Hey Rick, thanks for the compliment. ... I'm not on a barrier island unfortunately but I am steps away from the coast. 

It is a challenge to grow up here in this part of the state and I know that some things are very marginal. However, that may be part of what drives us up here.

Tallahassee is a cold sink and 8b. My area is a cold 9a....with the possibility of an occasional 8b event.....hope I don't see it anytime soon. I would love to have your climate up here and I have often thought of would I still be into palms and tropical landscaping if I lived there. Most likely yes....I imagine it would be less emphasis on trying to find species that will survive and more emphasis on rare or unusual species. 

I would love to visit next time I'm down that way. ..thanks for the invite.

Now on to some more picures. I used this Brahea clara as a more cold hardy substitute for one of the other C. alba that died during 2014....it's been a slow and steady grower....even when shaded by a big enterolobium tree nearby.

Here is the mule that was planted in the front (southwest) side. It has struggled more than the other hybrids but has a more coconut look IMO.

The two big Washies are loaded with seed....probably will ignore the skirt this summer unless it looks like we might get a hurricane....then I would remove the dead fronds.....in the foreground is a "summer chocolate " mimosa ....really like that tree.

Here is a pic of that beautiful 8ft. Tall ponytail ..... after it nearly died from 2014 it has been a very slow recovery.

Another view of the big bizzie 

Bambusa textilis 'gracilis '

Planted this on the north side of the A. wrightii to help protect it during future freezes.....plus it helps block the nearby traffic and bike path.

That's pretty much it on the big palms that were transplanted. All the C. alba were killed....replaced with Bismarkia and Brahea clara. The two big queens were killed and were replaced with one of Eric's mules and a (JxB)xB)xQ .... a Merrill and Hopper hybrid. Everything else survived.

I have aquired a lot of other smaller things palms/cycads etc.....will save that for a different thread ..... thanks everybody for the kind comments .... come to visit me and my tiny 20ft. x 130ft yard sometime it has been a quick and interesting 3 years of gardening here on the Emerald Coast.

David,

again very nice photos - thank you very much!

I am looking forward to your next thread about the "smaller palms/cycads/etc...",

best regards

That a bummer about the C.Alba.  I have a larger one that I was going to plant outside in a few months, but now I am wondering if it has any chance at all here.

Yeah Joseph, I thought they would be more hardy up here too. Strangely the Bismarkia's fair'd better than alba's.....I would rather be able to grow Bizzy's for sure. But it may just be a matter of time for them as well. Had several small Bismarkia that survived unprotected other than canopy tree's which is pretty amazing.

Who would have thought that Bismarkia is a replacement for Washintonia in hold areas?

I am so long overdue to come see this in person.   

Bump...updates on this?

I will try and give updates soon. Been putting in Trex Deck pathways through the garden, outdoor lighting and irrigation ... everything has grown a lot since last posting.

2021 Christmas Front Bizmarkia

Edited February 21, 20224 yr by Alicehunter2000

S. causiarum with L. Nitida behind

1 hour ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

2021 Christmas Front Bizmarkia

Bizzy looks amazing! and that has been through some pretty low temps right? I believe I remember the polar vortex smashing your property right after all that was installed. (Sorry about bringing up painful memories)

LOL .... yes distant painful memories. We have had a very mild winter these past 2 years ... barely touching freezing. Don't want to jinx it though. Bizmarkia's seem to be pretty variable. This particular palm is not as cold hardy as some that I've grown from seed, but it is by far the largest.