Palms in poolside planters....

[Rtrw]

Hello all!   My family and I just moved to a new home in San diego.   We now have a pool, with several planters around it.   The planters come right up to the egde of the pool in some spots within a foot.  I would like to re- do the planters to Include some tropical plants - hopefully including some palms.   I am thinking some sago and pygmy date palms, but I would really love to put some small (6-8 ft tall) royal or king.  In particular a cluster of king.   My concern is with the larger king and royal being so close to the pool.  Can anyone tell me if royal or kings so close to the pool is a bad idea?  Any other recommendations?   We LOVE tropical plants and palms so we are open to suggestions.   Thanks all for reading.

[Pando]

Welcome to Palmtalk! You've found a pretty passionate bunch of folks here that are eager to help!

What part of SD are you in? Chances are that you are in an area where you can easily grow much much better palm trees than sagos, pygmys and kings, which you'll find among all your neighbors. Royals are very nice, but they get large fast and really need space.

Here are some recommendations for you:

Chambeyronia macrocarpa

Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. hookerii

Hedyscepe canterburyana

Rhopalostylis baueri, var. cheesmanii, and sapida

Burretiokentia (viellardii and others)

Howea belmoreana

and a bunch of Dypsis large and small such as:

D. baronii, onilahensis, ambositrae, leptocheilos

and the more exotic Pinanga coronata, javana

and Licuala ramsayi, peltata var sumawongii

and Kerriodoxa elegans

Get wild, the palm world is open for you!!!!

[Briank]

Best Ones by far to plant around a pool are Foxtail Palms.  Matter of fact I just planted 3-4 around my Neighbors pool.   They do not make a mess, the are very tropical, do well in full sun.   Make sure you buy CA grown though.  Home Depot and other places tend to grow FL.     Kings are ok as well, but depending on your heat, the frowns could get crispy.  Foxtails do better in Full Sun.  No thorns, no Fruit growing from them etc.   look them up and take a look at them. 

[Rtrw]

Thank you guys

Best Ones by far to plant around a pool are Foxtail Palms.  Matter of fact I just planted 3-4 around my Neighbors pool.   They do not make a mess, the are very tropical, do well in full sun.   Make sure you buy CA grown though.  Home Depot and other places tend to grow FL.     Kings are ok as well, but depending on your heat, the frowns could get crispy.  Foxtails do better in Full Sun.  No thorns, no Fruit growing from them etc.   look them up and take a look at them. 

Best Ones by far to plant around a pool are Foxtail Palms.  Matter of fact I just planted 3-4 around my Neighbors pool.   They do not make a mess, the are very tropical, do well in full sun.   Make sure you buy CA grown though.  Home Depot and other places tend to grow FL.     Kings are ok as well, but depending on your heat, the frowns could get crispy.  Foxtails do better in Full Sun.  No thorns, no Frui

[Rtrw]

Thanks!  You guys are fast!   We are in Scripps ranch....about 15 miles from coast.   Pretty mild temperatures but we do get a few weeks of  weather in the mid to high 90's during the summer.   This summer has been especial ly hot.   

While I absolutely love plants and gardening it is a rather new hobby for me.  Are any of the palms you guys mention difficult to grow?   I don't want anything real tempramental.   Are there any smaller palms maybe under 20ft max?   Lastly just to confirm...I shouldn't have any issues with my concrete / hardscape  / pool??

Happy to have found thisfothisforum....will have many questions. 

[JubaeaMan138]

Anybody think roots could cause damage if planted next to pool?

[JubaeaMan138]

I'm in the final stages of my pool being built! And plan on putting a gigas I dug out before they started the pool that I am going to put by the pool. Also a dypsis decipiens double roystonea regia , dracaena Draco , dypsis bejofo and a Phoenix rupicola

[Briank]

I'm in the final stages of my pool being built! And plan on putting a gigas I dug out before they started the pool that I am going to put by the pool. Also a dypsis decipiens double roystonea regia , dracaena Draco , dypsis bejofo and a Phoenix rupicola

I would hesitate putting a royal by the pool.  I bought 6 royals few months ago and planted in front yard.  Beautiful palm. I only say this cause I visited DoomsDave( another poster on here) and he has full grown regias. Their frawns weight 50-60lbs !!! I had to move some, cause when they fall, they fall Hard! Just be careful.   I also put some gigas in my yard this year, but everyone told me to plant them in a location were you can eventually be able to cut down, cause after they seed, they die.  Live span about 15/20 years I hear.   Maybe you know all is already.   But love your choices.   All great palms.  The more I learn about these palms, the more I have to move some.  Good luck !

[Briank]

Thanks!  You guys are fast!   We are in Scripps ranch....about 15 miles from coast.   Pretty mild temperatures but we do get a few weeks of  weather in the mid to high 90's during the summer.   This summer has been especial ly hot.   

While I absolutely love plants and gardening it is a rather new hobby for me.  Are any of the palms you guys mention difficult to grow?   I don't want anything real tempramental.   Are there any smaller palms maybe under 20ft max?   Lastly just to confirm...I shouldn't have any issues with my concrete / hardscape  / pool??

