Turning a Water Oak Forest into a Tropical Paradise in NW Orlando

[Dartolution]

Also, look at pondless waterfalls as a water feature option for your back. The noise of the water is sure to block out a lot of noise. Since you're doing so much with the landscape now would be a good time to do one. 

[Merlyn]

Yeah I am planning on building a patio back there and will probably have one of the little fountain thingies on the patio.  I like the sound of the water, and the two house panthers will definitely like the water fountain.  Before they bulldozed several large sections of forest I could barely hear the highway.  Now it's noisy 24/7 and I've seriously considered abandoning this landscaping project and moving somewhere a bit more isolated from major highways...

I talked with my neighbor about it, and I might attach a wood fence to his chainlink.  It'll be somewhat easy to replace when needed, since the metal posts are already sunk in concrete.  That might be a better option than vines.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Merlyn2220

[Dartolution]

@Merlyn2220 you're probably right. The wood fence will help block some noise and provide a better privacy barrier. 

I would still look at pondless waterfalls and building on yourself. You have what you need to do it and believe you me, you'll love the sound of the water. 

[Meangreen94z]

Nice, I would just find some form of noise buffer over abandoning it.  Within a few years that place will be spectacular. Bamboo can quickly fill in an area and function as a wall, although it’s a hassle to get rid of later.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Meangreen94z

[Merlyn]

7 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Nice, I would just find some form of noise buffer over abandoning it.  Within a few years that place will be spectacular. Bamboo can quickly fill in an area and function as a wall, although it’s a hassle to get rid of later.

I'm planning on doing tall bamboo on the SE corner, I picked up a 3G of Seabreeze (Bambusa Maligensis) Saturday from BeautifulBamboo in Clermont.  I'm getting Asian Lemon and Kanapaha for that corner too, which should fill in the gap between my neighbor's houses.  I am also considering getting Lako and Angel Mist to put in the "new" section of the greenway.  Any thoughts?

[buffy]

You're a mule, in multiple definitions of that term. I appreciate that and your yard. 

[Merlyn]

On 1/7/2020 at 10:36 AM, buffy said:

You're a mule, in multiple definitions of that term. I appreciate that and your yard. 

Hmmm....stubborn, frequently stupid, able to haul heavy objects, and sometimes an a**?  All of those are probably correct!    Sometimes I'm just smart enough to us machinery to haul stuff.  Like moving this 500-600lb from the SE corner to the SW corner!  A friend gave me this one in April 2018 and it kinda got buried in the corner.  So my wife and I dragged it across the yard with the van and put it over next to the future "bench/firepit" area:

[Meangreen94z]

Looks great. I have a few different species of beaucarnea I’m trying out.

[Merlyn]

I really like these mixed in with palms and cycads.  This one (and a similar but bigger one up front) were badly burnt in one of the freezes.  The center trunk died on both of them, and it responded by growing 6 or so new trunks.  Although I like the single center trunk look too, that makes these really unique and very Dr. Seuss!

[Meangreen94z]

If you can find them you might try Beaucarnea Stricta as well. It looks like a Yucca Rostrata head on fissured Beaucarnea trunk. They are hardier than Recurvata and so far have thrived in the wet Houston climate. The ones I have are relatively small. I also have small, seedling size, Beaucarnea Gracilis, which is similar to Stricta but unknown hardiness to this point . Last is Sanctomariana and a few small hiriartae. I don’t think either of those will be hardy but will test them to an extent.

At what temperature did your Recurvata take damage?

 

[Merlyn]

I'm only hypothesizing on the Recurvata freeze damage, based on them being in the ground during the 2009-2010 winter at my friend's house.  All 3 large ones at his place look the same, he gave me two of them and kept the biggest one.  His house was built in 2000, so it's possible they were planted by the original owners.  All guesses, really.

