Palm Trees ?

[dadspet]

???Can anyone tell me about how much it cost to plant a plam tree? Any recommendations on type of palm tree to plant?

[The Great Fumar]

I was told only Queen Palms can take the weather here....you can find them on sale often for 499.00 for three of them....(12 to 14 ft) and they will plant them.............What ever you do , don't try to plant them yourself as they weight a ton even though they don't look it.....take it from a guy who learned his lesson in spades...........

[Frangyomory]

Based on who you use they can run as low as $275 up to $1,000. You need to get cost estimates from a few places because there are a few who think we all live the millionaire lifestyle for real!!!

[golfnut]

I bought a queen palm from Home Depot 1 1/2 years ago for $40, it was 3 feet tall when I got it, now it's 9 feet tall after 2 summers. If you're not in a hurry for a large tree this is an alternative.

[bamafan]

Golfnut, Queenies do grow fast. We did not get any with our landscaping package and dearly want some. We were thinking of buying small as we had read that they are fast growers. Glad to hear it. We found some that were about 5 to 6 feet at Lowes for around $100. What kind of care if any do you have to give them?

[zcaveman]

Washingtonions thrive as well as well as the European Fan Palm. I paid $110 each for 2 5" Washingtonian and $95 for a 3" Fan palm back in 2001. The Washingtonians are now 8' tall and the fan palm is 6' tall and 6' in circumference. Beautiful filler palm.

Visit several tree farms and get an idea of what they have and what grows well. Stay away from the roebelenii (sic) as they hate cold weather. Also check the various neighborhoods and see what their landscaping looks like. A trip around the internet does not hurt either.

The Palm People - http://www.botanics.com/default.htm

Palm tree Care: http://www.palm-tree.net/

[dwebb]

::)I might be the only one that thinks a palm tree isn't a good tree to plant!

We had five at our previous Florida home and while I like the looks, they are a big pain in the rear when they get tall enough to need a ladder to trim them. The seed pods alone could kill you when their cut off. And if you don't cut down the pods the seeds make a big mess on the ground.

Take a closer look and see if you think your able to do the trimming or pay to have it done. The do grow fast!

[Frangyomory]

also, palm trees seem to breed PALMATO bugs so if you plant, do not plan close to your home.

[zcaveman]

Palmetto bugs have nothing to do with palm trees. They like moist, damp areas (like under your shrubs and in your mulch). I lived in Florida many years and never had palm trees. Just throw off a tarp or lift up some old logs and watch them scurry. Fortunately in the Villages, we don't cover things with tarp and build up logsand lumber. I can't wait until I clean out the plants around my lamp post. Probably a host of them. I will just put on my stomping shoes and start cleaning. My wife will use the Raid spray. Slow death.

[Barefoot]

DWebb .. good info about trimming palm trees; never occured to me. We newbies have such a lot to learn!! :o

[dadspet]

[quote][We had five at our previous Florida home and while I like the looks, they are a big pain in the rear when they get tall enough to need a ladder to trim them. The seed pods alone could kill you when their cut off. And if you don't cut down the pods the seeds make a big mess on the ground.
/quote]

Interesting! Didn't think they took maintenance. Last thing I want as a snowbird is more maintenance. Are there any varieties that don't require maintenance / trimming and seed pods that fall?

[villager99]

are stories about snakes loving palm trees as in correct as the connection with palmetto bugs?
i love seeing palms in my neighbors yards but wouldn't want the chore of having my own.

[samhass]

I love the palms. Heck, I take as much maintenance as they do.....and we're worth it!

[zcaveman]

If you start with small ones (4-6 feet) and let them grow it will be a while before you need a ladder. If you buy the 15-20 footers like some people, you need a ladder to start. Also with the 15-20 footers, If they are not anchored or braced properly a good wind will knock them over.

[gfmucci]

I lived in South Florida for 40 years (Ft. Lauderdale), and the Coconut Palms there definitely harbored roaches - could be why these bugs are also known a Palmetto bugs). However, I've lived in the Florida Panhandle for 8 years and have had Palmetto Palms (the State tree) and have not noticed a single roach, only a few birds nests. We've had lots of lizards (Geckos) around our yard, which I love because they eat other bugs - perhaps that's why we've had no roaches.

The Palmetto Palms required pruning an average of twice a year to keep them looking well maintained. During the period when they were 8 to 10 feet tall, I could prune them without a ladder with long handled loppers. For the last three years, though, I had to use a ladder, and last fall, just before we sold our house, I paid someone to prune the five of them for $75. I thought that was well worth it. They were about 15' to 20' tall at that point.

I imagine in central Florida, Queen Palms grow even faster.

