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guest Renda04.jpg

Palms planted to close

96720
96720
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

Featured Replies

You think this palm is too close?

IMG_3766.jpeg

    •
    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1

    Not anymore!  :)  Palms can be pretty adaptable.  Looks like the painters got some paint on the trunk when they were painting the building.  

    Jon Sunder

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 4

    Looks fine if you ask me. I have a number of examples just as close to my house. 
     

    IMG_1268.thumb.jpeg.78d4f4ee1127ba160dc074340fe9b24a.jpeg

    Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

    zone 10a/9b

    sunset zone 16

    300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

    Las Palmas Design

    Facebook Page

    Las Palmas Design & Associates

    Elegant Homes and Gardens

    • Like 11
    • Upvote 1

    Palms just adjust to buildings or walls. Some believe that they actually like the protection or thermal mass of a building . I planted this one as a very small seedling with the intent of moving it once it started to get a trunk . Well , it looked happy where it was so I left it. This is by far the fastest growing Howea I have , rapidly passing others that are the same age. Maybe because it is hugging the house? Who knows! HarryIMG_0379.thumb.jpeg.93fb975a7bff562bc49e4bae432d2e04.jpegIMG_0380.thumb.jpeg.16e14f3de6428f3416359bc58f0b2dcc.jpeg

    • Like 7
    • Upvote 2

    My whole house is surrounded by plantings like this. I plant marginal species close to brick walls to help retain heat and have had good success. Here’s a Dypsis rosea that I’ll start easing away from the eaves next year. I doubt it would survive out in the open.  

    IMG_4689.jpeg

    IMG_4690.jpeg

    Tim Brisbane

    Patterson Lakes, bayside Melbourne, Australia

    Rarely Frost

    2005 Minimum: 2.6C,  Maximum: 44C

    2005 Average: 17.2C, warmest on record.

    •
    • Like 9
    • Upvote 1

    In a hurricane zone?  Yes.  In a fire-prone zone?  Yes.  Otherwise...looks just fine to me!  :D

    • Like 1
    On 1/25/2025 at 7:37 AM, tim_brissy_13 said:

    My whole house is surrounded by plantings like this. I plant marginal species close to brick walls to help retain heat and have had good success. Here’s a Dypsis rosea that I’ll start easing away from the eaves next year. I doubt it would survive out in the open.  

    IMG_4689.jpeg

    IMG_4690.jpeg

    Beautiful. Maybe plant a fast growing canopy tree to eventually give it a break from the sun. Maybe an Inga edulis (ice cream bean). That being said, a friend of mine had two planted in Perth that grew past the eaves and into full sun. They looked a bit ratty until the new owners axed them to the ground.😞

    Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

     

     

    • Author

    This palm was not planted by the house they bulldozed the old house and built the house like this

    1 hour ago, 96720 said:

    This palm was not planted by the house they bulldozed the old house and built the house like this

    Interesting, they saved the palm and bulldozed the house!

    Jon Sunder

    • Upvote 1
    2 hours ago, 96720 said:

    This palm was not planted by the house they bulldozed the old house and built the house like this

     

    1 hour ago, Fusca said:

    Interesting, they saved the palm and bulldozed the house!

    Sounds like our kind of people!

    Let's keep our forum fun and friendly.

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    •
    • Like 1
    • Upvote 2

    I take it palm roots don't damage concrete foundations?

    Zone 9b: if you love it, cover it.

    35 minutes ago, Than said:

    I take it palm roots don't damage concrete foundations?

    I don’t think there’s any evidence that they do. I’ve seen mature palms with concrete all around completely intact. 

    Tim Brisbane

    Patterson Lakes, bayside Melbourne, Australia

    Rarely Frost

    2005 Minimum: 2.6C,  Maximum: 44C

    2005 Average: 17.2C, warmest on record.

    •
    • Like 1

    What are they closing? Sorry, I just had to. Yes, I'm a A.

    I agree, I think it's fine. Close, yes. Too close? Subjective. I say much better than no palm at all. Might bump on the house a little in the wind, but nothing catastrophic. Just say the house is acting as supplemental 'bracing', on occasion...

    Oakley, California

    55 Miles E-NE of San Francisco, CA

    Solid zone 9, I can expect at least one night in the mid to low twenties every year.

    Hot, dry summers. Cold, wet winters.

    18 hours ago, Than said:

    I take it palm roots don't damage concrete foundations?

    Palms are monocots, as opposed to what most people think of with standard trees which are dicots. 

     

    Roots behave differently. So for a concrete foundation the answer is no.

    Oakley, California

    55 Miles E-NE of San Francisco, CA

    Solid zone 9, I can expect at least one night in the mid to low twenties every year.

    Hot, dry summers. Cold, wet winters.

    • Like 1
    21 hours ago, 96720 said:

    This palm was not planted by the house they bulldozed the old house and built the house like this

    Washingtonias always find a way. Especially the young ones in a new planting with a new house. Of course, that all was 30+ years ago for your tree and house.

     

    Or is this build newer (doesn't look like it, no offense)? I'm guessing tree was part of a new planting (young) when the house was built?

    Oakley, California

    55 Miles E-NE of San Francisco, CA

    Solid zone 9, I can expect at least one night in the mid to low twenties every year.

    Hot, dry summers. Cold, wet winters.

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