A Yard In Fort Pierce

Today Heathcote Botanical Gardens of Fort Pierce Florida was hot. It was my first time back since Tropical Storm Fay hit us. Heathcote was not damaged to much, the grounds keeper J.D. was telling us what happened, there was minor flooding in certain areas, some trees went down but for the most part Fay cleaned up.

Today Brandan and I cleaned up some areas that were affected by Fay and we transplanted a Red Feather Palm Tree ( Chambeyronia macrocarpa ) that was originally planted in the sun. These Palm Trees are much more happy in the shade. Some other names for this Palm Tree are Houailou Red Leaf Palm,Blushing Palm Tree and the Flamethrower Palm Tree. This Palm does not get very tall, they grow to heights of about 6 feet. This one wasn't looking at it's best so we thought it would be best to move it. We have documented today's transplant and I will show you step-by-step how we did it.

Here is the name tag.

Here is a before picture of the Red Feather Palm Tree. As you can see it is directly in the sun.

I thought that it gave off a nice shadow.

Here is a closer look at the Palm Tree.

After we picked out a location to transplant the Palm Tree into, we dug a hole for it.

Then we filled the hole with water. This is an important step in transplanting, always fill the hole with water.

Then we went over to the Red Feather Palm and dug it out of the ground and transported it over to the water filled hole.

After we placed the Palm Tree in the hole, we added more water. Water is your friend when transplanting, use lots of it.

This is another view of the watering. While adding water we added dirt back into the hole. When adding dirt back into the hole you capture air bubbles which can cause your roots to dry out and damage your tree or even kill it. To prevent this from happening I use a piece of metal rod and stab it into the ground surrounding the tree. This action releases the air bubbles.

Then we finalized the project by mulching.

The following is a close up picture of the Red Feather Palm Tree fronds.

I hope you enjoyed this post. See you again next time.

The African Oil Palm Tree ( Elaeis guineensis ) is a big tree. They can reach heights of well over 40 feet tall. They like full sun and regular watering. This Palm Tree is native to Africa and grows very fast. If you are planting one of these Palms in your yard make sure you stay clear of power lines. The fronds of this Palm are covered with very sharp thorns so use caution when pruning. The seeds of the African Oil Palm are the primary source for palm oil that is used in all sorts of fattening foods. These seeds are grown by the tens of thousands in many countries and the oil is exported all around the world. The following pictures are of the African Oil Palm located at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce Florida. Please enjoy!

Today at Heathcote Botanical Gardens of Fort Pierce Florida, Brandan and I exposed 1 European Fan Palm ( Chamaerops humilis ) and 1 Pygmy Date Palm ( Phoenix roebelenii ) that were knocked over ( probably during a hurricane ). Both of these Palm Trees can grow up to 15 feet and should be placed 8-10 feet apart when planting. These Palms are drought tolerant making them great for xeriscaping. The one thing about these Palm Trees is that they are covered in very sharp spines so I recommend protection and caution when handling or trimming them.

When walking by these unique Palms you could barely see their trunks. So, I dug out around the trunks to give the effect that they were hovering across the ground. We also trimmed them up a bit to make them look better. There were Cardboard Palms (Zamia furfuracea ) sprouting up all over the place and Oyster Plants ( Tradescantia spathacea ) were everywhere. There were a few Date Palms( Pheonix reclinata ) that sprouted up, we removed them too. We dug up the Cardboard Palms and potted them and we pulled up the Oyster Plants and through them into the dump pile. We also trimmed some of the other Palm Trees that were in the area and pulled up a bunch of Boston Ferns too. We made a nice path that wasn't there before that allows you to walk behind the scenes. It looks very good if you ask me. The following are pictures of today's adventure.


Here are the before pictures of the European Fan Palm Tree.

This is after I dug the Palm Tree out to reveal the trunk.

These are the before pictures of the second Pygmy Date Palm Tree. You can barely see the trunk. Half of it is under ground completely.

These are the after pictures of the Pygmy Date Palm Tree that was completely under ground.

Finally this is a picture that captures both of the newly exposed Palm Trees.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, see you again next time! Have a great day!

Today sure was a hot one. Brandan and I undertook another Boston Fern eradication project during our volunteer time at Heathcote Botanical Gardens of Fort Pierce Florida. The section we were working in contains a beautiful Bismarck Palm Tree ( Bismarckia nobilis ) and a Puerto Rican Hat Palm ( Sabal causiarum ). This area has become overgrown with Boston Ferns. Even though half of the ferns were in the shade half were in the sun. We wore our long sleeve shirts today because the mosquitoes have been unbearable lately. That added 20 degrees it felt like. The upside is that we completed our project and it looks fantastic. Here are some before and after pictures for you to look at.

After

Thank you very much for stopping by. See you again soon!

The following pictures are of the Zamiaceae that we uncovered at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce Florida today. Descriptions will be above each picture set.

The following three pictures are of the Zululand Cycad ( Encephalartos ferox ) that is originally from South Africa. This Cycad can grow as large as 4 feet tall and 4 to 8 feet wide. The Zululand Cycad is happy in full sun to light shade, but it does the best in partial shade. A really great feature of the Zululand Cycad is that it is fire-retardant and resistant to Deer. I would have to say watch yourself around this one because it is sharp.

The following two pictures are of the Spiny Dioon ( Dioon spinulosum ) or the Gum Palm. This Cycad is originally from Mexico. The Gum Palm can grow to heights of twelve feet tall and may be as wide as twelve feet. The Spiny Dioon is happy in sun to partial shade.

The following two pictures are of the Bamboo Cycad ( Ceratozamie hilde ). The Bamboo Cycad is originally from Mexico. The Bamboo Cycad can grow to heights of eight feet tall and as much as ten feet wide. The Bamboo Cycad is happy from full shade to sun. The Bamboo Cycad is also resistant to Deer.

The following two pictures are of the Cycad ( Dioon mejiae ). This Cycad is originally from Honduras. This Cycad can grow to heights of four feet tall and reach about four feet wide. This Cycad ( Dioon mejiae ) is happy in sun to partial shade. Watch out for this one too, it is also very sharp.

Thank you very much for stopping by, hope to see you again soon!

Big day at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce Florida today. Today Brandan and myself eradicated loads of ferns from the Palm Walk. My fingers are killing me. It was very hot today with all the humidity from all of the rain we have had these past couple of days. We had so much rain over the past week it flooded my backyard for a day. I am not complaining at all, we desperately needed it. However it does produce prime breeding grounds for mosquito's, I can prove it by showing you my arms and neck and even the top of my head. The following pictures are before and afters of todays eradication project. I hope you enjoy them. I will have to do another post for the pictures with names of all of the Zamiaceae we uncovered. Be sure and read that one too. The first six pictures here are the before pictures and the rest are the afters.

And here are the after pictures.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope to see you again soon!