Planting season just around the corner!

[jfrye01@live.com]

With just a couple weeks until spring, planting season is quickly coming upon us. Right now, I have four palms...a 15 gallon Trachy, 15 gallon Butia, and two one-gallon S. minor "McCurtain"...I'm also planning on driving to Dallas spring break (two weeks from now) and buying either a large (10-15 ft) Sabal palmetto or another Butia...I'm trying to figure out how to plant these palms...I'm not sure if I want them all planted in one palm garden, or if I want to spread them around the yard...does anyone have any ideas? I've searched on this forum and elsewhere online, but I'm having a hard time finding ideas...any palm landscaping ideas would be appreciated;) Thanks everyone!

-Jacob in Kansas

[Hammer]

Fwiw, I would think about maximizing survivability in a way that is the least taxing on your financial and equipment resources.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Fwiw, I would think about maximizing survivability in a way that is the least taxing on your financial and equipment resources.

x2. You might check some landscape architect's portfolios (especially Florida based companies) but I bet most would only include palms as specimen use and not full palm gardens.

[jfrye01@live.com]

I'm planning on winterizing with insulated temporary enclosures (made from lumber and 2" foam insulation, extremely cheap stuff at most lumber yards) with C9 lights inside on a thermostat. For power outages, we have a spare generator at our house that hasn't been used in years since we bought a new one, so I'd have warm palms even if the power was out...so in that regard, having a microclimate against the south side of a structure isn't a huge deal...which is good, cause the south side of my house isn't conducive to growing plants (dog run right next to house)

[Alicehunter2000]

Hate to say it again...but check out Wxman's yard again to see how he does it.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/36331-uncovered-in-wisconsin/#entry569066

[jfrye01@live.com]

I like that! Simple, yet very elegant!

[jfrye01@live.com]

I make a lot of impulse purchases, and I bought two 3 foot Washy robusta for $25 on ebay...I plan to plant one in the ground, and plant the second one in a pot and keep it indoors, since the one in ground is almost certain to die come next winter, even with protection. lol. I'm wanting to plant the washy on the corner of the house, and I'm wanting to mulch around it. Two questions: How far should I plant it from the house, and how deep should I mulch over it? Should I mound the dirt? I'm trying to maximize survival on this thing, although it is probably gonna be a lost cause, but it could probably be protected for a couple years. Thanks!

[stevethegator]

I'd plant as many as you can together in the warmest microclimate in your yard. This will maximize the survivability and make it so they can share protection, or at least a power source.

Keep in mind what might work best as a microclimate in subtroical conditions may not be best for you. For example, South or East facing exposure is known to damage tender plants in temperate conditions due to the repeated strong sun/rapid warm ups on cold mornings while temperatures are still below freezing.

Also, strong canopy is not going to provide you with the same benefits that it provides subtropical gardeners facing radiational freezes; deep advective continental freezes will drop the temps regardless of canopy.

You also have to keep in mind soil freezing, as this is what will really kill palms even if you protect the growing point. No palm, even sabal minor, sees regular frozen soil in habitat. For example, I made a raised bed for winter veggies close to my apt. foundation thinking this would keep the soil from freezing. Turns out it was in too dark of a corner and the ground in this area froze solid and stayed that way even when everything else thawed!

You're facing a bunch of challenges but that is what makes it fun! I don't have all the answers because I've never done what you're trying to do (and I managed to kill a needle palm this winter which should have come through with flying colors) but try to plan carefully before you plant!

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I'd plant as many as you can together in the warmest microclimate in your yard. This will maximize the survivability and make it so they can share protection, or at least a power source.

Keep in mind what might work best as a microclimate in subtroical conditions may not be best for you. For example, South or East facing exposure is known to damage tender plants in temperate conditions due to the repeated strong sun/rapid warm ups on cold mornings while temperatures are still below freezing.

Also, strong canopy is not going to provide you with the same benefits that it provides subtropical gardeners facing radiational freezes; deep advective continental freezes will drop the temps regardless of canopy.

You also have to keep in mind soil freezing, as this is what will really kill palms even if you protect the growing point. No palm, even sabal minor, sees regular frozen soil in habitat. For example, I made a raised bed for winter veggies close to my apt. foundation thinking this would keep the soil from freezing. Turns out it was in too dark of a corner and the ground in this area froze solid and stayed that way even when everything else thawed!

You're facing a bunch of challenges but that is what makes it fun! I don't have all the answers because I've never done what you're trying to do (and I managed to kill a needle palm this winter which should have come through with flying colors) but try to plan carefully before you plant!

Steve's advice works well for USDA 9a and above, and possibly in some 8b climates, but these strategies will fail in colder gardens including your own. The convectional nature of the cold especially in KS will void any gains from a canopy. You also don't want to plant close together because you need to keep plenty of rooms around your palms so that you can build the right enclosures in the Winter. Here's what you need to learn how to do. If you can do this, then you can grow all the palms this guy grows in Montreal. (Butia, trachy, sabal and needle palms.)

[stevethegator]

Yeah that's what I said, canopy is not going to help. Enclosures are the only way to go. But, if the'yre not too far apart you can run them off the same power source is what i meant by close together.

I think it would be a pain to run cords to every corner of the yard but that's just me, you may want them all over!

[jfrye01@live.com]

I don't remember where I saw it, but I recall pictures from a guy outside of Salt Lake City that wraps his 30' washingtonia robusta with something that looks like plastic. Not sure what. Obviously the enclosures work when the palms are small, but when they're large, you'd pretty much be stuck wrapping them...I'm just not sure with what...lol

[NorthFlpalmguy]

It's freeze cloth he probably uses on the washy. You can get different sizes and thickness in it also. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but all the ones I've ever grown are notoriously stunted by the cold here.

Edited March 7, 2014 by bbrantley

[jfrye01@live.com]

Haha...not really a bad thing;) The longer it stays small, the better for winter protection!

[Hammer]

Again, fwiw, I would be very careful in what you use to wrap your palm with. Some materials like plastic will conduct the cold even more if it directly touches a leaf for example.