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Palm Crazy


Chester B

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I thought I had a problem.  Drove by this house and noticed the mini forest of palms in their backyard.

 

Palm_Garden.jpg

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NIce! Chester thanks for posting the pic. I agree with dalmatiansoap its a start... lol. I think I have around 30 trachy's in my little yard. The sloping backyard is good for good air drainage too.  Most homes in my area have less than 5 palms tree in their yards...Good find!

Edited by Palm crazy
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Those palms looked recently planted so either they've got a palmy connection or spent some good $$.  Unfortunately for them that lowest retaining wall is the edge of their property.  I took the photo from the street below them.   It's one of those roads that winds back and forth as it goes up one of the many steep hills (extinct volcanos) that we have here in the Happy Valley area of Oregon.

There is another home close by but its in a gated community.  Apparently he has a crazy number of palms as well as a very long hedge of mature needle palms.  I'm going to try and get in there one day.

Edited by Chester B
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The owner must not be a long-time enthusiast of palms. If I were to spend that much money for landscape palms, I certainly would get a  much more diverse selection. 

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People aren't that into palms here other then Trachys.  Some people even think it's weird to have palm trees and you see a lot of people remove them when they buy a house because they don't "look right".  Japanese style gardens are more then norm here.

Even though we have good climate for many species I have only seen two palm trees that weren't Trachys in the 3 years I've been living here.  One Chaemerops and a Jubea that is a city planting down by the waterfront.

Edited by Chester B
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My kind of gardener. Except he does line them up like soldiers on parade. A little more thought to random placement would have been nice. Then he would have a true jungle instead of a tree farm. Oh well, at least he may be a palm lover.

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Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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5 hours ago, Chester B said:

People aren't that into palms here other then Trachys.  Some people even think it's weird to have palm trees and you see a lot of people remove them when they buy a house because they don't "look right".  Japanese style gardens are more then norm here.

Even though we have good climate for many species I have only seen two palm trees that weren't Trachys in the 3 years I've been living here.  One Chaemerops and a Jubea that is a city planting down by the waterfront.

Aren't Trachys commonly used in Japanese style gardening though? lol

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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We have a huge Japanese garden here in Portland, not a palm tree to be seen.  Lots of maples, moss and stone.

10 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Aren't Trachys commonly used in Japanese style gardening though? lol

Great point!

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Dang! That probably would cost me a fortune if I wanted a backyard like that. Are larger trachys easier and cheaper to get in Portland?

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20 minutes ago, ActualTrachycarpus said:

Dang! That probably would cost me a fortune if I wanted a backyard like that. Are larger trachys easier and cheaper to get in Portland?

Easy to get. Trees over 15' of trunk are less common but still around.  Standard rate is $150 per foot of trunk, if you go to the right place probably half that.  I can get a 15 gallon tree about 2-3' of trunk for $55.  25 gallon is $75 and around 3-4' of trunk.  The trees in my pic were probably $300-$400 each as they were in the 5-6' range.  At a retail nursery they would be over $700/tree.

 

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$75 for 3-4 feet of trunk is a really good price! Do you of any good mail order sites for like a trachy with 2-4 feet of trunk? 

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As much as I love palms I couldn’t do that, that’s just too much of the same species and they’re planted too uniformly for my taste. 2-3 Trachys planted together at staggered heights growing amongst small flowering shrubs would look nicer imo.

A standalone Wagnerianus always looks good, Needles can either stand alone or make a good underplanting. A small Southern Magnolia, Japanese Maple, a couple of rhododendrons, etc. 

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18 hours ago, ActualTrachycarpus said:

$75 for 3-4 feet of trunk is a really good price! Do you of any good mail order sites for like a trachy with 2-4 feet of trunk? 

No I buy all of my palms from a local palm nursery.

 

1 hour ago, cm05 said:

As much as I love palms I couldn’t do that, that’s just too much of the same species and they’re planted too uniformly for my taste. 2-3 Trachys planted together at staggered heights growing amongst small flowering shrubs would look nicer imo.

A standalone Wagnerianus always looks good, Needles can either stand alone or make a good underplanting. A small Southern Magnolia, Japanese Maple, a couple of rhododendrons, etc. 

I agree, however we are limited as to what grows here.  I have more palms than that person does but they are heavily interplanted with other trees, shrubs and flowers so I look like I have far fewer, as they blend better into the landscape.

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I don't understand why people think palms do not belong unless they're at some tropical beach somewhere on vacation. 

Los Angeles, CA and Myrtle Beach, SC.

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On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:48 PM, Chester B said:

Easy to get. Trees over 15' of trunk are less common but still around.  Standard rate is $150 per foot of trunk, if you go to the right place probably half that.  I can get a 15 gallon tree about 2-3' of trunk for $55.  25 gallon is $75 and around 3-4' of trunk.  The trees in my pic were probably $300-$400 each as they were in the 5-6' range.  At a retail nursery they would be over $700/tree.

