[Raybe]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

I appreciate the feelings you have but think you should step back and cool down and think it through.

Setbacks are there for a reason and non compliance by others is not a license to do the same.

Like you, I wanted Palm Trees in my new yard 14 years ago. (I am from the north). The image was great at the time. That 12' frond umbrella didn't stop at 12'. Mine is now over 20' and some around here are larger yet. Palm trees are extremely messy and require maintenance, a lot of maintenance. Frond removal, seed pod removal, diamond cuts on removed fronds etc. Perhaps do it yourself for a while with loppers, handsaws, stepladder, extended saws, and then 24 foot extended saws, extension ladders, chainsaws, and did I mention a lot of Band-Aids. At some point as the tree grows older as you also will, you need to hire someone to maintain at $100 per tree perhaps twice a year or pay to have the monster removed along with the stump for $350 or so. I paid to get rid of two Palms that grew so large that they infringed with the roof. Some neighbors found that their Palms became a thruway for Palm Rats to gain easy access to their attics. And bees love the ripening seeds coming out of the seed pods .

I wish some "jerk" had ratted on me. Palm trees belong on beaches or byways for you to view. Enjoy the sight of your neighbors trees which can be seen from your house. After all, you really can't enjoy the sight of yours because they are blocking your windows. When you are outside looking at them, you are looking up and noticing the brown fronds that need to be trimmed. Put Sylvester in the back yard or somewhere you can view from afar. You will save a lot of money.

Buy the "jerk" a Mai Tai.

You nailed it. I have been here for many years and my experience has been exactly as you so well state.