I will be taking delivery of 3 large palms next week, all natives and all quite large (45 litre bags). Alexander and Solitaire palms dont seem terribly prone to keeling over when planted, but I've never tried to plant anything this advanced before, so I'm keen to hear from anyone with experience in this area.

My understanding is that I will make a hole in my mound (I'm having sandy loam trucked in for a new bed), fill it 90% full of water, place the rootball in the water and tease out the roots gently. I then begin backfilling the hole until I have the roots completely surrounded by wet soil, ensuring that the base of the palm is level, or slightly higher, than the surrounding soil.

Does this sound like a reasonable approach ?

Thanks,

Artie

45 litre bag size is not all that big but from what you plan to do they should do fine. I like to add some organic fertiliser to the hole before planting. Seeing that you are planting into sandy loam the base can be slightly below soil level but ensure that soil is cleared away from it. This will help the roots obtain more water. Alexandras and Solitaires plant quite easily without any problems. Have you thought of planting that other fantastic native palm, the Carpentaria?

Andrew.

I guess the size of the bag is relative - the majority of my plantings have been from 8-inch pots :)

I did ask for a Carpenteria, but my nurseryman said that it doesnt have as thick a canopy as the other two, and I am looking for fast shade. I will underplant with other tropicals (natives where possible), but these 3 have to form the basis of my upper story, so I want the crowns to be as full as possible.

As I said, my other plantings have been relatively cheap (Cascade palms aside - they seem to be relatively expensive), and paying $80 per palm has forced me to ensure that I get it right first time.

Tony - they are currently a little over 2.5 metres high - should be fine without any extra support, I hope ...

Carpenteria lovers - I havent ruled them out *yet* : just want to see how the three larger palms look in the ground. I realise that they still have some way to go, but planting them 2 metres apart should give me an idea of how the canopy will look in the future, and I can start working on the other plantings. My eventual aim is to have several of Cyathea Cooperi and Phoenix Roebelenii (non-native, but irresistible !) under the filtered light provided by the canopy, and groundcovers beneath that layer. This bed will shade my existing 'tropical room' from the afternoon sun (my Cascades certainly need it), and allow me to hold barbies without the need for shade sails etc. Natural aircon beats synthetic shade any day of the week :)

Keep the water up over the first year but dont apply too much fertiliser until 12 months later.

If the site is likely to get a lot of wind and the crown of the palms is big, you may need to prop the palms with 3 props at an angle. A vertical stake is not recommended.

For the record, I have also underplanted the 3 large palms with several others : Kentia, Foxtail, Bamboo (Chamaedorea Seifrizii) and something called a 'Bottle Palm' (Hyophorbe Lagencaulis). Its my earnest hope that these will fill my 'middle storey' (admittedly, at differing heights) as the larger palms begin to attain their expected maximum heights.

The payoff will come when I can plant more shadelovers around this bed, particularly Cyathea Cooperi and Dicksonia Antractica. If tree ferns were more sun-tolerant, they would be my all-time favourite plant.