Palm trees

[patfla06]

I just want to say something about palm trees.
(Which I love!)

This has been my experience though. We put many kinds in when
we built our house in Tampa in 1999.

We put in Washingtonian palms which get very tall.
As they grow you have to trim them and it gets expensive.
The canary palms need magnesium and we ended up having
to feed them with our lawn care company.

I just want to "warn" you that they will cost you $$$ over time.
They look great, very Floridian, but also don't provide much
shade.

Just FYI.

[Lbmb24101]

Greatly appreciated.

We are planing to go to Mansfield's 1 st Fri f the month informational seminarWe have a gizillion questions
One pister here said some palms attract roaches so that worries us a bit.

[graciegirl]

I wonder how you ask about negatives in an informational seminar intended to sell stuff.

[downeaster]

I just want to say something about palm trees.
(Which I love!)

This has been my experience though. We put many kinds in when
we built our house in Tampa in 1999.

We put in Washingtonian palms which get very tall.
As they grow you have to trim them and it gets expensive.
The canary palms need magnesium and we ended up having
to feed them with our lawn care company.

I just want to "warn" you that they will cost you $$$ over time.
They look great, very Floridian, but also don't provide much
shade.

Just FYI.

Two happy days. The first was when the palm trees (queens) were planted and the second was when they were removed.

[Campbell soup]

I love my Palms and I really don't worry about trimming cost etc. Their beauty is priceless! Just my humble opinion!

[graciegirl]

Two happy days. The first was when the palm trees (queens) were planted and the second was when they were removed.

That is one of the reasons we opted not to have palms. Heard just those kinds of comments from neighbors who had lived in Florida longer than we have. One neighbor spent 35K on landscaping in first house and had to have a bunch removed before they put it on sale to buy the next house.

There are still those who feel that palms are the symbol of a successful landing in Paradise and they should have them. And palms are beautiful.

Below is the same model home. One with landscaping that came with it and the other with enhanced landscaping

[patfla06]

I just wanted to give a heads up because we've lived inFlorida for
16 years.
I LOVE palm trees too but just be aware they cost you the
longer you have them.

[billethkid]

don't get queens as they are dirty, need trimming of seed pods at least twice per year and are home to many, many bugs, ants and various critters.

We like the way they look...we have 8 of them around the house.....I look forward to when the get diseased or what ever to give me cause to have them removed.

Make sure what ever you choose they are cold hardy....able to stand below 30 degree temps for a couple of weeks at a time. Many varities of palms cannot.....unfortunately queens can!!

btk

[Uptown Girl]

.

Below is the same model home. One with landscaping that came with it and the other with enhanced landscaping

Both have palms :) that is a European Fan Palm in front of the home on the left.... can't make out what is at the corner of that same house, another European Fan palm, Robellini Palm or perhaps a Lady Palm.

[keithwand]

Gracie; I like the look of the house in the left picture. We are keeping the landscape and shape we got and just outlining with brick and adding rock.
Nothing else required.

[Uptown Girl]

Greatly appreciated.

We are planing to go to Mansfield's 1 st Fri f the month informational seminarWe have a gizillion questions
One pister here said some palms attract roaches so that worries us a bit.

I am sure if you ask about roaches being attracted to palms, your question will be addressed.
I think that sometimes roaches like palm trees- under a 'skirt' of brown fronds
might be a quiet protected nesting place.
They also like mulch, especially the moist underside.
They also like the shade and moisture under vegetation- flower beds, shrubs, mounding plants, etc.
They like hollow tree stumps too.... and piles of fallen leaves, but may or may not choose YOUR landscaping.

They hide from sunlight when they can, so can be under a rock or ledge or pot, if it is dark and moist under there.

Outdoor roaches do not live indoors- they die. Indoor roaches are a different variety.
We have such good pest control here, that if I happened to find outdoor roaches
in between visits from my pest control guy, I am sure I could call him and they would place bait around my property immediately.

Don't be hesitant to bring it up at the seminar- take a look for online info too... then you can decide for yourself if a palm on your property is something to consider.

P.S. Outdoor roaches have many predators here, like toads, frogs, and beetles. Certain wasps invade roach eggs also, using them as a host for their own offspring.
:)

[angiefox10]

I tried to google this and got answers all over the board! Some say yes... some say no.

