Chronicles of a Cold Hardy Temecula Garden

[trees4p]

Good morning!

We moved to Temecula a little over two years ago. Me and my wife have been gardening for about 20 years and have lived a lot of places. Each time we moved we did our own landscaping. My wife picked most of the plants. I did most of the labor. This worked well for us. We traveled to hundreds of nurseries far and wide, picking up knowledge along the way. We often traveled just to see plants. But all this time we never got in to palms. Then we moved to Temecula and there was this strange palm in the front yard we had never noticed before. Come to find it's a Bismark Palm. That sparked my interest (aka obsession) in palms. We both had a goal for HEAVY tropical landscaping around our pool build so away we went. Our backyard was basically stripped to the ground save for two neglected queen palms, two crape myrte behind our fence, and a DEVIL plant (aka bougainvillea, more on that later). We are lucky in that our neighbors have lots of mature queen palms giving us a head start. Creating a tropical paradise on a budget on a ~7500 sq ft lot in too hot/too cold Temecula isn't going to be easy.

This forum was invaluable in identifying cold hardy species for our climate, water and nutrient needs, growth rates, vendors, you name it. We love the before and after photos with years of growth identified. We've been taking pictures for our own memories but just the other day my wife wisely suggested it was time to give back. I'm still learning about palms so please feel free to chime in with your experiences! Here we go ...

 

[trees4p]

Bismark July 2016, neglected and overpruned but happy in full sun next to hot driveways.

[trees4p]

September 2018 after two years of fertilizing. Trunk mid way up is about 30 inches in diameter. It's been flowering all season. I believe it's a male but not sure. It's probably gained 8-10 feet of height and 2 feet of trunk. Originally planted around 2008 as far as I can tell, and likely never cared for.

[trees4p]

I'll disclaim it's actually a few inches over to my neighbors property, but they let me look after it and named me its godfather.

[trees4p]

Also, I am in South Temecula in a low lying cold spot. Lowest I've seen in two years is ~27 degrees, but I expect it will get much worse. We get frost. Highest is ~115 degrees.

[trees4p]

Here's the backyard around May 2016 before we did anything. Note the west facing photo with the two queens we inherited.

[trees4p]

The yard after +- 2 years of water and heavy fertilizer.

[trees4p]

[trees4p]

[trees4p]

We used 22 species of palm. We are zone pushing with Kings, Chameadorea Radicalis, Plumosa and Cataractum, Dypsis Plumosa and Lutescens, Ravenea Rivularis and Glauca, Rhopalostylis Sapida and Parajubaea Sunkha.

It's planted with survival of the fittest in mind. There's a strong background of Queen, Windmill, and Pindo so in the event things get below 20 it won't be a total loss. Hopefully canopy will form before this happens. So far we've had one bad cold snap last December that burned a few things, and one bad heat wave about a month ago that browned a few things. Even if I lose some things I doubt all this will fit at maturity anyways so.

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by trees4p

[trees4p]

We have a bunch of Canna's but these do the best approaching 8 feet tall. They get hot afternoon sun.

[trees4p]

We can still see fence and wall but hopefully not much longer.

[trees4p]

Things were purchased in stages starting in December 2016, so actually now that I think about it they have less than 2 years in the ground. Queens, Giant Bird, Pindo's and 2 of the 18 windmill where from 15 gallon pots. The other 16 windmill came in a flat. They grow so fast, here's my best one (actually a pair) from the flat. It's about 4 feet tall.

[trees4p]

[trees4p]

The rest came from mostly 1 gallon or liners. 

If you asked me 6 months ago what of the questionable plantings I am most impressed with I'd say the Chameadorea Plumosa. It's fast, green and healthy in full sun. That is until it hit 115 degrees and turned some fronds brown. We weren't home at the time, so I wonder had I done supplemental water if it would have done better. Second best are the ravenea rivularis and glauca, but I water a lot.

The big disappointments are the Kings and the cat palms. Maybe they just haven't settled in. 

Everything is on drip, and I hand water as needed during hot spells. Our soil is what I would call pure sand. I fertilize quarterly but I think it could take more.