Happy to have found thisfothisforum....will have many questions. 

Foxtails do not get overly large, 20-25 ft max. Mine are 7-8 yrs old and about 8-10 ft.  You should be fine,  most palms are invasive and grow more vertical than horizontal. 

[JubaeaMan138]

Yea not to worried about the gigas I'll get out when the time comes Haha the royals are going up behind the pool about 10 foot away I'm concerned about the roots I know some of the larger queens can do some damage to concrete from the roots

[Briank]

Yea not to worried about the gigas I'll get out when the time comes Haha the royals are going up behind the pool about 10 foot away I'm concerned about the roots I know some of the larger queens can do some damage to concrete from the roots

when I took the royals out of the 20ga containers they were everywhere.  That's why they grow so fast.  Still think you'll be ok, but do your research. They do have a lot of roots 

[JubaeaMan138]

Thanks for the heads up!  Next thing I want to get for around the pool is a dypsis carlsmithii got to find one for a descent price

[JubaeaMan138]

Speaking of fox tails I have 3 that I have been waiting to put out some seed any idea how old or big they need to be to flower? Mine are 10 to 15 foot tall over 8 years old and have not flowered they row like crazy though

[Pando]

 

Thanks!  You guys are fast!   We are in Scripps ranch....about 15 miles from coast.   Pretty mild temperatures but we do get a few weeks of  weather in the mid to high 90's during the summer.   This summer has been especially hot.   

While I absolutely love plants and gardening it is a rather new hobby for me.  Are any of the palms you guys mention difficult to grow?   I don't want anything real tempramental.   Are there any smaller palms maybe under 20ft max?   Lastly just to confirm...I shouldn't have any issues with my concrete / hardscape  / pool??

Happy to have found thisfothisforum....will have many questions. 

Scripps ranch should have a good climate, just watch out for frost in winter; this depends on if you're in a canyon or above it. If you do get frost (or temps less than 34F) it'll be difficult with the more tender species.

What you can grow depends on a lot of factors - sun exposure, temp ranges, soil conditions, humidity, wind patterns, drainage, fertilizing, water, and a ton more things. The pygmy, sago, queens and kings, and even foxtails are everywhere for a reason - they are easy to grow and propagate. Others can be a bit more difficult, but some of the species I listed above are not that much more fussy than a king, but they will give you the unique and beautiful look to your garden your neighbors won't have. Some are just very slow, but that can be an advantage if you buy them larger.

Looks like you're looking for something that doesn't get as big as a typical king? Try some of the smaller Dypsis such as baronii, lanceolata, onilahensis to name just a few. Chambeyronia is a good choice also, and it will surprise with new red fronds. Also a nice one is Bentinckia condapanna that you should have no problems to grow.

You shouldn't have an issue with the pool, but I wouldn't put anything big there, like caryotas (short lifespan), royals, CIDP or jubaeas. Those things need space, not just above but also under ground.

[Firepalm]

Take a hard look at Kentiopsis Oliviformis.  They are beautiful palms that handle a variety of sun exposures.  They are self cleaning, grow at a steady pace and are very tropical looking.  Also depending on how much sun exposure you have, it is hard to beat well grown Kentia palms (howea forsteriana) in San Diego.  They hold a ton of fronds and have a graceful look that is ideal for pool areas.

[Kim]

Most of the palms on Pando's first list will not take full inland sun exposure without burning or bleaching.  if you have some trees nearby providing a little shade, maybe.

Do not plant pygmy date palms near a pool.  They are cute when they are small, but bare skin and 3 to 4-inch spines are not a good combination. Plus they produce billions and billions of raisin-sized seeds that will fall into your pool.

The Kentiopsis oliviformis is probably a good choice.  You might try a Dypsis decaryi, they enjoy the heat.  If you want something with slender clumping stems, take a look at Chamaedorea seifrizii which I have seen growing nicely out in Palm Desert.

Just a few ideas that come to mind.

[Matt in OC]

Most of the palms on Pando's first list will not take full inland sun exposure without burning or bleaching.  if you have some trees nearby providing a little shade, maybe.

Do not plant pygmy date palms near a pool.  They are cute when they are small, but bare skin and 3 to 4-inch spines are not a good combination. Plus they produce billions and billions of raisin-sized seeds that will fall into your pool.

The Kentiopsis oliviformis is probably a good choice.  You might try a Dypsis decaryi, they enjoy the heat.  If you want something with slender clumping stems, take a look at Chamaedorea seifrizii which I have seen growing nicely out in Palm Desert.

Just a few ideas that come to mind.

This is great advice, particularly re: the roebellinis. 

I think a lot depends on your particular area of SD and your soil. I think you'd have a hard time going wrong with Foxtails and D. decaryi. Both LOVE the reflective heat. If you have more canopy (or wait for some to grow in) you can go with palms such as Rhopalostylis and Chambeyronia that like some shade before getting hefty. Good luck!