Utah Yard Projects

[RyManUtah]

Hi. I am making my own thread to update randomly for the people who care, so I won’t inadvertently hijack others’ to post updates of my projects. Feel free to reply. Enjoy. 

[RyManUtah]

In preparation for the hot day’s ahead, I ran water to my Trachycarpus princeps. The flow will be adjusted as needed throughout the season. I am just testing them to make sure they don’t spray into the crowns. I put two for now, so it more evenly waters the roots. 

[RyManUtah]

Stills for those who don’t do video.

 

 

 

[Allen]

3 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Stills for those who don’t do video.  

Looks good but keep in mind those drips put out a lot of water.   I have hundreds of plants on drip and love it.  I use 1GPH nozzles here almost entirely.  

[RyManUtah]

25 minutes ago, Allen said:

Looks good but keep in mind those drips put out a lot of water.   I have hundreds of plants on drip and love it.  I use 1GPH nozzles here almost entirely.  

Thank you. I agree. I specifically got adjustable emitters, as well as the manifolds for that reason. Can be turn up a bit in summer and lower the rest of the year. 
 

This particular area of the yard is mostly backfill red sand from building the fence. I’ll have to play it by ear. It drains extremely fast, and is in full sun until the hottest time of day. It’s slightly protected from wind as well. Thought it was the perfect princeps location for these reasons. 

[NCFM]

Do you still have those volunteer washingtonias coming up all over your yard? I believe earlier this year you offered to send me some this spring. If you're still willing, I'd love to take you up on your offer. 

[RyManUtah]

8 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Do you still have those volunteer washingtonias coming up all over your yard? I believe earlier this year you offered to send me some this spring. If you're still willing, I'd love to take you up on your offer. 

Here, I don’t. This is actually a new home for me. I can definitely still acquire and send you some, however. I also have some pure filifera seeds if you are in need. 

[NCFM]

27 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Here, I don’t. This is actually a new home for me. I can definitely still acquire and send you some, however. I also have some pure filifera seeds if you are in need. 

Oh, that's ok. Congrats on your new home! I'm still deciding on if I should try filifera or robusta. I live in zone 7b/8a with hot, humid summers and cool, rainy winters. I'm thinking robusta might fare better in the long run, but I'm not sure.

[RyManUtah]

59 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Oh, that's ok. Congrats on your new home! I'm still deciding on if I should try filifera or robusta. I live in zone 7b/8a with hot, humid summers and cool, rainy winters. I'm thinking robusta might fare better in the long run, but I'm not sure.

Thank you! I’m very excited. If it were me, I would find a filibusta that looked closer to filifera, but still had some obvious robusta genes. Filifera is a lot more tolerant of cold, but robusta is more tolerant of wet. That would give the best of both for a colder climate out East. Just my $.02.  

[NCFM]

20 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Thank you! I’m very excited. If it were me, I would find a filibusta that looked closer to filifera, but still had some obvious robusta genes. Filifera is a lot more tolerant of cold, but robusta is more tolerant of wet. That would give the best of both for a colder climate out East. Just my $.02.  

Thanks for your input, I'll have to look into that. I've seen robustas growing at the coast, but I live further inland and higher up in elevation so it gets a little bit colder around here. So, like you said, sounds like a filibusta might be the best choice.

[Dartolution]

Cool, keep us updated @RyManUtah ;-)

[RyManUtah]

Testing drainage. Time is stickered on photos. One of my slowest draining places. Is it too fast? 

Sabal palmetto will be here. Opinions on the crown being in water for ~15 min until it grows taller? 

[SailorBold]

Looking good..I love the drip systems. I have a 3 zone manifold in my back yard that I'm going to utilize as all drip systems..when I get to it of course.  Your drainage doesnt look bad..I have never grown a palmetto.. so I cant say.. but it's so dry in our climates I doubt drainage could ever be a problem. It would probably help.

[RyManUtah]

4 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Looking good..I love the drip systems. I have a 3 zone manifold in my back yard that I'm going to utilize as all drip systems..when I get to it of course.  Your drainage doesnt look bad..I have never grown a palmetto.. so I cant say.. but it's so dry in our climates I doubt drainage could ever be a problem. It would probably help.

Thanks. I love them too. You don’t waste money and time watering rocks haha. My Sabal places are on their own zone. I gave them adjustable bubblers, so they can have higher water in summer. My plan is is to keep them fairly watered year round, except within 48 hours of a freeze. The only thing I’ve been regularly watering in the winter are the Trachys. A couple times I left their zone on (they’re still on overhead for now as they’re planted in grass, but they’re taller than the sprinklers spray zone). They don’t seem to have minded their trunks covered in ice a couple times on accident. 

