Come to Hueytown. A house near mine has two large palmettos near the pool. They have been there over 5 years, maybe 10 years. They are on Merrimont Rd, about two blocks from Hueytown Middle School (formerly Pittman school). Take exit 112 off I-59 S. Turn right and go down 19th St. Get into the left lane and stay there until you get throught the crazy intersection after crossing the bridge. Cross the bridge and go straight up Hueytown Rd. When you get to Weldon's Pharmacy (on the right at the light), turn right on Sunrise Blvd. Stay on Sunrise Blvd. Stop at the stop sign in front of the school, then go straight. The road makes a curve to the left. That is Merrimont Rd. The house is on the corner of Merrimont and Wright or Merrimont and Parsons. Another house closer by had a palmetto but it froze in the January 1982 winter ice storm.

John, do you grow Canary Island Date Palm outside? I have 4 which are waist high but are still in pots. Any ideas or suggestions?

While you are so close, you may as well go down to Exit 110, take a right toward Visionland, go down to Powder Plant Road, take another right and look at the huge brick faced buildings with huge palladian windows the county commission built as part of the county sewer project. I call it the Buckelew-Collins-Langford-McNair-Small-Smoot-White Memorial Palace of Poop. The Taj Mahal of t**ds. Some commissioner's brother-in-law must have got the contract for bricks and windows. Why else would you build four story brick faced buildings to process sewage. Yes buildings (plural). Is there any wonder your sewer bill has increased by 300%. I think we need to name a poop lagoon for each of the 5 present and 2 former county commissioners.

Hey John,

We have two windmills in our yard that we planted last year -- small ones. What other ones have you had success with. Our other struggle is companion plants that look nice. Ours are out of sync right now. Can you post pics of your landscape or share some ideas.

Finz!

Hey Terry, I'll definitely check out those Hueytown sabals. Thanks for the great directions. And I'll sure try to find time to swing by those Jefferson County caca castles that you're obviously so proud of out there. I'm sure I'll be goose bumpy with pride too!!

On the way home from Florida once in the early 90s & back when I didn't know squat about palms, I made the mistake of stopping by & visiting the fine folks at TyTy nursery. They sold me a CIDP (phoenix canariensis) telling me that they had sold many, many to people in B'ham (knowing their reputation now, that was probably not a lie) & that they were cold hardy for B'ham (definitely a lie). Of course it fried the first winter, and I haven't had one since. I do know a guy down on southside that has one about 8ft tall planted behind his house that he grew from a seedling I believe. Of course he has the advantage of the city center heat island & grows quite a few palms that wouldn't stand a chance in my yard. He has a 20 ft Washingtonia robusta (the palms that fried at Carrabba's Italian restaurant on 280) that's as green as can be...no burn at all. The only way I would try another CIDP is if I had a patio or courtyard area that was enclosed on three sides & I could plant it up against a brick or masonry wall. Hayes has one at the Anniston museum in a similar setting & it seems to be thriving. Again, thanks for your input.

Hey Finz....a fellow Parrothead here!
When it comes to my palms, I feel like I play it pretty safe & stick pretty much to the hardiest varieties. Besides numerous windmills, I have several needle palms (Rhapidophyllum hystrix), sabal palmetto, sabal minor, sabal texana, sabal louisiana, Pindo(Butia capitata), Serenoa repens, and a few queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) in pots that I bring inside for the winter. Needle palm & sabal minor are the hardiest of all, but good luck finding them in B'ham. Barton's nursery in Tuscaloosa has by far the best palm selection in our area. Taking a cue from Bahama Breeze on 280, I have my tallest windmills underplanted with sabal minor & Indian hawthorne.....I like the look. I'll try to post some pics as soon as some of my annuals kick in with some color.

John,

There is a house across the street from Oak Mountain High School on Caldwell Mill Road (between Valleydale and Hwy 119) that has a Mediterranean (?) feel to it. They had some small palms there at one time but I'm not sure if they are still there.

And if my memory serves me correctly (and if you are interested in banana trees) there was a lady who had gorgeous ones in her yard at the end of Watts Drive off of Fieldstown Road in Gardendale/Mt. Olive. Heading North on 65 take the Fieldstown Road exit and turn left. Go over the big hill and Watts Drive is on the right. That was 10+ years ago, so I hope I'm not leading you on a wild goose chase. :o)

Y'all are cracking me up with the "Taj Mahal of T**ds" and "caca castles". Hehehehehe.