A lot of changes are afoot!  I'm working to absorb some of the highway noise from the East and South, and am adding some clumping bamboo for some rapid hedges.  Today I put a "big leaf" type in the front bed next to the garage.  There were three 80' water oaks in that corner, so I had to dig out yet another stump, YAY!!!    This one was a bit easier, and I only ended up with one wheelbarrow load of roots and stump chunks.  Planted in the open area is a Dendrocalamus Hamiltonii (not).  It's called "(not)" because the ID is in dispute and it's probably not actually Hamiltonii.  But it's supposed to get to 50ish feet and 3" diameter culms, with 1-2" wide x 8-15" long leaves.  This one was from Bountiful Earth in New Smyrna:

The reciprocating saw and pinch bar did a great job on this stump, it only took a few hours today to extract the big chunks and plant the bamboo.  To the right is a Musa Kandarian, and on the far right an Ice Cream banana.  Both did pretty well this winter, with only a few burnt leaves.

[Merlyn]

For a joyous and exciting Coronavirus Saturday night, here's some more progress photos from my yard!  On the East side I had a wide greenway of grass all the way around the corner, and I decided to rework that whole side and fill it in with thick-leaved plants to help block the sound.  I decided to change the "road" to the well so it went onto the driveway near the garage.  On the right side are a couple of Arenga Engleri from ChuckG, a few smaller agaves at the end of the drive, a triple of Livistona Chinensis, Bismarckia and Livistona Mariae.  Back in the center next to the philodendrons is a Corypha from PT member Carver, and on the edge of the road behind the Engleri are a few monster Ice Cream Bananas in a row.  On the left side is a slightly sunburnt Attalea Cohune (also from Carver) and an Encephalartos Ferox that seems to be adapting to the full sun spot:

Continuing down the path I filled in the middle that I'd laid out in January, and my wife really, really, really wanted a walking path.  So she got a walking path between an Encephalartos Hildebrandtii and a Whitelockii, both from ChuckG.  The Hildebrandtii is flushing now and the Whitelockii is really thinking about it!  Just behind the potted Agave Americana is a Bambusa Lako and green crinum lilies.

And here's the view from the other side.  You can see two of the bamboo plantings on the left.  Just behind the pile of topsoil is a Dendrocalamus Latifrons that's just put up 3 new shoots.  A couple of feet to the left of the Sylvestris is a Dendrocalamus Maroochy next to the Viburnum.  To the right side is a new sea grapes and a cluster of white bird of paradise.  I'll have to figure out something to put in the corner arc near the Sylvestris.

[Merlyn]

Since I was blocking off the original "greenway" around the corner, I decided to expand the agave bed to make space for the super-fast-growing "Bluebell Giants" that went from a 5 inch seedling to almost 4 feet in diameter in one year.  This was just an excuse of course...   I got bored of red lava rock so I made a "stream" and border with salt-and-pepper granite and built a raised area in the back with leftover quartz from when they built the house 30+ years ago.  The new bed is an equal mix of sand/topsoil/perlite.  At some point I'm going over to Pebble Junction to get some fist-to-head sized boulders to put in there, but here's the overview shot before I finished planting:

The burn pile is a bunch of stump chunks from the roadway and path, and digging a monster stump out of the front yard (see future post below).  Here's the new NW plantings:

And next to the stream I've added a "Mad Cow," a "Crazy Horse," a regular Bovicornuta and am looking for a "Crazy Cowlick" to fill out the Insane Cow Posse area:

On the new "point" the Bluebell Giants takes the center with some Weberi and a "tall and narrow" unusual Salmiana from one of the guys at Agaveville. 

Back up in the raised area is a Wercklei, a Valenciana, a small Ferocactus Latispinus "Devil's Tongue" and a big 6' tall triple of Cereus Repandus/Peruvianus that I picked up from a local FB sales group.  I'll get a photo of them later along with the 3 bamboos I planted behind the bed.

[Merlyn]

Ok back to the palms!  In the front bed there was a stump that was really frustrating.  I had to dig a hole 12 feet in diameter and nearly 3 feet deep to get the trunk and major roots out.  I started on the right side and tossed dirt behind me as I went...ugh.  The other recent stumps were easy compared to this one, which had an unusually huge number of large diameter horizontal roots. Here's about 2/3 through...in the foreground next to the driveway there's a Coccothrinax Argentea, Crinita and Barbadensis/Dussiana from R to L. 

