A case study in North Park, San Diego

[Sabal Steve]

Now that I pretty much have everything planted out, I wanted to take an opportunity to give a quick overview of my place - with a lot of area, climate, and culture specific details that I have noted along the way. The soil is clay and rock. It is in Central San Diego (North Park - 92104), and sits on 1/20th of an acre. Zone 10a (more likely) - 10b. Things are pretty temperate here, and all of the palms in my backyard have nice windblock, as my property has houses on 3 sides. There is also a 6' fence surrounding the perimeter of this area. I have 3 palms in a triangular pattern which will eventually block much of the additional wind.

This is what the front looked liked right before I moved in.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

Sagos and Giant Birds of Paradise. I left these in the ground for a while. I liked these but eventually made palms the priority.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

Shortly thereafter I planted my first palm - a King Palm of sorts. I'm not sure if it's Archontophoenix alexandrae or Archontophoenix cunninghamiana. i mixed in a bunch of sand with the clay, and some "Amend", which if I remember correctly contained Gypsum, along with other elements to improve my soil.

I also picked up a few Bird of Paradise plants (Strelitzia reginae).

Edited May 6, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

I also added some potted plants. Cordylines (Cordyline australis "Red Sensation") and Agaves (Agave desmentia).

[Sabal Steve]

First, and overall shot of the area. Recenty I added about 2" of compost, and perhaps 5" of mulch. Above that I placed rock. The size of the rock ranges anywhere between the size of a tennis ball to a 10" small boulder. All the rock for my property I brought in by hand (after picking it up with my truck) - about 15 tons at my estimate. I have increased the watering in the front, especially to the King Palms. The King Palms were planted from a 24" box in March 2011. You can see the new, healthier, grown sprouting out of the top. I really have to water these a lot for them to look good.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

Serenoa repens.

Planted January 2014, from a large 1gal from Bill at Multiflora.

Beccariophoenix alfredii

Planted January 2014 from a 3 gallon from Joe at Discovery Island.

Chambeyronia macrocarpa (3), Agave americana (blue form),

The Chambeyronia in between the King Palms came from Dwight. It was a small 3 gallon for $35. It was planted around June 2013. The other two Chambeyronias came from Burt in OB. I believe that one of them is the "watermelon form. They were planted in May 2014 from a 3 gallon.

The Agave came as a 5 gallon from Rancho Soledad Nursery and was planted in October 2012.

The Banana came as a 5 gallon from a grower in Escondido and was planted in April 2014.

[Sabal Steve]

All of these plants are on the North side of my property and get part day sun.

[Sabal Steve]

I also added some potted plants. Cordylines (Cordyline australis "Red Sensation") and Agaves (Agave desmentia).

The Cordylines eventually declined to a pest of some sorts. I feel that I may had been giving them too much water. They came in a decent sized 24" box from a grower in Escondido. The Agaves came in a 15gal tub. After over a year of heavy watering, they grew to nearly twice their size. At this point they became rootbound and flowered.

[Sabal Steve]

The Bismarckia was planted around September 2012 as a small 15gal. It came from a grower in Oceanside. I amended the clay soil with sand when planting, and have been giving the area plenty of Gypsum.

The Aloe is a varigated Aloe arborenscens and was bought from a nursery in El Cajon as either a 3 gal. It was planted into straight clay/rock around September 2012.

There are a bunch of other succulents here. They all pretty much went straight into the clay. The Agave has thrived. I used to water it, but I don't anymore. There is a small Aloe hercules to the left. It has never looked good, under any conditions, and I suspect that this is mostly due to poor drainage. For the last few months I have been giving that area extra Gypsum.

Everything is this area gets a good deal of sun during the day. This is probably as close to full sun as I am able to give. There used to be a series of concrete tiles here. The soil was atrocious. I am planning on weeding, and putting a layer of mulch and compost down. I will then remove the rest of the cement tiles and finish with rock. FYI, if anyone wants the tiles let me know. There are probably around 50 - measuring 12" * 12" * 1.5".

This is a picture of my Bismarkia nobilis from Summer 2013.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

This is a Brahea "Super Silver" that came from Bill at Multiflora as a large 5 gallon. The soil was amended with compost and finished with mulch. It was planted in April 2014. Same position as the last few pictures near the street. Sun most of the day, north side of house, one house to the west of me.

[Sabal Steve]

Agave angustifolia.

I don't know the cactus species.

Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera

This was bought as a small 3gal from Joe. It was potted in August 2013. Cactus mix. I probably water this twice a week.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

Various succulents.

I need to get rid of most of these as they are taking up room in the driveway. I may plant a few.

