Lowes Teddy Bears in the ground

[MattyB]

I decided to plant the teddy bear palms that I got from Lowes.  Of course last night ended up being the coldest night of the year so far! :laugh:   Oh well, we'll see how they do.

I wanted a tight group so I put them about 30 inches apart.

Here's the overall look w/ Ficus dammaropsis in the foreground.

Wish me luck!

BTW, all the little green weeds that are sprouting on the ground are Stinging Nettle!   I came and sprayed last year a few weeks before we moved in hoping to kill it all before it reseeded but I guess it didn't work.  I know I'm gonna have lots of weeds and brush for many years but I've gotta get rid of this stinging nettle.  It grows to about 3 feet tall and burns your legs as you walk by.  Mulch seems to keep it from germinating.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Those are some purty Teddies!

[Kim]

Those are such nice palms, I hope they thrive for you.  What is the spacing?  Just curious.  3 Chambeyronias await planting come April, and I'm dithering about spacing.

Be sure to kill the weeds before they set seed.  You'll still have old seed sprouting, but you can put down Preen or Amaze to reduce that.  Then mulch on top.  Eventually you will gain control of the weeds and be master of your hillside universe.

[Jeff Searle]

Matt,

      I noticed what looks like big tires on the ground. Is this for soil erosion? If so, could'nt you of used something instead of them, another method that might be more enviroment friendly? Just curious.

Jeff

[MattyB]

Kim, the spacing is 30" apart.

Jeff, those tires were there when we moved in.  They pretty much hold the hillside next to the house. ???  There's no way that I can ever move them without a seroiusly heavy duty tractor.  They're bigger than they look and packed in there for years.  I'm in the process of covering them up with dirt and I'll plant the embankment out to stop erosion.  I don't wanna remove them because the septic leech pit is behind them so maybe some water lovers can get their roots down and find the tastey poo water to grow on. :laugh:

[deezpalms]

Lookin' good Matty! Why do you want to plant them so close to each other? By the way, good luck with those. This winter looks like it's gonna be a cold one!!

[bgl]

Matt,

That looks great, and once they've been in the ground for a while that'll be an awesome looking trio! And lots of room for more palms!

Bo-Göran

PS to Kim: You can plant Chambeyronias VERY close together, and they'll look great. Like a foot apart. Palms of Paradise nursery typically put three individuals in one and the same pot to get a real nice and full look (since Chambeyronias don't hold but so many fronds at any given time).

[LJG]

Matt, I never knew that Stinging Nettle was in SoCal. We had that in Wyoming where I grew up. That was not fun to roll into. I have three teddy's also that will be planted like yours. I am not as bold as you though. I will wait till spring. Last year I planted two nice ones out in late Oct. They both died from the freeze. It only hit 28 too.

Bo, funny you mention it. I am putting a green, watermelon and hookeri all together this spring. 2 foot spacing.

[osideterry]

Matt - Are you aware that there is a cause and effect relationship between planting the Teddies and experiencing your coldest night? 2 years ago in March, I planted an Alexander, a Gigas and a Royal, and we hit 30F the next weekend. Your winter planting and BS Man's construction work is wrecking havoc on our SoCal weather.

[MattyB]

It's funny that Bo's responding to the spacing questions in this post because he's the very one who inspired me to plant so closely.  One of the things that I learned while visiting Bo and touring his garden, is that tight groupings work very well in a densely planted situation.  The close proximity of like plants makes for a sense of order and gives a natural look at the same time when surrounded by hundreds of other palms nearby.  The area where these teddy bears are planted is one of my future "rainforest" areas.  To conserve water, and get the rainforest look, I'm planting lots of plants in a very small area.  Another reason why I had no hesitation to plant Dypsis leptocheilos very closely is because here in CA and especially in the wind, the leaflets tend to get twisted and become less attractive looking, so the main attraction, in my opinion, is the group of fuzzy crownshafts viewed together, and the leaves can mingle together in a dense mass to help hide their rattyness.

[_Keith]

(MattyB @ Dec. 27 2007,13:25)

QUOTE

Kim, the spacing is 30" apart.