 

Random question for you and @palmcrazy : do you ever see field grown trachies at nurseries or elsewhere in the PNW? They seem to do well there and I'm just curious.

Mike in zone 6 Missouruh

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1 hour ago, pin38 said:

Random question for you and @palmcrazy : do you ever see field grown trachies at nurseries or elsewhere in the PNW? They seem to do well there and I'm just curious.

 

I see fields and fields of ornamental plants for the nursery trade such as japanese maples, conifers, etc but not palm trees.  The palm nursery I deal with actually does have one field planted with huge trachys - 20'+ that he sent me to look at.  For the most part he grows them in pots.

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Love it! wish I could afford that many trunked trachycarpus, but if I could get them for $55 for a 15g and $75 for a 25g Id have good mess more trees than the 7 I have now. More will come in the spring, but smaller 3 to 7g versions. But I also have to empathize with them as I plant in straight lines alot too. 

On 1/22/2019 at 3:47 AM, Brad Mondel said:

I don't understand why people think palms do not belong unless they're at some tropical beach somewhere on vacation. 

I know right? I even have nurseries around here laugh at me or flat out tell me palms don't belong here. When I show them mine or explain that palms have been here for quite a long time they usually walk away. But I have been known as "the palm guy" in my area since 2016 and have also had several positive experiences due to it. But certainly the former response is far too common from folks who plant invasive or non native plants all over. When the wife asked why I need "Chinese palm trees" I answered with "same reason why you need asian/south Pacific crepe myrtles on our land".

Edited by mdsonofthesouth
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LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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3 hours ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

Love it! wish I could afford that many trunked trachycarpus, but if I could get them for $55 for a 15g and $75 for a 25g Id have good mess more trees than the 7 I have now. More will come in the spring, but smaller 3 to 7g versions. But I also have to empathize with them as I plant in straight lines alot too. 

I know right? I even have nurseries around here laugh at me or flat out tell me palms don't belong here. When I show them mine or explain that palms have been here for quite a long time they usually walk away. But I have been known as "the palm guy" in my area since 2016 and have also had several positive experiences due to it. But certainly the former response is far too common from folks who plant invasive or non native plants all over. When the wife asked why I need "Chinese palm trees" I answered with "same reason why you need asian/south Pacific crepe myrtles on our land".

Yes Crepe myrtles are over planted everywhere, I will not have then in my yard! I was talking to a lady last summer and she said palms were too tropical for our area, yet she wanted to plant elephant ears and Calla lilies?! 

Los Angeles, CA and Myrtle Beach, SC.

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We had a friend over last night that is moving from Toronto (where I'm from) and she says "I've seen some palm trees here, must be all the Californians that have moved here planting them because they're in denial".  I bit my lip, sometimes it's not even worth trying.

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On 1/22/2019 at 3:47 AM, Brad Mondel said:

I don't understand why people think palms do not belong unless they're at some tropical beach somewhere on vacation. 

I can write an entire book about palm misconceptions I've seen over the years.

Try telling non palm nuts that the Carolinas have more native palms than Hawaii or California and they will be mindblown. ^_^

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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6 hours ago, Brad Mondel said:

Yes Crepe myrtles are over planted everywhere, I will not have then in my yard! I was talking to a lady last summer and she said palms were too tropical for our area, yet she wanted to plant elephant ears and Calla lilies?! 

 

Some people...funny thing is I found elephant ears at our usual campsite in blue ridge Appalachia.

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LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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On 1/22/2019 at 5:08 PM, pin38 said:

Random question for you and @palmcrazy : do you ever see field grown trachies at nurseries or elsewhere in the PNW? They seem to do well there and I'm just curious.

Here is the way most nurseries sell palm tree in WA to the public.  It a lot easier to just bring larger palms up from Cali than to grow them in the ground, but I am sure someone does that too.  I do know of at least one whole seller in Seattle that brings up field grown palms. They are not in pots just sitting in wood dust really for landscapers to take them and put into a gardens or commercial insulation. 

Palm T2.jpg

Palm T4.jpg

Palm T3.jpg

Edited by Palm crazy
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Exactly how I see them here.  I know my local guy supplies some nurseries in Seattle too.  He has a lot of space down in California to grow them quick before he brings them up to Oregon.  He usually gives me ones that have been here a few years, or so he says...:P

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On 1/18/2019 at 12:34 PM, Chester B said:

People aren't that into palms here other then Trachys.  Some people even think it's weird to have palm trees and you see a lot of people remove them when they buy a house because they don't "look right".  Japanese style gardens are more then norm here.

