If it will really grow too big then I could always sell it but maybe in the meantime when that does happen I might have alrready moved to a bigger place. I recon the perfect spot would be inside a sunroom or greenhouse type of deal. The reason I bought it was because it was on sale and the only other one they had was some type of petticoat palm that I didn't like. They are pretty common as indoor plants here though. Since it was my first plant ever I wanted something big to green the place up a little bit, but in hindsight I would have been better off buying multiple smaller plants and researching them before buying because she does take up a lot of room. Not that I regret it, we're still happy together :) Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Trachys (Chinese windmill) at least grow easily in my area (I also have 2 planted in the garden since last year and am not worried about those, they withstood the admittedly mild winter very easily and have now started picking up growth again), I see them a lot in gardens around here, this one is in a garden just a few houses away from me and doesn't get any protection in winter other than maybe some mulch around the stem (at least I never seen it hulled), pic from late January: But Phoenix are in a different league, never seen any of those planted out in gardens (but then again maybe it's just because nobody dared yet) However, I think I'll give it a try

I do see evidence of some pest damage, but is it also possible that you received plants with some degree of cold damage from the previous Winter? Assume you are somewhere in Britain, my Winter zone is a lot colder than yours, I too had leaves that I thought were damaged by chewing insects but now have decided was Winter cold damage. If it is, it should grow out of the damaged growth into more normal growth given Summer heat (here I have the advantage as my Summers are quite HOT and long). Insecticidal soap would be helpful for the possible insect damage (which may have followed the cold issues). Good luck!

I'm in Palos Verdes about 2 blocks from the water and I too have rocky clay soil, although I have found out that it drains pretty good. I planted a Triangle Palm in August of 2015 and it is doing well, I water it for 2 minutes once a week, sometimes once every 10 days, depending on the weather forecast. Phoenix Canariensis and Triangle palms like relatively dry soil, so I'd stop watering it for a while. Why did you put a pipe 4ft deep?