research palms in raised beds

There are many palms that are tolerant of dry spells, some of the more tropical looking species to handle the dry are the Coconut Palm, Bismarkia, Christmas Palm, Princess Palm, Veitchia joannis, Royal Palms. (these are all common palms around Bundaberg that are growing in parks and gardens that only ever receive rainfall) Dracaenas will handle dry along with some Pleomeles such as 'Song of India' which is a real trooper when it comes to surviving droughts and still looking tropical. Some of the larger and tougher bromeliads such as Aechmea blanchetiana laugh at dry weather, the various forms of Rhoeo and of course the various Plumeria. Many of the cycads are also tolerant of dry spells and will still look quite lush. Andrew.

OK, just my two cents worth: Microclimate is everything - given a good canopy, close planting and a good layer of organic mulch, most plants will survive dry periods, providing they do get a periodic downpour (more important in Summer than Winter, but many Meditteranean plants are the opposite) That said, I am particularly impressed with the following: - bromeliads - philodendrons - agave - cordylines, particularly the red cultivars - Waterhousea Floribunda : not a single burnt leaf - incredible ... I'm sure that there are many more, but I think we would all be better served by getting that cast-iron canopy sorted before planting the 'focal points'. If you already have your shade and wind protection in place, the world is your oyster :)

Clumping bamboos once established should fit the bill,mine all survive on rainfall and mostlook good all year round.Timor black can look a bit naff in winter,Gracilis,Ghost and Chungii always look good. They are hard to beat for canopy planting.

Thanks for you info everybody. Greathawks

I have to agree with Richard about Bamboos, also my Hibiscus not the grafted ones, canna lily, bougainvillea, frangipani, cycads, coral plant are all doing ok with a lot less water than they were receiving last year..
Oleander, bauhinia, calliandra I never water so they are surviving on rain water which has not been very much this season, so there are plenty out there......Cheers..MM.

Yellow oleander (Thevetia sp.) look tropical and can handle dryness

Hi Richard,

I still find bamboo daunting, particularly in terms of purchase price and the eventual size of many species (even the clumpers). Beautiful in the right setting, but I cant bring myself to go there :)

Cheers,

Artie

Bamboo doesnt have to be daunting in terms of eventual size,if you get good advice from people who actually know what they are talking about,unfortunately very few non bamboo nurseries have much of an idea and will happily sell the likes of Oldhamii and Painted bamboo to people on small blocks,without any idea how large they WILL become.There are smaller varieties available that are no larger than golden cane palms-and lord knows there are enough of them around!
The intial purchase price can seem daunting when comparing to palms etc,however the growth rate will compensate as one does not have to wait long to achieve substantial growth.
Suburban "must have" bamboos such as Gracilis or Nepalese Blue will not dominate most yards.
Go on -give one a go!
Cheers.

O Artie how can you say bamboo's are daunting come on now they are beautiful and to me they look Tropical,and look at all the uses you get from them. I love my bamboo,and they are doing the job I bought them for. Now what would you do if you thought you found your ideal paradise on a three quarter acre block then just when you finish hand building your own house they start building a great huge double story brick house at the back of yours.

And if that isn't bad enough they built it about 12 mts from the back fence on a big one and a quarter acre block and they can see into every house and yard around the area. So sadly my natives did not grow fast enough and I bought six B.Oldhamii and Artie they flew away after the first year. So now I enjoy sitting on my decking and it wonderful to be able to leave the drapes open of a evening with the light on when we are eating dinner so we can cool down with the beautiful breezes and its all thanks to the Bamboo as now I have a lush green wall about 12mts long and 5 mts tall that the neighbours cannot see through.

Artie you love your natives, I love my natives, my roses, my tropicals, my ornamentals, my cacti and succlents, my bulbs and lilies, I love all my plants and there is room for every kind on my block, after all Variety is the Spice of life and as Richard said Give it a go, the Nepalese Blue is a beautiful small fine leaf plant I dont have one, but have seen a few and very nice I must say. Hey you never know till you have a go.....Cheers..MM.

Misty you are one the enlightened ones!

I have around 10 different bamboo species in my garden ranging from 15 feet to 50 feet high. There are bamboos available to suit virtually any garden.
Andrew.

Richard and MM has almost talked me around, then coralcoast mentioned his 50 foot high (yikes !) plants - I just dont trust them to stick to their 'prescribed' height. The clump of Oldhamii I saw recently (acre block) would block out a 4-storey building - unquestionably a good thing if that is your aim - but it had that 'groaning' sound when the wind began to push against the clump, and it was clear that the owner had been busy with a machete tidying it up for the Open Garden day. I have several golden canes which are at their max height and they havent given me any trouble - I guess I just need to see a clumping bamboo of the same dimensions.

MM, dont get me wrong - I do favour natives, but its not to the exclusion of other plants. I made a conscious decision that this garden would have philodendron, bromeliads and (exotic) cordylines, and I'm yet to regret that decision.

