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Florida Gardening

Fishtail palm near swimming pool

11 years ago

Hello,

I'm new to the gardening world and would like your help.

I am looking to block my neighbor's 2 story home view to my swimming pool. I've read quite a bit of posts on this forum and found some great help. One of the plants that people recommend is the Fishtail palm (Caryota Mitis). My concerns about this palm are these:

I measured the height that I would need to block the viewing angle, and it comes out to about 12 feet.

1) Will the fishtail grow dense enough to basically create a wall?

2) I only have about 20 feet of space between my neighbor's fence and my pool. Will the fishtail be a nightmare for pool maintenance? In other words, is it a messy tree?

3) Will the roots be a problem with the swimming pool? I had to remove a row of ficus years ago because the roots were starting to break my pool's pavers.

4) Finally, I've included a picture of a 10 foot Fishtail that i found at my local nursery. Would you be able to tell me if this is the clumping fishtail?

Thank you

Rob

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Comments (2)

tropicbreezent
11 years ago
Certainly looks like a Fishtail (Caryota mitis). They do form a pretty dense clump. I've not had the roots of mine get into any mischief. They're probably a lot less messy than a lot of other palms. The fronds stay on for a long time. They are invasive though, birds carry the seeds around and spread them.
robertpodo
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you TropicBreeze!

I'm starting to like the fishtail alot.
However, i did read that it releases some form of toxic fruit? Can you tell me a little more about that? Would it be dangerous for my little pet dog?

Thanks again
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