I know, not worth it's own thread. After depressing everyone with my last batch of photos, I thought I'd post something more pleasant. I even took a cue from FondofFronds and hauled it next to the pool so it would appear even happier. (Special thanks to Deezpalms for recommending the nursery.)
This message was edited Mar 2, 2007 5:01 PM
Hey Terry, that is a cute one. Is it the same variety as mine?
If mine is worth a thread, yours certainly is.
I could have put it in your thread easily. I think this forum is bizzied out about now. Ours are the same type, yours is just a bit more stressed. Winter and lack of water does that. Mine is a large 15 gallon one, and I paid $65. I saw one the same size but in a 25 gallon pot selling for $280 at another nursery.
By the way, I'm building a shade house. I loosley based it on a octagonal gazebo plan. More compound mitre cuts than I hope to ever do in one day again. It's 8 ft wide by 7ft tall without the roof, which I have all the parts cut for and just need to nail up.
The way it looks right now I'm calling it "Poolhenge."
ha ha. so when you stand in back of it, does the sun line up with the roof of your house at sunset on the Spring equinox? LOL
The corner it is in points East, and it's door faces west. Once I install the "heel stone" I should be capable all kinds of amazing astronomical coincidences.
I'm going to put in as light as screen as I can find since the sun doesn't even hit the thing until noon. Since I'm so canopy-challenged I thought this would give me a way to start out small palms that prefer some shade. Eventually I rip out the screening and put in plastic. Instant greenhouse.
Another winter like 07, and I might just put a palapas roof on it and serve tropical adult beverages from it. Mostly to myself.
This message was edited Mar 3, 2007 5:00 PM
My girl asked me to take her to the Big Box today for a few things so I went along for the ride. As we were checking out the palms I saw the one and only Bismarckia that has been in stock since last summer. It was in a 5 gallon pot and ready for larger. It was looking a little ratty from all the abuse people have inflected on it during the year. I told my girl that the next palm I'd buy will be a palm like this.......She said no it won't..........Put it in the cart I'm buying it for you.......dang I love this girl....I'll post a pic in a day or two.....She also bought a kentia and a cham maya for the front porch area. I think she is an addict like me now!
Curt
Nice going Curt. I know you took a big hit this winter as well. Nothing like having new green stuff to look at. Now you have me real curious. What is a cham maya, and why haven't I ever seen one at a big box store?
Is it the pool or does that small bismarckia have blue color? Very good sign that it has such good color for a small one, nice palm terry. I try not to think of my bismarckias, most of their palms turned paper white(and severely wrinkled) or chocolate brown. I have only 1-2 palms left per tree that have any color for photosynthesis. I know they will be back, but I miss their awesome presence. Mine apparently saw 22 degrees(x 2 nights) and are alive, but went from 8-15 colorful palms to 1-2 with some color. I actually trimmed a number of the dead palms to allow the sun to reflect off the live palms as I believe the dead ones were preventing photosynthesis. Hopefully now that we have 80 degrees forecasted for the forseeable future, their growth will be jumpstarted.
The pool is behind it, so there's no reflected light hitting it. Funny how the color changes in different lighting though. Backlit it looks very green. The nursery had one with a bigger leaf, but I went for the one with the fattest trunk. I did the same as you with my kings and kentias, even to the point of trimming brown off but leaving partial fronds. It looks odd, but even a quarter of a leaf gets sun the plant benefits. I also treated them all to some "John and Bob's Soul Optimizer" yesterday.
I agree with the "go for the better trunk" philosophy. The trunk is where the new palms come from, it foretells faster near-future growth. So, is the "soul optimizer" a plant hormone mix? It kind of sounds a little too spiritual to me. I kind of like to stick to the science part.
John and Bob's is a granular/disolving form of Humic Acid. It was mentioned in the previous fertilizer thread, and their is a link. I wanted to get hummus without ordering by mail, and this product is available at a local nursery. It recommends two applications per year, with visible results in 3 months.
Next weekend I am going to treat with SuperThrive, a hormone/vitamin mix. It is a bit spooky, and is supposed to stimulate root growth. I've heard no negatives, and am using this year only to help counter the freeze damage.
OK I get it. I have already "optimized the souls of my palms" this year with humic/humates. And yes all my new plantings/injured freeze palms will get some superthrive. By all accounts it works on stressed plants and trees.
Well here is a pic of my new bouncing baby Bismarckia. It has been abused as a baby but I am sure it won't need any couch time. I will also put up a pic of the cham maya and maybe it can be IDed.
Curt
This message was edited Mar 6, 2007 1:45 AM
and another
And here are few of the cham maya
number two
and the last one
That Bismarckia looks healthy, but real stretched from being in too much shade. I'd move it into the sun gradually, like take a month or two to slowly move that pot from full shade to full sun.
I'm guessing the Cham maya is not a Guassia maya. It looks alot like a Chamaedorea hooperiana.
Any photos of the new kentia?
