Yes, we're thrilled to have Erik's W join in, hope you do that more often!
Would love to have you aboard too.
Great lively paint job on the gazebo, very cheerful.

$215 sounds like a good price for all the stuff you bought.
That roadside stand was a great find...if only that would ever happen in Canada 😉
We get asparagus and fresh salmon at roadside stands...YAWN.
Where are the roadside stands of palms????? 😛

BTW congrats on taking in those two rescue horses a few months ago...have been thinking about how fortunate they are.

Erik's likely out digging...and you need to go supervise 😆
Thanks for joining in the conversation.
Barb

definitely sounds like you got a good deal... I imagine if I was even able to find a palm like that around here, it'd prolly be close to $215 just for the one palm:) Looking forward to pics of it in the ground!

Jova,
yes, the wife is a good deal. Not cheap, though.
Here is her hobby:
<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oVcOe4hlfKOcxrDjxfqQKmxPYIzmKFSjF6s0W4AOyec?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

That's a pure bred Spanish Andalusian stallion she's driving in her practice cart.

As for the Sabal palmetto, here are a few shots of the planting process. I did this myself yesterday while W was in the local hospital ER, saving lives. So no, Barb, she did not supervise. She was home today, though. After she drove her stud, we played in the garden all day. These photos were taken in the morning, so everything looks better by now.

Sabal palmetto in planting hole. I dug down through as many inches of the hard clay I encountered as I could, then put in 4" of pea gravel in the 48" wide hole (thats 12" around the root ball all around).

<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rLsmS5lB_7J0cwVutT4fUGxPYIzmKFSjF6s0W4AOyec?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

This photo shows the root mass before I untangled as many of the peripheral roots as I could easily with my fingers. It is about 16" top to bottom.

<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fojU6bxCxMsEXZQzL6HoPGxPYIzmKFSjF6s0W4AOyec?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

This photo shows how I tied up the fronds to protect the inner leaves/spear from wind and sun. (Thanks for the tips!)
I then staked it to keep the wind from blowing it around while the roots get established. I mixed 100 lbs of play sand with aged compost and some of the back-fill. I added some osmocote and epsom salts to the mix, too.

<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RCpfpqTDK_ZdZJffoQGklmxPYIzmKFSjF6s0W4AOyec?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

This is the view from our bedroom window. Lower right corner is one of the new needle palms. The new Sabal is to the left of the gazebo.

<a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nWkbaAS9YSVMxWseVci08WxPYIzmKFSjF6s0W4AOyec?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " /></a>

Tropicman,
come on down sometime. W will smoke meat with you. That chicken in the last photo, for example....
--Erik

Looks AMazing!!!

Looks AMazing!!!

Erik,
Finally...a shot of garden from a distance.
Nice job planting the Sabal...but why so close to the gazebo????? 😕
After all you do expect it to GROW, don't you?!

Nanas are taking off nicely in your heat.
That needle palm is a good size, good spot!

The only thing missing is 20 of us sitting around munching on BBQ...if only we could, huh?
That'd be fabulous!

Neat to see W dedicated to her sport.
And H's love of palms.
Good for her.

Thanks for those great pictures, Erik!
Barb

Yea,nice layout!

I think that Sabal will love it's new home!

Good job 😀

Well I`m totally jealous Erik. I only wish we could get palms like that besides T. fortunei. Excellent palms for the price you paid. Your wife should be commended.

John

John,
the wife thanks you for the hydrogen peroxide trick. She says it saved her beloved Washy.
--Erik

Barb,
I agonized over the distance from the gazebo.
On one hand, I want it to grow tall without the wind knocking the leaves against the gazebo, tattering them.
On the other hand, I hope to incorporate the Gazebo into winter protection schemes. (Not that I've figured out how to do that, yet!).
Hence the compromise. It is far enough away that if we are here long enough for it to form a trunk, it can. And hopefully close enough that I can use the gazebo structure for winter protection.
Other things:
yes, the large needle palm is fantastic. Just US$40 at Home Depot. The roots filled the ~5 gallon pot, but not root bound. I think it will do great.
The little needles (US$20) had tiny root balls, by comparison, suggesting that they had just been potted up from 1 gallon pots.
As for the nannas, the clump in that photo (Musa basjoo "thin red line") is doing great. It had the least protection. The two clumps I protected so carefully are alive, but the protection efforts set them back a lot. Live and learn--sometimes less is more.
--Erik
P.S. W sent you a PM about her horses.

Nice job with the palmetto, I'm glad you fixed up your soil otherwise your long term survival would have been slim. I think it's fine you planted it near the gazebo too. You can build protection off of it #1 and later in the year if it's sitting right you can add painted black panels to absorb heat until you use your
pool area!

Bill

Bill,
thanks for the input.
I'll ask about those black panels early next year.
Most winters, we only have a few short periods when it is too cold for cabbage palm. Much of later winter is clear and sunny. For example, while I complained about early January cold (low of 4oF; highs <30oF), much of late January had highs of 50+oF with lows >35oF.
The black panel idea might well boost late winter temps.
As of now, there is no electricity to the far side of the pool. W wants to run wire out there for a Gazebo fan in the summer and palm heat in the winter.
Got to love her! 😀
--Erik

awesome 8)

Looks excellent! Man, I gotta get a pool...

I can't even believe that you guys can get such awesome palms...