Hey don't forget about the lovely green neon light-bulbed palm they put out in front of the new Hooters on 119 in Pelham in front of the amphitheater. It's so klassy. :o)

Hi bcb,

I've seen the house on Caldwell Mill, but its been a few years and I'd almost forgot about it. Maybe it looks different now, but I recall that when they first installed those big sabal palms sometime back in the 90s and for several years afterward, that was the full extent of their landscaping...... just several 15-20ft sabal palmettos up against the house & nothing else anywhere in the yard. Never could figure that one out. Thanks for reminding me about them, I'll have to take a drive by & see how they look.

I have a fellow palm buddy up in Mt. Olive who I'll have check out the house on Watts Drive for me. Thanks for the tip!

Thank goodness, I don't have to drive all the way to the Pelham Hooters to see lovely neon green palms. Any day now a brand spankin new Hooters is opening here in TrussVegas less than two miles from my house. How lucky am I??

thanks,
john

There is a house on Hwy 119 off the Oak Mtn exit that has lots in the front yard.

BearClaws1

Hi Bearclaws1,

Thanks much for your input, but I think I know the house to which you're referring. Its a brick split level with brown trim on the north side of 119 with large windmill palms in front & also alot of yuccas too. Correct?
Once back in the early 90s I saw the homeowner out cutting his grass, so I stopped to ask him a few questions about his palms. He told me that they had bought the house only a couple of years earlier & he knew nothing about the palms. They were already quite large then, so they've obviously been there for several years now and speak volumes for the hardiness of Trachycarpus in B'ham.

Anyone else see any palms around town?? C'mon, I know they're out there.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:361389}}

There is a business on U.S. 31 South of Fultondale (I believe just inside the Birmingham city limits) that planted several S. palmetto within the past year or so. They look great coming out of our mild Winter as well.

The hurricane cut S. palmettos just off the Southbound side of I-65 in downtown Birmingham (Pool landcape supply business) still look pretty ratty after a couple of years in the ground. Those aren't exactly good advertisements for using palms in landscaping in Birmingham. I see them every morning, and it looks like they are pushing out some new fronds already this Spring. Hopefully they'll establish and start looking better this season.

There's a house in Mount Olive/Gardendale just off U.S. 31 that has a yard full of Trachys and Needles. It looks great! I can't remember the name of the road, though, and it's a pretty busy street, so hard to slow down much to get a good look.

Recently on a drive back from Northwest Alabama, I passed a rural house in Winston County that was full of palms -- lots of S. palmetto, and I believe they also had Butia. Of course, Butia won't survive longterm there without serious protection, because this was really open, rural country with no microclimate protection at all. I nearly wrecked my car when I saw it, though -- completely unexpected!!! I also saw one of the largest Camellias I have ever laid eyes on out in front of a trailer along the same highway. There really are some amazing sights out on the rural highways.

bamadave,

Hmmm...guess its been awhile since I drove 31 south from Fultondale into B'ham. I'll have to check out those palms.

I've seen those sabal palmettos at the pool supply place, too, but not since last summer I think. I wasn't impressed either....didn't appear that they were getting much care. As long as they've been there, they should be looking much better than they do.

The other yard in Gardendale that you refer to is on Snow Rodgers Rd and belongs to some serious palm people, Gary & Angie. They own a landscape service and are really making an effort to sell people in B'ham on cold-hardy palms. They're yard looks like it should be in south Florida, really beautiful. Hope mine looks that good someday.

Can you possibly give me some general directions for that house in Winston county? I have a buddy up in Mt Olive who's a palm nut like myself and we've traveled all over central Alabama documenting palms growing in habitat & in yards. Don't think we've been to Winston county yet. Hope you can point us in the right direction.

You seem to know quite a bit about palms yourself. Are you growing any?

thanks for your input,
john

bamadave....just a hunch, but are you David-N.Alabama from the Hardy Palm board?

Hey John,

Yep, that's me. I just haven't been posting here for awhile...

I'm fairly sure the house with the palms was on US-278 West of Cullman and near the town of Addison. I can't remember whether the house was East or West of Addison. I think there may have been two houses with palms, but one was much more notable with an open yard and very prominent Sabals. I was driving back from running a 15K in NW Alabama, so my memory is zonked somewhat - LOL - but I definitely was not hallucinating!

