Turning a Water Oak Forest into a Tropical Paradise in NW Orlando

[Merlyn]

And the biggest new planting is in the NW corner, where I took down the last Water Oak around Thanksgiving.  From this side you can see a pair of Ravenea Hildebrandtii, a triple transplanted ponytail palm, a transplanted Bambusa Vulgaris Wamin "Buddha Belly," a Dioon Spinulosum and a Cycas Diannanensis.

From the road side you can see the front edge, L to R a Dioon Argenteum, Cycas Multipinnata, Encephalartos Ferox "Kosi" wide leaf type, and the Cycas Diannanensis:

And from the driveway side, I added a pair of Cyphophoenix Nucele, an unknown Encephalartos hybrid (possibly Horridus x Woodii), a couple of Syagrus Schizophylla, a Dioon Rzedowskii, and a triple Ptychosperma Salomonense.  In the middle of the area are two Cycas Guizhouensis, a Revoluta x Diannanensis, and a transplanted Acoelorrhaphe Wrightii Cerifera that was in the front center bed spot.  I probably killed that one because the root ball fell apart and it's been hot and extremely dry.  I've been giving it extra hose water, but it's nearly collapsed in the last couple of weeks since transplant.  That's the risk of moving palms...sometimes they just don't make it!

[Merlyn]

Continuing down the West side I put in L to R an Encephalartos Altensteinii, Msinganus x Arenarius, a Gaussia Princeps, three Encephalartos Ferox seedlings, and an Encephalartos Gratus:

And to the right of that spot is my last Copernicia Macroglossa.  I have had bad luck with these, most die from repeated crown rots in the ground.  The only survivors so far have been in full sun, so this one might not be long-term planting either in the bottom center:

Here's the poor Everglades Palm today, with the Attalea Speciosa from @NatureGirl through @Jdash.  I was going to let the Speciosa grow up in a 1g palm for a while, but they grow a big root before doing much above ground.  So I decided I was better off planting it in a permanent spot now.

I'm going to chop all the fronds off the Wrightii tomorrow and see if it'll recover from the spears.  

On the other side of the driveway from the previous post I filled in the edge with a Syagrus Amara, Syagrus Schizophylla, Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Lanceolata, and hybrid Encephalartos Transvenosus x (Transvenosus x Woodii):

And the last update for today is at the walkway corner, where I planted a few agaves that aren't too frost hardy.  They are hard to see, but L to R are Xylonacantha "Frostbite," a "Blue Glow" Mediopicta Aurea, a Mangave "Inca Warrior," and a Mangave "Kaleidoscope" with a surviving "Blue Flame" on the right.

[kinzyjr]

If you need more of a workout, I have an entire yard and an itemized list... LOL. 😄

[Merlyn]

@kinzyjr I'm trying to get all the big jobs done this spring because I can see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel," and I'm reasonably certain it's not a train!  I really only have three small-ish open spots in the entire yard, and then it's mostly into "maintenance mode" after ~7 years of working in the yard. 

One job I did was to trash the dying Wrightii from above and replace it with one of the last two potted Encephalartos Whitelockii.  On the left is the small 2-leafer Attalea Speciosa and the 4 leaf Whitelockii in the bottom right.

Behind the Butia on my Easter planting area I used to have three Cycas Micholitzii in a cluster.  I repotted two and moved one to the East pathway in front of the Dioon Mejiae and between the Cphophoenix Nucele (L) and Rhapis Humils (R):

To replace the cluster under the Butia I planted a single leaf Licuala Ramsayi seedling next to a big one, then a pair of Licuala Distans, a triple Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii, and then a pair of Chuniophoenix Hainanensis:

And near the garage I had transplanted a Cyphophoenix Alba last fall, and it promptly died.  Sometimes transplanting just isn't a good idea!  I replaced it with a Burretiokentia Koghiensis between the foxtail ferns:

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I'm trying to get all the big jobs done this spring because I can see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel," and I'm reasonably certain it's not a train! 

Every time I say "I'm done and putting this in maintenance mode only" it ends in me buying more plants and seeds.  Keep up the good work!

[TropicsEnjoyer]

23 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Every time I say "I'm done and putting this in maintenance mode only" it ends in me buying more plants and seeds.  Keep up the good work!

“I can quit anytime I want moment” 😂.

My yard space is growing limited (actually shrinking for better words) but i’m still finding space to squeeze in more plants haha. Though in terms of big tree or palm space, the limits are pretty real.

[Merlyn]

@TropicsEnjoyer my nickname is Merlyn and I am a plantaholic.    I basically quit buying "big" stuff at least a year ago, but somehow I still have 38 full sun or bigger sized palms in pots...and only 3 small spots remaining to plant any of them!  My other stock is 39 understory palms, 21 understory cycads, and 6 full sun cycads.

@kinzyjr this week's work was finally cleaning up the area outside my desk window.  It was WAAAAY more difficult than I expected, because I had two queens here with 11ty billion roots.  I filled up 3 big trash cans with just roots.  The biggest problem was that it was graded backwards in two directions: water ran from left to right towards the patio...and water ran towards the house from the Bottles!  This took about 11 wheelbarrows of dirt removal to go from this mess on Tuesday:

To this correctly graded and mulched fix today.  The dirt now grades down to the left about 2 inches from the patio, and grades away from the house ~2 inches from the wall to the edge of the blocks.  I still need to clean up the blocks, put in stone around the 2 Bottle and Cycas Multipinnata "raised islands" and cover with my standard cypress mulch.  The raised islands are about 3 inches above the surrounding dirt.  I decided that I was not going to dig out the palms and cycas and replant them 3 inches deeper.  It would be a lot of effort and a good chance that one or more of the three would end up dying.

So from R to L this time is a small Cyphophoenix Nucele, the existing bigger Bottle, a Zamia Nesophila, another Bottle, a Cycas Debaoensis (very, very likely a Multifrondis hybrid), the existing Cycas Multipinnata, and a Ptychosperma Schefferi (that *might* be a Macarthurii):

From the side I kept everything at least 6' from the wall:

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn The end-result was worth it.  Digging out the roots here is the equivalent of using a pick to remove all of the rocks up in the mountains.  My weekend was similar to yours.  More on that in my progress thread later.

[Merlyn]

Here's a couple of evening project this week.  First was adding a third layer of landscaping blocks around the front Heliconia bed.  The blocks slowly sink into the sand here, and last year the grass was trying to grow up into the bed all summer.  So I used about 7 or 8 wheelbarrows of dirt from the last project and dumped them in the bed.  I covered with 8 bags of mulch and then will topcoat with the plain brown stuff.  And yes, I know the light is a bit off-kilter. 

And just on the other side of the driveway to the left of that photo is one of the last spots to fill in.  I had moved the Rev x Deb and planted the Chambeyronia triple a couple of weeks ago.  In the shade behind the "Jesse Durko" bamboo I had an Archontophoenix Maxima on the left and a Cunninghamiana double on the right.  I planted 4 Licuala Distans sort of randomly placed between them and the Chambeyronia, and a Ceratozamia Miqueliana on the bottom left, towards the driveway.

On the right side of the Durko bamboo cluster I filled in the open area left by the Rev X Deb.  From L to R, near the driveway I planted a Wallichia Oblongifolia/Densiflora, a Cycas Debaoensis (most likely Multifrondis), and a pair of Cycas Micholitzii.  Behind them on the left is a Licuala Ramsayi, in the center a Zamia hybrid that Eric at Leu Gardens thinks is maybe Furfuracea x Picta, then a cluster of 7 Zamia Picta, and another Licuala Ramsayi.  Behind them I planted another Licuala Ramsayi and on the right rear a Burretiokentia Vieillardii.  The Ramsayi and Vieillardii are somewhat risky placements, because both are considered full sun capable when older.  So we'll see if they get torched or not...

I'm officially down to "only" 66 palms and 19 cycads in pots.  About half of those will have to stay in pots until there's a shady canopy spot ready for them...in a couple of years.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Looking good as always. 85 pot plants is crazy haha but big yard means you can do whatever really. At this point i’m looking for every little inch to squeeze a new plant in 😂. Also I really envy your diverse cycad collection.

[Merlyn]

@TropicsEnjoyer I had to check, but I was pretty sure I've got more cycads in the ground than palms!  Current count is 324 cycads and 353 palms...so close!

Today's job was one that I decided 6 months ago I was NOT going to do.  But I guess I just really needed another couple of planting spots, so the giant live oak stump has to go!  Here's the mess of ferns obscuring the area:

An hour and a half later the leviathan is starting to become visible...

And 6 hours later I've managed to get about half of it removed.  The one slice in the center took a whole hour, because the blade kept getting gummed up with partially rotted oak schmutz.  I'd cut for 15 seconds and then spend 2 minutes scraping the crud off the side of the blade with a knife.  I should have just moved to a different spot, but sometimes I'm just too stubborn for my own good!  The other three big pieces of root flare will have to wait until later in the week...

[kinzyjr]

4 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

And 6 hours later I've managed to get about half of it removed.  The one slice in the center took a whole hour, because the blade kept getting gummed up with partially rotted oak schmutz.  I'd cut for 15 seconds and then spend 2 minutes scraping the crud off the side of the blade with a knife.  I should have just moved to a different spot, but sometimes I'm just too stubborn for my own good!  The other three big pieces of root flare will have to wait until later in the week...

At this point, just get some stump remover and drill some holes.  Just reading that post made my back hurt. 👴

[Merlyn]

4 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

At this point, just get some stump remover and drill some holes.  Just reading that post made my back hurt. 👴

Yeah, but I want to plant stuff now!!!!    I don't actually use my back muscles very much doing this, it's mostly forearm and hand strength just controlling the saw.  Let the blade do the work!  Most of the cuts I do sitting down anyway.  The back workout comes when using the sledge or the pinch bar to knock a piece loose.  I had this tree cut down in June 2018, so it's had plenty of time to soften up and rot.  Unfortunately not *all* of it rotted away or was eaten by termites.   

[Merlyn]

I finally finished the window area...one more spot done!  I relaid the edgers at the walkway, built my Missouri limestone rings around the Bottles and Multipinnata, and did a topcoat of cypress mulch.  I'm a little concerned about the Multipinnata, as it just killed off the last remaining tall frond.  But it has two offsets flushing single leaves, and the center looks like it is thinking about a new flush.  I'm sure I cut some roots when re-grading the area, so hopefully it's just responding to that...and not a sign of something worse:

[palmfriend]

This great documentation keeps going - beautiful! I agree with @kinzyjr, that looks almost like a boot camp for planters!😁💪

But I completely share the joy of doing so - I had a few plant outs during the last days, it is a great feeling! The editing in my yard hasn't started yet but I have already started to think about it...😎

All the best, please keep up with the good work -

Lars

[Mazat]

On 5/14/2025 at 7:59 PM, Merlyn said:

I finally finished the window area...one more spot done!  I relaid the edgers at the walkway, built my Missouri limestone rings around the Bottles and Multipinnata, and did a topcoat of cypress mulch.  I'm a little concerned about the Multipinnata, as it just killed off the last remaining tall frond.  But it has two offsets flushing single leaves, and the center looks like it is thinking about a new flush.  I'm sure I cut some roots when re-grading the area, so hopefully it's just responding to that...and not a sign of something worse:

like a beautiful jigsaw puzzle.

A new piece is always being added.

Great work.

Good luck and have a good rest in between 👍🤗

[Merlyn]

I did take a bit of a break this week, and just filled in a couple of shady spots.  In the SE corner under the tied-up Alfredii on the right and an Encephalartos Kisambo peeking in from the left, I added a pair of Licuala Peltata v. Peltata and a Lepidozamia Hopei:

And near the front walkway I added my last of four Arenga Hookeriana in the shade of an Encephalartos Whitelockii (upper left) and unknown Pectinata-ish Cycas (upper right).  The agave "Blue Flame" in the lower left is the only one I've managed to keep alive here.  It seems to grow ok in part shade and definitely appreciates the frost protection!

[Merlyn]

So last night I couldn't leave the stump alone...and managed to get another giant chunk removed.  So now I have 3 out of 5 big root sections done, and cleared out most of the dirt around the remaining two.  My job tomorrow is to get the last two chunks done and the hole filled back in!

[Harry’s Palms]

Looking like a lot of work . That is one heck of a stump to eliminate if I’m looking at the photo right , between the sledge hammer and the shovel. Might need some ibuprofen after all that! 😂Harry

P.s. The garden is looking awesome. 

[Merlyn]

@Harry’s Palms it's a beast of a stump, for sure!  The live oak is a lot harder to cut through than water oak stumps, so the only good thing about this removal is that it has a couple of big roots but not so many 2-4" diameter ones going off in random directions.  Water oaks were easier to cut but were a tangled mess of roots.  Before lunch I got a ~400lb chunk out and only broke one 12" reciprocating saw blade:

And a relatively "easy" ~300lb chunk gone just after lunch!

And the last ~300lb piece is loose! 

At 2:30 I decided it was time for a siesta!  I'll go back out and clean up once the heat index drops below the 110-115F range...

[Merlyn]

And it's done and filled in!  This took about 15 half-wheelbarrows full of leftover dirt from the area around the back window.  I still need to roll the stump chunks down the hill to my firepit.  But it just needs a bunch of mulch and then I need to figure out what to plant here.

