Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
dischnell

What are the best palms for around the pool?

dischnell
16 years ago

I am tired of my Adonidias. They used to look nice, but now they have some horrid spot all over them, my one triple trunk is only sprouting new fronds from two of the trunks and I'm just tired of waiting for them to look as nice as the rest of my landscaping. I'm over them and am no longer willing to wait for them anymore.

So, once again I am back to square one with trying to find two palms or tropicals to put in the rear corners of the pool area (in the ground). Since they are going to be placed around the pool area I would like to have something that provides some privacy, doesn't attract bees or any other type of stinging insect, doesn't drop seeds and has no thorns, oh, and is freeze tolerant too. Any suggestions on what I can put there? Pictures would be appreciated :)

Comments (87)

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Oh, okay. So you are around Ivy Lake, Ballentrae, Suncoast Meadows area. We looked in Ivy Lake, but couldn't find a lot that they would build the particular house we chose on, so we ended up off of Collier Pkwy. in Plantation Palms.

    I called Duncheons this morning and they were off the charts with their prices on the Chinese Fan Palms. Tree Mart and Pine Lake both quoted me between $65 and $95 for 5' to 6' 15 gal. size. Duncheons quoted me $190 for a 6' 15 gal. size. I don't understand why they are triple the amount, but we'll have to probably choose one of the other nurseries.

  • zarbiya123
    16 years ago

    hmm, I'm in zone 9B (I think? Orlando area)... and I'm wondering whether a foxtail would work here. I don't like having to cover up plants when it freezes... Just drove by a garden store with a bunch of foxtails for sale out front... they looked really pretty.

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    My chinese fans are mixed with 3 queens and a pineapple palm, they are 11ish years old and have provided a great screening. The queens are messy when they seed. My husband is constantly trimming out the seed. Unfortunately, now they are getting a little too tall for us to trim them, especially the one in the middle....too many chinese fans around it. I posted a picture up above of the area. Good luck with the palms....hope you can get a foxtail. Are they cheap enough at Home Depot to try one out? At least Home Depot and Lowes have a one year warranty.

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    Yeah, Duncheons is high. Jack & Jill further north on US41 is even higher. We initially asked for foxtails around our pool, but our landscape architecht said that they did better in more southern areas. Our Christmas palms and Arecas both freeze, yet she didn't have any problem recommending them. This was based on her personal experience, not just the zoning.

  • johnfl
    16 years ago

    Dischnell, Duncheon's definitely is high-priced. They were asking $600 for their largest triple Foxtail which was about 10 feet high, and the one I got from Lowe's was $450 and is 14 feet high.

    The big box home improvement stores definitely beat out the small nurseries price-wise, but I still go to the little guys for some things. They just seem to sometimes have a better variety and plants that are in better overall condition. Home Depot and the like don't always have a good representation of all the choices we have, and you can miss out on some good ideas if you don't look around.

    Like Scrapula is doing with Christmas and Areca Palms, I decided to give the foxtail a go even though it might not be a textbook choice for our area. If it freezes out, I will be upset for sure but will just move on and replace it with something else. We like the look of it too much to not give it a go. I've got room to put one more specimen in the very corner of my fence behind the Foxtail and we've been considering an Areca, so let's cross our fingers that we can combat the cooler weather we get up here in Pasco County...

  • johnfl
    16 years ago

    Also, Dischnell, how old are your Adonidias? I'd like to point out that although we all want instant gratification from our plantings, the reality is that all of us posting here that live in LOL are in very new developments. None of our landscaping is anywhere near being considered "established".

    I just want to make sure you don't yank those Adonidias before they get a chance to look beautiful for you. Believe me, I am probably one of the most impatient people around when it comes to wanting everything to look nice instantly but I really feel that we've got to give things time to look beautiful and get healthy. Not to mention, the dirt around your home is most likely just that..... unfortified dirt and sand. Every plant I've installed at my home, from my big palms down to my annuals, was put in an oversized hole and backfilled with potting soil to give the plants a fighting chance to do good in the deficient soil our homes are built on.

