Thursday, August 21, 2008

Just a Plain Old Palm



A fellow gardener was talking about a planting bed and mentioned that it contained a palm. When asked, "What kind of palm?", she replied, "Oh, just a plain old palm". Upon further prodding I was surprised at the lack of knowledge (or interest) she had in palm trees. For me, much of the charm of the Lower Rio Grande Valley is our palms. I get great pleasure driving along the Expressway and looking out over the tops of the Washingtonias that line the roadways. And it's always a thrill to come across a large Canary Island Date Palm. So many of ours died in the 80s from lethal yellowing that it's a treat to see one that survived. Needless to say, I think that every gardener in our area should have an appreciation of and at least basic knowledge of the palms that grow here. So, over the next few months, I'll be sharing a little bit about palms in general - especially those that grow well in our area.

Just look at how many different palms there are in this one picture!


Now, for our palm primer. Palms are divided into two categories: fan palms and feather palms. The fan and feather refers to the shape of the leaf.

Clearly, the palm at the right is a fan palm.


I call the form on the left an open fan (I don't think "open fan" is a real term - but I think it's pretty descriptive). This is a Rhapis excelsa or Lady Palm leaf.

Mixed planting of fan palms

Our native Texas Sabal, Sabal texana, with Mediterranean Fan Palms, Chamerops humilis, in the front. The two in the middle front look to be something different but I can't tell from my picture - possibly a Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunii.

Feather palms look like a feather. They have pinnate leaf which is formed by many small individual leaflets coming off the petiole. Below is an example of a feather palm. This is a Silver Date, Phoenix sylvestris. Feather palms tend to be very billowy. I think it gives them a very exotic look. The number of fronds (or branches) on this variety sure makes it look lush! Did you notice how the leaf margins have remained on the trunk? Palm people will say, "This variety keeps its boots".
Mixed planting of feather palms.

The tall ones are Foxtails, Wodyetia bifurcata and the short ones are Pygmy Date Palms, Phoenix roebelinii. New palm enthusiast almost always prefer feather palms over fan palms. But I love to mix both leaf shapes. In the combination above, the uprightness of the Chinese Fans, Livinstonia chinesis, contrasts wonderfully with the short Pygmy Dates in the front and right and mid-sized Pindo Palm, Butia capitata in the middle.





If you hear the word, inflourescence, they are referring to the bloom stem. This green one is on a Pygmy Date.


Count up the number of different palms pictured in this short post. There are hundreds of different types with wonderfully unique characteristics. I hope that you will take a closer look at the palms around you.

Monday, August 18, 2008

What's New

Last weekend, Houston played host to the annual Texas Nursery and Landscape Expo - a trade show for the nursery industry. I spent my time combing the miles and miles of displays for new plants and garden items - The trend for plants with low water needs continues to grow. - there were lots of Yuccas, succulents, grasses, and native trees. I did search for Pam's (Pam Penick of Digging fame) Whale's Tongue agave.

There were lots of grey-green Chisos Agaves, Agave havardiana - but no Whale's Tongue. Grasses of all kinds were another hot item. I'm thinking about trying some new ones in pots.





One thing I did notice that was new to me were these Henna Coleus - I'm a sucker for any lime colored leaves! But the serrated leaf edges were what originally caught my eye. I hope one of my local garden centers stocks some of these. This Henna Coleus is chartreuse and copper on top with dark burgundy undersides.


I did run across a new-to-me palm - a Teddy Bear Palm! Dypsis leptocheilos gets its name from the fuzzy feel of its crownshaft. Its hardy to zone 9a so should do fine in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Another item that I think could be pretty ingenious are these large wire and fabric pots. I love the handles and the fact that they are very light weight, When you plant something growing in it, you just cut and tear away the fabric cover, then lower the whole thing (wire cage and all) into the planting hole. No wrestling a huge rootball out of a plastic pot - or having to cut the pot in order to release the plant. And I always end up cutting myself when I have to cut a pot in half.

Well, I'll be interested to see if any of my favorites from the trade show make to my local stores any time soon.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

August Garden Tasks


PLANT

Flowers: You can still plant zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos. Add to it some cool weather flowers, such as petunia, pansy (even though I've only had them do well a couple of times), delphinium, snapdragon, and stock.

Vegetables: Prepare for your fall vegetable garden. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, lima & green beans, and eggplant can go in now. Later in the month, when it's cooled down a bit, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and carrots can be put in the garden.


Herbs: I'm hoping to find some cilantro and italian parsley to add to my herb beds. They can't take our Summer temps. Note to self: Next Spring, look for a shady spot for some cilantro. Maybe it will last through the hot months.

You can still plant palms and other tropicals - just be sure to water well at planting and deeply once every 5 - 7 days.

HARVEST

I'm jealous if you have anything to harvest. I do have some eggplant that Dolly didn't shake off the stem. And the zinnias are growing and putting on flowers again.


PRUNE

This year, pruning will be my biggest August chore. We only removed the broken branches after Hurricane Dolly - and now we need to deal with a bougainvillea leaning over the sidewalk and broken limbs that are still partially attached. And, of course, there is trimming to be done where it had been too wet to get in and work safely.

Continue to pinch back your poinsettias for lots of flowers next Winter. Chrysanthemums want the same pinching treatment.

If your roses have grown leggy, you may want to do a little pruning on them. The plants feel rejuvenated and may thank you with some pretty blooms.

WATER

I don't know where the 15 inches we received on July 23rd has gone, but my grass is getting a little crispy. Even though the shrubs don't show it, I'm sure they are needing some irrigation now too. Remember, for good root growth, water deeply and infrequently.

COMPOST

All gardeners should have a compost bin or pile! I see bags and bags of leaves and twigs all over Harlingen. Time for some leaf rustling!

MULCH

How I wish I owned a chipper/mulcher right now! A nice layer of mulch will cool your plants roots and give your landscape a nice finished look. Keep it a couple of inches away from your tree trunks.

ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR!