New Driveway Strip

[DoomsDave]

Howdyall:

After much discussion and sturm and drang, I ripped out a section of my long driveway at my dive to make a strip about 90 feet (30 m) long by about 2 feet (.66 M) wide.

(With my bare hands, )

So, what to plant?  

The wall faces west into the blistering sun.

I could, and will plant some bougainvillea.  Maybe Hyophorbe langencaulis?

What else.  Give me your thoughts, everyone.  

PALMS, of course, in addition to the above.  And other plants.  There are wires about 30 feet (10 m) high, right on the block wall.  

Irrigation is by Dave's (rubber) hose.  

I challenge y'all!

dave

[DoomsDave]

The first pic was from north to south.

This is from south to north:

[Ken Johnson]

I see a Pa Tyhco Sperma or 2

[Dave Butler]

CROTONS

[Jeff Searle]

Dave,

   Hey, how about a rattan planting? With all the spines and the high wall, you'll surely keep the rift-raft out! (That would be the "Prison Look")or just dress it up with some nice lady palms.

[cfkingfish]

HOW about some HOWeas? Both species!

[BS Man about Palms]

Dave, If you think a Hyo Laug. would be happy there, how about a Vershafeltii. I have seen more of those surviving around here...

Bill

[Fred Zone 10A]

Not easy to find palms that will take full sun, don't need a lot of water and will fit in such a narrow space.

How about bamboo?

======

I just had another thought.  Why do you need such a long driveway?  There's no garage at the end.  Take out more asphalt!

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

About 50 Dypsis Onilahensis...the mother of all mass plantings. They will have bus tours drive by your digs to see the wonder of it all.

[Walter John]

Crotons and cordylines interspersed with beaucarnea recurvatas and timor black bamboo, that would blend in well with your bougainvillea plan, the odd bali statue, map of freedonia, hieroglyphic drawings depicting the periodic growth of your caribeean royal palm, Dypsis baronii and Dypsis psammophilla at each end, yep, that’ll do her.

No charge Dave, my advice, as always, is on the house.

[Randy]

Dave,

You're bare hands seem to make precise cuts, like a diamond blade finger nail I guess...

You say blistering sun, and I laugh.

Phoenix Roebelenii

Plumeria rubra

Papyrus

Red Hibiscus

Snail vine

converse and addidas

[TooShort]

Dave,

I gave this alot of thought and came to the perfect thing to plant along that wall. Now this is going by your previous posts.  

[TooShort]

(TooShort @ Sep. 01 2006,06:53)

QUOTE

Dave,

I gave this alot of thought and came to the perfect thing to plant along that wall. Now this is going by your previous posts.  

That baby don`t need much water and will go good with that healthy looking soil you exposed. Anchor them down with some cement and they should do ok.

[Trópico]

Driveways lend themselves to be lined up with impressive Royals or Areca catechu.

[Kamipalms]

I'd definatly go Hyophorbe langencaulis from one end to the other then add some African Cycads like Encephalartos between as fillers.

Jason.

[redant]

Carpentaria would look great along the wall. I think they could take the sun fine but might require more water then your rubber hose.

Do these grow well in CA?

[deezpalms]

Encephalartos species for sure with royals in between!!

[palmazon]

Dave's Famous Strip - La Habra-A-Go-Go

well-done

[DoomsDave]

(Dave Butler @ Aug. 31 2006,21:11)

QUOTE

CROTONS

Oh, wow, Mr. Nonpartisan Observer . . . .

Actually, that sounds like a good idea Croton Maniac!

Seriously.  I'm going to try some.  

Any variety you can recommend that might survive out here in Cali?

dave

[DoomsDave]

(STEVE IN SO CAL @ Aug. 31 2006,23:58)

QUOTE

About 50 Dypsis Onilahensis...the mother of all mass plantings. They will have bus tours drive by your digs to see the wonder of it all.

Hmm.  

I might actually have 50 D. ohnies!

That's a thought. . . . .

dave

[DoomsDave]

(cfkingfish @ Aug. 31 2006,23:38)

QUOTE

HOW about some HOWeas? Both species!

Too hot, and too much sun.

Near the beach, maybe, but not here.

But, thanks for the suggestion!

dave

[DoomsDave]

(Fred Zone 10A @ Aug. 31 2006,23:54)

QUOTE

Not easy to find palms that will take full sun, don't need a lot of water and will fit in such a narrow space.

How about bamboo?

======

I just had another thought.  Why do you need such a long driveway?  There's no garage at the end.  Take out more asphalt!

Hmm.  

I've thought of that!

==================

For now I want to keep the driveway because the city wants to annex my little tract, and if they do, I might be forced to park my cars there, instead in front of my dive in the cutout.

dave

[Fred Zone 10A]

Carpentaria would look great along the wall. I think they could take the sun fine but might require more water then your rubber hose.

Do these grow well in CA?

No.  I don't know if they grow at all except maybe in coastal San Diego.

For now I want to keep the driveway because the city wants to annex my little tract, and if they do, I might be forced to park my cars there, instead in front of my dive in the cutout.