This message was edited Mar 5, 2007 6:24 PM
Yep here are a few of the kentia
And the Last
Terry.....The Bis had been in the shade at HD during the Summer but they had moved it into the sun were they have the queens and kings....So I figured it has been adjusted to the sun by now. As far as the chamy what u ma callit I havn't a clue. Thats what they had typed on the tag.....
Curt
PS: I have a long way to go on this palm stuff....
Nice single-trunked kentia. Is it a 5 gallon also? It should be bulletproof in 10a.
I just looked it up and and Chamaedorea hooperiana's common name is "Maya Palm." I guessed it before because my local HD was selling them for $35, and I passed on it for big Dypsis lutescens. I should have got the Maya Palm instead, as they'll likely never offer it again.
I just reread my posts and noticed I wrote "Soul Optimizer." I could start my own cult with typos like that.
SOIL Optimizer!
LOL! I saw that soul optimizer and thought, well someone is having some fun naming their products. I like soul optimizer better!
Where's the choir? lol. I think you may have started something there terry...I liked desertpalms reply ...I too thought you were maybe on a more spiritual level,forget the palms...I could use some of that stuff lol!
Terry....Thanks for the info on the Chamaedorea hooperiana. My girl bought to replace the palm that she gave bud rot to. I guess she felt guilty. Here is a before and after pics of the front of my house that I remodeled last year with the Chamaedorea hooperiana new home at the end of the porch.
Curt
Here is the before
Here is the after
Curt, very nice yard....I miss the style of calif gardens.San Diego has a lot of this style. great pic.
Kyle
These is my small joy growing in Croatia 9b zone...toto
Sorry this is the Bizzie pic. toto
A gorgeous Butia and a perfect specimen of a Bismarckia. I didn't even know Croatia was in the same Zone as me!
Thanks...most of the islands are 9b and some are 10a even 10b...our problem are day highs..the temps dont go over 14C in winter. thanks toto
Nice Bismarckia ttoto, I hope mine ends up looking like Yours or Terrys. Sorry FOF I can't say I want mine to grow smaller to look like yours, although I think yours will grow to be a much better looking specimen than mine. I will be planting mine into a 24" type container in a few weeks.
Curt
Beautiful yard ttoto, are you near the seacoast(adriatic)? Your butia is an excellent specimen as is your bismarckia. I wonder if the bismarckia has enough room there, they get very large. Surely as it gets tall it will have plenty of room, but before it grows a sizable trunk it may get 15+ feet wide. Ultimately it could be 20' wide! Once again a gorgeous well cared for yard! I used to work with a croatian physicist, he often commented how he missed his home country, it must be beautiful there with the mountains and the islands along the adriatic coast. I would love to travel there someday.
Hi desertpalm..i live on a small island in the Adriatic, the island is Sv. Clement just infront of the island Hvar. I run a small inn and two restaurants on the island with my family. www.palmizana.hr A decade ago i caught a virus desease(palm virus) which is geting worse each year(cycas,agaves,aloe) so my garden is getting bigger each year. I have a lot of space but there is no running water on the island so i try to keep everything in range where i can water it. Thats why i planted the Bizzie on that place, but If the Bizzie survives the next few years i will make space. thanks toto
P.S. sorry for my bad english
Ttoto, we obviously have the same virus. And yes now it seems to be getting worse. Here is a view of my Bismarckia just before the big freeze. Hopefully within a year or two they will again be the focal point. Fortunately, my wife also has the palm virus, we never argue over buying palms.
Great garden, great Bizzie, but the B. armata is gorgeous, mine dont look so good probably to much salt spray. What is the palm under the Queens. thanks toto
ttoto, the dark green fan in the center is sabal bermudana, its my most cold tolerant sabal(8degrees F). Its a beautiful palm that was not even impacted by the freeze, its pushing new spears out now. I think it might be a good choice for your area if you can find one. They do well in humid climes (as in bermuda), but also do well here with adequate water, and some neighboring palms for shading from the late day summer sun. This one doesnt see full late day summer sun here(the hottest time of the day), but sees plenty of early and mid day sun. I have not seen one in a nursery here since I bought that one, and it was the only one there. Perhaps we in arizona just dont have consistent selection, as I see specimens offered on the internet from time to time. I bought that one as a 3' tall 24" box tree about 2 1/2 years ago. It now stands about 8' tall by 10+ feet wide. Its classified as a moderate grower to 20-25' tall. You might also like sabal domingensis if you like the bermudana, its similar, but the petioles(stems) are longer and the fans more costpalmate, slightly larger. Here is a pic of my largest sabal domingensis. The braheas dont like humidity, are difficult to grow in places like florida.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2007 11:14 AM
Hi desertpalm ..its realy a great Sabal...i have just small Sabals 12 different species. They are growing very slowly here. My favorite so far is Sabal uresana(two seedlings) because of their collor. thanks toto
I have reserved a nice sunny spot for a sabal uresana. Now I need to find one. I will undoubtedly have to get it shipped in, likely from california as nurseries dont carry that one here. I agree on the color, uresana is the most blue sabal I have seen. I love the way those cyclads add texture and distinct coloring to your landscape. When the sabals grow in it will be very nice. What species are those cyclads, ttoto?
