Good Windbreak Palm Recommendations

[joe_OC]

So my backyard backs up to a greenbelt that faces NE.  This means that when we have Santa Ana's, the winds come from this direction.  I am planting slow growing Dypsis on my side of the wall.  But, on the other side, I would like to plant palms that would act like a windbreak for me.  I would like something that would grow relatively fast, and protect the palms in my yard from the wind as best as possible.  Your recommendations would be appreciated.  

[amh]

Probably palms in the Washingtonia and Phoenix genus are your best bet for wind hardiness and growth rate, but you probably don't like that answer. Hopefully someone has more information because I too am interested.

[LivistonaFan]

I would agree that Phoenix can be good windbreaks in your climate. Like this huge Phoenix reclinata (xCanariensis?) I saw once. 

In your dry and rather mild climate (most of the times at least) Parajubaea and e.g. Brahea clara would probably work too, but they obviously aren't nearly as dense as this P.reclinata hybrid. Another suggestion would be mule palms, especially B.paraguayensis x Queen due to their wider crown.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Dypsis lutescens or lafamazanga Joe.

 

[Merlyn]

My clump of Dypsis Pembana is the fastest growing in my yard, going from 3' to 14' in about 1.5 years.  I don't know how they'd do in your climate though, since I live in a swamp.  My Reclinata clump did very well too, this was planted in May 2018 from a 10g pot, and at the time it was only about 3-4' tall.  Here is the growth rate today, it is probably about 8-10' tall and 15' wide:

 

 

[sonoranfans]

With those dry santa anas few palms will be able to take it.  Go for desert species that are resistant to dessication.  I remember santa anas killing almost all my plants in laguna beach when I lived there.  Dry, warm desert winds are best handled by plants that are adapted to them.  Phoenix, washingtonia, brahea armata, Nannhorrops and other desert species.

[James B]

I think space for most yards cannot really support CIPD. They are are palms that become massive then get so tall they are no longer wind breaks for most palms in the yard. Same with Washingtonia. They grow 3-4 feet a year in SoCal.

Clumping Dypsis are probably the best combo of looks with getting to tall. (Pembana gets cut off the list due to how tall they can get unless you get the clumping kind and don’t cut out the suckering younger palms)

I have not been impressed with Ladazamanga. It has grown slower than molasses for me. Planted a 3 gallon size a year ago and it is still 3 gallon size at best(people from Hawaii do not send me your pics of your palms growing 8 feet a year) Based on what I’ve seen so far Lutescens is a superior palm it just isn’t as flashy color wise. 
 

Perhaps Baronii. But the problem with all Dypsis is unless you get a large palm to start they take for ever to get some size. 
 

I bought a 5 gallon that I have not planted yet and am looking for a good size 15 gallon Baronii to get a head start myself 

[joe_OC]

I'm coastal, so the winds don't really dry anything out, it's more the tattered fronds I'm trying to prevent.  Before, I had Hollywood Junipers acting as my windbreak.  They were great, but took up so much space that could be used for more tropical plants/palms.  15 gal clumps of lutescens or Caryota mitis might be the way to go.  Leaning toward mitis!  Bismarkia and L. decora are on the list too.  

[Patrick]

Not palmy, but if you were willing to entertain Bambusa, like say  oldhamii, it forms a pretty good wind block. My clump is about 10' across after like 12 years, and if I don't like a culm where it pops up I can just kick it over.

[joe_OC]

Just now, Patrick said:

Not palmy, but if you were willing to entertain Bambusa, like say  oldhamii, it forms a pretty good wind block. My clump is about 10' across after like 12 years, and if I don't like a culm where it pops up I can just kick it over.

Thought about it, but the leaf litter from bamboo into my yard would wreak havoc on my pool!

[Oviedo_z10b_lol]

3 minutes ago, joe_OC said:

but the leaf litter from bamboo into my yard would wreak havoc on my pool!

^this!!! I have a grove of bambusa (something) in my backyard (planted by previous owners) and the leaf litter is atrocious. And non stop. I can only imagine what mess the Santa Ana’s would cause. 

[Patrick]

Yeah the leaves are copious... Reminds me of queen palm flowers all over the ground- but a flowering queen aint got nothin' on all those leaves.

[Patrick]

3 minutes ago, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

^this!!! I have a grove of bambusa (something) in my backyard (planted by previous owners) and the leaf litter is atrocious. And non stop. I can only imagine what mess the Santa Ana’s would cause. 

Ooooh didn't think about the SA's...

[doubravsky]

Dypsis Lutescens might make a nice clumping windbreak. While I love my Pembanas a bunch, I notice that they do get whipped around a lot in the Santa Anas given the thicker leaf structure than other Dypsis like Lutescens or Baronii complex stuff.... 

[Merlyn]

I know a lot of people pooh-pooh the Caryota Mitis, I really don't know why.  My clump went from 4' to 14' in 1.5 years, located about 8' from my Dypsis Pembana clump.  It took a bit less upper frond damage than the Pembana at 28F with medium frost, and is a significantly denser clump for a windbreak.  Personally I really like the frond shape, and the growth rate would get you a dense wall really fast.  I think Mitis does a better job of blocking sound than Lutescens, if that matters to you.

[tjwalters]

Are there any clumping Arenga palms that might work?  How tall does A. engleri get?

[joe_OC]

2 minutes ago, tjwalters said:

Are there any clumping Arenga palms that might work?  How tall does A. engleri get?

There seems to be some variability with them, but normally I would say around 10'?