Utah Yard Projects

[Dartolution]

Looks great Ryan!

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Opuntia santarita? Is this the correct species or just common name? Flushed full of yellow flowers, immediately followed by exploded growth. 

 

Been wondering where you'd been..  Yes, that is Opuntia Macrocentra Var. "Santa Rita"  Look like the yard is coming together well..

[RyManUtah]

Thanks guys. I’ve been doin a little bit every day off until it gets too hot. Turns out my manual labor in the sun limit is about 102.
 

I have managed to harvest some veggies during my hiatus. To my surprised I haven’t scorched the tomatoes yet, albeit they took a big dive during the last wind storm. 

[Fusca]

5 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Livistona nitida is coming out of its desert shock. It hasn’t grown in weeks and this frond flush has happened in three days. 

I bet if you give the nitida lots of water it'll grow fast for you.  Mine is growing faster than my Washingtonia filibusta but not as fast as last year when I watered it more often.  Your plants are looking good!

Jon

[SailorBold]

Great job!  Its looking nice..   So you decided to get rid of all the grass?

[RyManUtah]

2 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Great job!  Its looking nice..   So you decided to get rid of all the grass?

Thank you. I did not. The front yard won’t be this year so there is grass there for now. The back I am leaving a little section. Will be touched up and shaped later on of course. 
 

this doesn’t show all of it, but the basic concept. I left most of that sprinkler section intact. The removed square will house a future greenhouse footing. 

[Swolte]

23 hours ago, Fusca said:

I bet if you give the nitida lots of water it'll grow fast for you.  Mine is growing faster than my Washingtonia filibusta but not as fast as last year when I watered it more often.  Your plants are looking good!

Just curious, since we're both in Texas, do you know how much do you water it? I supplement about 3.5 gallons/week (Nitida was 5 gallon pot size). 

[Jubaea_James760]

I don't get summer rain like you guys get in Texas but my Nitida was also a 5gal size last year when I planted it & it probably gets about 12-15 gallons/ a week. 12gal on drip + I hand water it one a week if I think its been to hot.

[Fusca]

11 hours ago, Swolte said:

Just curious, since we're both in Texas, do you know how much do you water it? I supplement about 3.5 gallons/week (Nitida was 5 gallon pot size). 

I was probably giving it closer to about 10 gallons a week and I don't have clay soil.

[Swolte]

Thanks for sharing the watering schedules. I do get occasional heavy summer rains here so that helps but I should probably try and up the watering a bit during summers. Mine is in a more sandy clay loam but its all hard clay a couple of feet down. I'm thinking, now that they're young and more vulnerable to cold, I should try to bulk them up as much as possible before (a nasty) winter strikes! 

On 7/4/2020 at 7:54 PM, RyManUtah said:

Thanks guys. I’ve been doin a little bit every day off until it gets too hot. Turns out my manual labor in the sun limit is about 102.
 

I know what you mean! We're hitting triple digits here soon and humidity doesn't help one bit. Two items that have helped me work in high temps are these cooling towels (wet and wrap around neck) and a simple headlight (allowing me to do some work past evening hours if needed/possible). 

Thanks for the chronicles, your yard is going to look great! 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Swolte

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Nitida are very fast growing, almost robusta speed. This one is 3 years from a 5 gallon in San Marcos.   

[Fusca]

Joseph is right - here is mine that was a strap leaf seedling in March of 2018 and well over 6' now:

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Fusca

[RyManUtah]

Slowly coming to a point where you can see the direction I’m heading in this little area, so I wanted to share with everyone. You’re all getting me excited about the nitada 
 

this will be my transition bed from grass / patio to desert. Flower beds will be around both patio pillars. In the planter currently are Cereus repandus and some type of sterile, dwarf Buddleia. Buddleia to utilize a small place of sprinkler overspray.

______________________________________________________________

this bed will begin adjacent to the Future pool (to the left, where I’ve been getting all the dirt).  In it are Brahea armata, Trichocereus pachanoi, Washingtonia filifera, Butia ordorata (mother palm was an ice blue “strictor” variety). 

you can see another bed in the making with another specimen of Trichocereus pachanoi toward the upper right of the photo as well. 