[bsliny]

Theres a place on 441/27 when you leave tv and are going towards Leesburg its
on the right hand side of the road and all they sell is Palm trees
THey delivered and palnted mine for $120 it was about 5ft tall

[The Great Fumar]

These are queen palms , I have five of them ,planted three years ago at about 7 ft. tall at the time...I love the way they flow with the breeze ......No bugs , No snakes, just beautiful palms that sing of Florida in the wind....
Never have to worry about cold weather and besides it never freezes in the village of Chatham......

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee207/thegreatfumar/palms2.jpg

[beady]

Barb1191
Interesting that you should comment on the palms in need of pruning. The Washingtonians that are in the median strip along Buena Vista all have what is known as beards. They are actually dead fronds that have draped down over the trunk. Eventually each frond will they will fall off. I learned all this when we were discussing some changes in our yard with a landscaper, just yesterday. She said it is one way of taking care of the palms!! However, not the best way. As the fronds die they should be removed. It does not harm the tree not to remove them but in her opinion it looks "messy".

[REDCART]

Home Depot sells Canry Island Date Palms which according to the Internet can grow to be 60 feet. How would you ever maintain a palm tree at that height? Are these the same as Queenies? George

[Villages Kahuna]

Why or why such a wide range in prices for various varieties of palm trees? In researching for my own palm purchases, here's some of the anecdotal evidence I've found.


Sabal Palm--it's the Florida state tree and is very easy to grow. It's cold hardy and attractive. But it often does not survive re-planting and many are sold with the "hurricane cut" fronds which look like a flat-top crew cut for about two years. It's often very cheap.

Washingtonian--like the Sabal, it's cold hardy. But why is it so cheap? It is a fast grower and will reach heights of up to 60 feet. A lot of people don't want to deal with such a fast grower, therefore it's cheap.[br]
Robellini Palm--Everyone likes the looks of the Robellini. It often comes in double or triple trunks, as well. Not too fast a grower, but fairly expensive. The downside? It's very tender to the cold. Temperatures much below freezing will kill small Robellinis and make the fronds on lager ones very unattractive for several months after the freeze. People often don't want to deal with covering them up each time there's a freeze or frost warning.

Sylvester Palm--A gorgeous, slow growing, cold hardy palm. It has beautiful, even frond stumps where the old ones have been cut off. There's nothing not to like about a Sylvester--except the price! The fact that is grows so slowly and is so attractive results in a higher price. But if you can afford one, a Sylvester is a great choice.

There are lots of other palms that are used in central Florida, but this is the results of my research on just the few varieties I was considering.

[golfnut]

Love your landscaping Fumar, kudos to the designer.

[Becky]

Wow! VK, that was great info and very helpful! Thanks! ;D

Becky

[another Linda]

We have a Sago palm, beautiful but a poor sick thing. I think we may lose it. I've heard there is a Sago palm virus that is spreading through Florida.

[golfnut]

a linda, do you fertilize it reguarly?

[Barefoot]

We are currently in the process of getting estimates for river rock and palm trees. (Very, very interesting process, huge difference in prices between estimators.) I was told yesterday by a landscape guy that when large palm trees are planted they must be "tied into" our irrigation system so the root balls get enough water. Does anyone know whether this is necessary? (We won't be around in the summer and don't want to worry about having someone water them).
:dontknow:

[MSNPA]

Barefoot,
Yesterday rec'd estimate from TerraScape. They recommended mini-irrigation be installed for each of the new landscape areas. They advised the current sprinkler system
will not be sufficient. Sounds the same as what you were told.

[billethkid]

Let me say this about that!!!

FLORIDUH......palms.....bugs......and more bugs!!!!!!

One more tree more or less or no trees....you still get bugs in Floriduh!

BTK :)

[Barefoot]

Barefoot,
Yesterday rec'd estimate from TerraScape. They recommended mini-irrigation be installed for each of the new landscape areas. They advised the current sprinkler system
will not be sufficient. Sounds the same as what you were told.


How are the prices on your quotes going? Is there a big difference in amounts?

I wonder if a mini-irrigation system runs off the existing sprinkler system? They told us our existing sprinkler system was adequate, they just needed to "run another line" off of it, or some such thing.

We had a quote from TerraScape who said nothing at all about irrigation. It was actually "A & C Exteriors" who told us we need some type of drip system.

Help, guys, you must know about this. :dontknow:

[renielarson]

Our first palm tree died so we replaced it with a 2nd one. We were told the first one died because it didn't get enough water since we were seasonal residents. We tied into the water system and put an extra water head near the root ball of our second tree. It is thriving and I would recommend this for those of us who are not permanent residents. It worked for us!

