2001 Joe Ayo's Palm Garden

Joe Ayo's Palm Garden

Location: Citrus Park, FL

Date Submitted: Spring 2001

Palm Seed Incubation Closet
This closet is maintained at between 90 and 98 F degrees by a small space heater. This is my current batch in May 2001. The cups are clear so I can spot roots and many cups have as many as ten seeds each, there are approximately 30 species of palms and cycads represented in this closet. The closet is constantly revolving, many germinate in about 30 days and newer seeds are arriving monthly. Each cup has 6 nail holes for drainage, plastic saran wrap topping to maintain moisture and keep out bugs. Germinated palm seedlings are removed and taken outside every 5 days.

A few pots with baby palm trees that surround the perimeter of the house. The house in many circumstances is used as a giant sundial that by positioning pots at varying proximities to the house's shadow, the amount of direct sunlight given to the palm can be regulated.

Window sills full of germinated and developing palm trees in cups. Along the ground are the shade loving baby palms.

Newly poured concrete sidewalk, an ongoing project to have a sidewalk wrap around the house. Sidewalks make such nicely contained and organized flowerbeds for your palms and landscaping. An ideal weed barrier and retainer for water and mulch. In the photo are some baby cycads, a small Havanensis, and Madagascar Palm (really a cacti). The big trunk in the corner of the flowerbed is that of a large queen palm.

The sidewalk left a difficult to mow nook which is perfect for a large palm garden expansion flowerbed! Grass is in process of being cleared from this site and reused as sod elsewhere in the yard. This site will have a small black plastic pond garden pond at its center and be surrounded by exotic gingers, black stem elephant ears and of course palms. The small Sabalshown is a Puerto Rican Hat.

Royal Palm and Jan 2001 survivor onsite. This palm was iced on 5 occasions during the freezes and has produced 4 new leaves since.

A 3 year old Canary Island Date Palm reaching about 4.5 feet tall. Behind it is a 25 foot Chinese Fan in seed.

This Christmas Palm triple turns heads like never before. Mostly because most people in the area lost theirs this past winter and mine seemed to flourish so nicely. It was hard work tenting this palm and the all night vigils of blowing hot air with a portable hair dryer during the freezes that got this one to pull through!

This small King Alexander Palm, iced over during the Jan freezes never showed any damage and is shifting over into summertime growth pattern.

A Phoenix reclinata clump and nearby P. roebellini. The male reclinata and female roebellini recently flowered at the right time and the female got pollinated. I once thought the reclinata might be a hybrid itself but I there is new evidence it may be one of 4 reclinata forms, one that is more freeze hardy, slower growing and bluish green color to its leaves. This should make an interesting and possibly more freeze hardy reclinata X roebellini hybrid.

I have taken advantage of this area, which is used as a stormwater drainage floodway to plant low and wet loving palms like a majesty and soon some Maurita flexuosa in the most persistently wet portion.

Carpentaria acuminata seedlings (almost 6 ft tall) along the long driveway. This palm was given no winter protection except for overhead shade trees and this palms received no freeze damage.

Palatka Giants, a form of the Florida Coontie Cycad. Photo is deceptive in perspective, these are about 5 1/2 feet high.

An overpruned Sabal palmetto left, clumping fan palms between sabal and tall Washingtonia are paroutis palms I started from seed picked at aMcDonald's in Tampa in 1988. The low grower is a cardboard sago cycad.

A trunk forming white bird of paradise, started from seeds I collected on Bayshore Blvd in Tampa in the 80's.

Chameadorea sp. I got from the Tampa Men's and Women's Garden Club in the 80's. Approx 7+ feet high.

Washingtonia robusta I started from seed gathered at a McDonald's in 1989. Look at how it towers over a 2.5 story house now. This palm is twice as tall as the others from the seed clutch, major difference is this palm was given large amounts (about 5 each 40 lb bags) of Cow Manure as an amendment to the soil at planting time and has not been given chemical fertilizers or epson salts since 1993 when I sold the house. Who says organic fertilizers don't work?

A view of my front yard from along the road. A solid poured retaining wall along the drainage ditch is work in process. Mixed hoe and shovel style in 8 ft by 14 inches high, the concrete is primarily intended as a curb and weed barrier.

A Wallichia distichia obtained at the CFPACS plant sale recently in Cocoa Beach. It came very yellow, I am hoping the 4 inches deep of manure and homemade leaf compost will improve its color. To the right is the end of a 8 ft long watermelon vine, one of a dozen planted among the palms of the front line. The surface mulching was 2 inches deep shredded oak leaf mulch, but has almost completely decomposed down to just a thin covering since it was laid down in March.

With a lower frond of my Caryota laoensis visible bottom right, this eggplant is holding a dozen developing eggplants like the black thing in the middle of the plant which is visible. Planted from seed 45 days ago this is one of a dozen eggplants growing between palms on the front line and the plant is enjoying some of the 70 bags of cow manure installed in February as a blanket mulch for the frontline palms. While palms may be slow to show results from improved soil, the vigorous health of these plants are telling me the sweet spot for the palms is achieved and the hot and rainy summer and this abundant organic fertility should bring out strong results from the palms in coming months. This plant incidentally is covering a copernicia macroglossa at the moment.

With a red banana upper right, eggplant upper left, a King Sago middle right, the rest is water melon just now flowering and setting fruit. I have grown nice watermelons before but these are without a doubt the most vigorous vines I have ever grown. It must be the manure mulch, or the palm tree fertilizers, or most likely the combination of both!z

Can't forget the Bismarckia! Just starting to react to the heavy manure mulching this past spring. Looking at the grass its hard to believe all the winter rye grass died off in April and its been a week since its been watered on this very dry day in May. The key to high drought tolerance with St Augustine grass is lots of potassium and magnesium. Treat your grass like your palm trees and it will do just fine with once a week watering.

Teddy Bear Palm and another happy survivor of this past winter (thanks to thehelp of being iced over during freezes!)