Florida yard palm project

[Yunder Wækraus]

We finally moved into our home in Indialantic, Florida. The front yard had almost no real landscaping upon our taking ownership of the house. The yard was originally all crushed rock, and the previous owner removed only part of that and piled the rest into three UGLY islands of rock. The weed-blocking tarp that had been lain beneath the rock was therefore not removed, and the fresh sod put down by the old owners atop the partial rock has not been able to root. It all looked terrible. Thanks to kind advice and even kinder direct help from folks on this forum, I have acquired some palms and have begun to landscape the front. Someone suggested I post pictures of the work, so I'll start with photos of the front yard as it looked upon our purchase of the home, photos of its current state a week in, and a rough sketch of my plans for the front yard (not to scale and subject to change).

My goal is to have every native species of Florida palm, the coontie, and the coconut in the front yard. I paid for two large specimens, a Roystonea regia and a nice clump of Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, which were delivered and installed by a nursery in Malabar (which was recommended to me by a forum member). And I purchased two small Pseudophoenix sargentii (not in the ground yet) and a beautiful Coccothrinax argentata from another forum member in the local area. I hope to have the whole front fully landscaped by the end of the summer.

[Zeeth]

You've definitely got a lot of work ahead of you! You'll be glad you took the before pictures in a few years when the garden matures and the yard looks much different. You might have difficulty finding Sabal miamiensis if you want to have all the Florida natives, but some members here are starting to get flowers so you might be able to start from seed.

[Ben in Norcal]

Looks like a great project!

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Great job and I second that you'll be glad you took pics (I wish I had). Love the clump of Acoelorrhaphe wrightii! Those are one of my favorite natives.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Thanks, everyone :-)

[Yunder Wækraus]

"...had lain..." ('been' wasn't supposed to be there!)

[empireo22]

Awesome! that royal is nice! it will be huge in a few years time. are you going to install irrigation?

[Yunder Wækraus]

I'd like to do that eventually. My house is on city water, but it also has a well with a pump fir irrigation (free water for my plants!). There's no sprinkler system or anything other than a hose right now

[Ben in Norcal]

Run some drip. Easy DIY.

[Alicehunter2000]

Ah....another blank canvas....this is going to keep you busy.

[Danilopez89]

I love that royal. It looks nice and fat already.

[Zeeth]

Run some drip. Easy DIY.

Not in our sandy soil! Micro-sprinklers are the way to go!

[Yunder Wækraus]

Yeah, how often should i be watering these guys in this sand?

[Zeeth]

Yeah, how often should i be watering these guys in this sand?

My schedule is 3 days per week in the summer, 2 in the spring/fall and 1 in the winter, which seems to keep my soil moist but not soggy. You can water more often right now since everything is newly transplanted though. The worst thing to do to cut roots is let them dry out. The big issue with our sand is that it's hydrophobic once dry, so it's best to always keep it a little moist.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Ok

[Yunder Wækraus]

To be honest, I don't think I have sandy soil; rather, I just have SAND! There ain't no soil to be seen :-) We had a guy from Missouri deliver stuff yesterday, and he couldn't believe that my hose failed to make a puddle after being left in one spont for more than an hour. I just don't see how these plants live in this sand. Is there any easy way to alter the sand such that it resembles sandy soil? (Also, how in the heck does it seem so bereft of organic material when this beachside was once a jungle of cabbage palms and sea grape? Where did all that organic materal go? I need to go do some research on soil, I guess.)

[Zeeth]

To be honest, I don't think I have sandy soil; rather, I just have SAND! There ain't no soil to be seen :-) We had a guy from Missouri deliver stuff yesterday, and he couldn't believe that my hose failed to make a puddle after being left in one spont for more than an hour. I just don't see how these plants live in this sand. Is there any easy way to alter the sand such that it resembles sandy soil? (Also, how in the heck does it seem so bereft of organic material when this beachside was once a jungle of cabbage palms and sea grape? Where did all that organic materal go? I need to go do some research on soil, I guess.)

Check out this post by Jerry@treezoo on how to amend sand. It's very informative!

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/45553-if-you-were-me-how-would-you-amend/?p=701740

[PalmatierMeg]

Looking good. Don't forget to mulch, mulch, mulch.

[Josh-O]

have fun in your new climate zone

[Yunder Wækraus]

Thanks. I guess I need to get some mulch

[Yunder Wækraus]

Alright, I think I have a strategy:

I have a lot of cardboard boxes because of the move. I might actually have enough to cover a few thousand square feet. The previous owner, as I said above, laid sod atop a weed-blocking tarp, but that only resulted in the sod never rooting. It's all pretty much dead, and I'll be tearing it out regardless. And I have some volunteer figs along the property line in the back yard (non more than 15-20' tall), and there's a youngish Norfolk Island pine (not more than 25-30' tall), which is too close to the electrical lines.