[trees4p]

My wife wanted some tropical trees. We have a fig and two coral trees that have shot up to well over 10 feet from a 1 gallon pot. Tropicals are so fun, I can't remember any of my gardens where such a wide range of stuff grows so fast. Our pool will be messy at times and roots may become a concern but who cares, it's worth it to us plant nuts.

[trees4p]

I'm getting comfortable with the needs of each palm, but the Sago in this photo is a mystery. In spring it's great but the leaves yellow in summer. We originally bought two but one rotted due to overwatering so I'm hesitant to water this one more. Maybe that's what is needed though?

[Chris Chance]

Welcome to the forum! I lived in Murrieta for years and started my palm obsession there. You're garden is looking good! That bizzy is nice and healthy! There's many other palms that will actually do great in that area even with frost that happen most winters in low lying areas like Temecula. Seems the pool area is planted pretty good already. 

[trees4p]

Thanks Chris. Yep the backyard planting is done at least for now. There's some open space to the right of the pool but we have dogs so it's a necessity. I'm always on the lookout for skinny trunked smaller palms to tuck in to the beds. I'm waiting for a really nasty freeze to see how my C. Radicalis do. If they hold up I'll probably add more.

[trees4p]

April 2017 BEFORE the dogs destroyed the lawn. You see that red devil plant behind the pool?

[Chris Chance]

I can tell you radicalis should do well there. Especially if there's canopy for protection there's other Chamaedoria that should make it as well. I'm in a similar climate here and I have Dypsis lutescens doing great under canopy.

[trees4p]

I'm convinced my windamere and king palm nearby are struggling because the devil plant is stealing all the nutrients. Plus it gets mealy bug.

[Jubaea_James760]

Beautiful garden!  Awesome job with the landscape! & that bizzy  looking flawless. So with the sago, if i had to take a good guess I'd say it's burnt from over fertilizing. Or sun burnt. Or a mixture of both. 

[Jubaea_James760]

Also you should take a look @ Kevin Weavers place. Plams4u2.com. He has a ton of great stuff! Some Enceplahartos would do great in Temecula. I haven't been to his place in over 3 years but am pretty sure he's still cranking out palms outta he's house.  He's not far from you. Maybe 15 minutes in Lake Elsinore. 

[Josue Diaz]

On 9/8/2018, 7:06:21, James760 said:

Also you should take a look @ Kevin Weavers place. Plams4u2.com. He has a ton of great stuff! Some Enceplahartos would do great in Temecula. I haven't been to his place in over 3 years but am pretty sure he's still cranking out palms outta he's house.  He's not far from you. Maybe 15 minutes in Lake Elsinore. 

Kevin has lots of great stuff for cold, desert areas. I agree, give him a visit. 

[trees4p]

On 9/8/2018, 6:59:57, James760 said:

Beautiful garden!  Awesome job with the landscape! & that bizzy  looking flawless. So with the sago, if i had to take a good guess I'd say it's burnt from over fertilizing. Or sun burnt. Or a mixture of both. 

I'm guessing sun burnt since it happened during the heat wave while we were gone. I thought these could take sun though ...

[trees4p]

22 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

Kevin has lots of great stuff for cold, desert areas. I agree, give him a visit. 

Yep, Kevin hooked me up with the c. radicalis and c. plumosa among other things.

[trees4p]

On 9/8/2018, 12:11:28, trees4p said:

My wife wanted some tropical trees. We have a fig and two coral trees that have shot up to well over 10 feet from a 1 gallon pot. Tropicals are so fun, I can't remember any of my gardens where such a wide range of stuff grows so fast. Our pool will be messy at times and roots may become a concern but who cares, it's worth it to us plant nuts.

Correction, two Hong Kong Orchid Trees, not Coral Trees. In a yard this size two Coral Trees would be insane.

[trees4p]

Quick update, everything did ok  this past month of cold weather, except for a Majesty and a Scheflerra that appear to be in cold spots in the yard. I don't think we got below 28 except maybe in those cold spots. We may have gotten frost but I was out of town so not sure. Found some warmer spots too for future plantings. 

