I didn't see any reference to Foxtail Palms in the responses so far. We are considering them as we were told they are "self-pruning". Any thoughts/comments on this variety?

We have one Sylvester & 3 Roebellinis. You do need to fertilize them 3x a year and trim totally dead fronds, as they die on the bottoms of their canopies, as the trees grow. And yes, keep the seed pods trimmed off in the growing season. The big thing is do not plant any tree too close to the house or birdcage. They grow faster than you think. If I had to do it again, I probably would just put in one Roebellini & that’s it.

Queens are pretty in someone else’s yard, LOL. The seed pods are huge & heavy and the trees grow quite fast.

Not a fan of oak trees. They are more messy than palms & attract squirrels which can damage your roof vents & birdcage. Just my 2 cents.

Yes, rats. They are attracted to the fruit on the palms.

Haven’t you ever noticed the rat bait stations in all public areas of TV. It’s a Florida thing.

Males are not high maintenance!! (tongue in cheek) :1rotfl:

Yes and they are dirty. The original owner must have been in love with them as my lot had 16 but now down to 11. Those removed were planted too close to the house/bird cage. Had to replace numerous screens because because the falling branches poked holes in them. The branches were also scraping the roof of the house which can cause damage to the shingles.

I think they are very dirty trees. Anytime the wind blows, I'm out in the yard picking up debris afterwards.

Beware of the sylvesters. They have A LOT of nasty thorns that can be painful if they poke you. Don't even have to break the skin. LOL, just 5 minutes ago the garbage guys just picked up 4 bundles I had out. I had cut them in > 4' lengths and rapped with twine. The guys were swearing when they saw them and one must have gotten poked because I heard a loud 'F@@K'. He's gonna have a sore hand or forearm for a couple of days.......

The answer is yes. If you want to know which varieties of palms to plant, look at the varieties planted by The Villages in their landscaping. They choose varieties that are attractive, hardy in cold snaps, and requiring minimal maintenance.

Queen palms are not a variety you will ever see in Villages landscape plans.

Queen palms....very fast growing and property dirtying.
The huge seed pods, the gigantic berry clusters and the golden flower buds require a minimum of twice per year cleaning out.
Depending on height and how over grown it can run between $20 to $40 per tree each time.

We had 9 spotted around the property 17 years ago. Had 3 removed last summer. Three more coming out next summer.

Do your home work before hand. The slower growing, cold tolerant plants native to the area are the best.....if one needs to have them!

Palm Trees
 

Palm trees are very expensive to maintain. Had a tall one cut down. Cost $150. twice a year to maintain. Make sure you check how tall it will grow. If you insist on having one, buy one you can maintain yourself. Would never buy another. Still have two we have to pay someone to climb to maintain them. Prices vary.

European Fan Palm
no maintenance other than lop off the lower fronds once a year
max 15'
good down to 20deg
no rats

Where there are oaks there are acorns and there are rodents, birds, and bugs eating them.

Ugh!
 

Palm trees are nasty. The Sylvesters and Robellinis have large thorns on their fronds. Some Sylvesters drop quarter size nuts all over. They also harbor roaches and rats. We purchased a home with beautiful landscaping including many palms and are now paying to have some of them removed. Never again!

Yes, RATS! We have well maintained lawn and landscaping. They have once eaten through my grill cover. I don’t know if they come from the water across the street or the palms but they’re around here. If I ever saw one in my house I would have a heart attack! Yikes!

Best way to take care of a palm tree is with a chain saw.

Been here 20 years, built our home, designed our landscaping. We have 9 various palms, no queen palms. Love them all, fertilize once a year, trim once a year, not much work for all their beauty. No cockroaches, no rats, no mice and we live on a golf course with a lake behind. We have landscaping rocks now. When we had bark chips and then pine needles years ago we did have cockroaches, put down rocks, no more cockroaches, no place for them to hide. It's the ground cover that attracts the roaches, not the palms. If you have rats, you have a food supply for them, they do not eat palms, or palm fronds. Keep your landscaping cleaned up and enjoy the beauty of local palms.

Yes..also palmetto bugs along with the fact that they are the prefered home for rats.