I've finally planted one of my Caryota Gigas seedlings in the front center near the Agave Weberi "Arizona Star" in the center.  I will have to add a photo later, since I'm missing one.

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn2220 Nice work on the paths!  A Caryota gigas... that is going to be awesome!

[Merlyn]

Near record-high temperatures were pretty brutal today, but I got the grass (er...weeds) mowed and then mulched two huge areas.  The new bed area in the backyard looks a lot better, though I haven't figured out what I'll be planting in the foreground.  Back in the back are a pair of sea grapes and a center cluster of white bird of paradise, the rest is still up for grabs with a few concrete blocks to mark planting spots.

Around the corner to the left, looking up towards the street I finished aligning the blocks and that curve left to the driveway and mulched the whole greenway in the center top towards the road.  That area is about 20' wide x 60' long and I planted an Arenga Micrantha and Arenga Engleri (both from ChuckG) at the far end near the road.  There's also a 4' tall sago from a neighbor, it was severely infested with asian scale and he didn't want to deal with it anymore.

[Merlyn]

And finally the front bed is mulched!  Along the driveway from L to R: Bordelon banana, Coccothrinax Barbadensis/Dussiana, Coccothrinax Crinita, Coccothrinax Argentea, Zombia x Coccothrinax hybrid (from NatureGirl), a triple ponytail palm, and a sago from a neighbor.  The big cycad on the left is an Encephalartos Tegulaneus (ChuckG) and just to the right is an Agave Weberi and a super-clustering Dioon Edule (also ChuckG).  To the right of the Edule is a double Pindo, then a Caryota Gigas seedling.  The front row is a Weberi "Arizona Star" and a bunch of other random small agaves,  Just behind the sago is an Encephalartos Whitelockii (ChuckG) and an Encephalartos Gratus (Carver).  I have a big area in the middle that's currently open, probably about 10' x 20'.  Maybe it's time for an oddball double or triple?  Or a good spot for a slow growing Brahea Nitida or Clara?  Something silvery in the middle would offset all the green...hmmm...suggestions?

[Meangreen94z]

Brahea Clara are supposed to be relatively fast growing compared to Armata. If you want to keep it low to the ground, maybe Chamaerops Humilis Cerifera? Or a Silver/Blue Cycad? Encephalartos Horridus and Trispinosus have done well locally so far, in containers though. Mixed success with others. The Australian Cycas have all done well for me so far. Just stick to the hardier varieties for going in the ground. Like Cairnsiana, Pruinosa, or Couttsiana. 

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Meangreen94z said:

Brahea Clara are supposed to be relatively fast growing compared to Armata. If you want to keep it low to the ground, maybe Chamaerops Humilis Cerifera? Or a Silver/Blue Cycad? Encephalartos Horridus and Trispinosus have done well locally so far, in containers though. Mixed success with others. The Australian Cycas have all done well for me so far. Just stick to the hardier varieties for going in the ground. Like Cairnsiana, Pruinosa, or Couttsiana. 

I've thought about making this "cycad central" because it's a high-and-dry area with full sun from 9am-6pm.  There are actually two 5-6 foot Chamaerops Humilis that are sorta-cerifera.  You can just barely see one poking up behind the Tegulaneus fronds on the left.  The other is about 6 feet off the right side of the photo.  I do have three Brahea Clara silvers from TexasColdHardyPalms that are in gallon treepots right now, they are definitely plantable sizes and would always be a lot shorter than the Caryota.  I also have a few Copernicia Prunifera seedlings and a whole boatload of Gaussia Princeps. 

As far as cycads go, I've got Cycas Clivicola, Elephantipes, Litoralis, Pectinata, Simplicipinna, Thai Silver.  Dioons are going elsewhere, but I have Encephalartos Aemulans, Altensteinii, Ferox, Gratus x Trispinosus, Munchii 3 headed, Sclavoi blue x Ituriensis, a Tegulaneus and a Villosus.  The Thai Silver and the Gratus x Trispinosus might fill in some of the bare areas and stay relatively small.

