Visit the Dallas (DFW) area March – October and you would think there would be no problem at all having palm trees, or any other tropical plant you wanted in your landscape. Visit those other months, and you might get a surprise though. It might be 70 degress, or it might be 25 …. and therein lies the challenge. The sad fact is that is does get cold in Dallas.
I constantly get visitors from the Dallas area to the www.tropicalyard.com site, and people I know and meet that are surprised they really can have palm trees around their pools, or just a little tropical oasis with palms in their backyard. Especially on one of those 25 degree days, with the lingering threat of that once or twice a year ice storm. Making it worse, many have fallen victim to the “too hard to pass up” sales on big, exotic looking palm trees at garden centers, only to find that they were killed by the cold the very first winter. Sadly, many garden centers sell palms that have not the slightest chance of living here …
Windmill Palm
The good news …. you can have palm trees around your pool in Dallas. Just pick the right ones, and give them a little extra TLC they need. Look for Windmill Palms or Sabal Palms. If you’re in the southern part of the DFW area, you’ll likely have no trouble with a Pindo Palm. Mexican Fan Palms and California Fan Palms can be grown here too, just keep in mind that they will likely not look so great in the winter. The bad news is that some of the palms I mention can be a little tough to find, but they’re out there.
Even with palms that will grow in Dallas, take the time to do a little homework before you put down your hard-earned money. Learn about micro-climates, the proper way to plant, when to plant, fertilizing, and winter protection (at least for the first couple of seasons). If you get this right, it can be very rewarding … and you’ll be well on your way to that tropical pool landscape or Backyard Resort …
Cheers …
