Editing Multiple Plantings

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===A Novel Concept in Landscaping===
In the natural condition, palms are often
classified as solitary (e.g.
''[[Roystonea regia]]'', ''[[Phoenix canariensis]]'',
''[[Washingtonia filifera]]'' and that stout giant
''[[Jubaea chilensis]]'') or clumping (typically many
species of ''Chamaedorea'', ''Chrysalidocarpus''
and ''Rhapis''). One finds that most
gardeners, in their crude attempts to emulate
nature, follow consistent and rather
conservative approaches. Royals and
Queens and invariably regimented along
avenues, ''[[Phoenix canariensis]]'' is usually at
the centre of a circle, and so on. So
perhaps it is the creative flair of a good
landscaper that gets one away from the
mundane to more imaginative and
adventurous designs. Such is the case with the
novel concept of multiple plantings of
solitary palms.

Reading through the sections of palm
books which deal (usually very scantily)
with cultivation, there isn't much mention
of the multiple planting idea. David Jones
(Palms in Australia, 1984), however, does
mention the idea of pair plantings: "Tall
palms look especially effective when
planted close together in pairs. If planted
side by side and at a slight angle away from
each other, their trunks tend to curve apart
and add an interesting aspect to the
garden". Well, that idea is taken a step
further with multiple plantings - typically five
or seven (in hort. school you are told
always plant in odd numbers!) specimens
together.
 
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[[File:Articles_mult1.jpg|frame|Figure 1.]]
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Figure 1 illustrates this with a
group of five Royals, while Figure 2 shows
two islands each with 5-6
''[[Archontophoenix alexandrae]]''. There are many variations
of the theme. For example, the planting
in close proximity of a group of the same
plants - as illustrated in Figure 3 with an
island grouping of Mascarene bottle palms.
 
The concept of multiple planting isn't
limited to big-style landscape work. One can
do it in a container too. For instance, older
''[[Chamaedorea metallica]]'' plants tend to get
a little too tall to look elegant, but a
grouped planting with the tall plant in the
centre and five or six younger plants
surrounding it, looks just great. "Why didn't
I think of that?", a number of our visitors
have exclaimed on seeing such a planting.
The only advice we should offer on the
preparation for multiple plantings is that,
because of the extra number of plants, one
does need to give a little more thought to
selection of the planting site, preparation
of the hole, drainage, watering and
fertilising, etc. But the rewards are really worth it.
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[[File:Articles_mult2.jpg|frame|Figure 2.]]
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[[File:Articles_mult3.jpg|frame|Figure 3.]]
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[[File:Articles_mult4.jpg|frame|Figure 4.]]
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===Contributed by:===
Roy Osborne & Stan Walkley


===External Links:===
<p>[https://www.google.com/search?q=Multiple+palm+planting&amp;num=10&amp;sa=Google+Search Google],
[https://images.google.com/images?q=Multiple+palm+planting&amp;hl=en&amp;btnG=Google+Search GoogleImages],
<p>
[[Category:Palm_Articles|Multiple+_Plantings]]
[[Category:Palm|Multiple_Plantings]]