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Here is my largest Med Palm. It has 3’ of trunk. There used to be a 12’ trunk Med outside the Azteca Restaurant here in Charlotte, but too many 7 degree lows killed it.
This is the front of our house. The palms share it with 2 mature silver maples and a big old white pine. That’s a Sotol in the planting strip; it shot up 2 amazing flower stalks in late spring.
Also the front of the house; that’s a Trachy Wagneranius center left.
Our front walkway, featuring 5 Windmills, a Med Palm, a Sabal Minor, a partially-hidden Needle Palm, and a Sago.
Re: More Charlotte Palms
Posted by Jim Wilmington DE 7a on 7/21/2019, 6:11 pm, in reply to "More Charlotte Palms"
My first thought at seeing these pics is, "Wow! That's a lotta shade!" If you're happy with that shade, fantastic! And, it probably helps keep your house/property a bit cooler in summer than if you didn't have the shade trees. I bring it up because every other palm enthusiast in this message board is always crying for more sun.
My own experience is that most palms tolerate a very wide variety of sun/shade situations. But, most palms do like at least 1 or 2 hours direct sunlight per day on them if they can get it.Jim, Wilmington, DE, 7a Last 30 Years Avg. Winter Low: 7.50F Last 20 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.35F Last 10 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.40F Favorite Palms: Species: Phoenix Canariensis / Genus: Sabal
We bought this home/property in 1987, and it featured the 3 hardwoods in the front yard, and 4 mature hardwoods in the backyard ( a giant white oak, a large red maple, a magnolia, and a tulip poplar). Quite shady (and energy efficient as you suggest). And going forward here in Charlotte (“the City of Trees”), further tree maturation meant about 5% more shade every year.
I started the palm gardening in 1992, with 2 tiny windmills in the sunny grass strip between my driveway and my neighbor’s. Then, I read that Needle Palms like the dense shade. I got the Palm-Planting bug. Then got adventurous and tried the Med and Pindo palms - but everything I read about them said the only chance for survival here at 8a/7b was planting them against the south-facing house wall (in the deep shade, in my case). Two other Windmills were planted in the shadow of the big white pine - and they did OK, but were leggy.
5 years ago, my red maple got diseased and had to be removed, and earlier this year, the white oak met the same fate. The backyard environment changed from being Costa Rica-esque to being Phoenix, AZ-esque. The thought of writing a 4-figure or even a 5-figure check to take out other healthy hardwoods does not compute with me. Meantime, neighbors to the right and left both took out major hardwoods in the last 2 years and that has helped a lot!
So, yes, I most certainly recognize that more sunlight would be far more palm-accommodating, but I’ve been playing with the environment dealt to me.
> I read that Needle Palms like the dense shade. <
I knew they evolved as understory plants in subtropical woods and swampy areas. Shady environments to say the least. But most of the HP&SB member photos showed Needles almost always in sunny situations and doing fine. I scratched my head.
I planted two Needles, bought at the same time, both as identical 1-gallon plants in 2007. One got a sunny, south facing siting. The other, a northern facing. Good amount of sunlight in summer, but absolutely no direct sunlight after August, before April. Today, the northern Needle is triple the size (height and girth) of the southern one. Part of that is accounted for in the longer petioles of the northern Needle, but it is also more densely foliated. It's very thick with leaves. The southern one, not really.
Both are champs at taking 7a winters, though. They are equally hardy.
Anyway, thanks for the item about them preferring shade. At my house, that seems to be etched in stone.Jim, Wilmington, DE, 7a Last 30 Years Avg. Winter Low: 7.50F Last 20 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.35F Last 10 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.40F Favorite Palms: Species: Phoenix Canariensis / Genus: Sabal
Re: More Charlotte Palms
Posted by WSimpson NC on 7/23/2019, 10:06 am, in reply to "More Charlotte Palms"
You've really got some great tall palms . That Wheelerii is big too . Mine is healthy but doesn't ever seem to want to get big very fast . Maybe it's getting its root system and leaves established before getting into a growth mode . I would love to see mine flower too . WillWinston-Salem Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021) 10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)
on 7/21/2019, 8:52 am