[kinzyjr]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

At 2:30 I decided it was time for a siesta!  I'll go back out and clean up once the heat index drops below the 110-115F range.

You're not kidding.  This spring has been brutal.

[Merlyn]

And just when I thought I was done with the oak stumps, I found another one!!!  This was in the bottom left of the above photo, near the edge under the philodendron.  Fortunately it was rotted out/eaten by termites at about 6" underground, so it took only 30 minutes to remove, and 30 minutes to fill back in and level out:

After that I finished planting out the new bed area near the Corypha Umbraculifera (planted December 2019 as a big bipinnate seedling).  I put in two clusters of Ptychosperma Salomonense, a triple near the Corypha and a double in the bottom left.  The middle is an Encephalartos Whitelockii, and a Syagrus Amara on the right.  Draping over the top right is a frond from a Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Leptocheilos that really exploded this year.  It's been in the ground since October 2021 but had two heavy burns.  The last two milder winters have been great for it.

Backing up to the edge, I labeled the Ptychosperma again for reference.  At the front (L to R) is a Zamia Prasina, a pair of Syagrus Lorenzoniorum, a double and single Copernicia Hospita, and another Zamia Prasina.  The next row back is a Ravenea Sambiranensis, Encephalartos Natalensis "Vryheid" form, and a Dioon Rzedowskii.  Back in the left shade is a Lepidozamia Hopei.

Sometime this weekend I'll put some natural brown mulch over the ugly red/pink stuff.

[Merlyn]

Since my nursery inventory was rapidly going into the ground, I decided to cut it down to a much smaller area and plant out that area.  On the left is a 5' tall Rhapis Humilis with a potted variegated Rhapis Excelsa providing a little bit of temporary shade.  Behind it in deeper shade is a Burretiokentia Vieillardii.  Just behind the two Spindles are a small Kerriodoxa Elegans and a Satakentia Liukiuensis.  The sun nursery area in front is down to about 20 pots of palms and cycads.

Just to the right of that I planted a Licuala Grandis, Actinokentia Divaricata in the middle of the Sansevieria "Metallica."  Just behind that is a Lepidozamia Hopei:

And again to the right, on the other side of the Bambusa "Nana" are a Philodendron "Evansii" that I planted last fall, and a new Licuala Grandis and Lanonia Dasyantha:

And around the corner to the right I added a Reinhardtia Latisecta near the April planting of a Burretiokentia Koghiensis.  You can see the remaining small "shade" nursery area among the "Palm Grass" Molineria Capitulata:

[Merlyn]

And in the SE area I decided to try a pair of small Licuala Spinosa clumps in the ground in nearly full sun.  I know they can take full sun when they are bigger, so I waited until our daily afternoon thunderstorms started and went for it!

And I caught this Dioon Spinulosum triple flush the other day, with a medium green on the bottom left, pale lime green in the center, and seafoam green on the bottom right. 

[palmfriend]

Well done, again!

Removing those stumps seems to be really tiring, I guess you were not amused when finding that second oak stump right afterwards.

However, over here it is countless rocks of lime stone of all sizes sitting beneath the soil's surface that makes it impossible to dig a hole without an iron bar. But I got finally used to it, looking at it like another form of workout.💪😎

Be careful with the Satakentia, they prefer a bit  shade when young and are thankful for an extra watering.

Please keep up with the good work - and thank you for the regular updates -

Lars

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Dion spinulosum are really beautiful cycads. My old neighborhood has a bunch of them and I was recently visiting the area. Some of them are like 6, 7 maybe 8 feet tall with trunk and frond height. And they seem to have nice variation between specimens as well. Another great plant I don’t have space for 😭

[Merlyn]

@palmfriend I was definitely not amused by discovering the bonus oak stump!  Fortunately it was pretty small and mostly rotten.