[Merlyn]

During the quarantine I decided that I was going to finish that *#$%@(# pathway on the East side of the house.  I'd planted an Arenga Pinnata (from PT member carver) along the path opposite my biggest Beccariophoenix Alfredii, but there was...you guessed it...a gigantic stump just to the East side of the path!  This was by far the largest stump I've tackled, but fortunately it was rotten in the center so it was easier than if it were a big solid chunk.  It took 3 full days of work to slice and dice it up into rollable pieces.  Day 1 and I thought the bottom right piece was most of it...WRONG!

The next morning I discovered the other side was bigger, and I ended up with this 6' long 2' thick "L" shape that I'm estimating at around 1500lb.  By about 6pm I quit. 

And a few more random hours at lunch and after work and it's finally clear!  Most of these chunks were 300-500lb and at my strength limits to roll them down the hill to the backyard.  I didn't even want to think about putting them into the wheelbarrow, since most of them were bigger than the wheelbarrow to begin with! 

[Merlyn]

This evening I got a chance to fill in the hole and redo the pathway, now it's finally ready for pavers and gravel!  Here's the view from the garage side:

On the left are a couple of big Cereus Repandus/Peruvianus pots that I haven't figured out where to plant.  Down the left of the path are two clumps of Dypsis Lutescens and an Arenga Pinnata behind them.  On the right of the arch is an Encephalartos Laurentianus with 3 new leaves from a flush in January, then a Spindle double, a bigger Bottle, and my largest Beccariophoenix Alfredii.  That one is now about 12' tall and didn't even slow down over the winter.  Here's the view from the other end of the path:

At this end of the path you can see the Dypsis Pembana reaching into the path from the left, and a fishtail clump on further up the left between the nearly invisible Bambusa Eutuldoides Viridi-Vittata (aka Asian Lemon) and the taller B. Alfredii.  On the right are some fronds from my biggest Butia and a nice big, wide open sandy topsoil area ready for new palms!  I'll have to show a better view of the Arenga Pinnata later once I get some stuff planted and mulch it. 

[Dartolution]

@Merlyn2220 you are a stump removing BEAST! hahaha

Always look forward to the continuation of your tropical paradise! 

Good work sir!

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@Merlyn2220 you are a stump removing BEAST! hahaha

Always look forward to the continuation of your tropical paradise! 

Good work sir!

Thanks for the positive comments!  I look at the lower picture in my last post and my CDO (that's like OCD but with the letters in alphabetical order LIKE THEY SHOULD BE!!! :O ) gets irritated by the fact that the concrete blocks are not in a smooth even curve.  There's actually only one more stump on the property that I need to remove, but it's going to wait until next winter when it'll be at least partially rotted.   It's the largest on my property and was about 5 feet diameter at the ground.  It's in the front NW corner and is currently hidden by mulch and a big clump of Ice Cream bananas.  This bed is still a bit messy, I haven't gotten in there to take out the old dead heliconia stalks and weeds yet:

[Silas_Sancona]

21 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

During the quarantine I decided that I was going to finish that *#$%@(# pathway on the East side of the house.  I'd planted an Arenga Pinnata (from PT member carver) along the path opposite my biggest Beccariophoenix Alfredii, but there was...you guessed it...a gigantic stump just to the East side of the path!  This was by far the largest stump I've tackled, but fortunately it was rotten in the center so it was easier than if it were a big solid chunk.  It took 3 full days of work to slice and dice it up into rollable pieces.  Day 1 and I thought the bottom right piece was most of it...WRONG!

The next morning I discovered the other side was bigger, and I ended up with this 6' long 2' thick "L" shape that I'm estimating at around 1500lb.  By about 6pm I quit. 

And a few more random hours at lunch and after work and it's finally clear!  Most of these chunks were 300-500lb and at my strength limits to roll them down the hill to the backyard.  I didn't even want to think about putting them into the wheelbarrow, since most of them were bigger than the wheelbarrow to begin with! 

