Which species of Palm Tree? (Phoenix: how much, neighborhoods, to live in)

[nitram]

Originally Posted by thedreamteam

do canary island palms require any shade? do the leaves need to be trimmed?

Canary Island Palms grow anywhere. They love the desert sun and soils. Once established need only ocassional deep watering.
All palm trees need trimming, some more than others. My mature ones get trimmed about 3 times a year.

[dbean]

If i'm thinking correctly, canary island date palms are the "bottled shaped" palms that are generally pretty short, but have VERY lg. diameter. So, they should be relatively easily to trim yourself with a standard "A shaped" ladder.

Canary island date palms are my favorite, esthetically speaking. You should take a look at Moon Valley nurseries...right now all palms are 50% off. We dont' close on our house for month, otherwise I'd be in there today buying trees!!

[jasg23]

European Fan Palms, Beaked Yucca, Bismarck, Canary Island Date, Medjool Date Palm, Pindo Palms, all these are suitable for xerscaping.

[1979]

These palms look best! The Canary Island Date Palm.

[click]

We have a Bismarck Palm in our yard and it is gorgeous! Everyone remarks about it. And, someone said it is best to be there permanently when you have palms. I have had no trouble with any of mine while I am away. Just have them on a sprinkler system.

[joninaz]

Forget palms. And I like them. However their ROI is slacking.

We really should be learning to pick things based on shading the abode versus adorning the yard.

Good trees for a 20 foot tall house are 30 foot tall trees that shade them from direct light. Think umbrellas. Better trees are bigger and wider.

[thedreamteam]

which palm requires the least water? we will typically not be in town from apr-sep.

[_Charles_]

Actually a beautiful shade tree (if you want that) is the Aleppo Pine. They are desert natives (middle east). When mature they are quite large with spreading branches that provide deep shade. I know this thread is about palms but just thought I would mention them.

[w1ngzer0]

Originally Posted by 1979

These palms look best! The Canary Island Date Palm.

wow cool!

What about coconut trees. Anyone try those in AZ?

[DewDropInn]

Avoid at all cost the Washingtonia palm. As they grow their dead fronds need to be constantly trimmed or pretty soon you've got a 70 foot palm tree with 86 feet of dead palm fronds hanging down. And as it grows you pretty much need a cherry picker to keep them trimmed. (Some tree trimmers try to climb up the trunk to trim them but this is just plain dangerous.)

Then comes October when they bloom their gorgeous salks of "dates" which very quickly drop to the ground because the blooms are 60 feet up in the air and you can't afford to bring in that cherry picker every year to trim them back and those seets hit the ground with a splat and you've got thousands of black, sticky, seed-y things all aver your yard and sidewalk and, trust me, you can't just clean them up with a push broom and you will track them right into your house with that nice, new carpet and...