Fastest USDA zone 10A screening hedge?

[Sandy Loam]

For Florida (USA), what might be the fastest-growing (non-invasive) screening hedge in USDA zone 10a?  Do you advise against Ficus Nitida and/or Ficus Microcarpa?  I am hoping for about 8-10 feet of height.          

 

 

[kinzyjr]

9 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

For Florida (USA), what might be the fastest-growing (non-invasive) screening hedge in USDA zone 10a?  Do you advise against Ficus Nitida and/or Ficus Microcarpa?  I am hoping for about 8-10 feet of height.         

There are a lot of options, but my favorite is Podocarpus.  Ficus microcarpa gets pretty darn large in Winter Haven - especially around Lake Howard.

[Silas_Sancona]

Ficus could work,  -if you have the space,  and where they are planted won't mess up irrigation, water, or other utility lines since ficus roots are very aggressive.  They can also drop a lot of fruit, even pruned specimens.  Sea Grape, Wax Myrtle , and some other leafy natives could work as a faster growing screen, and won't be as aggressive. 

[Sandy Loam]

Thanks.  How fast-growing are Clusia Guttifera and Eugenia Uniflora (Surinam cherry) when grown into a tall hedge? 

[Sandy Loam]

2 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

There are a lot of options, but my favorite is Podocarpus.  Ficus microcarpa gets pretty darn large in Winter Haven - especially around Lake Howard.

 

Thank you.   I don't know about central Florida,  but up at my other home in Gainesville,  the podocarpus hedge was a slow grower,  even in full sun.   By comparison,  my viburnum hedges grew like lightning unless they were shaded.  However,  my viburnum kept getting botryspora fungus,  so I would like to avoid it from now on. 

 

[Sandy Loam]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Ficus could work,  -if you have the space,  and where they are planted won't mess up irrigation, water, or other utility lines since ficus roots are very aggressive.  They can also drop a lot of fruit, even pruned specimens.  Sea Grape, Wax Myrtle , and some other leafy natives could work as a faster growing screen, and won't be as aggressive. 

Thank you.  I was under the impression that seagrape took a while to grow into a full hedge,  and has to be grown quite thick to achieve a screen (taking up space).  Am I mistaken? 

 

[Sandy Loam]

... And an ixora hedge won't grow very tall,  will it? ..... or fast either? 

[ahosey01]

In your climate Celtis pallida will grow fairly quickly (not like Ficus though) and there is literally no better screen.

USDA says there is a native population in southwestern Florida.

[Merlyn]

12 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Thank you.  I was under the impression that seagrape took a while to grow into a full hedge,  and has to be grown quite thick to achieve a screen (taking up space).  Am I mistaken?

Here in 9B/9A borderline the seagrapes burn to the ground every year.  If you are generally above freezing as a low, or without frost, then it'll probably be evergreen for you.  Mine go from roots to a full 8' tall hedge in 1 summer.  If you bought a few 3g plants spaced 6' apart they'd grow pretty solid in 1 season.  Here's mine today, regrown to about 3-6' tall from the roots after ~27F and frost at the end of January.  I am weed killing and grass (er...weeds) mowing this weekend for sure!

Another option is thin culm bananas.   The "Zebrina" clump on the left was also burned to the ground, but is much more full and dense.  The pseudostems are only about 1.5" diameter, so they are really easy to cut out if you want.  Another option is "Bordelon," which is also a skinny trunk ornamental banana with maroon undersides and deep green tops on the leaves.  Zebrina gets to about 8-10', and Bordelon may reach around 12' :

[Silas_Sancona]

13 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

... And an ixora hedge won't grow very tall,  will it? ..... or fast either? 