[beady]

I was told Sago Palms get a disease called scale. The under side of the fronds are white with the bugs that are scale. It is airborne and a constant battle to keep the palm disease free. The landscapers told us to apply a thin sprayable oil (agricultural oil, available at Lowe's)to kill the scale. Ours is presently covered in scale and we will apply the first treatment tomorrow. Hope it works cause I like the look of the low growing palm.

[bsliny]

MY palm was planted 2 years ago its doing well and has grown quite abit
It only gets water from my sprinkler system twice a week
By the way A&C EXTERIORS just paved my driveway and they did a BEAUTIFUL JOB
And there price was alot better then the other estimates i got
:hot: :beer3: :beer2: :hot:

[Willaim]

My recommendation is to stay away from all palms they all required maintance. I have 2 Queen paLms and find cutting the PODs requrie more work than I want. Look for sometihng else easier to maintain.

[handieman]

A year ago I couldn't spell mini-irrigation and now I'm a firm believer in it. I am by no means an expert, but here is my experience.
Normal irrigation is from sprinkler heads that broadcast a pattern of water over a wide area such as your lawn, and that is fine. However it is not sufficient to provide enough water for some plants and new palms, in some cases. This is especially true when we are on water rationing.
So, what to do?? Many options are available, and I'll share my small scenario. Inside the fence of a patio villa are many sprinkler heads that broadcast over the shrubs and flowers. I took a centrally located sprinkler head off its main line (just dig down and unscrew it) and changed it to a 12 outlet drip system. A drip system comes in many outlet sizes and flow amounts. I then ran the 12 outputs via small black flexible hose ( comes in the kit) to the various flowers and shrubs directly at the base of the plant. This way i now know what amount of water is getting to each and every plant. In the case of the Palm tree, I ran 4 lines of the 12, every 90 degrees around the root ball so that it would get fully watered
All or any one of the sprinkler heads can be adapted to this method via a kit available at the home centers. Some good points to this are, it is usually not subject to water restrictions (check this out) and I feel I get maximum bang for my water bill buck by directing the water precisely where it's needed
I love this system so much I was thinking of getting into the business as a part time job, then again it's easier to say than to install on a hot summer day
I hope this helped
Handie :joke:
Next week, I'll show you my home made automatic liquid fertilizer system. Don't be late for class (Watering 101)

[Frangyomory]

We have Queen and European Fan and LOVE them both. They are over two years old and growing very well. We had Mike's maintenance do our landscaping and replaced everything planted by the developer!! Happy now with our palms and magnolias.

[PJ]

"Next week, I'll show you my home made automatic liquid fertilizer system. Don't be late for class (Watering 101)"

Handie, hope you're serious! I want to learn about this. My lawn looks terrible! I have to do something...

[handieman]

"Next week, I'll show you my home made automatic liquid fertilizer system. Don't be late for class (Watering 101)"

Handie, hope you're serious! I want to learn about this. My lawn looks terrible! I have to do something...

PJ, I'll let you in on a little secret. Over in Home Depot, you can buy slow release granular fertilizer designed for your type of grass (consult a knowledgeable sales person, I forgot what the brand of mine is and I'm not there)
Get the small hand held fertilizer spreader made by Scott's or similar and broadcast this fertilizer 4 times per yr or follow the instructions on the bag. The spreader covers a wide area and the spreading goes fast. Don't get weed killing fertilizer and broadcast it where it will hit the flowers and plants.
You will not see results over night but be assured a yr from now you will have a nice lush lawn
This Florida sand is wonderfull to work with but has NO nutrients so your grass is begging for food and/or minerals to aid its growth
This is so simple and inexpensive and I like you love lush grass
Good Luck
Handie :joke:

[Bubbalarry]

Gotta get me some of those Sylvester palms, they look to me as the best. In Arizona when we lived in Scottsdale the landscaper added a drip hose to the sprinkler system. It adds water to a specific area or need and keeps the plants supplied better than what TV uses as a standard.

This will keep the palm trees and the plants supplied with water so during the hot summer the plants will survive. Since we have no grass we have no heads.

[punkpup]

Some hyperlinks which might provide assistance:

www.floridata.com
www.seedman.com
www.seedman.com/coldhard.htm (cold hardy Palms & Bananas)
www.toptropicals.com
www.toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi (cold hardy plants)

You'd be amazed how many "cold hardy" Palms there really are!