[Sabal Steve]

This is my shadehouse in the back. The plants in the 5gal pots I bought (Thrinax sp., Dypsis ambositrae, Dypsis leptochilos, and Sabal sp.). The ones in the smaller plastic cups I have cultivated myself for the most part;

Chamaerops humilis

Phoenix canariensis

Phoenix reclinata

Chamaedorea tepejilote

Chamaedorea radicalis

Trachycarpus sp.

Dracaena draco

Sabal louisiana

Brahea armata

Brahea "Super Silver" (From OB Burt)

Livistona saribus (From OB Burt)

Arenga caudata (From OB Burt)

I also have some Sabal mexicana/palmetto and some Butia capitata in 1gal pots. I pulled these out of the ground as strap leaf seedlings. The Sabals are doing well, albeit slow. The Pindos haven't seemed to do anything other than not dying.

Nothing rare, it's just a hobby for me. I plan of giving most of them away.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

Pictures of the back to come...

[GTClover]

Love it! You've done a lot with a small space. I especially like the way you've used the rocks. Rocks rock!

[Palmdude]

Lookin good Steve, looks like you'll have lots of seedlings to Trade/sell/give away I just gave a bunch of stuff I grew to a neighbor today, I love that aspect of gardening

[Sutter Bob]

Looking good.

Things will start taking off this summer.

[Alicehunter2000]

WHAT!......NO DYPSIS?........that's a crime in California isn't it?

Things are well on the way to being Jungly.....When that stuff starts getting big...watch out...can't wait to see the updates ....1,2,3,5 years from now..it will be interesting.

[Stevetoad]

Looks great Steve.

[Danilopez89]

Looks real neat. I like the rock, I have the same in my back and front yard. I was in SD area two weeks ago and was tempted to buy some king palms at Home Depot even tho they wont make it here.

[Sabal Steve]

Love it! You've done a lot with a small space. I especially like the way you've used the rocks. Rocks rock!

Thanks, yes, it's a small space for sure. In total, there is probably about 500 sq feet of (easily) plantable space - which I have used so far. I'm sicking to a lot of fan palms to keep the humidity down around the house. Plus, I've really always preferred fans. I really like the rock too. I wish I had bigger chunks though. I wonder if the extra added weight on top decomposes the mulch faster? The drawback is that you have to move them to re-mulch.

Lookin good Steve, looks like you'll have lots of seedlings to Trade/sell/give away I just gave a bunch of stuff I grew to a neighbor today, I love that aspect of gardening

I have more seedlings than I know what to do with already! I just had some Phoenix dactylferia germinate, which I'm pretty psyched about. I took a PT members advice and bought a pack of dates at the store. I'm going to try to get the neighbors plant some of them. They get large, are extremely drought tolerant, provide some shade, have economic value, produce edible dates, etc. The neighbors don't water much out here anyways. Probably guerilla plantings in the future.

WHAT!......NO DYPSIS?........that's a crime in California isn't it?

Things are well on the way to being Jungly.....When that stuff starts getting big...watch out...can't wait to see the updates ....1,2,3,5 years from now..it will be interesting.

Haha! I'm guilty of putting a few of those things in my yard - D. leptochielos and D. baronii. I have a D. ambositrae that I may plant too. In place of that Banana plant.

Yeah, I would like to do updates on things as time passes.

Looks real neat. I like the rock, I have the same in my back and front yard. I was in SD area two weeks ago and was tempted to buy some king palms at Home Depot even tho they wont make it here.

Others may know better, but would the King Palms grow in the shade, or are the high temps just too much? Did you say Kentias grow there? Maybe I'm thinking of somewhere else? Thanks for the compliment on the rock. Does the rock act as a heat sink and warm your soil? What have you planted so far, I know you picked up some Royals?

[Sabal Steve]

Here is a Sabal mauritiformis that I got from Phil. It's been an average grower thus far. It came in a medium 5gal when I picked it in June 2013. Now it's in an average sized 15gal. I don't have space for it at the time. It will hopefully go to one of my neighbors next spring. Doesn't seem too picky, but is said to be one of the less drought tolerant of the genus. In HD cactus soil.

Ravenea rivularus. This was bought as a 5 gallon from a grower in Encinitas in June 2013. It's easily tripled in size. I don't remember what specific soil that this is in. It however has mulch and clay that has been added to it over the time that it's been in the pot. Leaves often yellow, I forget what specific deficiency this is. Needy palm.

Dypsis pilulifera. This has been a slow grower for me. Purchased around February 2013 as an expensive one gallon from a grower in Carlsbad, I had high hopes for this palm. It has grown slowly. It seems to yellow in direct sun. Currently it is under 70% shade cloth and the deeper green has returned to the leaves. Was getting mostly midday sun exposure as it was between 2 buildings and close to the house. Cactus soil from HD. Light to average watering.