As to The Villages and their view about palm trees... Well... as I was riding through The Villages today, I noticed how many palm trees The Villages had planted and how many different varieties! I even remember seeing Queen Palms planted somewhere... I think near Brownwood... I will have to keep my eye open.

Now.... We all know The Villages doesn't exactly put in "top quality" products in their homes. I had ceramic floors in my other home, nothing as course as what I have in my home here. TOTV is full of threads about the "quality" of the granite not to mention the carpet. The quality of the paint in my home was so bad.... I had to have it repainted within months of moving in.

Do you really think they are putting top quality plants in the landscaping? They put in just what they have to.... They stick in the cheapest plants and pine straw and call it a day. If you like it... GREAT! But notice... It's NOT how they landscape Their own property... They have wonderful palms and lots of them and they have beautiful flowers! Yes... They have pine straw, but for the most part.... they have lovely green ground cover... You don't SEE a lot of pine straw! They use it as mulch.

[travelguy]

I tried to google this and got answers all over the board! Some say yes... some say no.

As to The Villages and their view about palm trees... Well... as I was riding through The Villages today, I noticed how many palm trees The Villages had planted and how many different varieties! I even remember seeing Queen Palms planted somewhere... I think near Brownwood... I will have to keep my eye open.

Now.... We all know The Villages doesn't exactly put in "top quality" products in their homes. I had ceramic floors in my other home, nothing as course as what I have in my home here. TOTV is full of threads about the "quality" of the granite not to mention the carpet. The quality of the paint in my home was so bad.... I had to have it repainted within months of moving in.

Do you really think they are putting top quality plants in the landscaping? They put in just what they have to.... They stick in the cheapest plants and pine straw and call it a day. If you like it... GREAT! But notice... It's NOT how they landscape Their own property... They have wonderful palms and lots of them and they have beautiful flowers! Yes... They have pine straw, but for the most part.... they have lovely green ground cover... You don't SEE a lot of pine straw! They use it as mulch.

Actually the developer uses top quality products, albeit kind of boring as far as nursery stock. The choices are extremely winter/summer hardy, requiring minimal maintenance, except for trimming when the plants need it.
The same plants are used around the rec centers and pools, except that palm trees are not planted as part of the house landscape package (palms are expensive, compared to other trees). And yes, the developer plants lots fo flowers in the public areas(which are swapped out 4 times a year). Most homeowners in The Villages want to plant and forget it; that does not work, you have to replace them on a regular basis.
Since this thread has palm trees as it topic I will not comment on the applicances, carpeting, or painting.....we can save that for another thread.:spoken:

[Serenoa]

don't get queens as they are dirty, need trimming of seed pods at least twice per year and are home to many, many bugs, ants and various critters.

btk

quote snipped by me.

"Bugs, ants & various critters"? Show me any kind of tree that doesn't have these. LOL

It's puzzling that some folks complain about having to pay someone once or twice a year to have their beautiful, majestic palms trimmed, yet seldom complain about paying a landscape service monthly to have common grass mowed.

[graciegirl]

Well...I have listened to opinions from people who have lived in Florida for a long time, and of people who are looking forward to living here and of people who sell landscaping and people who have bought landscaping and I still like the stuff that came with my house. I think the developer puts in very good stock with very good color and size balance and I have found it to be true in both homes we have had here. None died. None overgrew, all very neat and pretty to my eye anyway.

As Uptown Girl has said so eloquently... If everybody liked the same thing, they would only sell vanilla ice cream.

[firebiker]

Just to set the record straight...Palms are not trees. They are actually a grass.

[gjbl8114]

Two happy days. The first was when the palm trees (queens) were planted and the second was when they were removed.

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN. HOPE PEOPLE WHO ARE THINKING ABOUT THEIR LANDSCAPING READ THIS. THEY ARE HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN AND THEY ARE A NUISANCE!!!!!::agree:

[patfla06]

quote snipped by me.

"Bugs, ants & various critters"? Show me any kind of tree that doesn't have these. LOL

It's puzzling that some folks complain about having to pay someone once or twice a year to have their beautiful, majestic palms trimmed, yet seldom complain about paying a landscape service monthly to have common grass mowed.

Mowing is around $50/month.
We paid $400 to treat our canary palms and $120 every
time my landscaper trims the Washingtonians.
And if those get really tall they have to use a cherry picker
to trim them (don't even want to know what that would cost.)

I LOVE the look of palm trees but HATE the maintenance.
AND they provide NO SHADE!!!