Jeff, those tires were there when we moved in.  They pretty much hold the hillside next to the house. ???  There's no way that I can ever move them without a seroiusly heavy duty tractor.  They're bigger than they look and packed in there for years.  I'm in the process of covering them up with dirt and I'll plant the embankment out to stop erosion.  I don't wanna remove them because the septic leech pit is behind them so maybe some water lovers can get their roots down and find the tastey poo water to grow on. :laugh:

Not sure if it is truth or urban legend, but around here it is "common knowledge" not to bury tires as they tend to unbury themselves.  I would be interested in knowing if this is fact or fiction.

[palmtiki]

Matt,

You picked up some nice looking Teddys. Thanks to Lowes and we San Diegan "Johnny palmseed" bargain shoppers, we can turn San Diego into Teddytown.  

Our recent rains caused those stinging nettles to sprout up. They look pretty small  yet in your picture. I would wait another week or so and then zap them with Roundup. That way you would get those that haven't popped out yet plus the current ones before they develop seeds. Repeat the cycle a couple of times until after the spring rains stop should keep them under control. I had problems with stinging nettles in the past. It takes a couple of years before you can (almost) eliminate them. Good luck.

Bob

[MattyB]

Thanks Bob.  I too thought I'd wait another couple of weeks before spraying just to make sure and get 'em all.  They don't go to seed until they're a couple of feet tall from what I've seen.  I think what happened last year is I got to them when they were already a few feet tall and although they weren't seeding at the time, once I sprayed, they began to dry out and popped out all their seeds in a last ditch attempt to pass on the stingyness!  haha.  Some of them are a couple of inches tall now but they're not stingy yet.

[Kim]

(bgl @ Dec. 27 2007,11:03)

QUOTE

Matt,

That looks great, and once they've been in the ground for a while that'll be an awesome looking trio! And lots of room for more palms!

Bo-Göran

PS to Kim: You can plant Chambeyronias VERY close together, and they'll look great. Like a foot apart. Palms of Paradise nursery typically put three individuals in one and the same pot to get a real nice and full look (since Chambeyronias don't hold but so many fronds at any given time).

Thanks Matt and Bo, I'm glad I asked.  I was concerned there wouldn't be enough room for 3 because the fronds are so huge, but I see your point about them not holding a large number of leaves at once.  Excellent!

[MattyB]

Keep in mind Kim, you're taking advice from a guy who's garden looks like this:

Do you really want your garden to look like this?  Disgusting!  Give me a lawn and some shrubery anyday. ::

[Kim]

Wouldn't it be a shame if my garden somehow turned out like that?  Ahhhh, in my dreams...

[Walter John]

(Jeff Searle @ Dec. 27 2007,15:13)

QUOTE

Matt,

      I noticed what looks like big tires on the ground. Is this for soil erosion? If so, could'nt you of used something instead of them, another method that might be more enviroment friendly? Just curious.

Jeff

Hi Matty and Jeff,

I love the redneck grouping, I saw yesterday at a nearby nursery, multiplanted leptos (5 in one pot), good size, similar to yours in size, slightly smaller, for 65 oz dollars. I've seen Clayton's lepto tight grouping, fully grown and it looks spectacular.

A word on tyres, waste tyres in landfills are associated with fire risks so Matty I'd make that a priority in your case to remove them. Why not have a "tyre removal party", good excuse for a gathering again.   .

Whole tyres are reported to float if buried.

There's a few other obvious reasons not to have them around like: breeding ground for vermin, weeds, can destabilise landfill, etc etc.

Good luck with the winter planting Matty, getting rid of the tyres is going to cost unfortunately and the bastard who put them there is out of town right now I suppose.

[ariscott]

Are you going to have lawn, Matt? Otherwise mulch the whole lot, hopefully that horrible weeds would not come back. Anything that comes through the mulch, you spray. That is what I do anyway. I don't have horrible weeds like that, but I do have gamba grass...

With 5 acres, I really don't want to weed!!!!

Regards, Ari

[MattyB]

I won't have a lawn on my slope of death.  I do plan on mulching most areas but I've gotta carry it down one trash can load at a time on my mule (that's me).

[_Keith]

Matty,

Amongst my replies what I meant to say, but never have, is your place looks great.  Looks like you are having fun, too.  I wish I had started this game as young as you are.  Go for it and never look back.

Keith

[MattyB]

Thanks for the encouragement Keith!  It's a great hobby/obsession and I'm truely blessed to already live in a climate that allows me to grow so many different things.  It's amazing when your "toys" are actually alive and grow and change as the years go on instead of just getting old and breaking. : )

[ariscott]

(MattyB @ Dec. 27 2007,18:05)

QUOTE

I won't have a lawn on my slope of death.  I do plan on mulching most areas but I've gotta carry it down one trash can load at a time on my mule (that's me).