    If you like the Adonidias, you may want to consider a thorough fertilization program and regular, deep watering. Maybe a little time will bring those around for you?

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks for everyone's input.

    Johnfl, Pine Lake Nursery off of Dale Mabry just before you get to Lutz Lake Fern Rd. has beautiful plants at really decent prices. Their 6' 15 gal. Chinese Fan Palms with multiple trunks are only $65. Even TreeMart off of Nebraska has been said to be "high priced" but I purchased my Arenga (dwarf sugar palm) from them at much lower price than the few nurseries that I could find that even carried them. They have gorgeous, healthy trees there too. Even their Chinese Fan Palms priced out only $85-$95 for a multiple trunk 6'-8', 15 or 30 gallon size. I just don't see how Duncheon's could even try to sell them at $190. That's just crazy. Right now, you can't even find the Chinese Fan Palms at either Home Depot or Lowe's and if you do, they are no more than 2' and really scraggly.

    Our adonidia's are young. I purposely did it that way because I didn't want to purchase something that may not live and then I've spent all this $$ for nothing. We've been in our house a little over 3 years now. It was built in 2003 and I'm sure it was either cypress swamp or citrus groves (I've heard it was citrus) before our homes went up like most of the areas throughout the county. I do have to say, I have had lots of luck in this house with plants thriving compared to where we used to live (Villa Rosa). Our plants grow nice and healthy here and are lush and green. In our last house I always thought that I just didn't have a green thumb, but it has since turned a nice shade of green since our move and I don't think I suddenly became an expert on gardening :). The only time I use potting soil is if I am actually "potting" a plant. I just don't want to keep the Adonidias if they are going to freeze, look like hell all spring and summer, finally look nice again in the fall, just to turn brown again in the winter and have to cut all the fronds off. I like year-round pretty.

  • florida_gal
    16 years ago

    Het GK5040 -
    How old are your arecas and how tall were they when you planted them? We are considering them along our back fence to help hide the neighbor's roofs. Most of them start at about 5 feet tall - can I expect instant gratification??!!
    Thanks!

  • johnfl
    16 years ago

    Wow- small world. I used to own a home in Villa Rosa as well. I was in there in the early stages when they were still building most of it.

    At any rate, it sounds like you know what you want to do. I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in there because I'm also dealing with choices like this right now, and the wife and I have spent a fair amount of time getting acquainted with these things. We really enjoy working with plants and it is very rewarding to see it all come together. Best of luck in your search. I'm sure everything will look great when you are all done.

  • last_mango
    16 years ago

    I wanted to tell you guys about Opie on Merritt Island / Central Florida. I've bought almost all of my palms from him. They have been very reasonably priced and have all thrived. He does lots of garden shows and that is where I've got most of my stuff. If you're in this area, he is a great source - very nice / knowledgeable guy, too.

    Since he grows all of his own palms, they really do well here. If you're not local, his website (link below) has some great info, including cold tolerance (click on the palm pictures).

    Florida_Gal - about the arecas: they have been great for me & I love the look. This picture shows how little they were when the pool was dug (about three years ago). (Note the size of the traveler palm, too.) A recent picture I posted earlier in this thread shows them above the roof of the shed. Arecas take some maintenance, but I love the look.

    Here is a link that might be useful: GTC Palm Grower - Central Florida

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    Our arecas were planted by Eden Nursery last August....they were close to that size, maybe a little smaller. My bill said they were 10-12 ft tall. We paid $290 for each and $150 to deliver and install each. But we had the instant privacy we were seeking. We were replace 4 hugh half dead wax myrtles. Our home is 12 years old so we didnt want little tiny plants, we wanted something more mature to blend with the rest of the landscaping.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    johnfl, that's hilarious. It is a small world. We were in Villa Rosa during the first stages as well, before ANYTHING was out there. What section did you live in? It was our first home. We built in the Camelot section. There was nothing but cow pastures and deer out there, then suddenly everything built up!

    Thanks again for your suggestions.