[Sabal Steve]

Dypsis pilulifera. This has been a slow grower for me. Purchased around February 2013 as an expensive one gallon from a grower in Carlsbad, I had high hopes for this palm. It has grown slowly. It seems to yellow in direct sun. Currently it is under 70% shade cloth and the deeper green has returned to the leaves. Was getting mostly midday sun exposure as it was between 2 buildings and close to the house. Cactus soil from HD. Light to average watering. Pot is 24" - 30" at the mouth.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

These are some photos from the back right before I bought the place in March 2011.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

This was taken around April 2011. I had tried some potted Banana plants, and something just wasn't right with the culture. I've seen fantastic potted ones. They like nitrogen fertilizer - 16:16:16 is what I bought for them.

The Bismarck was a really sad looking 24" box. I've seen 5gal plants of a similar size. It was in full shade at the nursery and very neglected. I planted this in March 2011. It went into clay soil, with a pad of sand underneath. I've heard recommendations against sand, so this is just my observation of how it did in my yard. Soil is rock and clay, but not as bad as the front yard. I feel as if it might have been amended at some point? This was my first re-landscaping of this area.

[Sabal Steve]

Then, came the city of San Diego's Development Services department... If you ever want to build anything in San Diego, just do it on your own, and keep peace with your neighbors. Don't deal with these people.

Here's my Bismarckia in January 2014. This is about 1 year after the building process started - for a 108 sq foot addition.

[Sabal Steve]

August 2013

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

August 2013. The Howea forsteriana was bought as a 5gal in Encinitas.

Large Sabal sp. bought as an enormous 24" box. It had completely obliterated the box, and I insisted that it be placed in a 30" box before I bought it. It was partially rooted into the ground, but I didn't see how they removed it. This is a large palm. About 3 feet of boots, and over 12' overall. I think that this box easily weighed 500 lbs. This sat in the driveway for months, in limbo as the City of San Diego worked it's magic. I kept it well watered.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

First, and overall shot of the area. Recenty I added about 2" of compost, and perhaps 5" of mulch. Above that I placed rock. The size of the rock ranges anywhere between the size of a tennis ball to a 10" small boulder. All the rock for my property I brought in by hand (after picking it up with my truck) - about 15 tons at my estimate. I have increased the watering in the front, especially to the King Palms. The King Palms were planted from a 24" box in March 2011. You can see the new, healthier, grown sprouting out of the top. I really have to water these a lot for them to look good.

2014-05-05 16.37.37.jpg

Here's a shot of the area from August 1013 and December 2013 respectively.

[Sabal Steve]

Here is a Sabal mauritiformis that I got from Phil. It's been an average grower thus far. It came in a medium 5gal when I picked it in June 2013. Now it's in an average sized 15gal. I don't have space for it at the time. It will hopefully go to one of my neighbors next spring. Doesn't seem too picky, but is said to be one of the less drought tolerant of the genus. In HD cactus soil.

2014-05-05 16.46.08.jpg

Ravenea rivularus. This was bought as a 5 gallon from a grower in Encinitas in June 2013. It's easily tripled in size. I don't remember what specific soil that this is in. It however has mulch and clay that has been added to it over the time that it's been in the pot. Leaves often yellow, I forget what specific deficiency this is. Needy palm.

2014-05-05 16.46.34.jpg

Dypsis pilulifera. This has been a slow grower for me. Purchased around February 2013 as an expensive one gallon from a grower in Carlsbad, I had high hopes for this palm. It has grown slowly. It seems to yellow in direct sun. Currently it is under 70% shade cloth and the deeper green has returned to the leaves. Was getting mostly midday sun exposure as it was between 2 buildings and close to the house. Cactus soil from HD. Light to average watering.

August 2013

[Sabal Steve]

The Bismarckia was planted around September 2012 as a small 15gal. It came from a grower in Oceanside. I amended the clay soil with sand when planting, and have been giving the area plenty of Gypsum.

The Aloe is a varigated Aloe arborenscens and was bought from a nursery in El Cajon as either a 3 gal. It was planted into straight clay/rock around September 2012.

2014-05-05 16.39.56.jpg

There are a bunch of other succulents here. They all pretty much went straight into the clay. The Agave has thrived. I used to water it, but I don't anymore. There is a small Aloe hercules to the left. It has never looked good, under any conditions, and I suspect that this is mostly due to poor drainage. For the last few months I have been giving that area extra Gypsum.

2014-05-05 16.38.10.jpg

Everything is this area gets a good deal of sun during the day. This is probably as close to full sun as I am able to give. There used to be a series of concrete tiles here. The soil was atrocious. I am planning on weeding, and putting a layer of mulch and compost down. I will then remove the rest of the cement tiles and finish with rock. FYI, if anyone wants the tiles let me know. There are probably around 50 - measuring 12" * 12" * 1.5".

This is a picture of my Bismarkia nobilis from Summer 2013.