Artie, I completely understand your concerns with the bamboo. We have a small 490ms block in the inner city so were definitely concerned about how much of our precious little yard the bamboo would take up. We planted 2 little stick like gracilis about a year ago and they've thickened up nicely and are starting to block out the neighbours. Granted they're not at they're full size yet, however I haven't ever seen a Gracilis that was too daunting. I suggest going to a bamboo specialist nursery and having a chat. We love our bamboo on our little block :)

Hi Artie, That B.oldhamii I have down near my back fence even if it fell down it would never topple on the house its about 100ft away, but all the 60ft plus Gum trees that are growing around the house would and image the damage they would cause I honestly wish they were bamboo but they are not so I have to live with them.

Having taken out 28 such trees some very dangerous, double forked, rotten inside not done by termites scarey trees that ave been replaced with safe ones ( I Hope ) we still have 15 of these scarey trees on the side and front of our block, but dont have the $$$$ to get them removed having said that I still wish they were bamboo.

What I like about bamboo is its not rigid and that swaying doesn't worry me at all as the house is too far away for me to hear it. But on a little block Yes I do understand your concern but if people did their research first they would not have that trouble. I am very pleased to hear that you are venturing into other plants, Hey Artie Bamboo can grow in pots, so think about having a go, maybe we can convert you yet......Cheers..MM.
PS Dare I say:
I HATE Golden Cane Palms but I let hubby plant two as he lets me have my own way in the Garden.

Artiew,
I can assure you ,having had experience of bamboos ,here and overseas-that you CAN get bamboo that will not grow larger than Golden cane palms and they will look so much nicer .There was an article in last Fridays Courier Mail about clumping bamboos,which mentioned sveral suitable species.
Bamboos have an advantage over trees in a suburban yard,as other posts have mentioned:
Very Little storm damage
They dont require much ground space
They dont exhaust the surrounding ground of nutrients
Other plants can be grown at their base
No invasive roots
They will not damage house foundations
You can eat them!
I could go on all day,but-do yourself a favour see a specialist nursery such as Bamboo Down Under at Tamborine Mountain,and discover the beauty of these plants.
Here endeth the lesson :)

Tiger Grass (Thysanaloa??) to 3m is a great bamboo substitute, dietes, aloes, philodendrons, penisetum burgundy giant, philodendron cannifolium, monstera, broms, malaviscus, cordylines and draceanas, aspidistra, neomarica, birds nest ferns, syngonium, white cedar tree, syzygium sp, jasminum sp, species hibiscus, crucifix orchids, sansevieria, jatropha sp, synadenium, agapanthus, crinum,hoop pine, podocarpus, bouganvillea, plumeria, lomandra, dianella, tulbaghia, storm lily, ctenanthe, asparagus, aralia, plumbago are just some of the plants I have found to be tolerant of low rainfall in the western area of Brisbane, and not troubled by heavy rain when it comes. This is all so dependant on your soil type and if there is cover or not. You must maintain moist soil (not wet) for all plants (except succulents) until they get their roots out into the surrounding soil mass. If you are reluctant to try bamboos because of lack of info re likely size I would suggest a stroll around the Mt Cootha botanical gardens and check out the groves of bamboo there. It is a good way to see the form, spread, disease susceptability and size before you buy. I found that the prices of bamboos varied a lot between different suppliers so check out a few different ones. We eventually purchased most from Earthcare enterprises at Maleney They have an online catalogue,

Thanks for all the encouragement, folks, but I dont live in Brissie (as of April, 2003, anyway) - I live in Rocky. We have precisely one Tropical specialist nursery which sells bamboo, and a 6" pot goes for $20-30, from memory. I agree that you get a lot of plant for your money, but I'd like to leave any new planting until March at the earliest - I suspect that we are all suffering with heat damage at the moment, and I want to wait until the sun is a little less ferocious than it was around Xmas.

start your garden off with two or three foot of mulch - sounds crazy, but mulching that deep will keep just about all the moisture that comes to your garden into your garden. It will take about 6-8 months to mulch down to a reasonable level.

I started mine with sugar cane mulch (the big round bales) which should be available near you for a reasonable price.

have a talk to your council gardeners about what's drought tolerant and what isn't. they may even be able to supply you with some plants.

I have read all your posts with much interest. I am about to plan a new front garden (12m x 6 mt) full sun (very hot in the PM), sandy soil, in Sth East Queensland. I hadn't thought of bamboo, would my garden be too small? I have decided not to go native, but take it that most of the drought tolerant plants mentioned would be suitable until I get a bit of a conopy established

Hi Greenthumb...Bamboo come in all shapes and sizes, I was going to put a link in for "Bamboo Down Under" where I have been for a good look, but there site is getting a makeover so have a look at this link for size, height and price Bamboo Australia just to give you a idea and only buy the Clumping species.. Yes there are plenty of non natives out there that dont need much water if any, mind you I still have a lot of natives but a bit of variety is always great as well..Good luck with your new garden.....Cheers..MM.

Hi Greenthumb,

Whilst I have spent a large part of this thread documenting my resistance to bamboo, I do feel that the clumping bamboos shine in a small area. My friend has a reasonably large garden in total, but only about 2-3 metres between her house and the fence. She has done an excellent job of screening out her neighbours with bamboo, even large varieties like 'Giant Buddha Belly'. You can chop out new shoots without impacting the health of the remaining plant - my main concern would be the height of the mature plant, but there should be enough information throughout this thread for you to make an informed decision in that regard.

Cheers,

Artie