  • johnfl
    16 years ago

    Dischnell, it's been so long I can't recall the name of the "Village" in Villa Rosa that I lived in. It was also my first home- I was barely 24 years old and single back then. When you came into Villa Rosa, I made a right and it was like the second or third section on the right.

    Time flies. I remember walking at night to the end of the road way back where it met the woods to the north to watch all the deer walking through the clearings that would later become homesites. Another time I was headed to work early one morning and saw a 6-foot plus alligator run over at the subdivision entrance on Lutz Lake Fern Road! There was NOTHING out there back then. Saw more than a few cars late at night that "lost it" on that curve between Heritage Harbor and Villa Rosa and ended up in the ditch, as well as many deer hit by cars right there at Heritage Harbor's entrance while they were under construction.

    Memory lane...... LOL!

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I bet you lived in Camelot! That's so funny. Did the village have a playground at the front of it? I think it was the first section to go in. The houses were smaller, I think the smallest in the neighborhood, around 1500-2100 sq.ft. I believe Westfield homes built them. I knew when we built in there it was a good investment, though, with Hanna Bartoletta, Southern Crafted and Nohl Crest going up in the same subdivision. It really raised our property values and was a great first home. We almost ran over an alligator crossing Reflections (the main rd. in Villa Rosa). I had a friend who "lost it" and landed upside down in that ditch during the year we had so much rain and the ditches on either side of Lutz Lake Fern were filled with water. It was a mess. Yes, LOL, what a small world it is!

  • johnfl
    16 years ago

    I think I remember that playground, and I believe I was one entrance before that section. If memory serves me right, I think my house backed up to Camelot. I used to talk to the neighbor lady behind me who lived in there because none of us had fences in those early days- LOL!

    Oh well, we both did a great job hijacking this thread about palm trees, didn't we?! Have a great weekend. I think we're going to get some good rain tomorrow for our landscaping.

  • zarbiya123
    16 years ago

    OK, here's another palm question for this thread-- anybody know anything about date palms for pool landscaping? How fast they grow, where you can buy them, do they have any negative qualities, etc. I've never seen them at the area nurseries, but a neighbor has a beautiful one that must be twenty-five feet high...

  • last_mango
    16 years ago

    I love canary date palms (canariensis) - very majestic. (Roebelenii are pygmy dates). BUT, they have huge spines, that I have read can lead to nasty infections if punctured - may be toxic? - I've heard they can go through leather.

    The date palms (dactylifera) that have actual dates get super tall and can be a mess, I think.

    I believe these are both susceptible to frost, too, and are rather expensive.

    Sorry for the negatives, but there are other choices, IMO.

    What about a silver bismark??

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bismark Palm Info

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Yes, johnfl, it looks kind of overcast so I'm hoping we'll get some rain today. My water bill is hurting because I refuse to not water my plants. It would be nice to water them for free.

    zarbiya123, the date palms are gorgeous. My subdivision has these lining the entire entrance and they are VERY TALL. I don't know how fast they grow, but seeing how extremely tall the ones are out in front of my neighborhood, unless you have a large property, I don't know that I would use them around my pool. I know they would be too large for my property since I've read they can get anywhere up to 75-120 feet tall at maturity. They are beautiful though. Maybe there are different types of date palms? A smaller version perhaps? Anyone?

  • zarbiya123
    16 years ago

    The silver bismarck is pretty... so blue! Hmm, date palms sound like they have some negatives. I might have to go with the robellini. Maybe will just live with the spines. Looks like they can grow up to ten feet. Are they just called "dwarf" because they don't reach the 75 feet of a regular date palm, or are there actual tiny ones that never get very tall?

    I also just figured out the name of another palm-like plant we have in our side yard-- it is about twelve feet tall, a "soft-tipped yucca" or "spanish dagger." It's very exotic looking and I found a website that says it's good for pool landscaping...

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I think I have one of those Spanish Dagger/Yucca plants in my front landscaping. I didn't know what it was when I purchased it, the plant appeared to be a low grassy plant. Then one day it shot up into the air and lost all of the leaves below it so now it looks like a cluster of stick-like trunks with these "dagger" looking leaves on the top. Last year it began sprouting new ones from the base of the plant and they have grown about half way up the other trunks now. I am eager to see how full this gets. It is really different looking. I can take a picture if you'd like.