I recall seeing a few " taller" Ixora hedges around Clearwater when out doing maintenance, but most were no taller than roughly 6'.  Pretty sure the tall ones were the smaller-leaved / red / orange - flowered variety,  vs. the large leaved types like Ixo. X " Nora  Grant".                                                                                             Suriname  Cherry could work as a hedge too, but noticed ones i'd see around always looked thin rather than full, esp. really tall ones...  Simpson's Stopper, ...and other Stoppers like White, Spanish, and/ or Red / Redberry seemed like they filled out better / fuller ...All produce fruit, but the native Stoppers / Eugenia aren't nearly as messy as Suriname Cherries.                                                                                         Barbados Cherry would make a nice hedge though. Really good fruit ( esp. compared to Suriname Cherries, many non-selected specimens anyway... ) Plus the nice flowers that will appear on occasionally trimmed specimens are an added bonus.  Pretty fast grower / non- aggressive root system ( compared to Ficus sp. ) too.                                                                                                      Clusia would be great for something informal, screen-wise, but don't fill out quite dense enough for a more formal screen... ( Even though big specimens planted close together look pretty neat ) Even the small leaved variety, which is denser than the big leaved types, never looked right as a taller screen / hedge.   Remember I had to trim the larger leaved varieties carefully or they' d throw new growth that wanted to grow on some wonky manner, rather than where I' d wanted.                                                                                        If you want something that will add a nice show of flowers at some point during the year, and is denser / lush looking, all year, Calliandra haematocephala ( Red flowering ) or C. surinamensis ( Pink flowering ) would be a fast growing ...and dense ( once trained ) option.                                                                                  Typical cold snaps there shouldn't bother C. harmatocephala which grows like a weed in cooler winter ( ...than Central FL. ) S. Cal.  C. surinamensis might be a little more cold sensitive, but not by much.  Should be fine there.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
Edit

[Xenon]

Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) makes a great screen and is fast growing. The tricolor variegated form has very showy foliage. 

Some of the older/more vigorous tropical Hibiscus like 'President' and 'Pride of Hankins' would work. Even better would be H. schizopetalus hybrids like 'Archeri' and 'Albo Lacinatus'. 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Xenon

[Silas_Sancona]

8 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) makes a great screen and is fast growing. The tricolor variegated form has very showy foliage. 

Some of the older/more vigorous tropical Hibiscus like 'President' and 'Pride of Hankins' would work. Even better would be H. schizopetalus hybrids like 'Archeri' and 'Albo Lacinatus'. 

 

Mahoe / Sea Hibiscus looks " ok"  as a trimmed screen.   Much better as something informal / more natural / / occasionally trimmed.                                                                                            Old, tall standard Hibiscus? ...never looked good.  They might look alright for a couple years after installation, but always became a mass of sticks w/ minimal leaf cover, other than at the top, and sickly after awhile.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Besides abused arbicola, continuously pruned / abused Hibiscus were the most commonly  requested "bush"  clients would ask us to replace  - with something nicer.

[Merlyn]

I like the Hibiscus flowers, but the continual whitefly infestations were a mess for one of my neighbors.  He chopped them out and replaced them with Viburnum. 

[kinzyjr]

19 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Thank you.   I don't know about central Florida,  but up at my other home in Gainesville,  the podocarpus hedge was a slow grower,  even in full sun.   By comparison,  my viburnum hedges grew like lightning unless they were shaded.  However,  my viburnum kept getting botryspora fungus,  so I would like to avoid it from now on.

You're welcome.  In regard to sea grapes and podocarpus growth rates:

May 10th, 2018

October 10th, 2019

October 19th, 2020

May 5th, 2021

April 27th, 2022 - "inside the box"

Going to be an interesting tour in October

[amh]

Tithonia diversifolia(sterile) and or Manihot esculenta could work and should be readily available in Florida. Do you want formal or informal? Reason for the hedge?

[Sandy Loam]

12 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

In your climate Celtis pallida will grow fairly quickly (not like Ficus though) and there is literally no better screen.

USDA says there is a native population in southwestern Florida.

Thanks.  Will it grow tall?  Is it easy to shape with pruning sheers? 

[Sandy Loam]

42 minutes ago, amh said:

Tithonia diversifolia(sterile) and or Manihot esculenta could work and should be readily available in Florida. Do you want formal or informal? Reason for the hedge?

Thanks.  Purpose: to screen out neighbours and passers-by on the street.  

I prefer formal hedges,  such as the giant ficus hedges that are common down in South Florida.  However,  I understand that people are replacing them due to pests or fungus attacking them in the Miami area.  Ideally, I would like to be able to shape it with pruning sheers. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Sandy Loam

[Silas_Sancona]

24 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Thanks.  Will it grow tall?  Is it easy to shape with pruning sheers? 

