Pros and cons of creating a flower bed around the base of the trunk

[MarcusH]

I like the idea of adding flowers around the base of a palm trunk ,my only concern that I have is that my palm tree would receive more water than necessary plus would flowers disturb the palm's root system ? I see many gardens having flower beds around the base of palm trunks.  My mind is saying it wouldn't be a good idea but I need some advice from someone who knows more about this particular subject.  Would adding a circle of flowers , let's say , 12 to 18 inches away from the trunk acceptable? 

[MarcusH]

  On 6/1/2024 at 10:33 PM, MarcusH said:

I like the idea of adding flowers around the base of a palm trunk ,my only concern that I have is that my palm tree would receive more water than necessary plus would flowers disturb the palm's root system ? I see many gardens having flower beds around the base of palm trunks.  My mind is saying it wouldn't be a good idea but I need some advice from someone who knows more about this particular subject.  Would adding a circle of flowers , let's say , 12 to 18 inches away from the trunk acceptable? 

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Come on guys I thought you guys are experts lol. 

[Dwarf Fan]

Marcus, I wouldn’t advise to plant any closer than 18” from the base of the trunk. Unless you plan on moving the plants in the near future.

Yes I know I have Canna & C. radicalis planted closer than 12” to several of my Palms. But I know at some point I will have to relocate them. But while the Palms are still small it looks nicer to have everything in closer proximity to each other. Also, you know that I don’t mind digging and relocating palms and accent flowers so for me this isn’t that big of a deal. If you are a person that doesn’t like to do things over and over again, then put in more space during the original placement.

[Chester B]

Zero issues. The small plants/flowers act as a living mulch. As far as water in summer most palms will like it. 
 

As you may have seen I never just plant a palm, it’s treated like any other plant in the overall landscape. Palms just don’t randomly grow with nothing around them.  They are part of an ecosystem. Nature hates bare ground. 
 

One general rule of gardening is to plant things that have similar water requirements near one another. So there are plenty of low water plants available in Texas,  both native and non native. 

[MarcusH]

  On 6/3/2024 at 1:05 AM, Chester B said:

Zero issues. The small plants/flowers act as a living mulch. As far as water in summer most palms will like it. 
 

As you may have seen I never just plant a palm, it’s treated like any other plant in the overall landscape. Palms just don’t randomly grow with nothing around them.  They are part of an ecosystem. Nature hates bare ground. 
 

One general rule of gardening is to plant things that have similar water requirements near one another. So there are plenty of low water plants available in Texas,  both native and non native. 

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Do you have any recommendations what to plant around it ? What so you think of Liriope muscari?  

[MarcusH]

  On 6/2/2024 at 9:38 PM, Dwarf Fan said:

Marcus, I wouldn’t advise to plant any closer than 18” from the base of the trunk. Unless you plan on moving the plants in the near future.

Yes I know I have Canna & C. radicalis planted closer than 12” to several of my Palms. But I know at some point I will have to relocate them. But while the Palms are still small it looks nicer to have everything in closer proximity to each other. Also, you know that I don’t mind digging and relocating palms and accent flowers so for me this isn’t that big of a deal. If you are a person that doesn’t like to do things over and over again, then put in more space during the original placement.

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I'm thinking of planting some annuals but nothing too crazy but I would like to add some liriope muscari around it like 18 inches away from the trunk . 

[MarcusH]

Guys if you see our Riverwalk they plant all kinds of stuff around palm trees so I guess it's good. 

[Chester B]

Liriope would be fine. I planted shrubs when small and they all worked fine. 
 

A good drought tolerant perennial I can recommend is Ice plant and also many of the low trailing sedums. 

[Ben G.]

  On 6/3/2024 at 6:36 PM, MarcusH said:

Do you have any recommendations what to plant around it ? What so you think of Liriope muscari?  

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Liriope muscari is a pretty good and tough option. I planted some at my house just a couple of weeks ago. Mine get 1/2 day sun (afternoon), and they haven't sulked at all since I planted them.

[MarcusH]

  On 6/3/2024 at 11:17 PM, Ben G. said:

Liriope muscari is a pretty good and tough option. I planted some at my house just a couple of weeks ago. Mine get 1/2 day sun (afternoon), and they haven't sulked at all since I planted them.

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We have the Big Blue and Super Blue all of them planted in partial shade. They love it . Just water regularly.  

[Jack Lord]

IMHO rare is the palm that works well alone. Everytime I visit my cousin in SC, I see yards where someone has a lone Trachy growing in a lawn with nothing else in the yard. I stayed a hotel once where they clustered the Palmettos in twos and threes and had juniper growing at the bases.

[NorCalWill]

What palm are we talking about here?

[MarcusH]

  On 6/5/2024 at 4:20 AM, NorCalWill said:

What palm are we talking about here?

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Washingtonia Filiferas , Robusta and Butia Odorata.  

[MarcusH]

  On 6/5/2024 at 1:42 AM, Jack Lord said:

IMHO rare is the palm that works well alone. Everytime I visit my cousin in SC, I see yards where someone has a lone Trachy growing in a lawn with nothing else in the yard. I stayed a hotel once where they clustered the Palmettos in twos and threes and had juniper growing at the bases.

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You see lots of other plants mixed up with palms in subtropical/ tropical landscapes.  I assume palms love it.  

[Elim North]

While I'm sure you can find exceptions, plants generally occur in communities with other plants in natural settings.

[NorCalWill]

If you plant shrubs/perennials near your W. filifera, I don't think you need to worry about over watering it, this is how they grow in the desert...

[SeanK]

  On 6/5/2024 at 1:42 AM, Jack Lord said:

IMHO rare is the palm that works well alone. Everytime I visit my cousin in SC, I see yards where someone has a lone Trachy growing in a lawn with nothing else in the yard. I stayed a hotel once where they clustered the Palmettos in twos and threes and had juniper growing at the bases.

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I hired a guy once to grind stumps. He suggested that I plant yews around my palms. I do agree that too many just drop a palm in the ground w/o any ancillary landscaping.