful folliage, like crotons and also other flowering plants...and don't forget the cycads !!

It's great to have someone from the Phillippines posting here...keep the nice pictures from your garden and from your country coming...

[corkycory]

bamboo,cycads, pulmerias, ferns, weeds, lucky(fake) bamboo, pepper trees, uhh do bananas count. actually i dont necessarily enjoy growing or purposely grow all of those other plants but they are mixed in with my palms.

[chris.oz]

Gene,

It so happens I am currently in the Philippines.   In Manila, I heard there is a good botanical garden at the Zoo.  Is this so ?  If so I will go there when I pass through Manila on Sunday.

You can add a range of Bromeliads to your garden.  They grow well in your climate,  which at the moment is really hot and humid.

[Tyrone]

Gene, You're in Manila. You can go nuts with almost any plant you want in your garden. Don't forget Heliconia's. You should be able to grow every one of the few hundred species. And bamboos' yeah. Try the Timor Black. Awesome. If you've got the space Dendrocalamus giganteus. That's a bamboo that you can see from the space shuttle its so big. If you haven't already, go and get yourself a Lipstick palm, Cyrtostachys renda. Once you get one you'll want a hundred.

Gene your climate, rainfall etc is what most of us board members only dream about.

Welcome to the board.

best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Very nice.  Ferns look right at home with palms.  Crotons are my personal favorite palm companion.

[palmmermaid]

Very nice!

Most of my palms are still small but some are now getting some size on them.  I plant begonias, all sorts of aroids, ferns, and bromeliads underneath my palms.  Sometimes I leave the bromeliads in pots if it is in a wet area.  That way they don't get their feet wet.  I can plant succulents around some in the dry areas of my yard - near my drainfield and up on the mound where my house is.  Then I have a couple of areas that are very wet and I use something for that area.  I have a Rhafia and a royal in that area along with plants that like it wet.  I also have a small clump of pines with 5 Gaussia mayas planted underneath and then begonias underneath the Gaussias.  I like the varying heights.

I don't have much shade but have planted some canopy trees to provide shade.  They just aren't too big yet.  I just put in a rain tree that is growing very rapidly.  I have a wild tamarind that is pretty good size now and am mounting orchids and bromeliads on it.  And a gumbo limbo that is finally getting some size.  My husband is planting a small stand of pines this afternoon and I may put in a small stand of mahoganies.  Both of these are native and require little care.  Then I can really go to town with my shade loving palms and companion plants.

[Really full garden]

I like to plant my palms in plant communities.This saves water and fertiliser and time.Try to combine plants that have similar needs,for example Bottle palms and the bromeliad Aechmea blanchetiana look great together and dont need a great deal of water.The other extreme is the Sealing wax palm under planted with crinum lilies - they thrive in very wet situations.

                                                                      Scott

[FossilNypa]

Hi,

A lot of monocots go well with palms, such as bananas, heliconias, bromeliads. Also ferns and some other plants.

Here is a pic of a palm with bromeliads

[cobra2326]

tikirick, if you like philodendrons, you should try monstera deliciosa.  Less hardy, but in my opinion way cooler and far less popular than typical philodendrons.  Also called windowleaf.

[el-blanco]

Alocasia and Coloccasia are what I like to plant THEN bromeliads, philodedron xanadu, gingers, heliconia, grasses such as mondo and golden liriope.  Throw in some cyatheas and a few trees such as meryta peter-griffithensis (don't ask).  Cannas for instant bang and fast growth and you have yourself a party!

The ferns you have look nice!

Jeff

[mppalms]

I'm trying to mix in some Aloes (tree, shrub, and creeping types like Aloe dichotoma, dawei, and rubroviolacea) in some of the drier locations.

The other suggestions seem good as well.  I'm trying out Heliconia scheidiana and bourgeana (the latter just seedlings at this stage).  H. scheidiana took our January temps with very little damage to the leaves.

Jason

[Kevin]

I was smitten by the palm bug at first sight. Not the insect- the desire to grow and possess any and all palm trees. When I first got my house,  I was more concerned with getting my palms out of their pots and into the ground than emptying the furniture from the moving truck. Nonetheless, about 3 years ago I woke up one fine day and realized... I can't and must not under any circumstances eat my palm trees. As a result, I also grow peaches, plums, bananas, nectarines, lemons, limes, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, papayas, mangoes and kumquats. The palms are now I beleive are quite safe.