
Palm Tree Landscape Ideas
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Getting the Right Property
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high grade of soil |
Before You Begin Your Garden It is advisable to have a plan before you put in your first palm. Decide what you are trying to accomplish. Determine planting density desired, pathway location, needed retainer walls and improvements, and work areas. Dig a few holes just for the purpose of examining the quality of your soil and for checking drainage. This can be done by digging a hole about 18 inches deep. Then, rapidly fill it with water. If the water is gone within an hour or two, then you have great drainage. I'll talk about this more below. Remember, if your soil is of poor quality, import new soil or begin amending soil before planting. If you buy large amounts of soil, research it thoroughly and purchase top quality soil blends. Affordable fill dirt will haunt your garden forever. If drainage is bad, amend your soil with sand and install leach lines where needed. If possible, install your irrigation system prior to planting. Also, create your own home nursery and gradually accumulate species that you wish to eventually plant. This also gives time for acclimation (see below). Don't make the mistake of finishing your hardscape and then "having to buy all the plants today". Or, trusting your beloved gardener to get you anything but the most common of species. I've seen it happen hundreds of times that people want unusual and end up with depot-type store plants. |
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Crowding next to street parking area. Phoenix reclinata will soon overpower this area with spiny leaves where people exit a car. Juvenile Phoenix canariensis Triple Pygmy Date with Canary Palm in background |
Garden Design
As an example, a large clumping palm will obscure smaller species planted behind it. So, put smaller plants nearer the foreground. Or, the tall Caryota urens may shade out an adjacent sun loving species. The huge Phoenix canariensis planted right next to the house will most likely need removing later. A spiny species planted right next to a walkway could be dangerous. By knowing your palms and what they will be, you can avoid these problems. A very successful plan is to plant fast growing palms to establish canopy and resulting filtered light or shade. This not only gives a more protected environment below the canopy but vastly expands the number of types of plants that can be grown below. Just plant so the shade produced is where you want it. For instance, shading out the swimming pool might not be a desirable thing. Put spiny species away from well traveled areas. Remember to plant palms far enough apart to give plenty of room for growth and viewing. Also, be willing to plant fan palms to mix with your pinnate palms as this will add eventual diversity and beauty to your garden.
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Assorted understory palms beneath larger species makes for a beautiful landscape effect. Exotic garden design. Triple King Palm |
King Palms & Canary Palm, both adding overhead canopy |
The Importance of a Canopy
A well formed canopy may be the single most important thing you can do while creating a palm garden. The canopy results in areas below that are warmer in the winter, have less wind, hold more humidity and create a rain forest appeal. Many genera such as Geonoma, Chamaedorea, and understory Dypsis sp. cannot survive direct sun, especially at a young age. It would not be unusual to have microclimates below your established canopy that are three to six degrees centigrade higher on a cold night. However, always remember that palms will grow and your "canopy" might shade out a sun-loving species. |
Caryota gigas makes a great canopy-forming plant. In San Diego these will get up to 35 feet |
Customer selecting plants at the
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Selecting the Palms to Plant
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