 Been there before. Back didn't consider it very enjoyable afterwards, lol..

You might consider saving some of those pieces, esp. those w/ lots of nooks / crannies to attach Epiphytic Ferns/ Orchids, and/ or Bromeliads on. Then display in among your more tropical beds. Or, if you have the time/tools, maybe cut flat / thinner on one side ( if possible ) so they could be placed vertically somewhere.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[Merlyn]

15 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 Been there before. Back didn't consider it very enjoyable afterwards, lol..

You might consider saving some of those pieces, esp. those w/ lots of nooks / crannies to attach Epiphytic Ferns/ Orchids, and/ or Bromeliads on. Then display in among your more tropical beds. Or, if you have the time/tools, maybe cut flat / thinner on one side ( if possible ) so they could be placed vertically somewhere.

I consider this my "cross-training" for my other hobby of Ironman racing, marathons, off-road ultramarathons, and other loonie stuff.  My back definitely tells me when I've overdone it, and especially if I haven't done a bunch of "easy 25 milers" on the bike to loosen everything up.  Easy bike recovery rides seem to be key for me to avoid seriously sore muscles.

Regarding the stumps, I thought about keeping them and making a bench or something.  I even kept a couple of logs from the burn piles in 2017.  But there are so many termites here in FL that any piece of non-pressure-treated wood in contact with the ground is eaten to pieces in a couple of years.  The stumps I pulled out over the past week were probably 50% eaten already, which is one reason they were so easy to cut through.

[Merlyn]

I haven't done much in the way of updates here, but work is ongoing!  One of my biggest hassles has been a weed that I imported from somewhere, it's a small one with red stems and grows and seeds prolifically.  I tried killing it with glyphosate, but it seeds before it dies and just spreads further.  So I've resorted to pulling every single bit by hand.  Fortunately 2,4-D appears to kill it in the grass without killing off my grass, so hopefully I can stop spreading it from the grass to all the mulch beds every time I walk around.  Ugh.

Anyway, two days of work in heat indexes of 110-120F and I now have a lot more space in the backyard center bed.  I had planted a Viburnum hedge and a row of white bird of paradise about 10 feet away.  Of course this meant a big 6 foot gap between them, so I dug up the birds and moved them back 6 feet!  Now all I need to do is clean up and level the area again, and I'll have more planting spots!  Here is the before photo from both sides.  You can see the Sylvester in the middle as a reference point.

And the after.  I wouldn't recommend digging up 15 big white bird of paradise every day.  They are HEAVY.  The smallest ones were only about 100lb with 2-3 foot "trunks" and 1 or 2 small offsets.  Most of the others were around 200lb, and the 3 biggest ones with multiple trunks and 8' tall trunk sections were easily 300-400lb.  I could just barely drag them out of the hole and back 6' to the new holes.  Hopefully I got enough roots that they'll re-establish quickly!

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn2220 Landscaping in this heat is officially the COVID-19 workout plan!  Your garden looks better every time I see it.  Keep up the great work!

[Merlyn]

On 9/6/2020 at 8:53 PM, kinzyjr said:

@Merlyn2220 Landscaping in this heat is officially the COVID-19 workout plan!  Your garden looks better every time I see it.  Keep up the great work!

I would definitely not recommend stuff like this in August in Floriduh.  I'm used to Ironman racing, and going out and riding 100 miles is easier than digging out and moving those beasts!  I would spend 20 minutes transplanting one and be completely drenched in sweat.  I'd come inside, put my sopping wet shirt on a rack in the garage, cool off for 20 minutes under a fan in the AC, and go outside with a fresh shirt.  Rinse and repeat all day...ugh!

The big project I finished in August was the pathway, which took about 50 12"x12" red tiles and 50 bags of "egg rock."  Oddly enough moving 4000lb worth of tiles and rock was a lot easier than moving the birds of paradise.  It's probably because each individual item (40lb tile or 35lb bag) wasn't too difficult to pick up by itself.  Here's looking uphill on the left, and downhill on the right. 