[Fusca]

19 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Sabal palmetto will be here. Opinions on the crown being in water for ~15 min until it grows taller? 

Ryan,

I planted a 5-6 strap-leaf Sabal riverside and watered it by hand with a hose sprayer.  It spear-pulled twice during summer which I believe was due to water splashing around the crown.  If fact I started a thread about it below.  If it's on slow drip I'd think that it should be fine but if it's spray (not sure how an adjustable bubbler works) or creating a pool of water submerging the growing point I'd advise against that for your Sabal.  My riverside still has one green strap leaf left but it is on borrowed time - I'm 99.9% certain that it's a goner and it just doesn't know it yet.  I've heard other stories of warm-weather spear-pulls on young Sabals from other growers here.

Jon

 

[RyManUtah]

@Fusca  Yikes. Thank you for the info and link,  Jon. That’s kind of scary. I left enough room to make a mount in there. Obviously the plastic will need removed / expended throughout the years. Maybe I’ll make a couple drain holes so the top of my mound isn’t submerged. The rings are to keep more water over the root zone instead of running down hill. 
 

as far as bubblers, they literally just bubble water at a higher rate down the side of the emitter, like a broken sprinkler head without the geyser. The tighter you make it, the less water flow you receive. It provides higher water for the area without the spray. Maybe this will need to be drip emitters for a while also. 

[Fusca]

That sounds like a better idea.    I just learned this issue with Sabals this past year so I've changed my watering habits with them.  They still like lots of water but apparently delivery is key when they are so small.  It might be a function of the water + high heat also which I know you have a lot of also.  I've got another S. riverside with 5 strap leaves ready to take its place in a couple of weeks so hopefully I'll have better luck with this one!

[RyManUtah]

Awesome! Keep us updated on how they do!

heres a video of how the bubblers work if you are interested. It’s just higher water than a drip emitter 

[Fusca]

Interesting - thanks for the video.  I wanted to mention also that the spring/summer spear pulls on Sabal can happen if planted too deep.  My S. riverside was planted at a good height with 1/3 of the heel above the ground.

[RyManUtah]

3 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Interesting - thanks for the video.  I wanted to mention also that the spring/summer spear pulls on Sabal can happen if planted too deep.  My S. riverside was planted at a good height with 1/3 of the heel above the ground.

Good to know, thank you! I have a couple weeks left. I shouldn’t have anymore freezing nights come March. I’ll get them in the ground then. They stay on the death wall currently and get brought inside below freezing.

[Chester B]

11 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

They stay on the death wall

Is this like death row for palms??

[RyManUtah]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

Is this like death row for palms??

For most things! Heat loving palms love it. It’s the wall in the sun all day 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

What do yall think would be a major difference between over head sprinkler watering of palms or high rainfall areas. I have a Sabal Riverside that gets overhead watering from sprinklers in the summer. Also high rainfall in the winter. This palm is trucking right along and I would call it a pretty good grower for a palm, let alone a Sabal. 

[RyManUtah]

On 2/17/2020 at 3:55 PM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

What do yall think would be a major difference between over head sprinkler watering of palms or high rainfall areas. I have a Sabal Riverside that gets overhead watering from sprinklers in the summer. Also high rainfall in the winter. This palm is trucking right along and I would call it a pretty good grower for a palm, let alone a Sabal. 

I think it depends on species. From my understanding, culinary and irrigation water are high in mineral deposits or chemicals that get left behind when the water dries. Desert species are more susceptible from any overhead watering, as they’re used to lower rainfall and grow near ground water. 

[RyManUtah]

Sabal row installments: 
 

Sabal mexicana. This one has been actively growing most of winter. 
 

•
 

Sabal palmetto #1

 

•

 

Sabal palmetto #2

 

•
 

Sabal palmetto #3

This one is interesting. It has two growing points. A fact I didn’t notice until removing it from the pot. 
 

•
 

I’m currently out of lava rock, but I’m using it to help retain moisture in the Sabal areas, as it’s somewhat porous. 
 

These were pretty pot bound. Quite a root system on these guys. I’m glad I got them in the ground. 
 

what temperature does the palmetto require to retain active growth? 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, RyManUtah said:

what temperature does the palmetto require to retain active growth?

All my seedlings grow year round, not saying they may not stall when we get a cold spell or week. From the untrained eye it seems like they never stop growing, obviously the more sun the better =) 

[RJ]

So question for those that use drip irrigation in colder climates that see freezing temps from time to time. How do you keep the heads from freezing? Do you blow air in the lines come fall to purge the water from the system?

[Chester B]

2 minutes ago, RJ said:

So question for those that use drip irrigation in colder climates that see freezing temps from time to time. How do you keep the heads from freezing? Do you blow air in the lines come fall to purge the water from the system?

