[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Wow! A Landscape architect!
Also, Boy Howdy!

U betcha, here's why

A landscape designer aka/landscaper, typically has no formal education, no licensing, and no governing oversight, simply declaring themselves as a landscape designer. The typical landscape designer works for a landscape company that is offering reduced priced design with the promise of the installation project. This may seem like a deal to many, yet it may lead to overpriced plants being placed in inappropriate locations.
I have seen pics on this forum where palms that required full sun were planted in shade, that one mistake can pay the fee.
Additionally, landscape designers cannot sign and seal plans for permits.

A landscape architect, licensed in FL, can offer value by developing plans that are designed to a budget and can then be competitively bid.
In this way I can control the project.

The other factor is a landscaper has a vested interest in selling what's in his inventory.


Anyway back to palms that work and don't work at TV please.

[shcisamax]

In an effort to follow Gracie's fine example of online etiquette, I second "Boy Howdy".

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There are a few of us who post on here that are almost always positive. We are frequently disbelieved by some. There are some people that if you read back on their posts they NEVER have anything positive to say and some nearly all of their posts are negative. The negative posts seem to get the most impact, in my view.

In my opinion, there is NO reason to leave town to buy landscaping. We are getting to be quite a big town ourselves. I was watching the travel channel and see that we are in fact bigger than Pisa, Italy. I wonder how we compare with Ocala in size now that we are approaching 100K. folks.
If you don't want to have a landscaper do it for you, buy it at Lowes or Home Depot and hire some hourly wage person to plant it for you or plant it yourself. I think you have to have arc approval.

Dropping plants in the ground is not all there is to it. Good landscapers are also usually excellent design people and the same principles are used for exterior design as interior. Just throwing things in the ground looks very amateurish, if you don't know what you are doin'. My view only of course.

2012 Marion County 351,000
Ocala 51,000
Population - Ocala / Marion County Economic Development Corporation (EDC)

[sunlover]

I did some research on the most popular palms trees in The Villages. I requested my landscaper to put in sabal palms. I didn't want them real tall. I like the look of a 10-12 ft sabal. They're not fast growing. I also had two mule palms put in. I love them!!!! They're not well know. They're a hybrid...a queen palm and pindo! Hardy and don't get as tall as the queen palm. Long flowing fronds....wider trunks.

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by sunlover

I also had two mule palms put in. I love them!!!!

Nice find, they can take 10 deg.
I see them at 6' for about $125, so they are reasonable too.

[Villages PL]

Back around 1970 I was living in another town about 1 hour south of where I live now in The Villages. I bought 4 palm trees from a plant nursery. The man who sold them to me said they would withstand freezing, down to about 20 degrees. So guess what? That year we had a hard freeze and the temperature went down to about 17. Luckily, they were small and didn't cost a lot of money.

It wasn't too long ago that we had a very hard freeze in The Villages. Was that 2 winters ago? I believe it was. Anyway, it was bad enough to damage several palm trees on my street and a few of them had to be cut down.

When I first moved to The Villages I bought a house with a palm tree in the front yard (my first house in TV). It was very tall which means it was old. Don't forget, trees, like people, have life spans. They don't live forever. So, within a about 2 years I had to cut it down because it was dying a slow death. It cost $400 to have it cut down and hualed off.

I like to see lots of palm trees in my neighborhood. I think they are attractive but I wouldn't want one in my yard. I like trees that are not so expensive to buy and maintain. And I like to be able to maintain them myself. Anything that gets tall is more expensive when you have to hire someone for trimming.

[batman911]

I have had 2 large shade trees on the West side of my home for more than 30 years. I get them trimmed professionally every 3rd year. Current costs is about $600. Because of these two trees, I have been able to live without air conditioning for that whole time. The cost of trimming trees can easily be recovered by the shade they provide in saving in electricity cost, not to mention I have enjoyed their beauty and the numerous birds that they attract who also make them their home.

[faithfulfrank]

The things I desire in a palm tree is
a) looks good and "Florida-like"
b) grows SLOW, and not too high
c) cold hardy.
d) not messy

I personally do not like the queen palms because they grow tall fast, had have seed pods that can fall and do damage. Too often they are planted too close to the home.

I have 3 Washingtonians that are getting too high for me to trim myself, although I have a 32' extension ladder just for that one reason.

I planted a pindo palm in my front yard last year. I really like that, cold hardy, pretty, and will not get too big.

Frank

[jimbo2012]

How about some more feed back

[graciegirl]

We have decided at this point anyway to not have any added landscaping. We have several palm type bushes throughout the landscaping that "came with the house". Quite frankly, we think our landscaping is really beautiful.

We have decided this for two reasons, Our home, The Seabrook, looks like a thirties bungelow from the midwest and it looks nice with the not over the top tropical landscaping and the second is that friends, three couples in our new village who have lived in Florida for quite some time said , no palms with this new house, they are too hard to maintain.

For many, palm trees are part and parcel of living in Florida, part of their dream and something they have looked forward to. We are all different in many ways.

[jimbo2012]

We would like to visit some nursery's when we are there, can anyone please recommend the good ones to browse?

[chappy]

We have been told the Sylvester Palm is a good choice and have included one in our landscaping.

[shcisamax]

is there any palm tree that you need to do NOTHING and it will be fine or do they all have NEEDS.

[jimbo2012]

from my research but no first hand experience, no

But the basic is a soil test and fertilizer several times a year are the basics.

[shcisamax]

OKAY... Is there an ornamental tree substantial enough to be planted in the front in place of the revered palm. And if you choose to do the pebble/stone look, how do you fertilize? Do you shovel the stones to one side, fertilize, shovel to the other fertilize, then put the stones back?