The Versatile Palm

Clever and well-planned plantings of palms, cycads and subtropicals have the ability to help transport your mind to more exotic climates without leaving the comfort of your deckchair.
To avoid costly mistakes when planning a subtropical, Balinese inspired or Mediterranean styled garden you do need to do your homework.

Some serious thought needs to go into understanding your environment, working out which palms are suitable for it, and also consider the use you wish to make of your palm tree.
Is it required for shade? As a privacy screen from the neighbours? To soften the edges of a contemporary, newly built home?

Environmental factors to consider can be whether you are aware, your current garden is prone to the odd winter frost. We are regularly visited by Papamoa residents who are unaware that on Papamoa Beach Road, in the western Bay of Plenty, (which happens to be only 80 metres from the sea) it frosts quite regularly during winter.

From a palm enthusiasts point of view it is not about whether it frosts or not, it is about the degree of frost. Frost is one of the main weather-related factors which controls the species of palm you can plant and have thrive in your garden. The other, is wind, of which the coastline of New Zealand receives its fair share.

I have all of the environmental requirements of the plants we sell, covered, with our symbols featured in the catalogue.

Here is a list of uses you may want to consider for your palm tree, cycad, subtropical ornamental or succulent to help with your planning.

Listed underneath, are Coast Palms and Cycads plants we can supply for those purposes.

Smaller Palm Garden choices
Dypsis- Hardy Sugar, Costarican Bamboo Palm, Atherton, Wedding

Large and Wide Specimen Palm choices- e.g. lifestyle properties or large lawns
Jelly, Quito, Queen, Kentia

Understorey Choices – 1-3 metres
Dwarf Date, Dypsis- Hardy Sugar, Cycads, Dragon, Puka, Tahitian Pohutukawa (2 hybrids), all tropical Cordylines

Excellent Ground Cover Choices – plants to 5cm- 80cm
Bromeliads, Agave, Blue Star Fern, all Philodendrons

Plants for Privacy/Screening
Dypsis- Hardy Sugar, Giant & regular Bird of Paradise, Heliconia, Costarican Bamboo palm, Reed (for shade only), Bamboo Wang Tsai, all Gingers, Heliconia

Fantastic House/ Indoor choices
Kentia, Wedding, all Chamaedorea, Stromanthe, Hoya

Fragrance
All Gingers, Frangipani, Stephanotis, Hoya, Vireya

Grouped in Groves (cluster planting) or Mass Planted
Bangalow, Queen, Dwarf Date, Kentia, Chatham nikau, Dypsis- Hardy Sugar, all Gingers & Heliconias, Cycads, Bromeliads

Shade or Bright Filtered Light
All Chamaedorea palms, All of our house plants, Clivias, our Ferns

Fast Growing Canopy– trees taking 10-20 years to 10-12 metres
Queen, Bangalow, Quito, Fishtail

Slow Growing Canopy – trees taking 45-60 years to 10-12 metres
Kentia, Nikau, Hedyscepe

Plants with Striking Looks
All Cycads, Bird of Paradise, Bromeliads, Chatham Nikau, Dragon

Our flowering, subtropical ornamental choices
Assorted Vireya, Giant & regular Bird of Paradise, Bromeliads, Clivias, Tahitian Pohutukawa, all Gingers, all Heliconia