Is my Dypsis decipiens too close to my house?

[bar]

Hi All,

I have a Dypsis decipiens that is three and a half feet from the house.  It's very small now, but the leaves are starting to grow.  It's been there about three years.  Can I leave it there, I should I move it while I still have the chance?

Thanks!

[Darold Petty]

I would leave it alone, I believe that this species has a reputation for being 'root sensitive'.  One was grown this close to the house wall in Modesto to a height of  several feet of trunk.  Where is the heel, relative to the wall?  The increasing diameter of the trunk will move away from this fixed point.  If the heel is closest to the wall, then the palm will move a bit outward.

[Jim in Los Altos]

I’ve got lots of palms closer to my house than that and I’ve never had a problem. Each palm has grown out slightly away from the wall and has cleared the eaves, barely. 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jim in Los Altos

[Palm Tree Jim]

Jim,

That's close!

[Looking Glass]

“Can I grow a palm this close to my house?”

Palm Lovers Forum:  “Sure!  Look at these pics of Roystonea Regis I planted in my rain gutters.”

Homebuilders, Roofers, and Foundation Forum: “Probably not the best idea.”   

[doubravsky]

I've got a Dypsis Decipiens that's just starting to trunk - planted about the same space from the house as yours. The fronds do get super long.... but I'd leave it and let it grow

 

 

 

[Tracy]

15 hours ago, bar said:

I have a Dypsis decipiens that is three and a half feet from the house.  It's very small now, but the leaves are starting to grow.  It's been there about three years.  Can I leave it there, I should I move it while I still have the chance?

 

13 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I would leave it alone, I believe that this species has a reputation for being 'root sensitive'.  One was grown this close to the house wall in Modesto to a height of  several feet of trunk.  Where is the heel, relative to the wall?  The increasing diameter of the trunk will move away from this fixed point.  If the heel is closest to the wall, then the palm will move a bit outward.

Since I agree with Darold on attempting to move it, but still have concerns about the proximity to the house for such a large growing species, which will have very heavy leaves someday when they drop, there is an intermediate solution.  Leave it in place and plant a second one in case you later decide that this one is placed too close to the house.  While you can grow some things close to the house, older fronds that press up to the house tend to be great places for mold to proliferate unseen on the back sides of the leaflets which results in unsightly mold.  If you ever have to tent your house for termites, expect damage from both the physical process of tenting as well as potential gassing of the roots.  As Jim demonstrated above, you can get by with some palms close to the house, but go into it knowing that you may wish it is further back at some point in time.  I have some two story high 25 year old Howeas and an extremely slow growing Hedyscepe canterburyana planted much as Jim has shown above, but I do wish that I had planted them further back from the house now.  The one that I'm really wishing I had planted further from the house though is my Dypsis robusta for the very reasons I identified above about leaf drop as it gets bigger.

[doubravsky]

Hmmm.. "plant another one a little further away"......  I LIKE IT! 

 

My Terminix guy, who tells me every 3 months "you shouldn't have all those palms touching the house" just rolls his eyes when I say "thanks".  Interestingly, I had to be tented 5 years ago.... didn't have any root gassing problems... just some leaf damage from them putting the tent up. 

[bar]

Okay then.  Sounds like the consensus is that it stays.  I am not too concerned with the leaves hitting the house. I'll trim the ends as necessary.  Since they would be to the back of the view of the palm, I don't think that will be a problem.  I really can't see the heel on it.  But my guess is since this is a south facing wall, it will likely grow away from it and towards the sun anyway.  I was mostly concerned that there would be issues with the foundation of the house.  I've seen people with Washingtonias growing way too close, considering how thick their trunks get.  Wahingtonias grow so fast that you can hear them squeak! (That's from an old saying, "The corn grows so fast you can hear it squeak.")

Gee Jim now that's close to the house! 

Thank you all for your input.  I have three more D. decipiens near my pond.  I think that the pond will look great with those around it as they begin to get taller.   

Bruce

 

[KDubU]

10 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I’ve got lots of palms closer to my house than that and I’ve never had a problem. Each palm has grown out slightly away from the wall and has cleared the eaves, barely. 

 

 

Unbelievable close and unbelievable palms! Very nice. Can I ask Jim how long you have been at this? Stunning yard.

[Jim in Los Altos]

11 hours ago, KDubU said:

Unbelievable close and unbelievable palms! Very nice. Can I ask Jim how long you have been at this? Stunning yard.

Kyle, Most of the transformation from average landscape to tropical started twenty years ago and has been in constant evolution since. Here are a few shots of parts of the lansdscape. Sorry everyone that this is off topic. 

 

 

[KDubU]

Tks Jim! Stunning and my fault for going OT. Sorry.

