Hi all and good morning.
I have a 600mm wide retaining wall on my boundary along my carport and down along my pool.
I put 4 palms in pots in the ground and I like the look. I’m looking to add more to finish off the length of the driveway then onto the pool area. Further back we have more of a native garden with a big hedge at the back.
My question. With respect to palms in pots. Is this the best option. Ultimately my thoughts are I could rotate the plants as some will be in full sun and some not so much. My idea is double pots so I’ll can pull them out easily. That said, would they do better in ground? It it silly to put them in ground in that sort of space?
The retaining has a good gravel drain at the bottom and about 500mm deep soil on top.
What would you recommend?
by Then_Brilliant_5991
11 Comments
Golden cane Palms in pots will reduce the width they grow, its a good idea. Some smaller palms/ferns around the big ones would look good.
Now as for the bird of paradise in the pics, I would remove them, as even if they’re in a pot, they will break out and start pushing on the fence and retaining walls, they have very dense roots and I’ve seen them pushing over fences and breaking brick walls.
They’ll always do better in the ground providing you manage their growth, golden canes are popular around pool areas. The spacing is fine as they will fan out through development, those 2 in the space will need to be kept at roughly the height of the pergola otherwise they might clump.
I think those pots are too small
It’s an interesting idea. My thoughts are that those pots are too small for the plants, but also, I think the roots would escape the bottom and you won’t be able to switch them around after a while. It’s a great way to stop them damaging your fence and retaining wall though.
If some are getting full sun and some aren’t you’re gonna have to “rotate” very often it would be better to just have the golden cane palms in the full sun area and maybe a ketntia, bangalow or something in the shadier bits, from my experience it’s my opinion that they will be way more vulnerable to rot and die if they remain in those pots in the ground.
This won’t work, they will eventually & quickly break free of the pots & eventually push into the fence. Under the covered area birds nest ferns & philodendrons would look great & easier to manage. Clumping bird of paradise, the smaller variety would look nice against the fence especially when blooming.
How much direct sunlight does that area receive with the palms? It’s worth noting your palms look to be experiencing leaf burn, which suggests to me they may not be happy in that spot long term. Depending on sunlight, I think there are much nicer options you could plant in its place!
Definitely move the BoP out of there. Otherwise it’s good by retaining wall and fence.
For the GCP, I’d be removing them as well and keeping them above ground or in pots somewhere else.
Consider putting Pittosporum or something with less intensive root systems.
https://preview.redd.it/nit3jokhzwlg1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18b5af61ccc2aaf85c4c3d72582522e05229d8c4
Another thought. Could I carry my **Viburnum** hedge through? I have this in the same 600mm wide space in front of the carport along the driveway. I understand at the front of the car port where the 2 palms with the PVC in front of them in the OP images are, will grow much slower. The area gets sun as its open at the top but not what you’d consider full sun that deep into the carport.
At the rear of the yard there is a Photinia Robusta hedge (missing a couple which will be replanted this coming spring) so Im thinking if i carry the **Viburnum** hedge along the driveway fence to then meet with the Potinai hedge that might be nice?
Ground, absolutely. Root systems need freedom for plants to thrive. They’ll eventually become root-bound and die in pots. They are already looking a bit stressed. Unless your plant is invasive like bamboo, let them do their root thang and they’ll repay you with lush foliage.
Agree with others the pots are good if you want to contain the growth, but those pots look to be too small. Go for the largest pot size that will work with the width of your beds.
Bird of paradise – get them out, they will break through the garden beds & they are a bugger to dig out once they are established.