Short, Hardy, Palm Recommendations?

[MattInRaleigh]

23 hours ago, knikfar said:

If you can find some of the Chamaerops Volcano, they stay pretty small and are hardier than the standard Chamaerops. They're supposed to be fully hardy here in Raleigh so it would definitely be hardy for you. 

Do you remember where you heard about their hardiness? I haven’t been able to find much.

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, MattInRaleigh said:

Do you remember where you heard about their hardiness? I haven’t been able to find much.

I've never seen anything that says they are hardier.  Lots of them in the UK and no one over there has mentioned they are any different in their videos.  Generally cerifera/argentea is considered the hardiest form of Chamaerops.  

[knikfar]

2 hours ago, MattInRaleigh said:

Do you remember where you heard about their hardiness? I haven’t been able to find much.

Here's what Plant Delights says: https://www.plantdelights.com/products/chamaerops-humilis-vulcano-european-fan-palm

[FilthyFiveHole]

Chamaedorea radicalis.... Very underrated very hardy palm. I have at least 7 (all size varieties from seedlings to mature) in the ground undamaged at 16f. 25-50% damage at 7f with a tarp over them. Worth a shot and gives a good tropical look!!

[FilthyFiveHole]

Edit* just looked at my bigger radicalis has about 5-10 % burn on the older leaves, Throwing out flower spikes as well...

[BeyondTheGarden]

@blake_tx8b I have a handful of Cham radicalis, I was planning on one mass planting up against the house on the inside corner below the kitchen window, along side some microspadix.  I could try a couple out front in mostly sun and see how they do.  I know they can take full sun in the PNW but I'm not sure about in this heat and humidity here.  Mine are just kinda small, some don't even have character leaves yet.  

[Chester B]

5 hours ago, knikfar said:

Here's what Plant Delights says: https://www.plantdelights.com/products/chamaerops-humilis-vulcano-european-fan-palm

I don't believe anything on that website in respect to hardiness.  All their ratings are overly "optimistic"

[Allen]

5 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I don't believe anything on that website in respect to hardiness.  All their ratings are overly "optimistic"

Especially with the new maps.  

[Subtropical LIS]

Understory palms should complement the taller palms I would think. Sabal minors are a great choice when used under palmettos like you have planted in the picture. Minors do get big, but it takes many years before they get very large. Chamaerops Cerifera never gets big, and even straight Chamaerops h. will take several years to get that big. Needle palm is another really nice choice, and I admit I love them! Needle palms have beautiful deep green fronds with silvery undersides that shimmer in the breeze. On my needle palm here on Long Island Sound I’ve cut off the lower leaf sheaths (very carefully), this exposes a cool looking yellowish trunk that looks like a palm in the Caribbean. LOL. This is mine a few days ago, high voltage bright green in late winter:

 

Also, (and this is just an opinion and subjective of course) …but I would stay away from too much small understory stuff, it takes away from the look of certain types of homes. Sometimes too dense of low plants can look like a cottage or woodland garden/landscape that looks more at home in cool climate place (think the UK, New England, the Pacific Northwest…etc.).  IMO, less is more, it makes the plants stand out more. Classic deep south landscapes have massive BLE trees like Live Oak and Southern Mags, spaced out and a few tastefully placed palms and yuccas. I would plant a southern mag or Live Oak in the center of your lawn and build around that. Look to places like Savannah or Charleston for garden inspiration.

[MattInRaleigh]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

I don't believe anything on that website in respect to hardiness.  All their ratings are overly "optimistic"

Plant Delights Nursery is the operation that funds Juniper Level Botanic Garden which is now affiliated with North Carolina State University.

They trial all their plants in Raleigh, NC and so if they say it's hardy in zone 7b (old USDA designation for Raleigh), it usually means it's survived in their garden for a number of years.  So that's hardy in a humid southeastern US zone 7b (now 8a) with clay soil and rainfall throughout the year.

Their palms are sometimes outliers since they sometimes sell seedlings from a "hardy parent" palm, but they say that in the plant description when that's the case. I personally don't assume the offspring of a "hardy parent" palm is any hardier unless it's from a wild population at the coldest part of their range, but some anecdotal evidence does sometimes suggest otherwise. Those are a gamble in my opinion.

