New to plans

[Vegaspalm]

Hello, I’m in Las Vegas zone 9A. I’m redoing my backyard and I’ve fallen in love with the look of mule palms. I was hoping for some professionals to help me in my backyard oasis design. As I don’t want to put them in if they will damage my wall.

My backyard is south facing so plenty of sun but also hot days. I have a 6 ft wall concrete wall around my home. On the this wall I want to give roughly 3 ft of space of soil/rocks for some palms. I was thinking some mule and Pindo palms. Will 3 feet from wall to grass be enough room for a palm to grow or would it potentially cause damage?

also for my climate in Las Vegas how do you recommend drip emitters for them? Time water is on, roughly how much water, and frequency in the hot summer?

 

[MarcusH]

12 hours ago, Vegaspalm said:

Hello, I’m in Las Vegas zone 9A. I’m redoing my backyard and I’ve fallen in love with the look of mule palms. I was hoping for some professionals to help me in my backyard oasis design. As I don’t want to put them in if they will damage my wall.

My backyard is south facing so plenty of sun but also hot days. I have a 6 ft wall concrete wall around my home. On the this wall I want to give roughly 3 ft of space of soil/rocks for some palms. I was thinking some mule and Pindo palms. Will 3 feet from wall to grass be enough room for a palm to grow or would it potentially cause damage?

also for my climate in Las Vegas how do you recommend drip emitters for them? Time water is on, roughly how much water, and frequency in the hot summer?

 

I honestly don't know how well drip emitters work in Las Vegas.  I heard mixed opinions about it but I also think it depends on your location.  Some say the water only reaches shallow roots in very hot weather because of evaporation  . With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in summer I have a hard time believing that drip emitter is doing a perfect job.  But again I don’t have a drip emitter so no personal experience . Try and see how it works if not just give it a good amount of water 3 times a week during the summer . That's just a rule of thumb.  I just deep water my palms infrequently depends on the outside temperature.  When it gets to the mid 90s and up I deep water my palms every once a week . The other times in between I water them about 2 to 3 minutes each.  That's just me , everyone does things different here. See what works out best for you.  Some palms love a lot of water some not so much. Your Mule might need moderate watering .

3 feet away from the wall should be fine. A trunk and the canopy of a Mule can get pretty massive in diameter depending on the genetics so take that into consideration.  Palm trees don't grow thick roots like a tree but they do can cause damage when planted to close to buildings like right next to it but 3 feet from it should be fine. If you add another foot that would be better.  

[SeanK]

I tend to agree w.r.t. drip irrigation in desert climates. I suggest a soaker hose underneath mulch. Turn it on for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning when you first get up. Then close it when you leave for work. 

If you can grow mules, don't bother with Jelly palms. Mix it up with Mediterranean Fans.  Maybe try P.roebellini in the back with PM shade. You can protect these when it drops below freezing.