I can imagine  :: . It is hard enough for us... and our property is pretty much flat!!

Regards, Ari

[Surf Guy]

Hey Matt, no acclimnation period for the Teddies? I put all mine in a fifteeen gallon pot and I want to plant at least one but wanted to wait until March 1st. Maybe I should just go for it like you did. Are yours in an all day full sun position? The spot I have chosen for mine will get all day full sun in the summer. Mike

[Palm Guy]

Hi Matt, those Teddys look quite healthy, keep us posted on their growth. Your lot is very large so dont worry with the lawn...palm it up!

[Gtlevine]

Great So Cal Palm, they will look good in a few years.

Gary

[el-blanco]

Looks Great!  Is that Ficus the one I sold you?  THat got big fast if it is!!!  I sold the last three of those I had.

Keep pics coming!

Jeff

[BS Man about Palms]

Matt-

I have to say I really enjoy seeing you "unleashed"! (I can enjoy planting palms vicariously thru you )

Anyway, it was a little sad last year when you were "holding off" planting because you thought you might move...its great to see what biding your time has done!!!!

Was that too mushy?

[DoomsDave]

Matty!

Those teddies rock!

Keep them well watered, build a nice dike around them in the summer.  I give mine about 3" a week in summer and they're killer.

dave

[Chuck B]

Those will be awesome.I know I'm a newbie here,and shouldn't make suggestions or anything,but if I had that hill,Iwould take advantage and plant all my tallest palms at the top of it,so they would appear even taller.I know when it's all finished it's gonna be really cool looking.

[MattyB]

Mike,  Yeah they're in a full all day sun position.  I've grown Dypsis leptocheilos in full sun from about 10-11am to sunset, and not only do I think they can handle it, I think that they look superior than shade grown versions.  Maybe Gary can comment on full entire day sun.  I'm assuming they can hang once acclimated and established.  

Jeff, yes that's your Ficus.  It's not as tall as Paul or Bob's but it's stockier and has many branches that are several inches long already.  Great plant.

BS,  yes much too mushy for you to not be holding me ever so gently.

[Gtlevine]

They perform best in full sun. These come from dry river beds in northwest Madagascar and that is the reason they do so much better than Lastelliana. I planted mine from greenhouse to full day inland So Cal sun and they never missed a beat. One of them already has trunk in a couple of years, very fast growth.

Gary

[palmsrgreat]

Hey Matt,

I'd like to suggest something for your weed problem.

It's a product you should be able to find at a Feed Supply or local nursery/harware store. You probably heard of it before, but its called Dimension. It's a pre-emergent that you apply 2x a yr and it works great. Its kinda expensive and keep it away from community pots of seeds!

michael

[Wai`anae Steve]

(palmsrgreat @ Dec. 28 2007,22:42)

QUOTE

Hey Matt,

I'd like to suggest something for your weed problem.

It's a product you should be able to find at a Feed Supply or local nursery/harware store. You probably heard of it before, but its called Dimension. It's a pre-emergent that you apply 2x a yr and it works great. Its kinda expensive and keep it away from community pots of seeds!

michael

If you want something w/real KILL power you can try GARLON.  The trouble it is expensive and you may need a permit to buy it.

I bought 2 gallons a few years ago and it cost over $200.  I still have about 1/2 gal left.  I use it mostly on woody stumps.  Here you can cut a rubbish tree down to ground level and it just sprouts back    

Have  you ever thought of terracing the slope?  Do your rains come far and few but heavy??

BTW  Looking good.  

[Tad]

Dacthal is a good pre emergent and is legal and labeled in kalifornia, surflan and princep are also good pre emergents, if your slopes real big dont be afraid to mix in some surfactant, wow steve you spent 200 bucks on Garlon?

you can get that stuff here for cheap, like 60 to 80 dollars for a 2.5 gallon jug, and the good stuff not the pre watered down, we used it on brush in pasture lands. I would stick with surflan or princep, garlons pretty nasty and his gully sheds water to  somewhere and eventually ends up in a lake or stream, GOD...I CANT BELIVE I JUST TYPED THAT I SOUND LIKE A DO GOODER, BUNNY THUMPER!!!! EEEEEEEKKKKKK:)