Palms for containers

My home landscape has been grossly neglected this past month. Things planted in the ground can usually take some abuse - but potted items depend on fairly regular care. Last night I realized that two large pots on the patio now only contain compost fodder. I hit the garden center this morning to find something fun to place in those pots. Not a thing really jumped out at me - They've always held blooming plants but it got me to wonder what palms might do well in them.

Here's a very incomplete list of palms we think do well in pots.

Clustering Fishtail Palm, Caryota mitis

Bamboo Palm, Chamaedorea seifrizii (given enough time, a four inch pot will grow 12 feet tall)

Pindo Palm, Butia capitata

Mediterranean Fan Palm, Chamaerops humilis

Pygmy Date Palm, Phoenix roebellinii

Lady Palm, Rhapis excelsa

Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei (in top photo)

These potted Phoenix roebellinii look good as singles, doubles and triples.

Ordering Your Texas Mountain Laurels

Simmons Oak Farms sells our Texas Mountain Laurels (Sophora secundaflora) by the foot in overall height. At the EXPO last week-end, a few people people wanted to know whether there is much difference in the fullness of the trees at different heights. That led us out into the field this morning to take a few pictures. You will have to judge for yourself what your customers want - me, I'm all about the big material!

The first picture shows Tony with a 7' Mountain Laurel. The pole is flagged at 5', 6', and 7'. You may need to double click the shot, in order to see the flags clearly. Anyhow, there are multiple branches that measure 7' - not just one or two. We sure don't want our customers to feel that we "fudged" on measuring.


This second picture shows a Texas Mountain Laurel that is just below the 5' mark. That makes is not yet ready for the market.

But these trees are still putting on new growth - they'll look even better when we begin to harvest in November.

To see all the pictures we took this morning (including examples of our 6' and 8' Texas Mountain Laurels), click here.

EXPO '09 is a done deal

The Nursery and Landscape EXPO '09 is in the books and our sales team have all headed home to Harlingen and Austin. What a fun week-end! We met lots of new folks in The Green Industry - and had a chance to get caught up with old friends!

This show is going to help us service our mid-sized customers better with delivery trucks stopping at multiple nurseries.

We're already looking forward to San Antonio next August, 20, 21, and 22nd.

Opening Day

The Nursery and Landscape Expo opened today at the Dallas Convention Center - lots of great looking booths! More from out of state than we have noticed before.

We're excited about everyone who stopped by our booth today! Hope we have the opportunity to do business with you.

We brought Texas Mountain Laurels, Mediterranean Fan Palms, Windmill Palms and Chinese Fan Palms for our booth. All are cold hardy to the Dallas area - Med Fans and Windmills are hardy to zone 7.

Audrey and Matt arrived just after noon to assist Juana and I. They handle our central Texas customers. Ironically, in the afternoon we met lots of people from the Austin area. Leonard and Cecil were a little later getting to Dallas. But we will have a full staff to serve you on Saturday and Sunday!

We'll be here on Saturday from 10 - 5 and Sunday from 10 - 3. Stop by if you're in the area! Remember we're in booth 1720.

Green Industry Show

Wednesday morning was a flurry of last-minute preparations for the Nursery and Landscape Expo. Thankfully, everything ran like clockwork. Here, we're loading a Windmill Palm, Thracycarpus fortunii.

Everything was well secured for the drive to Dallas. And it arrived in great condition!

Today Juana and I got the booth put togethers. The front end loader driver assigned to our truck was precise and exact with his placement. That made our job MUCH easier.



There seem to be more great looking booths at this year's show than ever. Just walking through a few aisles made me want to get home and attack parts of my garden.

If you are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you need to come by the Dallas Convention Center and see what's new in the Green Industry!

Ready for the EXPO

Everyone's busy getting ready for the Nursery and Landscape Expo this weekend. The truck arrives in the morning to pick up our plant material.

Here we're placing a B&B (balled and burlapped) Chinese Fan Palm, Livistona chinesis, into a container for the show.

When Chinese Fans are harvested their leaves are usually pruned severely - entire branches removed and the remaining leaves are trimmed by 1/3 or 1/2. They do look prettier with all their leaves though - just hope it doesn't put too much stress on the plant.

And this little beauty is a Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunii. My husband and I planted six of them at our home last spring - They have a smaller leaf and a slender trunk so look good in a bed planting. It's a slow grower that only gets to 15 or 20 feet tall. The best thing about Windmills is their cold tolerance - they are hardy to zone 7! That makes them the most cold hardy palm.

Here, a Texas Mountain Laurel, Sophora secundaflora, is being "shrink wrapped". These trees are field-grown in RootMaker bags (a soft in-ground pot). Shrink wrapping will help protect the rootball during transit.

Here are a few of the Texas Mountain Laurels and Mediterranean Fan Palms, Chamerops humilis that we are taking. We've donated two of each to the Parks & Patio project. That means volunteers will use them in a display where EXPO visitors can sit and relax - and then after the show, they'll be donated to parks in the Dallas area.

If you're in the Dallas area this weekend, drop by the Dallas Convention Center and see us. We're in booth 1720.

Phoenix roebellinii

Phoenix roebellini or Pygmy Date Palms are fast growing and easy to care for. That must be why you see so many when driving around Deep South Texas. Landscape designers include them in both commercial and residential projects.

Simmons Oak Farms is growing triples, doubles and a few singles for the wholesale market. Planted, these roebellini will stand between 4 and 5 feet tall. I love to use them at a buildings corners or to frame a window or doorway. They are also good potted patio palms. In fact, if you live north of zone 9, plant them in a location protected from the cold - pots that can be moved indoors during freezing weather is another good option.

This family has used Phoenix roebellini in this mixed bed in front of their home. Its drooping leaves gives it a shrubby look in this planting.


But I really love how these mature roebellini tower over the split leaf philidendrons.

Water Water Everywhere!

With July's triple digit temperatures, there's lots of irrigating going on here at Simmons Oak Farms. This week, all the field grown trees will receive an irrigation.

This field of Southern Live Oaks, Quercus virginiana, was planted last January - the fields that are just one or two years old need more frequent waterings.