Artie,

45 litre bag size is not all that big but from what you plan to do they should do fine. I like to add some organic fertiliser to the hole before planting. Seeing that you are planting into sandy loam the base can be slightly below soil level but ensure that soil is cleared away from it. This will help the roots obtain more water. Alexandras and Solitaires plant quite easily without any problems. Have you thought of planting that other fantastic native palm, the Carpentaria?

Andrew.

Thanks for the feedback, Andrew. I did neglect to mention the addition of food for the palms - thanks for the reminder.

I guess the size of the bag is relative - the majority of my plantings have been from 8-inch pots :)

I did ask for a Carpenteria, but my nurseryman said that it doesnt have as thick a canopy as the other two, and I am looking for fast shade. I will underplant with other tropicals (natives where possible), but these 3 have to form the basis of my upper story, so I want the crowns to be as full as possible.

As I said, my other plantings have been relatively cheap (Cascade palms aside - they seem to be relatively expensive), and paying $80 per palm has forced me to ensure that I get it right first time.

artie
have planted a few large bangalows without any probs, As Andrew says you can plant them below ground level without undue anxiety and this means you can fill in as the roots become exposed later. You don't mention the height - if high they may need to be guyed with ropes for a while until the roots have a good hold, particularly if they're in the open. Otherwise I agree with your plans. I don't know if you want to bother with Carpentarias unless you're a collector - they don't look much different from archontophoenix, they'e more tropical in their requirements and in my view less attractive than the bangalows.
Tony

On the note of Carpentarias, the canopy isn't as big as the others and the trunk is quite grey. I have about 20+ in my front yard that covers the area well, but there are a lot of fronds as they are self cleaning.
I have hundreds of seeds (not all ready yet) if anyone wants them, otherwise they are off to the tip.

In my view Carpentarias are very much different looking to Archontophoenix species such as Piccabeens (Bangalow) and Alexandras. They are hardy and very fast growing with lower water requirements than Archontophoenix and really give a tropical touch to the garden. As for being tropical, yes they are but they will grow well in the warmer subtropics and if you look around Brisbane you will find them growing although they are not as common there as they are here and further north.

Thanks for the feedback, one and all.

Tony - they are currently a little over 2.5 metres high - should be fine without any extra support, I hope ...

Carpenteria lovers - I havent ruled them out *yet* : just want to see how the three larger palms look in the ground. I realise that they still have some way to go, but planting them 2 metres apart should give me an idea of how the canopy will look in the future, and I can start working on the other plantings. My eventual aim is to have several of Cyathea Cooperi and Phoenix Roebelenii (non-native, but irresistible !) under the filtered light provided by the canopy, and groundcovers beneath that layer. This bed will shade my existing 'tropical room' from the afternoon sun (my Cascades certainly need it), and allow me to hold barbies without the need for shade sails etc. Natural aircon beats synthetic shade any day of the week :)

A slight correction to my last estimate re the height of the palms - from the bottom of the rootball to the top of the tallest frond, I'd put them at 3.5 - 4metres tall : didnt look that big at the nursery. I'm hoping for eventual heights of between 10 and 12 metres - anything larger would be out-of-place in my backyard.

I would suggest that you dont tease out the roots on palms. With Bangalow this would be an absolute no no, with Alexander palms you might get away with it. Let the roots find their own way !
Fill the hole in several steps watering in the soil as you go to remove all air voids.
Water all these palms in with as much water as you like in a free draining loacation, remembering these palms all love moisture.

Keep the water up over the first year but dont apply too much fertiliser until 12 months later.

If the site is likely to get a lot of wind and the crown of the palms is big, you may need to prop the palms with 3 props at an angle. A vertical stake is not recommended.

Don't agree with the fertiliser advise. Conditions may be different in cold Victoria where Chris Rex is from but I would be fertilising from the beginning, this gives them a good start. If you are a bit tentative about fertilising use a pellet type organic fertiliser, these are quite mild and release nutrients over a longer period than some of the stronger chemical types.

Thanks, Coralcoast - the palms are in, and a large bag of organic fertiliser mixed into the soil. Now I just have to get the watering regime right : I believe that I'll need to water daily for the first week or so, lengthening that to twice per week in Summer and once per week in the cooler months (in Rocky, that is June-September ..). The big plus with the sandy loam is that I'm not so paranoid about water-logging plants : the downside is that I will use more water.

For the record, I have also underplanted the 3 large palms with several others : Kentia, Foxtail, Bamboo (Chamaedorea Seifrizii) and something called a 'Bottle Palm' (Hyophorbe Lagencaulis). Its my earnest hope that these will fill my 'middle storey' (admittedly, at differing heights) as the larger palms begin to attain their expected maximum heights.

The payoff will come when I can plant more shadelovers around this bed, particularly Cyathea Cooperi and Dicksonia Antractica. If tree ferns were more sun-tolerant, they would be my all-time favourite plant.

Bottle palms are a great choice, one of the most beautiful palms for the warmer subtropics and tropics. I have 5 of them on my footpath. Kentia palms should grow OK but I find that they prefer and grow better cooler climates than ours.