For years they grew on their own in a mostly neglected back yard, their only competition being nasturtium, oxalis and a huge clump of crocosmia.
Now look at this... my landlord abhors any empty space, and has filled the yard with all kinds of plants that have to be watered ample and regular. He has planted many plants right up to the trunk, with no regard to the crown of the tree.
He is training passion flowers up the trunks.
It's hard to see, but he's planted a Callistemon citrinus right there, literally 2 feet from the trunk of the palm. Don't these Callistemon's have very invasive roots?
Anyway, I'm very worried that he has signed a death warrent for these Palms. The competition for water alone-- if he ever does stop watering the yard every freakin' day, it could get bad fast. Damage to the root crown from his constant digging and fussing about, and being that they are so tall, and perhaps old... it just worries me.
Am I over reacting???
4 comments:
Callistemon citrinus doesn't even go! Whatever. That seems like a bad idea putting it next to the palm like that.
Tropical gardens in California seem so discordant. Well, I do see an Echium in there. With the Callistemon, it's kind of tropical/mediterranean. Too bad about all the watering.
I don't know about palms, but I think training the passion flower up the trunk will be fine for the palm. They do that a lot in the Cloud Forest in the Botanical Garden. I don't know what the tendrils will cling to tho'.
If he does kill the palms, he will regret it bitterly. It will cost a fortune to remove them (or be a big liability if they die and he doesn't remove them), and the workers will likely ruin much of the garden to do so.
At least it's lush and green. :) How old is this garden? Has it existed through a summer before? I think the cabbage moth larvae are going to feast.
I have that same cuphea in the bottom right of the last picture.
This garden is 1 year old. It has been through 1 summer. Remember that he waters every day, sometimes twice. I'll wait while you pick your jaw off the floor. Lush and green doesn't begin to describe it. More like suffocating and claustrophobic. Anyway, enough negativity on my part.
Thank you for the feedback! Come over and check it our sometime.
Oh, and the cuphesa is mine :) heh heh
In Northern California that is going to be a Washingtonia filifera or maybe a W. robusta. The fact that your landlord can even get something planted in the ground that close to this palm is a miracle.
Palms have major rope like tough and fibrous root systems. It is difficult to dig a hole near a mature palm. All that water is going to make the palm very very happy and grow that much faster.
In the competition for water and the battle for survival of the fittest the palm will win hands down. It ain't gonna die.
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