I'm going to rip up the sod and set it grass-side-down around my plants (the excess to be set aside in a mulch pile). I'll lay a layer of cardboard over the that upside down sod. And then, if I can swing it, I'd like to cut down the four trees in the back which I don't want and either have them mulched or, more likey, hack them up with my ax and spread the branches and leaves atop the cardboard and lay the limbes and trunks around for decoration. There's quite a bit of black soil stuck to the roots of the grass, and I think the sod should all die if turned upside down and hidden from light by the cardboard. I can also add fertilizer and additional mulch into the mix, but I'm hoping to get as much out of what I already have on the property.

[Dave-Vero]

Cardboard is great for killing grass (including even Bermuda grass, which is very hard to get rid of). Consider Kentiopsis oliviformis in place of coconut. Nicely grown ones are available locally, they seem to like Florida quite well, and they seem hardier than coconuts. Lastly, trimming coconuts becomes a problem when they get tall. They can be hard to find, but Copernicia can also be worth considering. Blue saw palmettos are findable, but do get a bit large. I suppose you could keep them in hand by periodically setting fires.

Once things settle a bit, I could donate some coonties. One or two big ones could go, and several youngsters. Also, I have a few sun-liking bromeliads.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Coontie donations would be appreciated! I won't be setting fires for palmetto control :-)

[Dave-Vero]

Coonties are best moved in winter when they aren't very active and are less bothered by having roots cut and leaves lopped.

BTW, Kentiopsis. I have a small one going in the back yard, and persuaded a neighbor across the street to plant another.

[amazondk]

You have a good project ahead. It sort of reminds me of when I bought my house in Fort Lauderdale many years ago.

dk

[Palmə häl′ik]

I wanna say I seen a nursery somewhere that specializes in FL natives, both ornamental and edibles...

I think Manatee Co.

[LilikoiLee]

I'm always impressed by anyone who has a plan! And, yours looks good. Looking forward to see progress reports.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Thanks

[_Keith]

To be honest, I don't think I have sandy soil; rather, I just have SAND! There ain't no soil to be seen :-) We had a guy from Missouri deliver stuff yesterday, and he couldn't believe that my hose failed to make a puddle after being left in one spont for more than an hour. I just don't see how these plants live in this sand. Is there any easy way to alter the sand such that it resembles sandy soil? (Also, how in the heck does it seem so bereft of organic material when this beachside was once a jungle of cabbage palms and sea grape? Where did all that organic materal go? I need to go do some research on soil, I guess.)

As the Moosely one would say, "mulch, mulch, mulch." And don't go for the nursery stuff guaranteed to be long lasting. Put down some stuff that will break down more rapidly. You'll still need a few years either way for the effect to reach prime, but you can shorten it a bit.

And love the plan, too. Gonna be an exciting ride.

[Alicehunter2000]

Yes! Yes! ....... Use the Cardboard!

[Dmcdonald]

You can get free mulch from the dump in Melbourne or the place beside the dump sells it by the bag or truckload. They have different colors available. Both are on Sarno just west of Wickham. I put down a layer of the fine mulch from the dump. Followed by the more coarse stuff a few years ago and have been topping it with more in different areas every year and my sand is know turning to soil.I put cardboard down nuder some areas and it did block the weeds for a while but eventually seeds sprout from in the mulch, grass sneeks in from nieghbors. The yard is looking good.

[redant]

Look for free horse poop from out west (check Craig's list), I have a setup with a horse guy and pick up nicely bagged poop one a week, works great at turning sand to soil. Also get your irrigation system going, moisture will help things break down instead of just toasting up.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Great tips--thanks!

[mnorell]

Why on earth would you cover your yard in cardboard? Go get municipal mulch and put a thick layer on top of the sod you want to kill out. Cardboard will create hypoxic or anoxic conditions and smother the life in your soil--which you desperately need--earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, et al. as well as the roots of your plants, all of which need lots of oxygen. Please reconsider this plan and realize that grass is very easy to kill with a thick layer of mulch/dirt and, in the long run, with the ever-increasing shade of your growing canopy. I have done this here and never failed. Really a cinch to do.

[Moose]

If you have pure sugar sand - don't waste your time unless your going to mulch like a mad man. Put a 12 inch layer down everywhere. After a year it will be only 4 " deep and you will have some nice humis working its way into the sand.

Then put another 12 inches down next spring. It will take time to get rich organic laden soil established - but well worth the effort. With microbes established in the soil - all your plants will love you for your efforts.

I practice what I preach ...

[Yunder Wækraus]

It really is like sugar in some patches. There's a bit of color to it in other areas, but it's still just sand. I'll call the dump today.

[Palmə häl′ik]

RotoTil it all now while theres nothin there... Getcha ground right, then plant.

[OverGrown]

This will be fun to watch... post lots of pics of the progress!

[Ben in Norcal]

I'm surprised you can grow coconuts all the way up there.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Yeah, my neighbors' coconut trees are respectably tall and full of ripening coconuts. Everyone has told me that the freeze of 1989 killed most of them on the island. I also recently learned that this stretch of coast was a major location for pineapple production until the horrific freeze of the 1890s