 

______________________________________________________________

Here is a more overall view. You can see the general area where a stone patio and walkway will eventually go. This tidbits of pavers and flagstone were given to me. They will be included in said patio / walkway. Palms in grass are Washingtonia robusta & xButiagrus nabonnandii.

 

big work in progress. Dirt isn’t easy to move when it’s hot and dry. It’s basically concrete, but it’ll get there. I do a little bit daily, but by hand so that it remains basically free. 

[kinzyjr]

@RyManUtah I love what you are doing out there along with your planting choices!  Brahea armata and Washingtonia filifera are two of my favorites!  Can hardly wait to see how awesome they look when they set flower and have a small skirt of fronds under them!

[RyManUtah]

9 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

@RyManUtah I love what you are doing out there along with your planting choices!  Brahea armata and Washingtonia filifera are two of my favorites!  Can hardly wait to see how awesome they look when they set flower and have a small skirt of fronds under them!

Thank you! I completely agree. Two of my favorites as well, and two palms that rarely winter bronze in my climate. I strategically placed the B. armata where I could enjoy it from anywhere outside as well as from inside haha. 
 

a treat for you, a flowering B. armata on my commute. I stopped to see it the other morning:

[kinzyjr]

@RyManUtah Thank you!  That is gorgeous!  I was just talking with @palmsOrl about his Most Beautiful Palms thread and mentioned that a Brahea in flower is a stunning palm, especially in the desert!

[10nCLR]

Ah, the Brahea A. at Star Nursery. Know that one well, watched him grow up.

[RyManUtah]

went to get some tomato food and wouldn’t you know it, this Chamaerops came home with me:

 

[Chester B]

You got lots of room, why'd you come home with only one???

[RyManUtah]

25 minutes ago, Chester B said:

You got lots of room, why'd you come home with only one???

Right? Tbh I plan to spring for a couple larger sizes brought in from Vegas when I do the front yard, so I wasn’t chamaerops shopping, I just noticed two that had a lot of white “fur” on them. This one was my favorite because of the unopened leaves at the 7g size. I wanna see what it does ha. Some of the first, small leaves are fully opened but the newer ones aren’t. 
 

if appears to have tried to flower at some point. I did cut off the small, rotting flower when I planted though. 

[RyManUtah]

I did also grab a couple of Trachycarpus, which are chilling in the shade until I decide on their location. 

[RyManUtah]

Mulies we’re burning on the patio. Being afraid to over water, they got planted out front. The will eventually be no grass in this area. 

[RyManUtah]

Some progress shots.. 

Hesperaloe parviflora - I was excited when I saw one. Yellow is not nearly as common as red around here. 

[ahosey01]

On 7/4/2020 at 5:54 PM, RyManUtah said:

Thanks guys. I’ve been doin a little bit every day off until it gets too hot. Turns out my manual labor in the sun limit is about 102.
 

I have managed to harvest some veggies during my hiatus. To my surprised I haven’t scorched the tomatoes yet, albeit they took a big dive during the last wind storm. 

We have a massive harvester ant nest in my back yard that I haven’t managed to kill off yet, so I have to do the backyard stuff in the heat of the day or they crawl up my pant legs and leave nasty bites, and always more than one at a time. Not a dry piece of clothing on my body by the end of the day!  Hit 117 a couple days ago.

[Dartolution]

Looks great @RyManUtah. Those Mule palms will look great in the front! 

I would be shocked if you actually could "overwater" them in the desert hahaha.

 

[SailorBold]

I cant wait to see how this is going to look in a couple years...  outstanding.  What is going to be your aggregate choice?

[RyManUtah]

35 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

I cant wait to see how this is going to look in a couple years...  outstanding.  What is going to be your aggregate choice?

