Roots, pools, plumbing, walls...

[Hammer]

Three weeks ago today, we moved into into a new home. This is awesome because now I acutally have room to grow palms in the actual ground. Novel concept!

I have a attached photos of a planting area that is the PRIMO spot on the property. I think it has real potential to support something marginal that would otherwise die.

The "dirt" in the area is clay. I have not begun digging but I don't think it is a planter with a concrete bottom. My plan is to excavate the area and fill it in with an extremely well draining substrate. Probably almost all sand...because...I want to try a Cocos in that location.

The planter area is 62 inches from back corner to the front. 72 inches across the front edge and it sits back 13 feet from the pool. The wall on the left borders open hill area. The wall on the right borders the neighbors property and their pool. Photos all included. The planter area also contains a drain, a sprinkler head and wiring for lights (which have currently been cut).

So the question is, assuming a Cocos will survive (it does in Newport and Del Mar) are the roots a danger to the hard scape and equipment in this location? Or do Cocos roots adapt to the limitations of the area and fit in like a good neighbor?

I've read they spread widely, but the tree in Newport appears to be behaving well with the hard scape all around and is growing in a tight area.

Your thoughts are welcome.

[Stevetoad]

i love the idea of gowing a coco. i have one myself growing right now (small and looks like crap)... but i was sure to plant it in an area where its not all that visable. mainly because im not expecting it to look all that great for most of the year and it will probably die at my house anyway. being that your primo spot is such a focal point why not grow becariophoenix there instead? then it will look awesome all year long. just my my 2 cents.

[Hammer]

The two in the pots on the deck in the pics are Alfredii. Thought about them, or Euterpe sp. Espiritosantensis. It is a spot where it would be set up to succeed....or survive at least. I might have another place too come to think of it...but I'm finding pipes and wires all over this freaking place.

Regardless of what I plant, I'm pretty nervous about gnarly roots costing me tens of thousands a few years down the road. But the spot is too nice to leave bare....or to just plant a queen.

[Stevetoad]

my buddy has about 8 queens planted next to his pool. the huge. as far as the roots go they have only lifted a small area by the trunk.

[Palmlover]

Adam,

If you are thinking of planting a queen, drive around and see how messy they can get. Now imagine it near your pool! The Coco is a novel idea but all the ones I seen in California planted in the ground look like crap. Most palms roots go downward into the ground unlike a tree so damage to concrete is minimal.

[Hammer]

I meant to say that under no circumstances will I plant a queen.

[quaman58]

I wouldn't worry about palm roots in general; they just don't seem to be as problematic as large tree roots can be. Regarding Cocos, if the challenge of growing it is more important than having a good focal point palm, then go for it. We all gotta' have challenges. But if a robust, moderate growing, good looking focal point is more important, then a Beccie would be great there. Or the palm that should be the new most popular SoCal palm, Dypsis ambositrae. Cold hardy, sun hardy, pretty drought tolerant, & faster than Beccariophonix. An awesome looking, faster growing, slimmed down version of Dypsis decipiens. Or another of my favs, some sort of Pritchardia. That spot is going to be beeautiful!

[CardiffPalmNut]

Adam - I had a coco in the ground for about six years ( if you search Cali coco here you'll see pics) on the south side full winter sun and it grew great for six years, but it looked like crap about 8 months of the year. It had almost 2 1/2 feet of trunk when the 07 cold snap killed it in three days. You have more summer heat than me, but in 14 yrs here I have had less than 10 days below 41f, it only takes a night to wipeout years of work. Plant something in your sweet spot that you can enjoy everyday, save the zone pusher for a spot you don't have to look at all of the time. Just my 3 cents worth.

Aloha

Bill