Palms roots in confined space.

[Chavy87]

I'm looking for some palms or tropical plants to basically block my neighbors view of my backyard. The problem is, I have a raised garden brick garden bed that is about 14 to 16 inches wide but runs the length of the fence.  I thought about smaller queens palms but I'm not sure how well they grow do to the roots being boxed in on two sides. Other plants will be a few banana trees.  Any ideas? Thanks.

[Chavy87]

Oh and the area gets full sun. They area on the far side of the pool.

[iDesign]

Others will be better at advising on specific palms for your areas, but what would LOOK nice would be something tall and "bushy". Here are three possibilities that would look nice, assuming they would functionally work...

1) Dypsis / Chrysalydocarpus lutescens (aka "areca palm" or "butterfly palm" or "golden cane")
The traditional "neighbor blocker". Not sure it could fit in that thin of a planter though. And it can look a little "fried" after winter in colder areas. But it would look great if it works (others can advise on feasibility, if you like this idea).

2) Rhapis excelsia
Can also be an amazing blocker, but can be expensive. Not sure if it's a 9b plant (I'm 10a).

3) Chamaedorea (costaricana?)
This is what I'm using, in a very thin planter. I'm mixing mine with purple Ti plants, and am happy with the look. I intermixed a few extra tall stalks, but most are still pretty young. Hoping they'll all get tall at some point (and block my neighbor's boring yard). 

Here's mine...

And here's a quick & dirty mockup of this in your space...

If costaricana doesn't work in your area, perhaps another chamaedorea type (radicalis? microspadix? plumosa?)

Another good neighbor-blocking plant is "white bird of paradise" - but your planter is much too thin for that one. And there's always BAMBOO, but those can be highly invasive (some types more than others). But maybe worth considering since they would be in a planter? I have some "Timor Lako" black bamboo growing that I'm hoping to use for screening in another area. Though on second thought, bamboo might be too messy for a pool area (yours and your neighbor's pool as well). Chamaedorea gives a similar effect with less maintenance.

Curious what others might suggest... just throwing out some possibilities. 🤔

[Jim in Los Altos]

10 minutes ago, iDesign said:

Others will be better at advising on specific palms for your areas, but what would LOOK nice would be something tall and "bushy". Here are three possibilities that would look nice, assuming they would functionally work...

1) Dypsis / Chrysalydocarpus lutescens (aka "areca palm" or "butterfly palm" or "golden cane")
The traditional "neighbor blocker". Not sure it could fit in that thin of a planter though. And it can look a little "fried" after winter in colder areas. But it would look great if it works (others can advise on feasibility, if you like this idea).

2) Rhapis excelsia
Can also be an amazing blocker, but can be expensive. Not sure if it's a 9b plant (I'm 10a).

3) Chamaedorea (costaricana?)
This is what I'm using, in a very thin planter. I'm mixing mine with purple Ti plants, and am happy with the look. I intermixed a few extra tall stalks, but most are still pretty young. Hoping they'll all get tall at some point (and block my neighbor's boring yard). 

Here's mine...

And here's a quick & dirty mockup of this in your space...

If costaricana doesn't work in your area, perhaps another chamaedorea type (radicalis? microspadix? plumosa?)

Another good neighbor-blocking plant is "white bird of paradise" - but your planter is much too thin for that one. And there's always BAMBOO, but those can be highly invasive (some types more than others). Chamaedorea gives a similar effect with less maintenance. But maybe worth considering since they would be in a planter? I have some "Timor Lako" black bamboo growing that I'm hoping to use for screening in another area.

Curious what others might suggest... just throwing out some possibilities. 🤔

He’s in Plumas Lake just north of Sacramento. Too chilly in the winter for Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, and dry roasting hot full sun in summer would burn Raphis and Chamaedorea costaricana. C. radicalis might tolerate that as might C. plumosa. 
 