And the South end of the path ends into the cypress mulch going around the corner.  I haven't figured out how I'm going to end the path in the foreground, so I just put some small pavers in place to keep the rocks and grass apart.  On the left you can see I transplanted a Foxtail triple to the left of the path.  I had 4 Foxtail clumps behind the row of White Bird of Paradise in the previous post.  And you can see the weeds are already trying to take over the bed on the upper left side of the photo.  In the foreground bottom right that Weberi "Arizona Star" is really taking off.  It'll be the biggest agave in the bed pretty soon!

[The7thLegend]

That is a lot of heavy lifting and hard work but it is paying off.  Looks great!

[Merlyn]

Sometimes it pays to surf the Facebook Marketplace.  Meet the newest member of my palm club, official planting #200!  7 feet to the bottom of the lowest rachis, and about 4 feet of Spindle trunk.  I picked it up between storms this afternoon from a guy in Mount Dora, for a whopping $100.  Hopefully it'll root in before we get another hurricane, because the 1.5" PVC pipes are not going to keep it upright...

[Merlyn]

Over the weekend I moved a monster clump of Thai Giant elephant ears over to the SW corner and cleared a spot for a future monster clump of a different type!  Behold the Encephalartos Laurentianus triple!  The one in the center is around a 6-7" caudex, and the other two are about 4".  Just to the left is a Cycas Simplicipinna/Diannanensis not yet ID'd, and to the right is a Dioon Spinulosum.  All were from ChuckG, just like the E. Hildebrandtii in the background on the other side of the path.

[Merlyn]

And today I finally got around to digging out...you guessed it...another stump!  This was only a couple of chunks, enough to fill up a 25 gallon pot.  Most of the rest had rotted away or was under the Titanota or pathway, I'm not sure which.  But I sliced out a nice 5 foot diameter x 2 foot deep hole and mixed in a 2 cubic foot bag of perlite and 1 cubic foot of Sakrete Paver Base (crushed limestone) into the native soil. 

And after filling up the hole and leveling it, in goes an Aloe "Hercules" Barberae x Dichotoma hybrid.  I bought a pair of these in May 2019 and this was the bigger and faster growing one.  It was really trying to bust out of the 1/2 gallon pot, but the roots looked nice and weren't trying to circle too much.  It's roughly 28 inches from the driveway and the edge of the path, so it should have plenty of trunk space.  It's about 15 inches diameter and height right now.

[kinzyjr]

Nice work, @Merlyn2220!  Always hard at work!  It should cool off a bit this weekend for you.

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

Nice work, @Merlyn2220!  Always hard at work!  It should cool off a bit this weekend for you.

Thanks!  I sure hope it cools off, the ~90F today wasn't quite as bad as earlier.  But that one was in full sun, nowhere to hide!  It took about 3 hours total, whereas the below rearrangement took 9 hours on Sunday.  I leveled all the area behind the Sylvester on Saturday evening, and then Sunday finished up the front center focal point of the backyard.  I still haven't figured out how I want to arrange things in my new 7 feet of space behind the Sylvester, but the front is fixed.  I moved the "Little Prince" (left side) and "Truly Tiny" (right side) bananas back to just at the front edge of the Sylvester, since they were blocking the view of the entire middle.  It's a little cramped right now, but in 1 or 2 more sets of fronds the Sylvester will be above the bananas, since they are already close to mature height of 3-5'. 

In the center back is an Encephalartos (Altensteinii x Woodii) x Arenarius, and an (Altensteinii x Woodii) x (Arenarius x Trispinosus) to the right and a bit forward.  A small Encephalartos Longifolius is on the lower right (from PT member @NATEtures Domain) with a frond of a Dioon Edule creeping in over it.  On the left of center is an unknown Encephalartos hybrid, probably something with Arenarius in it.  The three Encephalartos hybrids came from an eBay seller "plantmanz," who has a lot of interesting stuff.  The last additionon the lower left is a Dioon Merolae from PT member ChuckG, it flushed twice this summer already!  In the center front is an Agave Gentryi hybrid of some sort, from my grandparent's place in Texas.  Along with a couple of decorative pineapples there are a few Celsii/Mitis Multicolor and a Murpheyi Mediopicta Aurea.  I'll probably mess with the rest of the center later, but the Gentryi is going to stay for sentimental reasons.

