Ocala Palms and Plants

[JASON M]

Hey everyone! I was working in the yard today on my day off. I’ve been in Ocala, FL for over two years now, and have slowly been adding to my plant collection. 
 

Roystonea Regia “Charles” was planted in the backyard today. In my last post, I came home with a Royal Palm that I bought in St Petersburg earlier this week.

I received a lot of optimism and protection tactics from everyone who commented, and I’m very grateful!

 

Butia odorata in ground since spring of 2018, Sand pine planted a few months later. 

Peach Hibiscus, in ground since early 2018. Purchased as a 3 ft single trunk tree, it has since then exploded into a 9 ft shrub (thanks, southern exposure and lack of gutters!).

Front corner- shaded entirely in afternoon. Lots of water from rainfall. Roebelenii pair in since June 2018, Lady clumps in since early 2018. 

 

My Gemini pair (because they’re twins, and I bought them in June) was a good deal at HD but I didn’t think it would do so well, especially in the placement! They seem pretty happy to me...

 

My friends on the SW side of town are in the process of clearing their backyard, so yesterday I swooped in to try and save some lives. Returned home with a 6 foot winged sumac, twin oak seedlings conjoined at the root, half a dozen sand pine saplings, and two saw palmettos.

 

I am definitely a fan of Florida Friendly Landscaping— native plants are my jam. Besides initial watering sessions on the newly planted, I do not hand water, actively irrigate, or fertilize anywhere in my yard. 
 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by JASON M

[Kailua_Krish]

Good start! You should try to get some needle palms as these look really nice in Ocala. 

[JLM]

Sabal minor, Sabal palmetto, Needle palm would pull everything together!

[PalmatierMeg]

Good work, Jason. Keep us updated. It's great to see you back on the forums again.

[JASON M]

19 hours ago, krishnaraoji88 said:

Good start! You should try to get some needle palms as these look really nice in Ocala. 

 

17 hours ago, JLM said:

Sabal minor, Sabal palmetto, Needle palm would pull everything together!

I’m definitely going to look into some of these for an understory in the front yard! I have a large water oak on the NE side of my front yard, and the ground beneath it is so dry that even my Bahia grass struggles to cover it.

17 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Good work, Jason. Keep us updated. It's great to see you back on the forums again.

Thanks Meg. I’ve been lurking and posting off and on over the years, but I’m really happy getting back into our palmy community! 

[Kailua_Krish]

You should think of removing the water oak. They drop huge branches and kill things beneath and aren't very good trees for landscaping. My family is in the process now of trying to get rid of theirs and its expensive once there is stuff around it to protect. Live oaks on the other hand are one of the best trees there are, I miss them even here in Hawaii.

[redant]

Look into a nice mule palm or two, probably one of the most tropical looking palms that would survive long term there.

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, redant said:

Look into a nice mule palm or two, probably one of the most tropical looking palms that would survive long term there.

Agree with this

[Kailua_Krish]

If you need any ideas for plants this is my yard in SW Ocala. Feel free to ask any questions!

 

 

 

[JASON M]

20 hours ago, krishnaraoji88 said:

You should think of removing the water oak. They drop huge branches and kill things beneath and aren't very good trees for landscaping. 

The thought has definitely crossed my mind. It would give me lots of flexibility with planning the front landscaping. 

7 hours ago, redant said:

Look into a nice mule palm or two, probably one of the most tropical looking palms that would survive long term there.

Truth be told I’m really not a fan of mule palms! Maybe I just haven’t seen a really nice one, but I also don’t care for queen palms so it might be in the genes. The hardy chamaedoreas always surprise me considering they are so dainty looking. 

[mnorell]

If you have any of the big deciduous oaks (water/pin/laurel), also any pecan trees, and you live in the southeast, you should first measure the height of the tree at maturity and then the distance from the base of the trunk to any structure, vehicle parking-areas or to any power-lines. If there is any way they can fall, you should assume they will fall! A neighbor in Natchez, Mississippi almost perished days after a hurricane came through and water-logged the soil. A huge water oak, destabilized in the wet soil and possibly weakened by some wind-stress, came down on her house and crushed half of the structure. She, luckily, was watching TV in a room that didn't get crushed. Her house of course had to be torn down and rebuilt. Rain/soggy soil and wind (trademarks of the south) almost guarantee that the tree will at some point come down. These trees have poor root systems (and pecans love to split and shed huge limbs), are a mess in autumn, leave you with no canopy to protect underplantings from frost, and remain an ugly mass of twigs during the dormant season. If you plant a live oak, however, you will have one of the most stable native trees that happens to also be one of the world's most beautiful trees, and under which you can grow a large assortment of frost-tender tropicals in a frosty place like Ocala. Just a bit of friendly warning...remember Murphy's law!

[mnorell]

Here are the photos...in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, Labor Day weekend, 2008. You can see how the root system can just come up like a mat of grass. Also the lot after being cleared of the remains of her house. I think it's fair to say that this is something few of us ever want to deal with...