@TropicsEnjoyer Spinulosum is one of my favorite cycads.  Between Spinulosum and Rzedowskii I have 17 in the ground.  They do take up a bunch of space though, generally around 12' diameter.  And because the fronds arch (which I like), they aren't as easy to prune to a smaller diameter.  Some others like Encephalartos Whitelockii can be left to a full 20' diameter (or more) or pruned very vertical like this Ituriensis next to my pathway:

[Merlyn]

Yesterday afternoon I "finished" the landscaping journey that kind of started in March 2015 with cutting down the first batch of ~10 water oaks.  I planted out the West edge with 10 more palms and cycads.  Under the AM shade of the big Livistona I put in (L to R) a Copernicia Macroglossa, a Carpentaria Acuminata (from @Fishinsteeg234), a Cycas Litoralis, Syagrus Ruschiana, Lepidozamia Peroffskyana, and Zamia Furfuracea:

Just to the right of that photo are the rest of the edge plantings.  I missed the Copernicia Hospita double seedlings in the photo, but the others are a Syagrus Schizophylla, Cycas Taitungensis (which I do not think should be lumped in with Revoluta), a Cyphophoenix Elegans that I moved from the back yard, and another Zamia Furfuracea:

My current grand total is:

• 384 palms with 128 different species in the ground, with 35 more pots and 7 additional species
• 337 cycads with 125 different species in the ground, with 12 more in pots and 8 additional species
• 224 agaves, aloes and cacti, with almost all of them unique species or cultivars, and 17 more in pots
• 54 Bamboos, with 33 unique species or cultivars
• 2 Magnolias, 3 Ficus, 4 Polyalthia Longifolia v. Pendula (Mast Tree), and a bunch of Viburnum hedges
• 1047 total plantings in my spreadsheet

Along the way I've managed to kill:

• 313 palms (43% mortality rate)
• 42 cycads (11% mortality rate)
• 249 agaves, aloes, and cacti (51% mortality rate...yikes!)

I still have a few palms just about ready for planting, including a couple of Cyphophoenix Alba from Floribunda and three Ptychosperma Elegans from @Fishinsteeg234.  I have spots prepped, I'm just acclimating them to a bit more sun before putting them in to fend for themselves! 

So for now the yard is in "maintenance mode," with a to-do task list filled with stuff like:

• Fertilize palms and bamboo
• Weedkiller...again...
• Clean up East side driveway bananas
• Fix rocking paver in East side pathway
• Replace well pressure tank (punctured bladder)
• Daconil & H202 on front door Grandis, potted Attalea Brejinhoensis, potted Rhapis
• Finish mulching SE corner
• Maybe move Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Baronii and replace with Caryota Mitis?

I found a (really bad) photo of my first ever palm purchase, a triple Ravenea Rivularis (Majesty) back on 3/14/2018.  I'm pretty sure I took the photo because I was concerned about the black spots on the leaves.  Yep, rookie question! 

This was my first ever palm planting, a Phoenix Roebellini (Pygmy Date) back on 3/18/2018:

Neither of those plantings (or palms) are still around, but at least the "big box stores" got me started on this landscaping hobby!  In reality, though, I blame finding the PalmTalk forums back in July 2018 for my palm obsession.  And I can blame my wife for the jungle look because at one point she and I were standing on the back porch and she said, "It looks kind of sparse."  She claims she never said that, but I know better!!! 

[Meangreen94z]

I think we need some overall shots of your yard. From across the street, back fence, middle of the jungle , Doomsdave on the roof view eetc.😃

[Merlyn]

@Meangreen94z here's a couple before-and-after pictures, I tried to duplicate the ones from 2015.  Before:

and after:

And from the other side before:

and after:

and the backyard before:

and after:

[Meangreen94z]

Looks greats! I can only imagine in a few more years.

[Merlyn]

And to prove that I just can't leave anything well enough alone...I decided to move this Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Baronii from the SW pathway over to an open full sun spot in the NW.  It wasn't ever going to be dense enough to block the view of my neighbor's yard, and was nowhere near as good at blocking noise as the White Bird of Paradise on the left:

So I picked up a 50% off pot and put it on the left side, and a $35 pot with three plants and separated them out into a row:

I decided the Ptychosperma Elegans had enough sun acclimation time, so I planted the three I got from @Fishinsteeg234.  One went into the NW corner:

And a pair went into the NE side near the driveway, in the middle of a patch of gingers:

The upwards facing leaves have burnt a bit over the past week, but it looks like the new spears are growing out a healthy green color.

[Jdash]

@Merlyn what's the cold tolerance on that zamia nesophila or anything you've heard? Will it get winter protection?

[Merlyn]

12 hours ago, Jdash said:

@Merlyn what's the cold tolerance on that zamia nesophila or anything you've heard? Will it get winter protection?

I really don't know for sure.  The only hardiness notes I have are, "frost free only."  I had the bigger one in a pot in my nursery area for several upper 20s cold fronts, with overhead Queen canopy.  It took no damage, so it for sure is 30F hardy.  My two planting spots are with canopy and less than 10 feet from the house, so I don't plan on protecting them.