Anthony, if your looking at a fairly quick growing solution using easy to find plants in your area, Giant Bird of Paradise creates a dense screen (will damage with frost), Queens, as you mentioned but will get really big eventually and they drop lots of flowers and fruit into nearby pools. A mixture might be nice also using blue Podacarpus. Bananas grow super fast and repair quickly after frost burn. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jim in Los Altos

[iDesign]

7 minutes ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

He’s in Plumas Lake just north of Sacramento. Too chilly in the winter for Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, and dry roasting hot full sun in summer would burn Raphis and Chamaedorea costaricana. C. radicalis might tolerate that as might C. plumosa. 

Thanks for clarifying... bummer. Tempting for those of us in warmer areas to throw out impractical suggestions. Sorry @Chavy87!

[Jim in Los Altos]

18 minutes ago, iDesign said:

Others will be better at advising on specific palms for your areas, but what would LOOK nice would be something tall and "bushy". Here are three possibilities that would look nice, assuming they would functionally work...

1) Dypsis / Chrysalydocarpus lutescens (aka "areca palm" or "butterfly palm" or "golden cane")
The traditional "neighbor blocker". Not sure it could fit in that thin of a planter though. And it can look a little "fried" after winter in colder areas. But it would look great if it works (others can advise on feasibility, if you like this idea).

2) Rhapis excelsia
Can also be an amazing blocker, but can be expensive. Not sure if it's a 9b plant (I'm 10a).

3) Chamaedorea (costaricana?)
This is what I'm using, in a very thin planter. I'm mixing mine with purple Ti plants, and am happy with the look. I intermixed a few extra tall stalks, but most are still pretty young. Hoping they'll all get tall at some point (and block my neighbor's boring yard). 

Here's mine...

And here's a quick & dirty mockup of this in your space...

If costaricana doesn't work in your area, perhaps another chamaedorea type (radicalis? microspadix? plumosa?)

Another good neighbor-blocking plant is "white bird of paradise" - but your planter is much too thin for that one. And there's always BAMBOO, but those can be highly invasive (some types more than others). Chamaedorea gives a similar effect with less maintenance. But maybe worth considering since they would be in a planter? I have some "Timor Lako" black bamboo growing that I'm hoping to use for screening in another area.

Curious what others might suggest... just throwing out some possibilities. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jim in Los Altos

[Jim in Los Altos]

Anthony, if you’re looking for easy to find screen plants then perhaps Giant Bird of Paradise, or Bananna trees which would frost burn but repair quickly in the summer. Perhaps mixed with blue Podacarpus.  Queen palms get pretty messy near a pool when they flower and again when they fruit and small Queens become BIG queens. Majesty palms are cheap and plentiful. They tolerate some frost as love heat as long as you water them well. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jim in Los Altos

[Chavy87]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Anthony, if you’re looking for easy to find screen plants then perhaps Giant Bird of Paradise, or Bananna trees which would frost burn but repair quickly in the summer. Perhaps mixed with blue Podacarpus.  Queen palms get pretty messy near a pool when they flower and again when they fruit and small Queens become BIG queens. Majesty palms are cheap and plentiful. They tolerate some frost as love heat as long as you water them well. 

That's funny Jim, I literally stopped by Lowes and pick up two new giant birds of paradise on the way home. Majesty palm might burn in our hot sun but I'll give one a try.

[Tom in Tucson]

9 hours ago, Chavy87 said:

I'm looking for some palms or tropical plants to basically block my neighbors view of my backyard. The problem is, I have a raised garden brick garden bed that is about 14 to 16 inches wide but runs the length of the fence.  I thought about smaller queens palms but I'm not sure how well they grow do to the roots being boxed in on two sides. Other plants will be a few banana trees.  Any ideas? Thanks.

I have completely blocked my neighbors view using fairly fast heat/cold tolerant mule palms. The fastest growing are BJxQ, and JxQ. If you can't find those 2, try using standard mules (BxQ), or Butia x Parajubaea (of various types), they're nearly as fast growing as the first 2.

Hi 80°, Lo 44°

[Navarro]

Arenga engleri o caryota mitis ?