[trees4p]

On 9/8/2018 at 12:32 PM, trees4p said:

Thanks Chris. Yep the backyard planting is done at least for now. There's some open space to the right of the pool but we have dogs so it's a necessity. I'm always on the lookout for skinny trunked smaller palms to tuck in to the beds. I'm waiting for a really nasty freeze to see how my C. Radicalis do. If they hold up I'll probably add more.

 

On 9/8/2018 at 12:39 PM, Chris Chance said:

I can tell you radicalis should do well there. Especially if there's canopy for protection there's other Chamaedoria that should make it as well. I'm in a similar climate here and I have Dypsis lutescens doing great under canopy.

Nice call Chris!, the C. Radicalis is doing great under canopy. Unscathed through hot and cold. It reminds me of a cared after indoor palm at an upscale hotel. I've done nothing for it except water and fertilizer. I'm planning a trip to Kevin's for more. You mentioned other Chameadora, any particular species tried and true for our climate? Microspadix? Costaricana?

BTW I was impressed on the C. Plumosa's fast growth in the heat, but that cold snap to about 28 F in February nailed them. The damage didn't really show until a few weeks after and got worse from there. They are coming back strong but having to cover them going forward will be difficult. I won't be buying more. 

The Rhopalostylis Sapida didn't make it.

I have three Ravenea Rivularis and the largest one got nailed by the cold spell. The immature Ravenea Glauca did well.

In sum I am focusing on C. Radicalis and R. Glauca for understory. Any other small proven winners from our area?

[Chris Chance]

On 9/26/2019 at 5:16 AM, trees4p said:

 

Nice call Chris!, the C. Radicalis is doing great under canopy. Unscathed through hot and cold. It reminds me of a cared after indoor palm at an upscale hotel. I've done nothing for it except water and fertilizer. I'm planning a trip to Kevin's for more. You mentioned other Chameadora, any particular species tried and true for our climate? Microspadix? Costaricana?

BTW I was impressed on the C. Plumosa's fast growth in the heat, but that cold snap to about 28 F in February nailed them. The damage didn't really show until a few weeks after and got worse from there. They are coming back strong but having to cover them going forward will be difficult. I won't be buying more. 

The Rhopalostylis Sapida didn't make it.

I have three Ravenea Rivularis and the largest one got nailed by the cold spell. The immature Ravenea Glauca did well.

In sum I am focusing on C. Radicalis and R. Glauca for understory. Any other small proven winners from our area?

Crazy I didn't think plumosa would take damage like that. I have some that did well last winter. Also ernesti-augustii is doing okay here. They like it really shady and Metallica probably the same way. Cataractcaraum should so okay also. My neighbor has some in their front yard pretty much in full sun and somehow they survive but don't look great.

[GottmitAlex]

On 10/14/2019 at 6:14 PM, Chris Chance said:

Crazy I didn't think plumosa would take damage like that. I have some that did well last winter. Also ernesti-augustii is doing okay here. They like it really shady and Metallica probably the same way. Cataractcaraum should so okay also. My neighbor has some in their front yard pretty much in full sun and somehow they survive but don't look great.

D. Plumosa is the dypsis equivalent of a Washingtonia palm in California.  You throw plumosa seeds around your garden, they will sprout, even in tumultuous clay soil. 

[Chris Chance]

2 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

D. Plumosa is the dypsis equivalent of a Washingtonia palm in California.  You throw plumosa seeds around your garden, they will sprout, even in tumultuous clay soil. 

I was actually talking about Chamaedoria plumosa which has been an easy palm for me in the shade. I had a random seed pop in the garden and didn't know what it was till it grew a bit. I found out a while ago that Dypsis plumosa doesn't handle frost well. Have yet to get one growing in my garden here but only have one gallon size plants at the moment. 

[trees4p]

BRRRRR, it's 27 degrees in my backyard. Fingers crossed!

[Tropicdoc]

On 9/8/2018 at 2:39 PM, Chris Chance said:

I can tell you radicalis should do well there. Especially if there's canopy for protection there's other Chamaedoria that should make it as well. I'm in a similar climate here and I have Dypsis lutescens doing great under canopy.

Lutesens died cold for me

at 28F no canopy