And to the right of the above photo, I started filling in some of the gaps.  My photo came out blurry, but I put in an Encephalartos Munchii blue quad that should turn into an impressive shrubbery, and added a single Arenga Engleri.  I think I'm going to grow it as a single instead of letting it cluster like the other plantings.  I've got an Encephalartos Gratus x Hildebrandtii (also from Nate) that is probably going on the right side of the Sylvester, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Merlyn2220

[Merlyn]

About 20 feet to the right of the above post, I rearranged some plants in the SW corner.  The blocks are a ring around what I plan to be a seating area/firepit.  Along the front row from L to R are a variegated Salmiana, Encephalartos Arenarius, a giant Dioon Spinulosum, a Dioon Califanoi, the Copernicia Macroglossa hybrid I bought from @NatureGirl (it needs a bit more fertilizer, I think), a Dioon Edule, Encephalartos Ferox, and finally "Cousin It's Sister," a big multi-trunk Beaucarnea Recurvata.  Behind that front row are some other recent plantings.  On the left behind the oysters is a Cycas Rev x Deb.  Between the Rev x Deb and the 2-headed sago is my Copernicia Fallaensis (MB Palms) that is finally starting to grow bigger fronds!  Eventually it'll be the monster on this side of the bed.  About 15' behind the Dioon Spinulosum is a triple of Encephalartos Ituriensis, you can just barely see one of them.  Behind the Edule & Ferox on the right is an Arenga Engleri that I will probably prune to be a 1 or 2 trunk palm.  It'll probably be crowded by the Bambusa Lako, but that's ok!

The Dioon Spinulosum is an odd one, the trunk goes up to the right about 1.5 feet and then takes an abrupt kink to the left.  It looks like it was beheaded at some point, I am guessing it rotted after the 2010 winter and the nursery guy lopped it off to save it.  It has two small pups at the bottom.  I planted it in full blazing sun, and it was like that at the nursery.  I have no way of knowing how hold it is, but it's probably at least 30 years given the estimated 10 years of growth above the cut.  Hopefully at some point I can grow it to a full crown and it'll hang over the path into the firepit!

[Meangreen94z]

That’s looking really good, now that it’s starting to fill in. 

[Merlyn]

Just now, Meangreen94z said:

That’s looking really good, now that it’s starting to fill in. 

Thanks!  I had some "space filler" yellow-green gingers up front, and decided that they were blocking too much of the view.  I couldn't even see my Fallaensis from my computer room window.  I haven't decided on what to use for "low filler groundcover" yet, but so far the oysters seem to be happy with no extra water.  They spread out slowly so they are fairly easy to control.  Any thoughts on other ideas?

I forgot one plant, about 5 feet to the left of the Fallaensis.  It's a 2 leafer of Encephalartos Gratus x Hildebrandtii, and it should make a really neat recurved hybrid.  I have a regular Gratus up front, and a Gratus x Whitelockii and two big Hildebrandtii in the back yard.  I may have to move the Gratus back here somewhere, so I can see all the parent plants and the hybrids all in one view...   

[Merlyn]

As accent plants I've done pretty well with agaves, but with a few exceptions.  Victoria-Reginae, Asperrima, Parryi, Havardiana, Parrasana and Nickelsiae struggle or die here in the ground.  Asperrima and V-R just rot to pieces, the others did well until October, when the temperatures dropped but the rain kept coming. I suspect that they were okay in the summer because it was hot enough during the day to dry out the upper layers of soil. When the temps dropped 10 degrees the top layer of soil stayed damp and caused rapid rotting of the lower leaves. Some of these might do okay in a pot with very little organics, but not in the ground here.  We did have 36F and frost here 2 weeks ago and the Weberi "Arizona Star" got some edema spotting.  The other Weberi (Striata and regular) didn't seem to mind.