I don't know about the bug thing; I've lived in Florida before, specifically Key West and Miami, as far as I can tell there are bugs all over Florida 1rnfl I remember the first time I saw a Palmetto bug. I said, "Holy S _ _ _, that's the biggest Cock Roach I've ever seen!!!" and my host replied, "No dear that's a "Palmetto Bug", well as you might imagine my response was, "Well you can call it whatever you want to but it's still just a giant cock roach to me!" :a20:

Now about snakes :yikes: I can only say this; when I lived in the California desert I was all excited at seeing my first Oasis. My friends knowing of my "Snake phobia" quickly informed me that Oases are known for harboring snakes so from that point on I admired Oases from afar. :o

Reality; I obviously have lived around palms; my Mother-in-law has a tall, stately stand of Areca Palms along the fence between her property and the neighboring house and once a year we thin them and clean up all the dead palm fronds, etc. So far I've never seen a snake..... in the palms that is lol, but I do remember the lawn guy saying that he'd seen a snake wriggling away from the lawn mower and into the AC housing :yikes: in her back yard. I was hoping perhaps that the compressor fan might chop the thing up as it was identified it as a poisonous one :yikes: :yikes: :yikes:

[PJ]

Handie, I'll get some of that tomorrow. Thanks much for the advice!!

[Lucko]

I finally got some truth about palms from the lady landscaper ( Kim Ph. 233-8621) with All American. Honest quotes with no suprises and no payment til you are 100% satisfied. Beware of deals on palms !!! A couple of landscapers mentioned in recent messages keep changing their names to ditch their poor reputations !!! Talk to people with good looking landscapes , forget bargains and remember, it is a lot of hard work!!!

[Barefoot]

A couple of landscapers mentioned in recent messages keep changing their names to ditch their poor reputations !!!

OK Lucko, now you've got me nervous. :dontknow: You obviously don't want to mention names of these landscapers on TOTV. Could you possibly PM me with names of those companies that you would not recommend using?

Does the Kim you mentioned have her own company?

Thanks.

[JohnN]

Lucko,
PM me with the names too, please, if you're willing ;)

[gfmucci]

While Palms are very "Florida" and can look very nice, especially if pruned periodically (and well-watered and fertilized in the first year or two after planting), we decided that Palms may not be appropriate everywhere. For example, we thought we would get several "clusters" of Queen Palms for our front yard. But upon studying the style of our house, with the "rocking chair-sized porch" in the front, we are deciding on more of a "deep south" style of landscaping, focusing more on the Live Oak with its' Spanish Moss, or similar tree in our front yard.

We may change our minds again after we move in - probably with the help of a landscape designer's opinion.

[dadspet]

Those oaks with Spanish moss are real nice but I sure hope you have a lot of room. They get awful big when they grow up.

[784caroline]

dads pet
....and you thought you were asking a simple question about buying a palm tree!! I think you have more than enough to think about before you proceed in doing whatever you plan.

[Lucko]

I just saw a new palm in the Palm Courtyard Villas in Duval that the 20 mph wind earlier this week flipped right up out of the ground. That 15' palm had a root ball smaller than a bushel basket. My palm that size had way more than a cubic yard of heavy root ball and stayed put. You will never be sorry that you bought quality. Also, palms with dribblers (that are seldom necessary) often die of over watering and root rot.

[JeanneBeannie]

I have a palm in my back yard, I dont know the name of it, I am trying to find it on the computer, but as of yet....no luck. Its all over the villages and is my favorite, its not a regular palm tree, but a darker green and I believe starts out small and grows wide rather than tall if that helps hehe :confused:.

I have been watering it and noticed in TV that they trim the bottom part where it looks like a ball (pineapple look), but today when I went out, there was a fungus looking mess all over the whole bottom part. I have fire ants and am taking care of that, but it looks like the same mess that they make. Could it possibly be fire ants? Or a fungus? Is there anything I can do to save it? Its thick and looks almost like insulation. :shrug:

I know my description is very vague hehe sorry, still learning the new plants here in the warmer climate...altho I love it! Any help would be greatly appreciated. :bowdown:

Jeanne

[SteveFromNY]

Jeanne - I can't answer your question but since this is the tail end of a really old thread, yiu might want to start a new one. Maybe more folks will look at it.
Good luck with the tree!

[Mintjulep]

Jeanne. I think you are talking about a Canary Date Palm.
They are my favorites too...

[Bogie Shooter]

Those oaks with Spanish moss are real nice but I sure hope you have a lot of room. They get awful big when they grow up.
In about 60 years!

[JeanneBeannie]

Jeanne - I can't answer your question but since this is the tail end of a really old thread, yiu might want to start a new one. Maybe more folks will look at it.
Good luck with the tree!

Thank you Steve, you are absolutely right, I didnt think of that. I thought there was a gardening section but I couldnt find it. I went around in the golf cart today and all of them were clean of this fungus except one. Kathie took me to two nurseries to ask them but they were closed. :shrug:

Its definitely not overwatered as I only watered it lightly, I will research it online and see if I can find something :024:. Its hard to do anything outside with those dang fire ants :faint: they are even under the rocks :ohdear:.

Thank you all for your tips. :thumbup:
Jeanne