Re: Araucaria
theryans@xtra.co.nz,Internet writes:
>I once gardened for a lady whose next-door neighbour had not one but two
>of the brutes in a very small front garden. What I had not appreciated
>before I met these was the extent to which their roots spread. In this
>case it was under a concrete drive and a substantial fence, across a
>lawn about fifteen feet wide and into a border against the side of my
>clients house. It was some time before I grasped where the thick matted
>mass of strong white roots had originated and it certainly made
>gardening in that border pretty non-productive.
Ive seen not one or two in a small yard before, but THREE Canary palms
planted in a narrow row, in a very small front yard in a town nearby. I
thought the owners would have taken them out due to the sheer size of
them, and the way it blocks sunlight, but they just trim the lower
fronds til the crown is a vase shape. Another offender of bad placement
is a house down the street. They have a canary palm (not much higher
than 30 feet tops) planted next to a young flowering plum. Both trees
are hopelessly tangled up tpgether! I think in both cases theyre
waiting for the trees to grow high and above their current situations.
>Fortunately the story had a happy ending as the propety with the palms
>changed hands and the new owner promptly got in heavy machinery to
>remove them.
A local church has a canary palm planted close to the foundation of the
church (only about maybe 4 feet from the building). They swore that the
tree was pushing up the foundation. Ive never heard of palms ever doing
this, as their roots dont continue to get bigger, like the roots of the
new tree (i think its a magnolia, southern) that they have planted in
the same spot!
>I have seen the odd one included in a shrubbery in very large gardens
>which looked really handsome, but even there they can be a great gobbler
>of winter sun when they get tall and I have been told that the dead
>fronds are sometimes shed unexpectedly and could come down on someone's
>head.
They are more beutiful in large parks where they can be solitary
specimens. Its unfortunate most people put them in small front yards
(they'd be better off with something like a queen palm (they do have
large fronds but arent as bad at blocking sun and taking up space as
canary palms are).
>My feeling is that they are best confined entirely to parks and other
>public places, where they are ideal for making a striking avenue. I know
>of two or three splendid ones in this country.
I agree. I think that at Stanford University they have an avenue lined
with Canary palms which looks quite nice. Also Union Square in San
Francisco is a nice example of places where these plants are best
suited!
>Moira