[ZPalms]

Plants Delights Nursery has a lot of really cool stuff in their garden that blows my mind, I got musa basjoo from them and it was kinda sad because it barely grew and I think it has a fungal issue which I wonder if its gonna even come up since it was so small during winter, a whole summer went by and it never made it pass 1ft 🙁

Edited February 21 by ZPalms

[BeyondTheGarden]

Actually @Subtropical LIS, I'd prefer the doomsdave theory of plant density.  Your needle does look good. 

[knikfar]

15 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Plants Delights Nursery has a lot of really cool stuff in their garden that blows my mind, I got musa basjoo from them and it was kinda sad because it barely grew and I think it has a fungal issue which I wonder if its gonna even come up since it was so small during winter, a whole summer went by and it never made it pass 1ft 🙁

I have musa basjoo planted in a few different spots in my backyard. In one area, at the base of a large willow oak, its only reached about 2' tall after two growing seasons. I planted another at the exact same time, right where the AC drip line comes out of my house. That one grew taller than my roofline in the first season. I suspect the amount of water a basjoo gets can really make a difference in how tall they grow. Not sure if that is a factor for your basjoo but it certainly appears to be for mine. 

[BeyondTheGarden]

Water makes a ton of difference for bananas.  The plant is 99% water.  If I'm exaggerating, it's not by much.  I think I'll actually put a Banana up by the walkway, just not blocking the front porch.  I bought a bunch of edible varieties, all pups, and am trying to get them up to >1gal size by April.  There's a separate thread on that in the "other tropical plants" section.  Not much of a thread really.  They're moving along quite nicely though.  

[ZPalms]

5 hours ago, knikfar said:

I have musa basjoo planted in a few different spots in my backyard. In one area, at the base of a large willow oak, its only reached about 2' tall after two growing seasons. I planted another at the exact same time, right where the AC drip line comes out of my house. That one grew taller than my roofline in the first season. I suspect the amount of water a basjoo gets can really make a difference in how tall they grow. Not sure if that is a factor for your basjoo but it certainly appears to be for mine. 

 

2 hours ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

Water makes a ton of difference for bananas.  The plant is 99% water.  If I'm exaggerating, it's not by much.  I think I'll actually put a Banana up by the walkway, just not blocking the front porch.  I bought a bunch of edible varieties, all pups, and am trying to get them up to >1gal size by April.  There's a separate thread on that in the "other tropical plants" section.  Not much of a thread really.  They're moving along quite nicely though.  

Maybe it was because I wasn’t giving them enough water, even though I felt like I did—enough for bird's nest mushrooms to pop up. The Orinoco shot up without much water, which I guess I assumed the Musa basjoo would have done the same.

I’m still not sure if the black spots are fungus or something else, but I do have another Musa basjoo I saved from somebody's trash. The new one doesn't have black spots, so if my original plants from Plant Delights don’t perform or I can’t get rid of the fungus or come back at all, then I’ll replace them with the new clump.

Edited February 21 by ZPalms

[Subtropical LIS]

8 hours ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

Actually @Subtropical LIS, I'd prefer the doomsdave theory of plant density.  Your needle does look good. 

Never heard of the doomsdave theory? Something tells me though it has to do with having plants left alive if there is a record cold event. Am I correct, or does it mean something else?

[BeyondTheGarden]

 

8 minutes ago, Subtropical LIS said:

Never heard of the doomsdave theory? Something tells me though it has to do with having plants left alive if there is a record cold event. Am I correct, or does it mean something else?

@DoomsDave is a member here... he's known for spacing his plants far apart ... just kidding.  His yard looks like an equatorial rainforest.  I've only seen pictures.  Maybe he has a recent pic for inspiration. 

[Subtropical LIS]

27 minutes ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

 

@DoomsDave is a member here... he's known for spacing his plants far apart ... just kidding.  His yard looks like an equatorial rainforest.  I've only seen pictures.  Maybe he has a recent pic for inspiration. 

Ok . Now I got it. I've not seen Dave, I 'll have to look out for his posts.

I forgot to add...that a needle palm planted were you are would grow faster with the heat/heavy summer showers. Unlike many people who have to wait 7 or 8 years for a Needle Palm to get sizable in zone 7- in NC they would look great in just a few years.  Walkers Palms up in South Mills, NC has a incredible hardy palm/exotic plant nursery.  If I lived where you lived I be there every week buying something. lol

[Laaz]

I have two Trachycarpus nanus I have had for just about 20 years I would sell if the price is right. They would have to be dug up...