I don't mean take out the entire driveway.  Leave enough to park two or three cars and take out the rest.

Encephalartos species for sure with royals in between!!

You're joking, right?

[elHoagie]

(Fred Zone 10A @ Sep. 01 2006,12:44)

QUOTE

Carpentaria would look great along the wall. I think they could take the sun fine but might require more water then your rubber hose.

Do these grow well in CA?

No.  I don't know if they grow at all except maybe in coastal San Diego.

I got a Carpentaria from Palmazon about 10 or 12 months ago.  It's been in the ground since then, and has been growing like crazy.  I'm not claiming it's going to survive long term here (yet), but it's off to a promising start.

Dave - I second the suggestion for a mass planting of D. onilahensis.  With a long strip like that I think a repeated theme would look best, and that would be a great palm for the climate/size of the area.

[paulgila]

i don't know about where you are senor hoagie,but this last winter was really mild,so i don't think the carpies got a real taste of so cal winter.

i haven't seen ANY of them here. i do,however,wish you the best of luck with yers,maybe they'll be the first to survive long-term

[DoomsDave]

hMM.

How about lining it with Ravenala madagascarensis?

dave

[Dave Butler]

(Dave from So-Cal @ Sep. 01 2006,12:02)

QUOTE

(Dave Butler @ Aug. 31 2006,21:11)

QUOTE

CROTONS

Oh, wow, Mr. Nonpartisan Observer . . . .

Actually, that sounds like a good idea Croton Maniac!

Seriously.  I'm going to try some.  

Any variety you can recommend that might survive out here in Cali?

dave

Mammey, its a popular croton does very well in the sun and can take some cold. I think good enough for your area. Also crotons love anything acidic keep that in mind for the fertilizer. azalea fertilizer works great.

[paulgila]

dave it would be alot cheaper for you if all the folks with suggestions came over & planted the stuff themselves...

[quaman58]

I like the Ravenala idea Dave. I see a fairly large water bill looming...

Bret

[TooShort]

(pohonkelapa @ Sep. 01 2006,14:50)

QUOTE

dave it would be alot cheaper for you if all the folks with suggestions came over & planted the stuff themselves...

We are all right behind you

[Walter John]

You have to drive a car up there, yes or no ? If so, some of these ideas are so.....................

[DoomsDave]

(Wal @ Sep. 01 2006,16:49)

QUOTE

You have to drive a car up there, yes or no ? If so, some of these ideas are so.....................

Yes!

dave

[DoomsDave]

Mammey is colorful, no two ways about it.

[elHoagie]

(pohonkelapa @ Sep. 01 2006,14:11)

QUOTE

i don't know about where you are senor hoagie,but this last winter was really mild,so i don't think the carpies got a real taste of so cal winter.

i haven't seen ANY of them here. i do,however,wish you the best of luck with yers,maybe they'll be the first to survive long-term

It definitely wasn't mild here, it was the coldest winter in my area since I moved here four years ago.  It was a great winter until the middle of Feb, but it was brutal after that...

Sorry for hijacking your thread Dave..

[Dave Butler]

(Dave from So-Cal @ Sep. 01 2006,16:55)

QUOTE

Mammey is colorful, no two ways about it.

That Mammey will get 4 to 5ft tall and thick if you trim it right. Mix it up with some other tropicals that don`t get to bushy, throw in a couple palms. Try to get rid of that clay if you can.

Take your time it will look good :cool:

[DoomsDave]

(Wal @ Sep. 01 2006,00:02)

QUOTE

Crotons and cordylines interspersed with beaucarnea recurvatas and timor black bamboo, that would blend in well with your bougainvillea plan, the odd bali statue, map of freedonia, hieroglyphic drawings depicting the periodic growth of your caribeean royal palm, Dypsis baronii and Dypsis psammophilla at each end, yep, that’ll do her.

No charge Dave, my advice, as always, is on the house.

Dang, you DO still need to get out more!

(And so do I!)

dave

[ruskinPalms]

I am totally new to all of this, but I think I read in an old thread that V. arecina don't slow down/are not stunted by the long cool winters in so. cal. However, they do like a lot of water...I think if you planted lots of crotons and other bushy tropicals with the palms and mulched deep you could reduce the evaporation of water from the area. Can you run one of those long hoses that are slow soakers along the wall under the mulch? That would seem to reduce water waste a bit. As far as heat and sun, V. arecina seem to love both. I have some planted near the walls of my house that have dealt with the thermonuclear sun of 27.7 degrees N latitude here in central Florida without the slightest bit of leaf burning. I think that thicker leafed crotons can take drought conditions better than the thin leafed varities, but I am not sure. Just my 2 cents  

[ron@springhammock]

Dave;

Along with the Travelers Palms, may add a some Wallichia disticha.  I would think they'd do great in your area and would add a nice contrast.  In between I'd go with some nice rocks and/or driftwood with lots of colorful bromeliads (ok, crotons to) and maybe some small cycads, aloes, etc. as filler.

Ron

[DoomsDave]

Ron!

Nice to see you back!

Are you okay?

You were gone for a long while!

dave