Palm Landscaping

[newtothis]

Hi,

Im interested in ideas for residential landscaping around palm trees. I've taken a few shots (camera phone, will reshoot soon) from around SA, some are commercial but would look good in a residential setting.

A house from the golf course

Salvia around Sagos

Nice commercial Sagos

[Walter John]

What exactly do you want advice on ? Types of plants around palm trees ? These palm trees in the photo in particular ?

[JimR]

Is SA San Antonio?

[Walter John]

Saudi Arabia ?

[JimR]

South Africa?

[Palm Guy]

Hi,

If you mean landscaping around palms there are lots of options. If you're in San Antonio a nice trailing plant would be lantana - very drought tolerant. Other nice ground covers would be ice plants, alyssum, sedums.d Lighting - install landscape lights shooting on palm trunks- has a nice effect at night. Boulders are nice additions for your area and compliment palms well and should fit in with the architecture and surrounding landscape. Water - Create an oasis/pool/spa lined with Canary Island Dates (Phoenix Canariensis). You have plenty of options- all depends on what look your going for.

Cheers,

Mike F

[newtothis]

Thanks Mike. Just looking for inspiration pics, and ideas of how people are landscaping around their palms.

[tropicalb]

cycads and palms go together like peanut butter and jelly!

[nomolos]

red hot pokers, bananas both go well with palms

[Phil]

Here's a link to an article I wrote on Tropical Landscape. Perhaps it will give you some ideas.

Phil

Tropical Landscape

[el-blanco]

My two-cents are Colocasia mixed with banana. Mix in plantings with colorful foliage so you do not have to rely on flowers year round. Cannas are nice for instant tropical look. Easy too! Good luck and do not hesitate to ask questions here. THat is how we all learn. Best, Jeff

[ruskinPalms]

All good replies so far. Bananas are great for instant effect and will usually grow back from the ground after winter, but they can be a bitch to maintain if you have lots of dry wind. There are lots of great cycads to plant under those sabals. Cycads have pinnate leaves, while the Sabals and even Washingtonia have costapalmate and palmate leaves. Planting these together creates nice balance. Lushness can be increased by planting cold hardy Philodendron selloum and I think they look great under palms such as Phoenix and Butia. Not sure if crotons or arboricola will work for long in your area, but they are great under palms too. Arboricola seem to be tougher than crotons and might be worth trying in a limited experimental way first before you sink a lot of money into them. If wanting something like a bush under palms, consider Hibiscus. Not sure about if they can take a winter in your area, but they are cheap and fast so you can buy one each spring for 5 or 8 dollars and enjoy beautiful blooms from it 9 months of the year. Heck, they might just make it through a few winters at a time even.

[ruskinPalms]

Oh, and other palms work great under palms! Serenoa repens, Sabal minor, C. humilis and C. radicalis would be good ones to try in San Antonio.

[Kris]

this how our palms are used in landscapes around buildings in chennai...

[JimR]

The idea of planting a loose group of palms in a simple lawnscape is still very appealing to me, but then I enjoy sitting underneath the palms and looking up.

[rozpalm]

phil that was an excellent article. You gave me a few ideas for my garden, one of which is how to deal with slopes. Thanks for the info.

[JimR]

If SA is San Antonio, there are also numerous palm plantings downtown and along the Riverwalk that are worth a look for inspiration.

[newtothis]

Sorry, yes jim in San Antonio. I'm more interested in residential, or a commercial application that would look good in a residential setting

Thx

[Kailua_Krish]

Kris, I love the plant in photo 3 with the giant fan palm, my family always called them Ashok trees but I dont know if thats what they are called. I wish people would use them in Florida instead of italian cypress as they look so nice! A little off topic but still.

Krishna

[southlatropical]

Gingers, heliconia, philo selloum, bananas, bird of paradise, hardy aloes, and hardy bromeliads are what I'm using.

[southlatropical]

Oh, and ti plants in protected areas.