August 2013

January 2014

[Sabal Steve]

Dypsis leptochielos. August 2013. Large one gallon from Multiflora, now potted in as a medium 5gal.

Dypsis leptochielos and Aloe sp. May 2014. Soil amended with compost, gypsum, cactus soil, peat, and sand. Soil below is rock/clay. Mostly sun. It's clear that the shade grown leaves have stayed a deeper green, while that most recent leaf has a yellowish color. We'll see what the next spear looks like.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

This is the Howea that my dog massacred. Next to it are a few potted palms - Copernicia baileyana, Copernicia alba, Coccothrinax miraguama.

A drascena to the right. May 2014

Bismarckia nobilis. 3 years in the ground.

[Sabal Steve]

The Banana plant was planted from a 5 gallon in March 2014. It's easily doubled in size since then. I stained the deck, and added the railing on this side.

Dypsis baronii. This was planted as a liner from a grower up in Oceanside off of Griffin st. It went into the ground in December 2013.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Sabal Steve]

This is a little corridor on the side of the deck. I have planted a variety of succulents.

In May 2013 I purchased a 15gal Phoenix Sylvesteris from a palm broker. In October 2013 I put it in the ground. It gets some morning sun and mid day sun. When planting I mixed sand, cactus soil, and gypsum in.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Looking great Steve. You're gonna live in a jungle in a few years.

How is that big sabal of yours? Did it finally start to grow?

[OB Burt]

Looks good Steve. I'll have to get up there hopefully before the biennial. Maybe as soon as the June gloom hits the beach. Want to sell the Sabal Mauritiformis?

Burt

[Danilopez89]

Yes, you're right about the kentias. They do grow here as long as they are in full shade. I don't know about king palm but one day I'll try some, I just need my canopy to grow a bit more. I did plant 5 R. Regias and are doing really good.

Your backyard looks awesome. You make everything look real neat back there. Looks like you've set up everything to get more heat. I think my rocks do hold more heat but I really don't have any issues with not enough heat. I just like the way they look.

[Sabal Steve]

Looking great Steve. You're gonna live in a jungle in a few years.

How is that big sabal of yours? Did it finally start to grow?

Thanks Axel. I couldn't say for sure that it has grown, but I feel as if it may have... I marked the spear a few months ago. I put a line on the emergent spear, and continued it onto the nearby petiole. My thought was that the petiole would have stopped growing, and only the emergent spear would still be growing, thus showing a break in the line. It's possible that the nearby petiole that I marked is moving at the same rate? Good thing, is that it only looks slightly worse for the wear after about a year since it was moved from Riverside. When it was originally boxed and brought home I thought I remembered the hastula of the second newest spear/leaf just emerging from the trunk. Now, I don't see any hastula at that same position, and the nearest one is about 9" - 12" out from that point. All the leaf tips have slightly browned, but, other than that, it looks the same. I'll post some pictures of that area of the yard shortly.

Looks good Steve. I'll have to get up there hopefully before the biennial. Maybe as soon as the June gloom hits the beach. Want to sell the Sabal Mauritiformis?

Burt

I may have to sell it, although I don't want to! Unfortunately, I just don't have the room at this point to plant it in my yard. I don't have any neighbors that I trust to properly take care of it either. Maybe at the end of summer? I think that it may replace my large Sabal in the back if it doesn't make it. The summer will be the test. It went into the ground in December and it is still probably getting acclimated and waiting for the soil to warm. We need more warm days too. The mauritiformis probably needs another 6 months to fill out the 15gal because I repotted it not too long ago.

Yes, you're right about the kentias. They do grow here as long as they are in full shade. I don't know about king palm but one day I'll try some, I just need my canopy to grow a bit more. I did plant 5 R. Regias and are doing really good.

Your backyard looks awesome. You make everything look real neat back there. Looks like you've set up everything to get more heat. I think my rocks do hold more heat but I really don't have any issues with not enough heat. I just like the way they look.

I'd love to see some pics of the place over there as it comes along. With heat, and water, those Royals should really take off! I wonder if the added weight of the rocks help suppress weeds as well that can't push the rocks out of the way the way that they can do through mulch? Thank you for the compliment, and yes, that would be great if things get more heat for me! I hadn't really planned that, but the hardscape probably really helps. I just liked the cleaner look of things. The Banana plant probably gets more sun than anything else in the yard. I planted my D. leptichielos right next to it. I've noticed that it's yellowed in full sun at this stage, so I might leave the Banana there, and trim leaves out of the way as needed.

[Danilopez89]

I'd love to upload some pics except I dont know how.

The royals are doing great. I planted them bout 6 weeks ago. The middle spears have came up more than a foot since. They would move fastest after watering with superthrive. Last week I lightly fertilized them and they look healthier already.

Not sure about the weeds thing, but when they grow up thru the rocks they are really easy to pull out.