[chad2468emr]

@Jim in Los Altos WOW - just.... wow. That is the dream. Someday..... haha. This exact aesthetic / arrangement is what I’ve always visualized my future yard looking like. Zero grass to fuss over, paths in stone, water features with fish, tons of tropicals filling in the gaps, everything growing in juuuuust right to where it looks like it was MEANT to be there and placed perfectly. 

What tips would you instill on someone hunting for a house at this point in time? (AKA ME, haha) Anything you’d wished you’d taken into consideration? Any feature / shape / structure of the base landscape you wish you’d had but didn’t? Anything you’d learned along the way as things got going that you’d wished you already knew prior? 

[Jan Jo]

8 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Kyle, Most of the transformation from average landscape to tropical started twenty years ago and has been in constant evolution since. Here are a few shots of parts of the lansdscape. Sorry everyone that this is off topic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really love these pics, it's exactly the kind of garden I'm trying to work towards!! 

How did you get that lean on the archontophoenix?? Simply planted at an angle? Or did it get almost blown over and then recover? 

Jan Jo

[bar]

That's such a great garden!  Sort of like my plan for the future in my garden.  I'm about halfway there.  Used queen palms for a quick start, shade and canopy.  Now I'm working on more marginal palms, shade lovers, and nonpalm tropical look plants, such as Philodendron selloum,  Monstera deliciousa, Schefflera.  and orchids!  Clivia work really well as an understory plant, and their leaves are attractive even when plants aren't in flower.  If anyone knows where to get a reasonably priced Philodendron evansii, please let me know!  

Bruce

[Darold Petty]

Jim has,  easily,  the best palm garden in northern California.    

[Ben in Norcal]

45 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

Jim has,  easily,  the best palm garden in northern California.    

You are too modest, Darold.  Jim's is larger but you both have spectacular gardens!

[Jim in Los Altos]

13 hours ago, Jan Jo said:

Really love these pics, it's exactly the kind of garden I'm trying to work towards!! 

How did you get that lean on the archontophoenix?? Simply planted at an angle? Or did it get almost blown over and then recover? 

Jan Jo

Jan, I dug up the Archontophoenix in question when it had a few feet of woody trunk and replanted it at an angle to get a bit of a coconut look to it. We don’t get wind anywhere near strong enough to blow over a palm here. It took a few years to achieve the curve after the initial shock of being dug up. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

10 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Jim has,  easily,  the best palm garden in northern California.    

Thank you Darold. The garden gives me as much joy as I’m sure yours does. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

15 hours ago, chad2468emr said:

@Jim in Los Altos WOW - just.... wow. That is the dream. Someday..... haha. This exact aesthetic / arrangement is what I’ve always visualized my future yard looking like. Zero grass to fuss over, paths in stone, water features with fish, tons of tropicals filling in the gaps, everything growing in juuuuust right to where it looks like it was MEANT to be there and placed perfectly. 

What tips would you instill on someone hunting for a house at this point in time? (AKA ME, haha) Anything you’d wished you’d taken into consideration? Any feature / shape / structure of the base landscape you wish you’d had but didn’t? Anything you’d learned along the way as things got going that you’d wished you already knew prior? 

Chad, The only thing I wish I had is more land. My garden is palm saturated and there are so many other species I would plant if I had more room. My house is on 1/4 acre so, with patios, paths, 16’ x 36’ pond, and house, I’m lucky to have as many palm species (about 110) and total number of palms (300) that I do. The other thing I wish is that more of my palms were self cleaning. Many are but many aren’t and the OCD in me is aggevated when certain palms are displaying brown old fronds that require a tree service to remove due to the palm’s heights but it’s too soon to have a crew over. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

9 hours ago, Ben in Norcal said:

You are too modest, Darold.  Jim's is larger but you both have spectacular gardens!

Ben, Don’t be modest. Your garden is incredible. 

[chad2468emr]

On 4/18/2021 at 12:35 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

Chad, The only thing I wish I had is more land. My garden is palm saturated and there are so many other species I would plant if I had more room. My house is on 1/4 acre so, with patios, paths, 16’ x 36’ pond, and house, I’m lucky to have as many palm species (about 110) and total number of palms (300) that I do. The other thing I wish is that more of my palms were self cleaning. Many are but many aren’t and the OCD in me is aggevated when certain palms are displaying brown old fronds that require a tree service to remove due to the palm’s heights but it’s too soon to have a crew over. 

If you can do THAT with 1/4 an acre, I feel very encouraged haha. 

[BayAndroid]

5 hours ago, chad2468emr said:

If you can do THAT with 1/4 an acre, I feel very encouraged haha. 

Think of it this way, it's much easier to fill a smaller lot (and more budget friendly) than to fill a larger lot.