Thank you, same here. I need a few good winters to get some size to these trees haha. 
I haven’t decided yet, albeit it will be rock. I’ll give everything a nice top dressing first, when I’m finished. 
likely at least two different types / sizes of ground cover rock, larger than gravel on at least one type; with some larger rocks here and there, whatever I and a couple people can carry. I’d like the rock to be natural colored, for aesthetics as well as to hide wind blown debris. 
I don’t plan to use fabric close to any plants; I want to be able to pull rocks back and work the soil as needed 

[ahosey01]

56 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Thank you, same here. I need a few good winters to get some size to these trees haha. 
I haven’t decided yet, albeit it will be rock. I’ll give everything a nice top dressing first, when I’m finished. 
likely at least two different types / sizes of ground cover rock, larger than gravel on at least one type; with some larger rocks here and there, whatever I and a couple people can carry. I’d like the rock to be natural colored, for aesthetics as well as to hide wind blown debris. 
I don’t plan to use fabric close to any plants; I want to be able to pull rocks back and work the soil as needed 

Im assuming you’re in SW Utah in the desert like that.  If you happen to slide down through Wickenburg any time after October, my yard will be done. I’m doing pretty much exactly what you’re describing with the rock and ground cover. You could check out the finished product if you want.

[RyManUtah]

2 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

Im assuming you’re in SW Utah in the desert like that.

Yes, I am in St George. 
 

3 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

If you happen to slide down through Wickenburg any time after October, my yard will be done. I’m doing pretty much exactly what you’re describing with the rock and ground cover. You could check out the finished product if you want.

That would be cool; I’ll keep you posted if I do. 

[RyManUtah]

Some uncommon local finds for me excited and decided to share here. Appears to be W.robusta S.palmetto and some type of Brahea? 

 

(Photos courtesy of friends at Gooch Pool Plastering & Repair, not my own). 

maybe the owner will join us one day and chime in. They seem to like palms. 

[RyManUtah]

An actual update lol:

[SailorBold]

Nice!  Let's hope for a mild winter...   

I'm thinking that brahea is actually a livistona chinensis.. not sure tho.

 

I'm looking forward to updates!

[10nCLR]

How are your palms doing now since it's dipped into the mid 20s here in SGU?

[RyManUtah]

Some interesting observations on cold hardiness I wanted to share. I have very little plant damage so far in the new garden.
 

temperatures being into the low 20sF regularly, the mule seems to handle it better than the robusta. Mule has a slightly “faded” look to it, but is otherwise healthy. Robusta look terrible: 

I’m assuming this is frost bite on a cactus? I haven’t paid much attention to it and noticed: 

 

L. nitida with some slight discoloration: 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

 

I’m assuming this is frost bite on a cactus? I haven’t paid much attention to it and noticed: 

 

 

 

 

Yes, Growing tip is fried.  Would put some plastic cups, stuffed with pieces of Cloth or Paper Towels over it/ any other stems until it is warmer. May have to cut off the damaged portion later (  if it doesn't seal off/ fall off on its own ).

[RyManUtah]

2 hours ago, 10nCLR said:

How are your palms doing now since it's dipped into the mid 20s here in SGU?

Sorry I missed this. I just posted an update on my damaged palms. The rest are Currently not bothered. 

[RyManUtah]

21 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes, Growing tip is fried.  Would put some plastic cups, stuffed with pieces of Cloth or Paper Towels over it/ any other stems until it is warmer. May have to cut off the damaged portion later (  if it doesn't seal off/ fall off on its own ).

Thanks @Silas_Sancona . I actually envisioned you answering this haha. I’ll get them protected. Interesting that the pups at the base have no damage, and also new growth. Maybe because they’re not so high in the air. The damaged columns also suffered minor sunburn in August. 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Thanks @Silas_Sancona . I actually envisioned you answering this haha. I’ll get them protected. Interesting that the pups at the base have no damage, and also new growth. Maybe because they’re not so high in the air. The damaged columns also suffered minor sunburn in August. 

  

Yea, its often the stems higher up that will get nailed before those closest to the ground, esp. if tucked in close to the base of the plant.. Put a Fire Barrel ( Ferocactus gracilis ) i'd had for awhile in the ground out front a month ago and noticed it has some " tanning " on the sun-facing side when checking it over Sunday. Thought it was weird since it was planted this time of year, well after the sun angle was out of the " fry everything " zone..  Tricho -something ( sold to me as a candicans.. Not even close, lol ) i also put out there at the same time looks fine. Big spines on it, new ones are even longer. 

 

[Dartolution]

2 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Robusta look terrible: 

Ewww... You ain't lying! @RyManUtah

 

[RyManUtah]

take out up-cycling, best I could come up with on hand .