Photos of what I've been working on in anticipation for my palms

wheelman1976

12 years ago

Built this over the last couple weeks. Just so I'd have a place to put the palms I had coming. My goal is a total tropical oasis in my michigan backyard. All that grass is a sod farm which makes for a nice view.

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wxman81

12 years ago

wheelman,

I'm just across the pond from you in Wisconsin. I live about 4 miles west of Lake Michigan just north of Milwaukee. The lake does indeed keep me warmer in the winter. I only fall to about -10 or so each winter, while just west of me they see some nights of -20 to -25. I've had palms in the ground since 2008... and that oldest one is still alive today!

Here is a picture of it from early last week.

That trachy was planted as a tiny 3 gallon in July, 2008. I protect it with a double poly box (air space in between). Over that I have a 1 1/2 inch layer of styrofoam and inside is a space heater set at 40F. Works great! I usually leave the foam off the south side unless we're expecting below zero weather. Sun free heats it during the day and the palm gets light. Bonus!

I put the boxes on when lows start getting below 20, so about Thanksgiving or so and they come off in mid to late March. 20F doesn't phase trachys at all, as long as it gets above freezing during the day. Here is a picture from last winter.

And here's a picture of the yard from last week.

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Comments (12)

Hunter_M
12 years ago
Wow,your yard has potential to become a great tropical oasis! Keep us posted!
-Hunter
wheelman1976
Original Author
12 years ago
Anyone have a name of a stone that resembles crushed coral down the the florida keys? I'm thinking of a 1-2 foot wide line of stone on each side of the boardwalk.

So long as I keep my first two windmills alive this winter I want to get an earlier start next year and get bigger palms to line the boardwalk.
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tropicalzone7
12 years ago
Wow! The ideas for that yard are flowing in my head! You really have so much potential! I would definitely add some cannas, elephant ears, and bananas to the area by the lake. Lots of large potted palms and other beautiful tropicals like hibiscus (hardy and tropical), plumerias, philodendrons, yuccas (hardy and tropical), bamboo (some should be hardy) and tons of others would look so nice!
I cant wait to see what you do! Keep us updated!
=Alex
chadec7a
12 years ago
Everything is looking great so far. What are your plans for protecting the palms this winter, and how long do you have until your first frost? When your palms survive this winter, what type of palms are you wanting more trachys?
wheelman1976
Original Author
12 years ago
I've been researching palms and was planning on windmills along the boardwalk, but i've also been looking at mule palms... just don't know if i can find a good price/size I'm comfortable with.

AS for protection, I am planning on boxing them up and putting a flood light or two inside with a thermocube as a trigger.

My other issue is keeping the weeds down under the deck/dock and then all the garbage that grows along the pond.

I've had some red cannas last year and this year that I got from a customer of mine and those keep multiplying, but the japanese beetles ate the heck out of them this year.... gotta fix that, but I love those too. Otherwise I'm in research phase for now. I prefer low maintenance stuff for now (i know.... wintering palms in michigan isn't exactly low maintenance....)

I have to save some money though to do all the rest....
andyandy
12 years ago
Wheelman-
Looks Awesome! Where are you? I'm in Livonia.
wetsuiter
12 years ago
Really looks great. I'm glad you scaled back a bit on your initial palm purchase. You'll get great experience winterizing these smaller windmills and can add a few more over the years. And if for some reason they don't survive this winter, it won't be as harsh of a financial loss. And as someone pointed out in that earlier thread, you'll get more personal satisfaction watching them grow to the size you were going to buy.
jimhardy
12 years ago
Beautiful area.
It will be interesting to see what all you come up with(-:
wheelman1976
Original Author
12 years ago
Andyandy, I'm in Hudsonville, west of Grand Rapids. I'm hoping the lake will keep us somewhat warm over the winter. My only major concern is you obviously see the field in my back yard... in the winter time it's a wind tunnel through there, so I am going to have to make sure the palms are well protected. I haven't looked very hard, but I think come this fall a thread discussion on proper winterizing techniques would be nice to see.
wetsuiter
12 years ago
That was honestly my first thought when I saw your pics : wide open spaces = wind. Often wind can be more damaging to palms for it's dessicating effect that just cold. I'd look into winterizing ideas now, so you have everything you need before the actual time comes.
garypaulmir
7 years ago
I am impressed . I glad to see others like to experiment. I live in West Allis and had an Edith Bogus get about 12ft before it died 2 years ago. Still had a Southern dogwood thriving bloomed well last spring. Like to know where you got your magnolia tree?