Can reach 15' but is a very rangy / open grower...ie:  not easy to shape.  Never see them used as a formal screen / hedge here.  Planted mainly as something to attract birds. Very spiny too and certain Butterflies that use it as a host plant will strip it clean of foliage mid summer.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
Edit

[Sandy Loam]

5 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Can reach 15' but is a very rangy / open grower...ie:  not easy to shape.  Never see them used as a formal screen / hedge here.  Planted mainly as something to attract birds. Very spiny too and certain Butterflies that use it as a host plant will strip it clean of foliage mid summer.

OK thanks.   Since it cannot be shaped into a formal hedge,  I don't think it will quite work.  Thanks anyways though! 

[amh]

18 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Thanks.  Purpose: to screen out neighbours and passers-by on the street.  

I prefer formal hedges,  such as the giant ficus hedges that are common down in South Florida.  However,  I understand that people are replacing them due to pests or fungus attacking them in the Miami area.  Ideally, I would like to be able to shape it with pruning sheers. 

Okay, another question would be how big of an area, especially depth?

[amh]

Syzygium smithii might work depending on availability. A lot of the myrtle family makes for great hedges.

[Silas_Sancona]

26 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

OK thanks.   Since it cannot be shaped into a formal hedge,  I don't think it will quite work.  Thanks anyways though! 

I'd post some pictures of what they look like but laptop is in the shop tonight.   Regardless, if you look it up,  or what it is called now ( Celtis ehrenbergiana ) you'll see what I mean.  Nice small tree, but not a good hedge /  screen candidate.

[Sandy Loam]

1 hour ago, amh said:

Okay, another question would be how big of an area, especially depth?

It's a large area around the edge of the lot,  but I still don't want the hedge to get wider than three feet or possibly four feet at most.  The wider the privacy hedge,  the more it eats away at valuable lawn space.  

[amh]

1 minute ago, Sandy Loam said:

It's a large area around the edge of the lot,  but I still don't want the hedge to get wider than three feet or possibly four feet at most.  The wider the privacy hedge,  the more it eats away at valuable lawn space.  

Okay, if you don't mind a deeper area you could do a layered hedge, but I understand.

[Sandy Loam]

One revision: To err on the side of caution, I would like to plant a zone 9b hedge instead of a zone 10a hedge.  Does that change any of the recommendations made here so far?  

 

Thank you for all of the input. 

[kinzyjr]

5 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

One revision: To err on the side of caution, I would like to plant a zone 9b hedge instead of a zone 10a hedge.  Does that change any of the recommendations made here so far? 

Thank you for all of the input. 

Podocarpus is hardy to zone 8.  Sea grapes handle high 9b well.  Basically, anything in my yard should be fine in yours as well.

[Silas_Sancona]

9 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

One revision: To err on the side of caution, I would like to plant a zone 9b hedge instead of a zone 10a hedge.  Does that change any of the recommendations made here so far?  

 

Thank you for all of the input. 

From my list of candidates to consider, Clusia might be the only thing that might be questionable  in a would 9b ....still can grow it, but would be more susceptible to infrequent damage.  Other suggestions should be fine.                                                                                As @kinzyjr mentions, Podocarpus are a great, solid suggestion that will have no issues w/ the occasional cooler 9b winter.  No thorns / messy fruit,  easy to shape,  roots aren't invasive,  can be trimmed narrow/ tight and look good/ provide the kind of screening you're looking for, and grow at a good clip.                                                                                                             Were the most popular screen option the nursery i'd worked for sold in Sarasota. Must have sold a few thousand per year there.

[Sandy Loam]

16 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Podocarpus is hardy to zone 8.  Sea grapes handle high 9b well.  Basically, anything in my yard should be fine in yours as well.

Okay, thank you KinzyJr.  In fact, if I am nestled among the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes with a lake right across the street and another lake right behind me, maybe I can be even less cautious than you would need to be in Lakeland (?)