Even though we have good climate for many species I have only seen two palm trees that weren't Trachys in the 3 years I've been living here.  One Chaemerops and a Jubea that is a city planting down by the waterfront.

it seems like all the houses here in mukilteo wa that have palms are trachycarpus and a majority is one or 2 palm,one house about 2 blocks away has his yard filled with trachy,s.I will be the oddball with different palms-Fillabusta, Butia x jubaea, Phoenix sylvestris, Phoenix theophrasti,zahidi date palm (all are 8b and can handle wet weather) I also have 2 3ft canary palms that survived the winter outside in pots that I will try to plant this spring.my neighbors think I'm nuts cause palm trees look out of place here.I am called the climate change freak.

Edited by Love them palms
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1 hour ago, Love them palms said:

it seems like all the houses here in mukilteo wa that have palms are trachycarpus and a majority is one or 2 palm,one house about 2 blocks away has his yard filled with trachy,s.I will be the oddball with different palms-Fillabusta, Butia x jubaea, Phoenix sylvestris, Phoenix theophrasti,zahidi date palm (all are 8b and can handle wet weather) I also have 2 3ft canary palms that survived the winter outside in pots that I will try to plant this spring.my neighbors think I'm nuts cause palm trees look out of place here.I am called the climate change freak.

 

My neighbor came over to my house after we moved in while I was planting my palms and said jokingly to the trees "nice knowing yall!", friend not to much after that said "hope all your palms die" and laughed. He has since changed his tune. 

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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15 minutes ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

 

My neighbor came over to my house after we moved in while I was planting my palms and said jokingly to the trees "nice knowing yall!", friend not to much after that said "hope all your palms die" and laughed. He has since changed his tune. 

When my butia x jubaea was delivered my neighbor said I should plant Japanese maple or juniper bushes and pointed to my palms and said they will never live

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Haha yeah same here and nearly 3 years later I still have mine...for now...

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 9:09 PM, Palm crazy said:

Here is the way most nurseries sell palm tree in WA to the public.  It a lot easier to just bring larger palms up from Cali than to grow them in the ground, but I am sure someone does that too.  I do know of at least one whole seller in Seattle that brings up field grown palms. They are not in pots just sitting in wood dust really for landscapers to take them and put into a gardens or commercial insulation. 

Palm T2.jpg

Palm T4.jpg

Palm T3.jpg

Thanks for the info and pictures! 

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Mike in zone 6 Missouruh

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Looks good Roger.  Pictures are great but a video really ties the different areas together in your brain.

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What are your thoughts on the water feature? I have been thinking about incorporating one into my future garden, but just not sure I want the headache.... 

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1 hour ago, RJ said:

What are your thoughts on the water feature? I have been thinking about incorporating one into my future garden, but just not sure I want the headache.... 

The water feature is the bomb! Really add a lot to the garden. If I were to do it over I would put in a pondless water feature that would make it maintenance free. It also adds lots of sounds that drown out the city noise, and the birds and wildlife love it too. Highly recommend one. 

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

Looks good Roger.  Pictures are great but a video really ties the different areas together in your brain.

I will make a better and longer video in a few days to give you the full feel of the winter garden. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

What you also have to remember about some neighborhoods is that the HOAs try to block landscaping that isn’t uniform to the rest of the neighborhood. I had this happen after 7 years of mature palms in the ground. A neighbor complained to the HOA and the board voted (without me present at the meeting of course) to make us “dig up” all of the palms in our front yard. I looked at the rules and could not determine how I was in violation based on someone’s opinion that the palms were not uniform landscaping for this area (Seattle). So I went to an attorney and fought it and won. But it was a pain to deal with and it made me not want to plant any more palms until I get a big piece of land (ideally in the Kalama, WA area).

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Wow.  Our HOA in the past encouraged planting palms as it supposed to raise property values.  I did run into some issues when I first moved into the neighborhood but since I've joined the Architectural review committee as well as taking a position as a Director on the HOA board.  That way I can shape what happens in the neighborhood and implement changes as I see fit!

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10 hours ago, willials said:

What you also have to remember about some neighborhoods is that the HOAs try to block landscaping that isn’t uniform to the rest of the neighborhood. I had this happen after 7 years of mature palms in the ground. A neighbor complained to the HOA and the board voted (without me present at the meeting of course) to make us “dig up” all of the palms in our front yard. I looked at the rules and could not determine how I was in violation based on someone’s opinion that the palms were not uniform landscaping for this area (Seattle). So I went to an attorney and fought it and won. But it was a pain to deal with and it made me not want to plant any more palms until I get a big piece of land (ideally in the Kalama, WA area).

First question I asked when shown a new house:  "Does it have an HOA?"  Your scenario is exactly why.

2 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Wow.  Our HOA in the past encouraged planting palms as it supposed to raise property values.  I did run into some issues when I first moved into the neighborhood but since I've joined the Architectural review committee as well as taking a position as a Director on the HOA board.  That way I can shape what happens in the neighborhood and implement changes as I see fit!

Way to take the bull by the horns!

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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