Wow John! That mega potter is crazy, sure does make quick work out of those palms 😯

Bill

pretty cool stuff! Thanks for sharing.

Cool! There IS a machine for every need.

I envy them their sandy soil.

Great videos John, great palms.
You just want to be in the sun all day :bootyshake:

Barb

So cool!

I might have to rent one of those mega potters for March. I have several 24" crated palm trees. The palms need to be either transplanted or planted in the ground. They are going in the ground this spring! "Renting the machine" money well spent vs. my aching back diggin huge holes. Barb you got that right the fringe benefits to workin there is the warm winter SUN.

John

Just pick a perfect spot so you don't have this ahead of you (read to the end, it gets a lot worse with jackhammers):

http://www.sitepalace.com/lazygardens/palmtransplant/palmtrees.html

If your soil has no rocks, you'd be able to rent a tree spade.
With the size of trees I've seen transplanted in Kelowna, there's no way people did that by hand.
Try Growers Supply for advice on who to call.

Glad to hear your big boys are going in the ground.
You can borrow our "factory type" hydraulic (hand) floor jack to get them to the front of the garage where a big machine could lift them.
versus doing the quasi Egyptian thingy of using a series of poles under the boxes.

First things first: check concrete floor in the garage...they might already be planted :laughing8:

That'll be a great project, all caught on film.

So I guess you've decided to remove the Oak? :crybaby: :crybaby:
Barb

Barb the Oak tree is staying put. We are going to trim up the branches to near 3/4 of the top of the tree so that the palms and yuccas,cactus,agave and other plantings will have enough sun underneath. The plantings include two 24"crated Butia capitata,one crated Mediteranean fan palm ,two 24" crated T. fortunei, Four seed grown 3 gal. Joshua trees, two 3 gal T. nainital, Two 5 gal.Yucca aloifolia, four 3 gal.Agave havardiana,Two 5 gal. yucca grandiflora, "Two seed grown 20 gal. Washingtonia filifera", three 5 gal. sabal minor, three 5 gal. sabal louisiana. If there`s anymore room we might plant some more of something 😆 Barb thanks so much for the offer of the hydraulic floor jack. I`ll still be using a hand truck dolly even for the biggest crated palms. I will be using an engine hoist to lift the crated palms out to plant them or the megga potter. Now I`m tired just thinking about the huge palm planting job this March 8) . Thanks for the tip on Growers Supply to rent a megga potter.

John

P.S. Jay you still got some cactus pads?

Barb almost forgot the amazing story of the luckiest W. filifera`s on your link. My favorite palm tree. What a nice outcome for these 40+ year old? W. filifera`s. No good dead goes unpunished "indeed". 😀

John

John,
take photos and video. We'll all want to see that job. --Erik

You and Aaron agree on W.filifera!
It's good there isn't only one tree between the two of you. :boxing:

I'm thrilled you're leaving that gorgeous Oak in your driveway circle; such an outstanding feature, not many big oaks in B.C.
"pruning branches up" is a good technique for this tree, whose lowest branches grow almost horizontally out from the trunk, but I think it might be less hard on the Oak if you do it over two years versus all in one year.

I've read young sabals require some shade, so that'd be a good spot until they're able to handle our blistering summer heat.
And that's the only shade you have at your place.

Are ALL your listed plants going in that circle? 😯

I'd recommend a plan B if your soil has any gravel/rocks...maybe hire a couple of strapping students to run a gas-powered tree auger?
And if the megga potter can do it, the students would be there to save your back from injury.

Oh man...if planting is in first week of March, let me know.
After that I'm busier than an owl on a starry night.
I'll bring the beer and rubber boots and gloves...and camera and new batteries...and beer....and some steaks.
And garlic to put in the planting holes.

If there`s anymore room we might plant some more of something

We could empty your three garage bays so Lillian has somewhere to park (for a change). 😛

OK, now I'm excited... :blob:

The Oak stays my better half says ,so the 35 ft. oak tree lives on. Barb I`ve already taken off five branches last two years to have some sun under the oak canopy with the potted palms. Can`t kill it? 😆 To me if the oak tree survives another five branch trim good for it! Barb and Erik this palm,yucca planting will be a sight to behold once we are done. Lill might in fact have a use for the remote garage door opener someday? We are leaving to Costa Rica or Mexico within the next month or so "last minute cheap deals". Barb your more than welcome to see the palm tree, yucca, plantings . I`ll let you know mid warm March?
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photos/album/10/Palms_Bananas_Yuccas_Summer_2009#photo=28
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photos/album/32/PalmsBananaYucca_Oct_20th_2010#photo=12
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photos/album/32/PalmsBananaYucca_Oct_20th_2010#photo=15
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photos/album/32/PalmsBananaYucca_Oct_20th_2010#photo=16
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photos/album/32#photo=11

Barb the Oak tree is staying put. We are going to trim up the branches to near 3/4 of the top of the tree so that the palms and yuccas,cactus,agave and other plantings will have enough sun underneath. The plantings include two 24"crated Butia capitata,one crated Mediteranean fan palm ,two 24" crated T. fortunei, Four seed grown 3 gal. Joshua trees, two 3 gal T. nainital, Two 5 gal.Yucca aloifolia, four 3 gal.Agave havardiana,Two 5 gal. yucca grandiflora, "Two seed grown 20 gal. Washingtonia filifera", three 5 gal. sabal minor, three 5 gal. sabal louisiana. If there`s anymore room we might plant some more of something 😆 Barb thanks so much for the offer of the hydraulic floor jack. I`ll still be using a hand truck dolly even for the biggest crated palms. I will be using an engine hoist to lift the crated palms out to plant them or the megga potter. Now I`m tired just thinking about the huge palm planting job this March 8) . Thanks for the tip on Growers Supply to rent a megga potter.

John

P.S. Jay you still got some cactus pads?

John, I got tons of pads. All kinds. Whatever you want just come by this Spring and they are yours. We'll have some beers and you can take as many as you want. 🙂

Barb,
bring a camcorder, too, so we can all see this big dig.

While we are sharing palm videos from the web, my favorite is this transplant of a large Jubaea chilensis in California:
http://vimeo.com/8924136

The tree is a century old and weighs 26 tons.
--Erik

Ah, those potted palms in that circle...beautiful.
The Oak will make it, but it'll be tough to not damage its roots when planting deep specimens in the circle...its tap root will be undamaged though which is good.
Will be great to see the project, John.
What a way to end your vacation...coming home to that big project.

Erik, thanks for posting the video...there are parts 1 and 2, total about an hour but worth it.
Two questions after watching the videos:
(1) he didn't explain why those black plastic bags were placed over young planted Jubaeas in Chile reforestation project.
(2) the Juby finally planted at his nursery, what if a wind storm arrived? wouldn't it have been prudent to provide temp scaffold supports near the base?

Barb