Louisiana tropical landscape zone 9

[KsLouisiana]

Hey palm people! So we bought our house a little over a year ago here in Lake Charles, La zone 9.  And have been using the natural subtropical jungle feel of the area and putting a spin with different exotic things.  We get alot of rain and that helps but we have to struggle with some cold for a few months in the winter.  But I wanted to show off some of my favorite additions and if y'all have and tips of what we could ad that would be cool. Let me know what y'all think.

[kinzyjr]

@KsLouisiana Wonderful house and property!  Looks like the landscaping is off to a solid start.  Bottlebrush, Sabal palmetto, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Washingtonia robusta, Butia odorata, Bismarckia nobilis, and Phoenix roebellenii with the tall hardwoods and pines isn't all that different than what you mostly see here in Central Florida.  A few suggestions for things to try might be the a few of the Chamaedoreas (mircrospadix, radicalis, cataractarum, and costaricana are my picks), Arenga engleri, and Rhapis excelsa.

[KsLouisiana]

3 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

@KsLouisiana Wonderful house and property!  Looks like the landscaping is off to a solid start.  Bottlebrush, Sabal palmetto, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Washingtonia robusta, Butia odorata, Bismarckia nobilis, and Phoenix roebellenii with the tall hardwoods and pines isn't all that different than what you mostly see here in Central Florida.  A few suggestions for things to try might be the a few of the Chamaedoreas (mircrospadix, radicalis, cataractarum, and costaricana are my picks), Arenga engleri, and Rhapis excelsa.

Thanks man! It's definitely not too far from that. I love that area and it's a big inspiration for my yard. So we've had alot of luck with the bismarckia doing good but have had trouble with queen palms. No idea why. They do great around here. We also planted more live oaks, cypress, pines, and citrus. I appreciate the advice. I will definitely give those a look!

[KsLouisiana]

Had to show off Kip since he enjoys the yard as much as anyone 

[kinzyjr]

11 minutes ago, KsLouisiana said:

Thanks man! It's definitely not too far from that. I love that area and it's a big inspiration for my yard. So we've had alot of luck with the bismarckia doing good but have had trouble with queen palms. No idea why. They do great around here. We also planted more live oaks, cypress, pines, and citrus. I appreciate the advice. I will definitely give those a look!

Welcome!  Another Central Florida hardy favorite would be the Livistona genus.  In particular, Livistona chinensis and Livistona decora would probably do well.  If you're looking for a crownshaft palm to try under canopy, give Archontophoenix cunninghamiana a roll of the dice.  Queen palms are like that since they tend to be nutrient hogs.  How does Chamaerops humilis do there?

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

30 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

A few suggestions for things to try might be the a few of the Chamaedoreas (mircrospadix, radicalis, cataractarum, and costaricana are my picks), Arenga engleri, and Rhapis excelsa.

Kinzyjr is spot on with these suggestions. I'll plant 2 bizzies to every queen I might even think about planting =) Also any of the Butia hybrids from Patric should be tried !!! 

T J 

[KsLouisiana]

11 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Welcome!  Another Central Florida hardy favorite would be the Livistona genus.  In particular, Livistona chinensis and Livistona decora would probably do well.  If you're looking for a crownshaft palm to try under canopy, give Archontophoenix cunninghamiana a roll of the dice.  Queen palms are like that since they tend to be nutrient hogs.  How does Chamaerops humilis do there?

Okay I forgot those. I have 2 small Livistona Chinensis that I planted on the edge of the woods in shady areas. I see them doing great around town. So I'm excited to watch it all grow this summer. I also have a Cunninghamiana in a pot that I will plant when it gets bigger. I also planted a Chamaerops humilis just a month ago. They all seem to grow great here

[Tropicdoc]

18 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

@KsLouisiana Wonderful house and property!  Looks like the landscaping is off to a solid start.  Bottlebrush, Sabal palmetto, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Washingtonia robusta, Butia odorata, Bismarckia nobilis, and Phoenix roebellenii with the tall hardwoods and pines isn't all that different than what you mostly see here in Central Florida.  A few suggestions for things to try might be the a few of the Chamaedoreas (mircrospadix, radicalis, cataractarum, and costaricana are my picks), Arenga engleri, and Rhapis excelsa.

Agreed. I am in Houma and have these species in a jungle area under a large live oak. They do well, I have Trachycarpus martianus which is also cool and looks nicer than fortunei IMO. Rhapis is spreading pretty good from a potted plant. Plant some golden pothos to climb the tree in summer for instant tropical look. They should come back every spring. I have a Sabal bermudana which is doing great also. Looks a bit nicer than palmetto.

[amh]

You are off to a great start. Anything in the Sabal genus with the various hardy Chamaedoreas mentioned earlier will work. Various cold hardy cycads will look good too. Non palm natives that will add to a tropical look are Passiflora incarnata, Asimina triloba, and Asimina parviflora.

[Dartolution]

@KsLouisiana Good looking start!
If you like tropical gardening consider incorporating various hardy gingers like Hedychium, Alpinia, and Curcumas ... can't go wrong there! 

Also - don't forget elephant ears - colocasia come in many cultivars with colors and patterns to choose from. Should love the rainfall over there as long as you feed them! 

 

[KsLouisiana]

8 hours ago, Tropicdoc said:

Agreed. I am in Houma and have these species in a jungle area under a large live oak. They do well, I have Trachycarpus martianus which is also cool and looks nicer than fortunei IMO. Rhapis is spreading pretty good from a potted plant. Plant some golden pothos to climb the tree in summer for instant tropical look. They should come back every spring. I have a Sabal bermudana which is doing great also. Looks a bit nicer than palmetto.