[Sandy Loam]

12 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

From my list of candidates to consider, Clusia might be the only thing that might be questionable  in a would 9b ....still can grow it, but would be more susceptible to infrequent damage.  Other suggestions should be fine.                                                                                As @kinzyjr mentions, Podocarpus are a great, solid suggestion that will have no issues w/ the occasional cooler 9b winter.  No thorns / messy fruit,  easy to shape,  roots aren't invasive,  can be trimmed narrow/ tight and look good/ provide the kind of screening you're looking for, and grow at a good clip.                                                                                                             Were the most popular screen option the nursery i'd worked for sold in Sarasota. Must have sold a few thousand per year there.

Thank you Silas Sancona.  I saw the podocarpus photos (posted above).  Wow - I could not believe how fast KinzyJr's podocarpus hedge had grown.  Amazing!   It makes me want to buy a bunch of podocarpus for my future hedge.  I don't know why my own podocarpus hedge up in Gainesville grew so slowly, and still does.   My Gainesville podoparus trees also wanted to grow upwards, not widthwise/sideways, which meant buying more shrubs to fill in the hedge area.  My viburnum hedge, by contrast, filled out fast and wide.  Both were impervious to the cold winter nights of Gainesville.        

 

[kinzyjr]

6 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Okay, thank you KinzyJr.  In fact, if I am nestled among the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes with a lake right across the street and another lake right behind me, maybe I can be even less cautious than you would need to be in Lakeland (?)

Most likely, yes.  You should benefit from less radiational cooling.  One thing to be wary of is frost.  As @Palmə häl′ik mentioned in the Polk County thread, frost usually does more of the damage than the low temperature.  If you have canopy, you'll tend to get away with a lot more than without it.  The ideal scenario with canopy is to have it open toward the south so the winter sunlight can warm things up underneath it during the day.

The one Veitchia arecina with nothing overhead at my place took frost damage while the others with even a small branch over them took negligible or no damage.

2 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow - I could not believe how fast KinzyJr's podocarpus hedge had grown.  Amazing!   It makes me want to buy a bunch of podocarpus for my future hedge.  I don't know why my own podocarpus hedge up in Gainesville grew so slowly, and still does.

The secret to my podocarpus growth - well, really all of it - is the soil quality here:

[Sandy Loam]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:03 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Ficus could work,  -if you have the space,  and where they are planted won't mess up irrigation, water, or other utility lines since ficus roots are very aggressive.  They can also drop a lot of fruit, even pruned specimens.  Sea Grape, Wax Myrtle , and some other leafy natives could work as a faster growing screen, and won't be as aggressive. 

Thank you for this advice, Silas Sancona. 

Is Wax Myrtle VERY fast growing?  Some parts of the hedge will be in full sun, whereas others will be growing in the shade.  I am interested in this one because it looks like it could be shaped into a nice formal hedge.  It would also reach ten feet tall in about a few years, wouldn't it?  As long as it can be about six feet tall in five years, that's good enough for me.  I can wait longer for that extra height. 

 

Part of me is dreading all of the pruning of such a large hedge, so my mind sometimes goes back to the low-maintenance idea of an areca palm hedge instead (dypsis lutens).  I just don't want the suckering areca palms to take over my entire yard by constantly expanding outwards.  Apart from the occasional brown frond that needs to clipped off, I gather than an areca palm hedge would be incredibly low maintenance and would tolerate the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes temperatures fine (I hope).  I see plenty of Areca Palms around Orlando and Tampa; the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes area should be roughly the same climate as Tampa and Orlando, I presume.

 

As for seagrape, I love these hedges down in South Florida, but my seagrapes up at the house in Gainesville never grew tall because they would end up being destroyed by cold winter nights every couple of years.  I don't think I have ever seen a giant seagrape hedge in Orlando or Tampa, so I'm not sure if it would work in Winter Haven (???)   

 

Again, thank you for all of the ongoing advice.  I really appreciate it, and that goes to everyone else here as well.    

 

[kinzyjr]

13 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

As for seagrape, I love these hedges down in South Florida, but my seagrapes up at the house in Gainesville never grew tall because they would end up being destroyed by cold winter nights every couple of years.  I don't think I have ever seen a giant seagrape hedge in Orlando or Tampa, so I'm not sure if it would work in Winter Haven (???) 

