Ron's Landscaping advice above is well spoken. For the best plants that will succeed around here look to what The Developer is planting in the public and golf course areas. Also look at what is growing "wild" in undeveloped or "natural" areas, or tour some of the older sections of our neighboring towns and see what the local residents have had success with over the years.
We had 4 eight year old queen palms planted by previous owners become infected with butt rot. We realized it when one fell over one day in a light puff of wind. Sometimes you can detect the rot in several ways (all signs are usually 4 to 8 feet above the ground); poke your finger hard around on the trunk, if it is spongy anywhere, it is rotten (and probably ready to fall over); the trunk is discolored and looks darker as though it is wet from rain; there are dark looking streaks in the trunk; there are bumps or cankers growing under or on the surface of trunk; the trunk looks "moldy".
These were all signs on neighbors' or our trees, and all were rotten and have been removed.
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All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
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