Moving Palms

[willials]

I am in a bit of a bind and need some advice. I received a homeowner's association letter today that said my palms are out of compliance with my neighborhood's landscaping. I have had these palms in the ground for 5+ years and they are making me remove them, saying that a neighbor complained and that I did not have them approved through their formal process when planted. Well, the HOA was bankrupt in 2012 when I moved in and we were the third people in the entire neighborhood of (now 2000+) homes to move in. I am going to try and fight this, but if I don't win, I'm going to be forced to dig up and move some pretty sizable and mature palms. It's sickening honestly, but it has convinced me to move to an area with more land for the kids.

Would these palms survive a move, in your honest opinion?

 

-2 Trachycarpus Fortunei (around 6 years old, approx. 8 feet tall)

-1 Med Fan Palm (around 5 years old, has about 3 feet of trunk)

-1 Butia/Pindo Palm (around 5 years old, has about 2 feet of trunk, with fronds about 5 feet tall)

 

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[willials]

Med Fan Palm...

[willials]

Butia...

[Rickybobby]

That’s insane. What’s the difference between the rest of the trees on your road? Someone complaining. They need to get a life. Nice palms and sorry to hear about this. Where are you located?

[willials]

I live in the Puget Sound Area (East of Tacoma, a suburb called Puyallup). We have a really bad property management company that is known for being militaristic about everything, so I may end up going to my attorney, as there's no language in the HOA documentation that specifically prevents palms. I researched (as I understand it) that in Texas and Florida an HOA tried to make a determination on what plants were "native" for those places and the state courts have basically told HOAs in those states they cannot make a determination what is and is not native. It is ironic that all the million dollar plus homes/neighborhoods in our area have palms. Places like Lake Tapps, Gig Harbor, Bellevue/Mercer Island/Lake WA, etc.

[Neil C]

The Trachycarpus and Chamaerops will move easily provided you get a reasonable rootball. I not sure about the Butia but others will know. Sorry to hear about your situation. I'd hate to be told what I could and couldn't plant in MY garden. Hope it all works out for the best.

Regards Neil

[Surfrider14]

As Neil C said, both the Trachycarpus & chamaerops should move pretty easily. I can’t imagine being told I couldn’t have my windmills in my landscaping back when I was in N.Y. I can’t believe someone has nothing better to do than to complain. IMO, they look great and really help to bring the tropics to a temperate, cool climate. Sorry to hear. 

[Fusca]

I agree with Neil - those palms should move easily along with the Butia.  I have actually moved this Butia 4 times to 4 different yards within a 5-year period.  I wouldn't advise doing that but they are tough.  My Butia has been in its current spot just over a year now and is finally starting to take off again after having its growth interrupted so many times!  I held on to this one for its blue color - it took me awhile to find one like this.

[willials]

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. 

[PalmatierMeg]

I think your landscaping looks great. I hate HOAs and am so glad I live in an unrestricted part of Cape Coral. Kudos to you for escaping your HOA's dictates.

Before you actually make your move, start 4 months before by trenching all around your palms as follows: Month #1) cut a narrow trench along one side of each palm about 2' from the trunk and at least 2' deep; Month #2) repeat trench along a 2nd side; Month #3) repeat on 3rd side; Month #4) repeat on 4th side. When you are ready to move palms, undercut the rootball and remove palm. I performed this procedure when I had to dig up and repot my first dwarf Areca catechu.

By going through the above actions you are gradually cutting through the palm roots a month at a time rather than hacking through them all at once and yanking out your palm at the last minute. The has time to adjust to root damage before the shock of transplant and gives it a greater chance of survival and recovery.

Ideally, you can get this done before onset of winter or sometime next spring. Good luck.

[Turtlesteve]

Hope it works out.  No HOA was a prerequisite when we bought our house.  When we were house hunting I told my wife I'd rather have a neighbor with a toilet planter in their front yard (South Carolina...I've seen it before) than deal with that kind of nonsense.

Steve

[mdsonofthesouth]

33 minutes ago, Turtlesteve said:

Hope it works out.  No HOA was a prerequisite when we bought our house.  When we were house hunting I told my wife I'd rather have a neighbor with a toilet planter in their front yard (South Carolina...I've seen it before) than deal with that kind of nonsense.

Steve

My wife and I had the same deal. Our first home we had to ask permission and have it voted on to plant an identical tree to our neighbors and then theyd turn around and tell us during a meeting they "don't give a **** about what we think or want...". Mother in law tried to plead a case for HOA and it feel on deaf ears. 

[PalmatierMeg]

My son and wife bought a house in a gated community in Ft. Myers, FL in the early 2000s. The HOA openly banned the planting of any palms - totally stupid and pointless.

[cm05]

HOA’s sound insane.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Good news is that those three species are some of the easiest to transplant.