Mine have to be pruned twice a year or they will take over the yard:

May 5th, 2021: Photo from my personal garden thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/52296-palms-and-others-of-interest/

[Sandy Loam]

9 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Most likely, yes.  You should benefit from less radiational cooling.  One thing to be wary of is frost.  As @Palmə häl′ik mentioned in the Polk County thread, frost usually does more of the damage than the low temperature.  If you have canopy, you'll tend to get away with a lot more than without it.  The ideal scenario with canopy is to have it open toward the south so the winter sunlight can warm things up underneath it during the day.

The one Veitchia arecina with nothing overhead at my place took frost damage while the others with even a small branch over them took negligible or no damage.

 

 

Thanks KinzyJr.   Actually, the property is located on the east side of a lake (for anonymity's sake, I would prefer not to mention which lake).   It has a large lot, so part of it has overhead oak canopy, but a large part of it has no canopy at all.  I'm not sure whether growing on the eastern side of a lake is bad news or good news.   You would know better than I would. 

 

I absolutely love veitchia arecina, but I have decided that it may be too risky.  They look fantastic and huge down in Palm Beach County, Broward County, Dade County, Collier County, Monroe County, etc., but I simply don't see them around much in Central Florida.   Instead, I'm foreseeing a mix of:  archontophoenix cunninghamiana (if I can find them for sale -- C. Alexandrae seem to be more commonly sold in Florida);  Cuban royal palms (if only I could find the Florida Royal Palm for sale instead, I would buy them);  a possible Dypsis Lutens hedge (TBD) if it won't turn brown every few years when a cold snap hits; Ptychosperma Elegans for the tighter spaces (hopefully not too risky in that region); some streilizas (giant bird of paradise), and more ....   

 

[Sandy Loam]

2 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Mine have to be pruned twice a year or they will take over the yard:

May 5th, 2021

 

Wow.  Your seagrape looks great!   

There is also the problem of seagrape not providing a very dense screen because of the gaps between the leaves.  The ones in South Florida that form dense hedges seem to be pretty thick.  Maybe that's the secret.    Of course, though, I don't want a hedge that it too thick or else it will consume too much of my yard.

 

[kinzyjr]

@Sandy Loam The ideal orientation on a lake in our area of the state is the Southeast side of it.  This gives you the maximum protection from the north and northwest winds, which tend to be our coldest.  Once in a while, we'll get a cold front that will hit the east side of the state harder than the west side.  Of course, that reverses which side of the lake is most beneficial.  Advective cold fronts like 2018 will negate most of the advantage as well.

Sea grapes can be trained to be hedges.  There are houses on Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland that do this.  I didn't anticipate that mine would approach 30 feet so quickly, so I had to use the pole saw to keep them within the areas I set aside for them.  One thing about sea grapes is that they seed prolifically as you'd expect a native plant to do.  I've given away about 30 volunteers this year already and hoping some of the folks touring in the fall will take the remainder.  Podocarpus produce volunteers, but not nearly at the same rate.  If you're into neoclassical gardening, you can even train sea grapes as espalier.

If I had to pick between Ptychosperma elegans and Veitchia arecina, I'd that the Veitchia.  The main reason being speed of growth.  You'll have a mature Veitchia before the Ptychosperma starts trunking.  My yard has both grown from local seed sources in hopes that the survivors of the previous cold fronts have better genetics than a randomly bought plant.  I think there are some Archontophoenix cunninghamiana on Main Street in Lakeland that are flowering and should have seeds soon.  Archontophoenix alexandrae and teracarpa (whatever produced those) are the favorites in my neck of the woods.  According to the staff at Hollis Gardens, the teracarpa haven't taken any damage.  They get an enormous trunk like a maxima and have cold tolerance like a cunninghamiana.

Don't blame you at all for wanting to plant a bit more conservatively.  No one likes spending spring digging stumps out after chainsawing dead mature palms.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Sandy Loam said:

Thank you for this advice, Silas Sancona. 

Is Wax Myrtle VERY fast growing?  Some parts of the hedge will be in full sun, whereas others will be growing in the shade.  I am interested in this one because it looks like it could be shaped into a nice formal hedge.  It would also reach ten feet tall in about a few years, wouldn't it?  As long as it can be about six feet tall in five years, that's good enough for me.  I can wait longer for that extra height. 