  • last_mango
    16 years ago

    Zarbiya - If you're thinking yucca, cordyline (ti plants / draceana) are similar, yet without spines. Not sure of any cold tolerance, though. I have a varigated pink/green/white that is cool looking.

    What about bananas? They require quite a bit of maintenance, but are very tropical.

    My robellini has stayed quite small (6' or less) for the several years we have been here. It looks "mature" to me.

    What zone are you? Here is a list of palms from zone 7 - 11...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Florida palms

  • zarbiya123
    16 years ago

    Last Mango, I didn't know about that Floridata site. Great site!

    Here's a photo of the Spanish Dagger plant we have. It's pretty tall-- at least 15 feet or so.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I saw some rhapis palms (or lady palms) at the nursery today and they were beautiful. I suppose my question is, for those of you who may have these, how do they do in full sun? I've heard they are usually indoor/shade plants, but the ones at the nursery today were sun grown. At $350 each, I don't think we will be getting them though. I would like to see if I can find them in a container elsewhere before we decide to go with the Chinese fan palms, but want to be sure they will be okay for our full-sun backyard. They cluster and get to about 10' which would be perfect for us. They are very cold hardy for our zone and have no thorns (which is a plus since the Chinese fan palms have small thorns). Anyone have these that can give us information?

    GK5040, I think you mentioned Lady Palms, right?

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    We have 2 sets of lady palms outside our front door. One gets more sun than the other (because I removed a hugh legustrum) and is "less green" than the shade plant. They can take filtered sun, or partial sun. Mine are always making babies and I dig them up, see if a neighbor has one who can give you some. I think you are far from me to want to drive to get a few? Mine are fairly established and are around 4 ft tall, I dont think they get to 10 ft. The book says 6-8 tall and 5-6 wide....they are slow growing.

  • huskyridor
    16 years ago

    Here are some pic's of my pool and palm tree landscaping.

    A 6' Sago is on the left and a 16' Med fan is to the right.


    A 4' Sago to the front, a 15' Med fan to the right, and a 12' Cocus Pindo to the left.

    A group of 15'+ Washintonians behind a waterfall with some 6' Sagos on the flanks.

    A view down from either end of the pool


    I've added a lot more palms since these pic's a couple of years ago. This afternoon I'm going to prune palm fronds and I'll snap some new shots for you guys.

    See ya,
    Kelly

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    Huskyrider, do I remember reading on another post you are from TX? Do your sagos have the Asian cyclad scale? They are so mature and look like they are thriving. When we moved here last year ours was covered with scale, read an article to try to treat them and its kindof working but requires constant spraying. The nursery who did our landscaping stopped selling them because of the problems with them. The disease is prevalent in so and central FL. I heard if left untreated, the scale eventually kills the plant. Besides that, your pool landscaping looks beautful:)

  • zarbiya123
    16 years ago

    I just found a good deal ($99) on a big pair of pygmy date palms (robellini) at Home Depot in Orlando. The palm is at least five feet high above the root ball, so heavy two people can barely lift it... pool isn't complete yet (plumbing just installed, trenches still uncovered), but making the landscape ready around the fence is helping me to contain my excitement!

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    We have young growth (about 6 months). The macho ferns around the pool just got a haircut because we are getting ready to seal the pavers. They are normally much fuller. At the spa, you can barely see part of an areca palm. There is another one on the left of the waterfall. That's sweet potato vine cascading over the top of the waterfall. My DH's shefflera that he's had in a pot since he was a teenager, finally has a home. It's now towering behind the waterfall. The christmas palms are to the right, below them is a coontie and more sweet potato vine. The planter in the back has macho fern, a tribochina and a yucca.

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    Scrapula, your pool looks great, one of the best pictures to showcase your masterpiece...so lush and tropical. Ours is still under remodel construction. We dont have built in planters, I have to do pots. Your pool gave me some ideas, thanks:) Are the macho ferns messy?