Awesome.  Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about putting a pothos on that big oak tree. I see them around and looking good. And I will for sure look into a sabal bermudana. I planted a sabal causiarium last year and the leaves all frozen at 26 degrees. That was a bit surprising. It's pretty small though.

[KsLouisiana]

7 hours ago, amh said:

You are off to a great start. Anything in the Sabal genus with the various hardy Chamaedoreas mentioned earlier will work. Various cold hardy cycads will look good too. Non palm natives that will add to a tropical look are Passiflora incarnata, Asimina triloba, and Asimina parviflora.

Thank ya. I have a sago palm that I found on the road that someone was throwing away... that's doing great but I'm not sure what other kinds of cycads would do well here.

[Xenon]

2 minutes ago, KsLouisiana said:

Awesome.  Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about putting a pothos on that big oak tree. I see them around and looking good. And I will for sure look into a sabal bermudana. I planted a sabal causiarium last year and the leaves all frozen at 26 degrees. That was a bit surprising. It's pretty small though.

Better yet, get a Monstera deliciosa! It's slightly hardier and the leaves will get huuuugeee. 100% root hardy too 

[KsLouisiana]

7 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@KsLouisiana Good looking start!
If you like tropical gardening consider incorporating various hardy gingers like Hedychium, Alpinia, and Curcumas ... can't go wrong there! 

Also - don't forget elephant ears - colocasia come in many cultivars with colors and patterns to choose from. Should love the rainfall over there as long as you feed them! 

 

Lots of good info. Gingers definitely will be a great addition.  There are some green gingers around town that stay looking good all winter. I definitely need to track some down.  We have elephant ears that grow in the ditches here and they're great but I need to plant some giant one. Thanks man

[Dartolution]

@KsLouisiana Thats very surprising about the causiarum. I have seedlings in 4" pots on the patio that got down to 19F this past winter here. Only 1 of the 6 defoliated. The others stayed green and had no issue. I've since given most away but kept a couple for myself to plant one day. 

It seems that there is a good bit of variability in cold hardiness with some being defoliated or killed, others not really caring, and some showing intermediate signs of cold damage. 

 

[Kentuckypalms]

Many causiarum are mislabeled as domingensis which isnt as hardy

[Joe NC]

10 hours ago, KsLouisiana said:

18 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@KsLouisiana Good looking start!
If you like tropical gardening consider incorporating various hardy gingers like Hedychium, Alpinia, and Curcumas ... can't go wrong there! 

Also - don't forget elephant ears - colocasia come in many cultivars with colors and patterns to choose from. Should love the rainfall over there as long as you feed them! 

 

Lots of good info. Gingers definitely will be a great addition.  There are some green gingers around town that stay looking good all winter. I definitely need to track some down.  We have elephant ears that grow in the ditches here and they're great but I need to plant some giant one. Thanks man

If you cant easily find any of the purely ornamental gingers, standard grocery store ginger is a decent tropical feeling plant.  Also... Asian markets and higher end grocery stores are a good source of turmeric and even galangal roots to grow. 

[amh]

14 hours ago, KsLouisiana said:

Thank ya. I have a sago palm that I found on the road that someone was throwing away... that's doing great but I'm not sure what other kinds of cycads would do well here.

Dioon edule, Cycas taitungensis, Cycas panzhihuaensis, Cycas debaoensis, Cycas guizhouensis, hybrids, Macrozamia communis, Zamia floridana, Zamia angustifoloa, Ceratozamia hildae, Ceratozamia kuesteriana, and probably a lot more. Getting into cycads, like palms can lead to obsession, so be warned.

[KsLouisiana]

On 4/22/2022 at 9:39 AM, Centraltxpalm said:

Many causiarum are mislabeled as domingensis which isnt as hardy

I was wondering if that was the case :/

[KsLouisiana]

On 4/22/2022 at 9:29 AM, Dartolution said:

@KsLouisiana Thats very surprising about the causiarum. I have seedlings in 4" pots on the patio that got down to 19F this past winter here. Only 1 of the 6 defoliated. The others stayed green and had no issue. I've since given most away but kept a couple for myself to plant one day. 

It seems that there is a good bit of variability in cold hardiness with some being defoliated or killed, others not really caring, and some showing intermediate signs of cold damage. 

 

Thanks for the info. I'm just going to let it get bigger and hopefully one day ot will be tougher and make it through a little bit of cold.

[KsLouisiana]

Thank y'all for all your great advice and help. Today we're working on the landscape adding some plumbago and oleander....maybe some agapanthus.  I have another question. So we planted a sabal palm last October and it has a couple leaves on it. I was wondering if now would be an appropriate time to fertilize it or if I should hold off a while? What would y'all do?

[Dartolution]

I see no reason why not to go ahead and apply a fertilizer. Nutrient uptake is highest at the newest roots, so applying a good palm fertilizer a little out from the base and watering thoroughly will likely aid in recovery. Just my 2-cents. 

[ZPalms]

I can't remember if you updated it or not but did that sabal you pulled from a ditch ever survive?

[Little Tex]

24 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I can't remember if you updated it or not but did that sabal you pulled from a ditch ever survive?

its the last photo in the first post

[ZPalms]

2 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

its the last photo in the first post

Oh wow thanks! It really made a recovery, I didn't even recognize it! Love to see it! 

Edited April 25, 2022 by ZPalms

[KsLouisiana]

On 4/24/2022 at 9:37 PM, Dartolution said:

I see no reason why not to go ahead and apply a fertilizer. Nutrient uptake is highest at the newest roots, so applying a good palm fertilizer a little out from the base and watering thoroughly will likely aid in recovery. Just my 2-cents. 

Awesome! Will do. Thanks for the tips man!