So I finished building a new agave/aloe/cycad area yesterday, in the center of my backyard. It's about 30 feet to the right of the main large agave bed from previous posts. I dug up the whole area and mixed in a 2cuft bag of perlite, 50lb of Turface MVP and 2 bags of coarse paver grit (crushed limestone) to make sure it drains well.

Cycads: Dioon Merolae double on the left, Dioon Edule just outside the bed to the left and right.  I planted several Encephalartos previously, and they make a nice backdrop for the succulents.  From left to right is an unknown hybrid (Horridus x ??), an E. (Altensteinii x Woodii) x Arenarius, an E. (Altensteinii x Woodii) x (Arenarius x Trispinosus), and an E. Longifolius.  Eventually they'll get 6' diameter (or bigger) and I'll have to "edit" some stuff out.

Cacti: I'm trying a couple on the left side, a Pilosocereus Azureus, two unknown "freebie" columnar types, and a "Crazy Bunny Ears."

Aloes: Near the front I put in an Aloe Congolensis, "Carmine," "Christmas Carol," Dorotheae, Cameronii, "AJR" and "Ghost." Towards the back is a cluster of Aloe Maculata.

Agaves: I put a bunch of MeanGreen94z's plants here, including Attenuata, Blue Flame, Parvidentata, Impressa and Baccarat.  A "Pokey Ghost" is in the back rightand on the left is an "Ovatispina Blue Rapture."  The center Gentryi-ish is from my grandparent's place in Texas, and I added a few Mangaves and a Hansara "Jumping Jacks" to add a splash of color.

[Meangreen94z]

Nice, I may have a few more things available for you.

[Alex High]

14 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

As accent plants I've done pretty well with agaves, but with a few exceptions.  Victoria-Reginae, Asperrima, Parryi, Havardiana, Parrasana and Nickelsiae struggle or die here in the ground.  Asperrima and V-R just rot to pieces, the others did well until October, when the temperatures dropped but the rain kept coming. I suspect that they were okay in the summer because it was hot enough during the day to dry out the upper layers of soil. When the temps dropped 10 degrees the top layer of soil stayed damp and caused rapid rotting of the lower leaves. Some of these might do okay in a pot with very little organics, but not in the ground here.  We did have 36F and frost here 2 weeks ago and the Weberi "Arizona Star" got some edema spotting.  The other Weberi (Striata and regular) didn't seem to mind.

So I finished building a new agave/aloe/cycad area yesterday, in the center of my backyard. It's about 30 feet to the right of the main large agave bed from previous posts. I dug up the whole area and mixed in a 2cuft bag of perlite, 50lb of Turface MVP and 2 bags of coarse paver grit (crushed limestone) to make sure it drains well.

Cycads: Dioon Merolae double on the left, Dioon Edule just outside the bed to the left and right.  I planted several Encephalartos previously, and they make a nice backdrop for the succulents.  From left to right is an unknown hybrid (Horridus x ??), an E. (Altensteinii x Woodii) x Arenarius, an E. (Altensteinii x Woodii) x (Arenarius x Trispinosus), and an E. Longifolius.  Eventually they'll get 6' diameter (or bigger) and I'll have to "edit" some stuff out.

Cacti: I'm trying a couple on the left side, a Pilosocereus Azureus, two unknown "freebie" columnar types, and a "Crazy Bunny Ears."

Aloes: Near the front I put in an Aloe Congolensis, "Carmine," "Christmas Carol," Dorotheae, Cameronii, "AJR" and "Ghost." Towards the back is a cluster of Aloe Maculata.

Agaves: I put a bunch of MeanGreen94z's plants here, including Attenuata, Blue Flame, Parvidentata, Impressa and Baccarat.  A "Pokey Ghost" is in the back rightand on the left is an "Ovatispina Blue Rapture."  The center Gentryi-ish is from my grandparent's place in Texas, and I added a few Mangaves and a Hansara "Jumping Jacks" to add a splash of color.

Wow, I have just been reading through this thread, and the transformation is incredible! I love it, it must be a great reward to see your yard so tropical and palmy! Keep up the great work! Thanks!

PalmsUSA