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Areca palms might be close to a non maintenance type vegetative fence. They grow to about ten to fifteen feet high and fairly dense and don't spread real fast. You can't eat them, though. I'm a big fan of planting edible landscaping. You could plant coffee fairly close together and prune it when it is young so it will branch out and become a bush. Brazil cherry makes a dense shrubby tree, but that would get pretty tall, however it can be kept pruned to whatever height you like. Surinam cherry also can be made into a fairly nice hedge but it is a very sour cherry. Bananas make a pretty quick hedge and you can get them in all sorts of mature heights. The Chinese banana has large bunches of tasty bananas on a fairly sort trunk. Bananas are also fairly maintenance free once they are established. Be vary wary of most gingers and heliconia, those spread like crazy. They are great if you make a container for them to be in so they don't spread, though. And they can be found in many different mature heights.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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I agree with all Hotzcatz said about banana trees...the only downside (which we are currently experiencing) is that once they get established, you're suddenly drowning in bananas - and they keep coming faster than you can eat them, bake them into things, sell or give them away. And people here tend to close their car windows in parking lots, so you can't even do a "dump and run" mission, like we used to do with zucchini back in New Jersey when I was a kid...
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Yeah, we'd always lock the car doors during zucchini season!
We used to have problems with too many bananas, but now we have a blender. No more problems. When there are too many bananas, peel them, put them on a tray and freeze them. Then once they're frozen put them into a freezer container and they will be nicely separate from each other. Whenever you want a banana smoothie, just toss a half dozen of them into a blender and add other tasty stuff - chocolate is always good! We can go through two dozen bananas a day or more when it's hot out.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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Having grown up in Utah I am very familiar with the "dump and run" as you put it KeaauRich. In our case it was banana squash, crook neck yellow squash and zucchini. Some of the banana squash got so big you'd have to look for pick-up trucks! [  ]
I have driven around HPP many times looking at lots trying to get ideas. I really like how podacarpus looks, but I've also seen how big and out of control it can get without maintenance. With that in mind I'll have to rule that one out. I also like areca palms except how they look at the base when fully grown. I can see why one would plant another species perhaps ti in front of the areca to visually beautify that space.
I think I'll go the areca palm route - start out sparse thus affording myself an opportunity later to fill in with other species such as a well chosen bamboo (love the bamboo). The edible fence is an intriguing idea. I'll have plenty of room on the interior to grow food, so in my particular case the edible fence isn't the direction I'll go.
What would you all recommend for an inset (distance inward) from the property line for an areca palm? Or another way of asking - given a fully mature areca, what is maximum distance from plant center radially outward? I'd like to leave plenty of room for the full grown plant so I'm not encroaching on my neighbors property line.
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I planted areca palms across the front of my lot about 20 years ago. They grew to 25 feet or so by the time I actually moved here a couple years ago. I just cut down all the tallest trunks, hoping they'll send up more new shoots because I need more of a hedge at the road. With my arecas, the bases are now about 3'in diameter and the tops spread 10 or 15' across - depending on how straight the trunks are. With age, the outer trunks tend to angle out from the base a lot. If you want them fuller looking, then cut the taller trucks earlier than I did. (Don't wait 20 years.)
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It is going to be difficult to gauge what a palm will do. The areca is a clumper and you can never tell which direction it will go. Also the rate of growth can vary depending on soil, water and fertilizer. There are a lot of other palms that will make great hedges,and can add a lot of color at the same time. Contact the Hawaii Palm Society as they have a list of nurseries that can help you.
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One of the favorite plants of the dreaded little fire ant (which has a good foothold in HPP) is palms, especially coconut, royal palms, and those volunteer palms that sprout up in the jungle, but also arecas. Someone needs to do solid research on which landscape plants this pest likes so people know how to adapt. It would be a great mastrs thesis.
Before planting, I highly recommend going to older neighborhoods and look at mature landscapes, also make sure you don't block off trade wind flow through your property. If you drive through some older parts of Hilo like Waiakea you can see areca hedges over 40 feet tall. The Arboretum in Hilo is free, and an excellent place to see trees in their mature state. If you have Hawaii state ID you can fill one grocery bag per person with fruit too.
Carol
Carol
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quote:
Originally posted by cjmbuffalo
... There are a lot of other palms that will make great hedges,and can add a lot of color at the same time. Contact the Hawaii Palm Society as they have a list of nurseries that can help you.
Thanks for the info. Is this the society you are talking about:
http://www.hawaiiislandpalmsociety.com/
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yes it is and the president Tim Brian is a very helpful guy.
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quote:
Originally posted by csgray
One of the favorite plants of the dreaded little fire ant (which has a good foothold in HPP) is palms, especially coconut, royal palms, and those volunteer palms that sprout up in the jungle, but also arecas...
Before planting, I highly recommend going to older neighborhoods and look at mature landscapes, also make sure you don't block off trade wind flow through your property. If you drive through some older parts of Hilo like Waiakea you can see areca hedges over 40 feet tall. The Arboretum in Hilo is free, and an excellent place to see trees in their mature state. If you have Hawaii state ID you can fill one grocery bag per person with fruit too.
In reading through these forums for the last month or so I have become very familiar with the little fire ant (LFA). I sure hope to avoid them. Your advice about the LFA as pertains to palms is well taken. I will certainly do my best to verify that the vendor of the plants is reputable and familiar with the LFA issue before buying from them.
Friends of mine within HPP have also warned me against picking up free plants (esp. palms) along side of the road, or buying from less that reputable sources, as this greatly increases your odds of bringing LFA to your property within those plants.
I was not aware there was an arboretum in Hilo. I'll be on big island within the next week or two, I'll definitely make a visit.
Great advice Carol, thank you!
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