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    The macho ferns tend to spread and they dip into the water. Those leaves turn brown and then drop off into the pool. As long as they stay above the water, they don't seem to drop leaves. They really spread with new growth. I think ours are a little too close together. We didn't allow enough space for growth.

  • sis3
    16 years ago

    Scrapula the pool and plants look gorgeous! Could you share your watering/feeding routine to achieve such lush and healthy plants?

  • tess_tx
    16 years ago

    Dishnell...did you decide yet? where are the new pics? enquiring minds want to know! ;-)

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Yes. We went with two 6' chinese fan palms. Each has about 6 trunks and are very full. One is fuller than the other but they are still both beautiful. DH has only put one in so far so I'll be sure to take pics and post them when they are both in. Thanks for asking! :)

  • mktoni
    16 years ago

    Hi - I was going to post before but could not find my photo. This is why you DO NOT WANT certain types of palm trees too near the pool ... our decking was buckling and splitting from our palms! We had several and because of this (and wanting a deeper pool for boys to swim in) we ended up doing a complete pool remodel! Anyhow, this photo is not the best but it was all I could find. I think this is some type of date palm. These were removed, along with two others for our remodel, and the roots were unbelievable. Took over our entire yard and criscrossed well into the pool "area".

    {{!gwi}}

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Here are some pictures of our landscaping and one of the Chinese Fans that we planted in the corners of the pool. There is another one on the other side just like it, a little fuller though. Our Arenga Palm and crotons in the center of the pool are REALLY thriving and all our plants are beginning to grow out of control. You can see the vibernum hedges that wrap around the pool are shooting up everywhere. DH won't let me take a hedge trimmer to them yet, but it is driving me crazy seeing it at all different heights! (I have a slight touch of OCD) ;) I may just have to do it anyway.

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    My neighbor behind me planted the vibirnum....you know, one of those neighbors who doesnt take care of their yard....well, I have been trimming a few pieced of his plants because they are growing sideways into my yard and look awful.....those plants are thriving! They shot up 3-4 feet higher than the rest of the yard. I think they like to be cut to stimulate growth. So if you get your hedge trimmer out, cut them all or the ones you cut will look better than the ones you dont cut. I refuse to start maintaining the neighbors hedge, but the few I keep snipping at are twice the size as the ones that are touching the other neighbors yards. By the way, your yard looks great. I need to look into the arenga palm....never heard of that one...yet! I just planted a few of those white and green plants (cant think of the name...i think it begins with a "d", I know its in my files) I like things that dont make a mess around the pool, last year I planted several flowering things in pots...never again, in a flower bed you dont notice the mess, but you do in a pot around the pool.

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    Wow, it's really looking nice dischnell! I see you got your awning, too.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks scrapula! Yes the awning is WONDERFUL! We just celebrated my birthday last Monday and my family was over. We opened the awning the entire way, turned on the ceiling fan and even with a light rain, we were still able to sit out there comfortably. We forgot to use our fogger that evening and the breeze from the ceiling fan under the awning really kept the mosquitoes away. I suppose they are no match to a strong current of air pushing downward in that area. We had the water features on, the colorlogics, and it was just a really nice evening.

    Back on topic, I also heard the more you trim the vibernum, the thicker they grow in. I'm going to trim them this week. If I do it before fall comes maybe the growth will continue for a few weeks before plant growth starts slowing down.

    The arenga palm is also called a dwarf sugar palm. They stay shorter and grow wide. They are VERY hardy and don't need to be covered in a freeze. Ours was planted in December and held up to the freezes we had this year perfectly without being covered and I'm sure the root system didn't really take yet at that point.

    gk5040, I want to say the white and green plants are spider plants, but I'm not sure. If you know the names of them I would love to know. They resemble aztec grass, but they have thicker leaf, and much stiffer. They have grown so much that you can't hardly see my little tiki guy that is hiding his face in between them. They have super tiny light purple, white and light yellow flowers that grow on the end of these stick like branches that grow out of them. I want to say they eventually turn into the "spider" looking vines that hang down from the plant. I have a small one in a pot that bloomed those same flowers and now have the spider looking things hanging down.

