Tag Archives: Florida-Friendly

We’ve Got High Hopes

Posted on by rhondacarrier

It is May and already hot and humid; weeds are growing; some new plants need to be moved to more appropriate sections of the yard; mulch waits to be put out. There are strange insects and odd spots on the leaves of my vegetables. We’ve planted and fertilized and watered and watched and waited. Why do we do this? We do it because gardeners have high hopes! We have heart and faith and high hopes that we can improve our environment.

It gives me pleasure each day to see our progress. I love it when my daughter goes out to get herbs we’ve planted or when my husband exclaims that we have tiny tangerines as well as tiny oranges on trees we’ve planted, I love it when a flower appears that I wasn’t anticipating – like the spiderwort that easily transplanted to new areas of the yard.

We know we are just starting to develop the garden we want, but we have high hopes and will continue to work on it. The photo below was taken just a few days ago, but already the wabi-sabi bench was moved to a new location and I’ve added another small flower bed at the back of the yard. We have a long list of tasks still to do and we have high hopes that it will all work out and will be the beautiful Florida-Friendly paradise we are planning.

Backyard

Florida-friendly Palms

Posted on by rhondacarrier

Sabal palmetto Marina D’Abreau, Residential Horticulture Extension Agent of Hillsborough County, presented a Master Gardner session on ornamental palms for central Florida at the Charles J Fendig Library. I wasn’t going to include palms in my garden plans, but I will now. She convinced me. She presented a summary of several that are Florida-friendly due to their tolerance for drought, salt, sand as well as somewhat tolerant of temperatures close to freezing. She recommended plantapalm.com website and floridata.com for further information on growing and maintaining palms.

Her tips for palms included:

  1. Plant in the spring and early summer when they are growing. Cut back the roots to a root ball when transplanting. Plant with the top of the root ball level with the ground. Water regularly until they are well established.
  2. Stake, if necessary, but gently. Buffer the tree with burlap, then tie it in place. Prop a stake against the burlap without damaging the tree. Do NOT nail anything into the tree.
  3. Since palm roots are in the top 2-3 inches of soil, mulch to maintain moisture in the soil. Keep other plants, even grass, away from the palm trunk, so other plants will not be too competitive for moisture.
  4. Leave old fronds on the tree until they are dead and brown. Do not remove yellow fronds because the tree will pull nutrients out of the fronds.
  5. Fertilize 4 times a year using slow release nitrogen (N) and potassium (K). Palms also require micro-nutrients, so planning is needed to ensure they get all their required nutrients. Lawn fertilizers do not contain magnesium (Mg). If palms only receive lawn fertilizer they become deficient in magnesium resulting in yellow fronds. Epson salt, magnesium sulfate, is often used to fertilize palms for magnesium, but Epsom salt does not supply other needed micro-nutrients. For instance, palms develop “frizzle top” if a palm is deficient in manganese (Mn). Fertilizers specific for palms can be purchased at garden supply stores. Apply palm fertilizer under the canopy of the palm. If this includes some turf, do not fertilize the area with turf fertilizer.
  6. Palms have pests, but if the palms are properly placed and maintained, they will remain in good health and pests will not be a major problem.

Cabbage Palm on the Fence Line

Posted on by rhondacarrier

Sabal palmetto“It is a weed,” the neighbors said. “Why don’t you cut it down?”

I hate to cut a tree that is established and growing, especially one growing in such poor soil and without any irrigation system to supplement the rain water. It deserves to live. Besides, I still think that a palm in my yard, even a weed palm, is exotic, so when we had the brush removed and tree stumps ground out last summer, I kept it.

The palm question came up again in December when we made the decision to replace the old wood fence (shown in photo). The palm was definitely a tree in the wrong place. It turns out the old fence was actually outside the property line. The palm was right on the property line, so the question was, did I want the tree removed, so the fence could run along the property line as planned? It may be considered by some to be a “weed” but it is a Sabal palmetto, Florida’s State tree, and it could not be cut without permission. I didn’t want it cut. We came up with a plan to save the Sabal while building most of the fence on the property line as planned. They replaced one long fence section with two short sections to form a V around the palm with the V jutting into the yard and away from the property line. The fronds extend high in the air over the fence, so the fact that we can’t see the lowest part of the trunk is not a problem.

The cabbage palm, as it is commonly called, is drought resistant but can also grow in wet areas. When transplanting, ensure it receives adequate water until it is established. It tolerates sandy soils and salty soils and is happy in either acidic or alkaline soils. It loves the sun but also grows in part sun. It reaches a height of 30 to 60 feet, and is often seen on the beach, lining parking lots, narrow lawns, etc. The squirrels in my yard attest to the fact that it is a good food supply for wildlife. The tree grows from zones 8-10 and survived the recent freezing temperatures in Tampa without any harm.

My biggest problem with the palm is all the seedlings popping up all over the yard. The cabbage palm doesn’t develop a trunk for several years, so the seedlings look like palm leaves sticking out of the ground. I keep cutting off the tops, hoping to get keep them under control, although when I took a look yesterday, it looked like a cabbage palm plantation starting. I don’t have a plan for the back yard yet, but it doesn’t include a palm plantation, so I’ll keep battling the seedlings.

See Sabal palmetto on Floridata for more information.