Lighting for Palm Trees
 

Just had a brand new Sylvester Palm planted in front yard yesterday. I am now looking at lighting options. Looking at solar spotlights. Is this the way to go? Reading some online reviews that are split on solar being the most effective. Would like to hear from Villages residents who have lighted palms in their yards, and what lightning options they have used. Thanks as always for your replies.

When we had our landscaping done they installed hardwired led lights. They are plugged into a transformer/timer. We have them set for dusk to dawn but can also program them for a specific time.

I believe you will be disappointed in the solar powered landscape lights. Depending on your home and landscape layout, you should be able to install (DIY) suitable WIRED lighting for under $100 in material cost. I have done this for several neighbors, but this time of year, forget it, way too hot. If you go the DIY route just lay the wire on top of the landscaping and wait for nighttime or cooler weather to bury it. Also, get the type of lights with REPLACEABLE bulbs (LEDS) otherwise you will have to replace the entire unit when a LED fails.

I have done this now going on 7 years and they all work fine, most of the time.
The ones that don't work seems to be the connection on the mean wire going to the timer.
I wiggle the connection from time to time to get them to work.

I know one guy "hot wired" each LED flood light to the main cord.

I had solar landscaping lights and was disappointed.

The hardwired is low voltage, so doesnt require a lot of electricity - there is more of an upfront cost for install, but not as much as you think.

Just out of curiosity what does "hot wired" to the main cord mean? All of the wiring diagrams I have seen have a main run, and each light is tapped for the main run. Although rare, you could run a branch line from the main run to get to a couple of lights, the new LED lights do not take a lot of current, so this can be done.

Thanks for your reply —

So I’m a total novice to all of this, so I need to ask some “newbie” questions - 1) If I go the DYI route for wired lighting, is there like a cord that I bury, then comes out of the ground and runs into my lanai to plug in (like a visible extension cord?) 2) and is there like a timer I set, rather than flicking on and off manually? 3) I’m electronically challenged, how easy is the DYI project, or would someone like me be better off hiring someone to do all this for me.

Thanks in advance for responding back to me - I always appreciate all the advice and wisdom you give on TOTV.

Thanks, I’m not getting good replies or reading good stuff about solar - I think after it cools down tonight, I’ll go for a golf cart ride and see if I can spot the difference between solar and electrical lights that my neighbors have installed.

Look on YouTube for videos installing landscape lighting. I had mine installed by someone who knew what they were doing. Could be a nightmare as a DIY.

Thanks Bogie - I’ll do that tonight - I’m totally willing to do DIY projects, but I’m almost always disappointed with the final product - just a “knack” I don’t have - But today, I was sorta proud of myself for figuring out how to put together the hose and hose caddy I just purchased (came with no instructions) - though had to watch a you tube video (I know - lol - pretty simple for most, but was an accomplishment for me).

Because sometimes gardeners will step on those connections and just that one light
will not work. i know I had trouble with a connection, wiggle it once and it worked.

Maybe by tapping into the main run by wiring directly instead of using the connection, he felt
it would be less trouble down the road. :shrug:

You will need a power supply, these come in various wattages typically from 60 to 200 watts. You will need to figure out how many lights you need and the wattage of each. You will need to figure out the amount of wiring you will need. You will need to also determine where the power supply will plug in. There is more stuff you will need to consider, send me a PM and we can discuss over the phone.

Like I said.:)

I have a inexpensive solar light on my palm (in my front yard). Cost was less than $20 (if I remember correctly) from Walmart. It has been working well for over 2 years! Not as bright as hard wired lights, but it literally took seconds to install.
I suggest you try this "method" first. Just to see the effect.

We have added five palms and purchased solar lights for under $20 each. We are satisfied that the lighting provides what we were looking for.

We purchased inexpensive solar lights at Lowes. They are working fine and we can move them when we need to.

Another vote for hardwiring LED lights. Our Sylvester has grown 15 feet in 7 years so I think we made the right lighting choice. To be effective the lighting needs to be adjustable & as strong as possible to reach the heights the tree will grow. They grow faster than we were led to believe

Aponuo Solar on Amazon
 

Awesome light output on my Sylvester with 4 small LED lights and the solar panel can be outside and shrubs or flowers. Apuono solar spotlights 4-in-1 are on sale on Amazon.

The hard part for diy solution is to get a power source to plug in the transformer. You may need to get an electrician for that. They can perhaps tap into your post light and install a weather proof outlet box. Then you can plug in the transformer and run the low voltage wires to/from it. Most of the transformers have a light sensor to go on at night and off in morning.

Order a couple of solar light from Amazon Prime..if they don’t like the look, you have 30 days to return.

Like From California
 

Michael,

Like dude, like get like American English lessons like now. You say you are like 61.

Appreciate the constructive criticism - you have a blessed day my friend.

All of the houses I have seen have GFCI protected outdoor receptacles installed. If you are lucky one of these will be in a suitable location. The bigger problem is typically getting across the driveway if needed. I found that using a power washer to clean out the stress cut, allows a #14 low voltage landscape cable to be installed in the stress cut. You MUST be very careful at the entrance and exit of the cable as landscapers tend to cut these wires with their string trimmers. I cannot count the number of times I had to repair wires in this location.
Having an outlet installed on the lamp post works great, make sure this is either a GFCI outlet or that the lamp post is protected by a GFCI. Make sure the weatherproof cover can be completely closed with the transformer plugged in. I believe there are special requirements for the mechanical connection of the new outlet box to the pole for weatherproofing also.

I have solar lights. Not too bad for the cost. The solar lights are not as bright as the wired LED lights. My solar lights have been installed now about 6 months and they are still working fine. It's all about how bright you want your landscape lighting to be.

How far down do you bury the wire? I would get a straight, flat shovel and make the line that way. Push it into the earth, wiggle it to make a V opening, drop the wire down and step on the V to join the earth together again. Much easier down here vs up north.

You can bury to whatever depth you want, I ran ours right next to the house foundation and down about 2 inches to the weedwhackers would not hit the wires. In the garden landscaping, I tend to be an inch or so below the top of the stones or mulch.
IMHO, burying the wire in the lawn is the hard part, this grass is much harder to cut through.

On the driveway side, I will use a very small transformer and get power from the GFI near the A/C. Some might call this overkill for 1 or 2 lights, but in reality.. it isn't.

With the time it takes to run a wire thru a crack that will be exposed to sun and often cleaning chemicals and eventually shorting out ... the 50 bucks for a small transformer makes my install virtually trouble free. And I don't need to break out a concrete saw to clean out or widen those cuts in the driveway when the wire won't fit.

And never EVER put the gfi on your lightpost. Along with the problem that your garage fridge is likely on the same breaker, and a little problem kicking the GFI can turn into a freezer full of rotten food you were saving ....... You will still need to mount the transformer somewhere (on the post right?) and if mounted to code, it will be unsightly in the front, and breaking the protective coatings and paint on those posts, causing them to corrode and need replaced in just a couple years.

i got a cheap solar lamp from amazon about 3 years ago & it's still out there working!! when you shop, choose the 'customer reviews' option

why so mean?