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    I have those spider plants, too. They have the stalks with the lavender flowers right now. I'll keep an eye out to see if they turn into vines. If they do, then we'll cut them off or replace them with another type of plant.

    We've already ripped out all of our sweet potato vine. It was spreading and taking over the pool deck and the waterfall. It even grew sweet potatoes.

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    Here it is:

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Oh my! I love sweet potatoes! I need to get one of those vines and plant them somewhere else in my yard!

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    I didnt know the sweet potatoe vine actually produced a vegetable...thought it was similar to the name bradford pear tree which doesnt produces pears. Have you seen the purple and green veriegated sweet potatoe vine, its so pretty, it has a lot of pink in it, it is harder to find. I used to plant them in Charlotte, they would take over the flower beds....a little too much. They die in NC, I would pull them out in the fall but I never found a potatoe!
    Back to the green and white plant....I found the receipt from when I bought it at the nursery, they called it a flax plant. Recently I found it at Home Depot for a fraction of the price, the tag says variegated flax lily, dianella tasmanica variegata. There is a website on the tag...www.floridafriendlyplants.com. In my garden book, it looks similar to a plant called dacreana reflexa. It also reminds me of a spider plant, maybe its related. Only the spider plants my mother use to grow in hanging pots had smaller thinner leaves with tuns of shoots or babies. My new plants have not sent up flowers...yet.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Ours are shooting up everywhere...around our crotons, in between our areca palm, wherever they can find room through the weed mesh we placed around all the plants. I can just imagine how many didn't make it through the mesh underneath!

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    WOW, are they easy to pull out the shoots? I got my first plant in early May, the other 2 just 3-4 weeks ago. The two new ones are in urn type pots. Back in the spring I also purchased an Oyster plant. Looks similar, little smaller and the leaves are purple and green.....it is multiplying like crazy...to the point I have to divide it up. Its got to be the florida soil. We are so use to NC clay where nothing grew very easily, and it was impossible to dig. Here, everything is too lush and digging in the soil is like cutting melted butter! I need a happy medium.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    We haven't really tried to pull out the shoots yet. I kind of like how it's filling in the planter. I'm assuming they won't be too difficult once we feel they become too much.

    Your oyster plants are going to spread. They are considered a ground cover and they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Oyster plants are also very highly allergic. A nursery owner warned me about them because I really liked the look of them and she said some people have reactions to them just by touching them, so I passed because DH is becoming allergic to more and more things as he gets older and he's the one who usually takes care of the plants :). But they are supposed to spread and eventually take over the ground area in beds.

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    Thanks, I never heard that about oyster plants, have heard that oleander can have a skin irritation...kind of like poison ivy. Well, mine are spreading, I will wear gloves to move them to an area they can keep on growing:)

  • ventura43
    16 years ago

    I think what you are calling spider plants are actually variegated liriope. If the plat doesn't send out runners then it is probably not a spider plant.

  • scrapula
    16 years ago

    I checked with my husband he said that we have variegated lirope, so I guess I don't need to worry about it.

  • dischnell
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Ours is definitely not variegated liriope. We have that in the front of the house and around the base of some hibiscus in the backyard. The ones in our planter are definitely spreading shoots. I'll have to take a closer picture of them to post later.

  • gk5040
    16 years ago

    From what I remember about spider plants is that they usually didnt send out "babies" until their root system filled the pot. I always think of them as a hanging houseplant. They have a thin tan/white shoot that extends down...quite a bit...with babies off the shoot in several areas. The first flax plant I purchased a few months ago is definately fuller than it was when I planted it, it does not have the extending thin shoot with new growth....the new growth just appears in a fuller plant as if it is spreading underground. The picture from dischnells planter looks like the plants i recently purchased from HD...flax lily. I will take a close up pic too and post it later today. Its definately not variegated liriope, which does have the similar thin leaf to the spider plant.