Definitely check out the Sabals on US-31 in North Birmingham. Very impressive!

I also recently saw a home with a Sabal on Sharit Dairy Rd. near Morris (off Sardis Road going West from US-31 in Morris). As I recall, they just had the single palm.

thanks, David

Hey John!

I saw some more palms the other day and thought I'd share them. Ernies Landscape Supply in Alabaster near the intersection of Hwy 119 and Hwy 12 (Smokey Road) has several large palms.

Ernie's Landscape Supply
8163 Highway 119 S
Alabaster, AL 35007
663-6133

A few more palmy places around Birmingham

Mountain Brook Country Club - large pindos
Zoo- largest pindo I have seen in the area, several other tyes including needle, sabal minor, windmill
Mexican Restaurant in Rocky Ridge Village in Vestavia Hills - nice pindos
Old Florida Grille on Oxmoor
New Florida Grille on Valleydale
Bahama Breeze on hwy 280
There is a small house on the circle behind St. Vincent's hospital that has two of the largest needle palms I have ever seen anywhere. Lots of other trunked palms, oleander, agaves,and other tropical-looking foliage. This house looks more like Key West than Birmingham. I was going to make a photo one day while driving by, but there are always so many cars parked on the street in front of the house and a very busy sidewalk with people going in and out of the hospital, it was impossible to get a clear shot. This place has to be seen to be believed considering where it is located.

bcb77....thanks for the tip about Ernie's. I'll have to check them out.

Ken, you've gotta be talkin about the house on Hanover Circle, although I wouldn't call Richard's house "small", but maybe its not quite as large as his next door neighbor's. He's been growing palms for many, many years, and his location in the urban heat island allows him to grow many palms that I would not attempt out here in Trussville. Did you see the big Washingtonia robusta to the rear of his house on the right side? I can almost guarantee there's not another one like it in B'ham. He also has a pretty good sized CIDP back there too, along with a beautiful, large yucca rostrata. Even though I've seen his entire collection close-up, I still drive by occasionally just to marvel at it all.

John,
I'm coming to this discussion very late but just saw the discussion this morning. Dos Pesos off 119 in Pelham has a number of robust looking Sabals. They are located almost opposite Hooters and are off 119 a few hundred feet.

Richard, yes I know about those sabals at 2 Pesos. They're a fine example of how great palms can look in B'ham if properly cared for. I've eaten at that restaurant quite a few times and the owner/manager is quite proud of them.

there's a trachy in tarrant about 3' looking good ,saw a couple more on hwy 79 ? 75 in cleveland on the way to guntersville that were about 10-12' tall and really looking good

I've seen the Trachys in Cleveland and was pretty surprised by them, since Cleveland is in a cold valley.

i can't sleep , just restless b/c of the heat and i was remembering a spectacular palm i saw in irondale back in the 1980's,it was growing in someone's yard till that ice storm came through.does anyone else remember that? i used to drive by their yard just to admire it. sigh

There is a nice Pindo Palm on US-231 heading South out of Cleveland toward Oneonta on the left hand side planted just in front of a brick house. I don't know how I have missed that one previously - it looks like it has been there for at least a few years. It's pretty well sheltered, but I imagine it must get protected on the coldest nights, because Cleveland is not a warm spot.

There is a nice looking trachycarpus fortunei 8 to 10 feet tall on the corner of caldwell mill road and mountain view parkway (between Spain Park and Valleydale Road). It's on the right side of mountain view parkway in the front yard of the house behind the Altadena South Sign and looks very happy to be there. The are two Sabal Palms on 280 in Chelsea at the entrance to a self-storage business. They are large trees, but one of them looks stressed.

i saw another neat palm yesterday on a street called cedar street,i think,in tarrant,the backroad between tarrant and fultondale.believe it or not ,it's growing out of the hood of a car in front of an auto repair shop,and it's pretty big.made my day.happy gardening all!

Growing out of a car hood??

Now I'll definitely have to check out that one.

Should be worthy of a pic or two, maybe.

thanks for the tip!

and here it is.

Got off work a little earlier than usual tonite so I took a drive over to Tarrant. The shop owner said he bought it three summers ago from the nursery on Hwy 31 in Gardendale that sells hurricane cut palmettos. It was nice to see an auto repair shop with landscaping....not a common site.

also, note the menacing guard kitty on patrol to the left of the palm...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:361390}}

thanks john for the pic,i really got a kick out of that!