Exactly.  I have a fitting that connects the irrigation lines to a compressed air line and I run low pressure air (~15 psi) until water stops coming out.  Only a few minutes per line and it's pretty easy.  To be fair our ground never really freezes but it keeps the fittings from having water freeze in them and crack.

[RJ]

1 minute ago, Chester B said:

Exactly.  I have a fitting that connects the irrigation lines to a compressed air line and I run low pressure air (~15 psi) until water stops coming out.  Only a few minutes per line and it's pretty easy.  To be fair our ground never really freezes but it keeps the fittings from having water freeze in them and crack.

Great! Our ground doesn’t freeze either but the exposed fitting would be exposed to the cold. Suppose you could just through some mulch on them perhaps. 

[Chester B]

34 minutes ago, RJ said:

Great! Our ground doesn’t freeze either but the exposed fitting would be exposed to the cold. Suppose you could just through some mulch on them perhaps. 

As long as they're dry I think you'll be ok.  I haven't had any issues so far.

[RyManUtah]

On a string of several really cold nights, I’ll also blow my lines out with low pressure psi. The fittings are cheap and easy to install. Most of the time, gravity takes care of it, though. The water goes “down” and back into the ground if you’re not watering during a freeze. I’ve never had a problem. 

[Allen]

5 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

On a string of several really cold nights, I’ll also blow my lines out with low pressure psi. The fittings are cheap and easy to install. Most of the time, gravity takes care of it, though. The water goes “down” and back into the ground if you’re not watering during a freeze. I’ve never had a problem. 

Got over 250 drip emitters above ground and don't have a problem if blown out.  They freeze all the time here and I have to replace a couple each year is about it.

[AZPalms]

Drainage looks perfectly fine. Sabals are tough. I have a minor here in my “swampy” are (for AZ) where it’s in pure nasty clay. Loves it. My neighbor has had a big leak in his irrigation line for the last 2 years. My minor, mule, Washingtonia volunteer all benefit. This area gets soaked and I mean soaked for 3-4 feet on my side of the yard every day in summer. The S. minor loves it. My S Blackburniana gets water everyday in summer on drip. Probably could use more water but it never burns in full AZ sun. Flood em, they won’t mind I imagine. I’d avoid that in winter all the time and let them dry a bit though. 

Growth rate wise, as mentioned, both seem to grow through our AZ winter, slower than summer but my Sabals have both pushed spears and are ready to open any time. They’re tough as nails. Cold, heat, water etc. 

[RyManUtah]

Decided this is a better thread to post this. Happy Spring! 

[RyManUtah]

Brahea Installment Day!
 

I have waited all winter to install this one. 

This was quite a chore to remove from the pot. I did break one root. Hopefully that won’t be a big deal later.
 

Backfill, Grass Barrier & Top Dressing. 
 

 

All done! If anyone is wondering, I don’t plan to keep the grass. I built it up a little bit so it was easy to cover while overhead watering the grass. This will be my process until I get a plan of grass removal execution. 

Apologies for the poor quality of the finished photo. 

Thanks for looking! 

[DAVEinMB]

@RyManUtah great job so far man! I'm excited to see the rest of your work 

[Chester B]

The easiest way to get rid of grass is to cover with thick cardboard (like leftover Amazon boxes) and then a good layer of mulch of your choice.  Works like a charm.  Dig holes for any plants you add in.

[RyManUtah]

1 hour ago, DAVEinMB said:

@RyManUtah great job so far man! I'm excited to see the rest of your work 

Thanks man! 

[RyManUtah]

57 minutes ago, Chester B said:

The easiest way to get rid of grass is to cover with thick cardboard (like leftover Amazon boxes) and then a good layer of mulch of your choice.  Works like a charm.  Dig holes for any plants you add in.

Thanks for the tip! 1/3 of the back grass will be a pool at some point. (The random white lines in the photos). When I go to put that in, I may just have it cut all of it and sell it. Sod is pretty pricy around here. I haven’t decided if it’s worth the hassle yet. 

[RJ]

On 2/25/2020 at 10:37 PM, AZPalms said:

Drainage looks perfectly fine. Sabals are tough. I have a minor here in my “swampy” are (for AZ) where it’s in pure nasty clay. Loves it. My neighbor has had a big leak in his irrigation line for the last 2 years. My minor, mule, Washingtonia volunteer all benefit. This area gets soaked and I mean soaked for 3-4 feet on my side of the yard every day in summer. The S. minor loves it. My S Blackburniana gets water everyday in summer on drip. Probably could use more water but it never burns in full AZ sun. Flood em, they won’t mind I imagine. I’d avoid that in winter all the time and let them dry a bit though. 

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So I saw that Phil from Jungle music has these on sale, and he's the only one I see that ever has them. What's your take on these?