Displaying Tropical Plants Outside My Stable
There is always so much work to do on my Bedford, New York farm.
This time of year, all my large potted tropical plants are displayed outdoors in various locations around the property. Seven months out of the year, these specimens are kept inside temperature and humidity controlled greenhouses where they can be properly maintained, but it's nice to see them outdoors in beautiful ornamental urns during spring and summer. Yesterday, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew potted up and arranged a collection of palms in the large courtyard outside my stable.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is a king palm, Archontophoenix alexandrae, a tall, solitary palm that can grow up to 100-feet. The graceful crown has eight to 10 pinnate, feather-like fronds. It is also commonly known as Alexandra palm, northern Bangalow palm, or feather palm and is a palm endemic to Queensland, Australia. This is one of two I decided would look perfect in the square pots flanking my stable doors. The planter is from Birdsall & Co..
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- As with all pots, we always place a shard at the bottom to prevent any soil from clogging the drainage hole.
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- The bottom of the large container is filled with composted soil made right here at the farm.
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- Here, Ryan carefully goes around the root ball with a hori hori knife to loosen it from its plastic pot. A hori hori has a straight edge and a serrated edge, which makes it easy to saw through tough roots or cut off fronds and leaves. It also easily cuts into soil and has a depth on the side for measuring.
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- Next, it is carefully removed from the pot onto a tarp. It is always a good idea to work on a tarp to keep cleanup easy.
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- Ryan scarifies the root ball and trims it slightly to better accommodate the container.
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- The king palm is gently raised and placed into the square urn. It is quite heavy.
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- We use Scotts Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm and Citrus Potting Soil to surround and top dress the potted king palm.
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- This potting soil contains a fast-draining formula that’s great for palms, citrus and succulents both indoors and out.
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- Once filled, Ryan tamps down on the soil, so there is good contact. This palm will remain here until the fall when it is removed from the pot and stored in its designated hoop house.
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- On the other side of the courtyard, Fernando and Pete pot up a Bismarkia palm, Bismarckia nobilis, which grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
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- And here’s Ryan potting up a sago palm. for some of these plants, it is easier to plant the actual pot within the urn – this saves time and soil. I have many, many cycads. The sago palm, Cycas revoluta, is a popular houseplant known for its feathery foliage and ease of care. Native to the southern islands of Japan, the sago palm goes by several common names, including Japanese palm, funeral palm, king sago or just plain sago palm.
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- My handsome Friesian Rinze looks on from his stall. He is the patriarch of my equine herd.
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- Our trusted Kubota M4-071 tractor – a vehicle that is used every day here at the farm to do a multitude of tasks – is used to deliver two more sago palms to the courtyard. These sago palms are already in pots.
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- I like to place a grouping of these plants in the center of the courtyard around the millstone.
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- Here is another sago next to my stable office building.
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- Notice the sago palm’s trunk. It is a rough, symmetrical trunk which becomes leafless as it ages and gives way to its evergreen crown of upward pointing fronds.
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- Sago palm fronds resemble those of palm trees. The glossy, pinnate leaves are typically about four to five feet long at maturity, and up to nine-inches wide.
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- This tall specimen is a Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia nicolai, a species of evergreen tropical herbaceous plant with gray-green leaves. These plants have actually evolved to create splits along their lateral leaf seams to allow the wind to pass by. In doing so, they eliminate the risk of being snapped in half by strong tropical gusts.
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- I love this view of the plants from inside the stable looking toward the Boxwood Allée. All the plants look great and will thrive through the warm months in this location.
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