 

Part of me is dreading all of the pruning of such a large hedge, so my mind sometimes goes back to the low-maintenance idea of an areca palm hedge instead (dypsis lutens).  I just don't want the suckering areca palms to take over my entire yard by constantly expanding outwards.  Apart from the occasional brown frond that needs to clipped off, I gather than an areca palm hedge would be incredibly low maintenance and would tolerate the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes temperatures fine (I hope).  I see plenty of Areca Palms around Orlando and Tampa; the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes area should be roughly the same climate as Tampa and Orlando, I presume.

 

As for seagrape, I love these hedges down in South Florida, but my seagrapes up at the house in Gainesville never grew tall because they would end up being destroyed by cold winter nights every couple of years.  I don't think I have ever seen a giant seagrape hedge in Orlando or Tampa, so I'm not sure if it would work in Winter Haven (???)   

 

Again, thank you for all of the ongoing advice.  I really appreciate it, and that goes to everyone else here as well.    

 

  👍                                                         I'd put Wax Myrtle at a moderate grower... Not snail's  pace slow, but maybe not quite as quick as Podocarpus ( I was honestly a little surprised at how quickly these grew under FL. conditions.  Sold and maintained 100's of them where I'd worked in Sarasota.  Both Wax Myrtle and Podocarpus share a similar look and growth habit ...moving more upward rather than wide. Both are pretty easy to keep narrow ....but not too narrow ( if you want them to stay dense ) as well.  Would seek out both at whichever nursery you might be close to, at your new place and compare how they look - before you buy.                                                                                              Podocarpus make a stunning specimen when allowed to reach tree size as well. They'll drop some foliage here and there, but aren't messy. ( I certainly don't recall them dropping lots of leaves constantly )  Provide great shade below.... Which would be a good spot for tropical-esque shade lovers / any marginal things you might be tempted to try.                                                                                   Areca as a screen are nice, but remember some at the house i was in in Bradenton being kind of messy and not the easiest to keep tidy. Cockroaches / some other bugs liked hiding on them too.                                                                     Regardless, think you' re in good hands and will find the perfect fit.  You can always try different things in different areas of your property to mix things up if that works for you as well.

[Sandy Loam]

Thanks everyone.  I am also toying with the idea of Euterpe Edulis,  but I don't know whether that palm will work well in Haven Haven,  Florida,  and I don't even know who sells it in this state.  It does not seem to be common.   I have no problem with driving down to South Florida nurseries to fill up my car with plants though. I just wish SOMEBODY sold euterpe edulis, at least small ones.  

 

Another problem is that some palms cannot be planted in shade or else they won't grow,  but that is another another conversation for another day.... 

[ahosey01]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:07 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

I'd post some pictures of what they look like but laptop is in the shop tonight.   Regardless, if you look it up,  or what it is called now ( Celtis ehrenbergiana ) you'll see what I mean.  Nice small tree, but not a good hedge /  screen candidate.

The only way I have ever seen them used in landscape plantings is as a background screen in native gardens.

[kinzyjr]

3 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

I have no problem with driving down to South Florida nurseries to fill up my car with plants though. I just wish SOMEBODY sold euterpe edulis, at least small ones. 

You're in luck.  Premier Growers Inc. in Saint James City has them on the inventory list and @PalmMom007 is on the forums.  Give them a buzz.

https://www.premiergrowersfl.com/

[Sandy Loam]

18 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

 

If I had to pick between Ptychosperma elegans and Veitchia arecina, I'd that the Veitchia.  The main reason being speed of growth.  You'll have a mature Veitchia before the Ptychosperma starts trunking.  My yard has both grown from local seed sources in hopes that the survivors of the previous cold fronts have better genetics than a randomly bought plant.  I think there are some Archontophoenix cunninghamiana on Main Street in Lakeland that are flowering and should have seeds soon.  Archontophoenix alexandrae and teracarpa (whatever produced those) are the favorites in my neck of the woods.  According to the staff at Hollis Gardens, the teracarpa haven't taken any damage.  They get an enormous trunk like a maxima and have cold tolerance like a cunninghamiana.

 

 

Wow, I wish I knew where to buy archontophoenx teracarpa.  I just googled that one and it looks fantastic and, seemingly, grows tall quite quickly.