Here is a photo of the palm tree in question.

Here is a link that might be useful: Canary Island Palm

That is a canary island date palm. But before you dig it up and get rid of it, remember they are pretty expensive at that size so you can always sell it to someone local and get a crane to remove it for you.

A kentia palm would look great in that spot, but they grow really slow so it would probably be a better understory under something that grows larger. Washingtonia robustas are nice, but they are so common and drop fruit. Queens are also nice, but drop fruit and get too tall. Royal palms and king palms grow fast, but also get over 40 feet tall. Fishtail palms are really nice, but they have fat trunks, grow over 40 feet tall, and will die in about 50-100 years and have to be removed. Butterfly palms dont get too tall and if they ever do you can just cut off the trunks that are too tall because it makes lots of babies giving a full tropical look. I think they might be the best in your situation. They arent very fast growers, but you can get pretty large ones cheaply. Also the best way to get a tropical look is by grouping all different tropical plants of all different heights next to each other. A birds of paradise might look nice there too, but Im not sure how much planting space you have. Philodendrons make great understory plants and monstera would look really nice climbing up a palm trunk.

Also the link you wrote didnt work, but this one should.

Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful:

I personally like the leaves of the phoenix. couldnt you tie the fronds back or have it trimmed? Sooner or later it will be taller and the fronds will be out of your way.

Thanks tropicalzone & Mike. I'm not going to dispose of this gorgeous specimen - I'm a Master Gardener, and that would be sacrilege, lol!! It's just going to a new spot in my yard where it can grow unimpeded to its full potential - which here in Vista, California can be extremely substantial, 40 feet or more. Mike, the trunks of Canary Islands get very large, and the spot in which it is planted won't accomodate that, unfortunately. I love the look of these palms, too, a lot. I have some places on my property where I can plant it, where it can grow as big as it wants, without fear of someone walking underneath and impaling themselves in the head with a spike :-) Here's what the trunk looks like, and why we need to find a better spot on our property for this palm:

Patty S.

tropicalzone,
Forgot to mention, I've got lots of Birds all over the place, Giant, Standards, and mini's. And a gazillion palm and cycad varieties, still trying to identify all of them! The previous owners were palm/cycad affecionados, so I've got a huge identification project on my hands. I do like the idea of trying to plant more than just a palm - I'll have to see how much room I'm going to have, once we have the small retaining wall build down in the pathway where the Canary is presently planted. If I can safely squeeze in something else that will grow tall, I will do it,
especially if I can get some color. Here's what some of the back yard looks like by the pool, and right around the corner:

Patty S.

You have a beautiful yard! I wonder how a hibiscus bush would look in the area where your CIDP palm is. It would bring lots of color and they grow pretty fast, but are easily pruned into a shrub or a tree. They also have a variegated one with yellow flowers, but that one is grown more for its foliage. That will really fill up the space nicely and they look really good with palms and other tropicals also.

Good luck!

Thank you :-) It is very lovely, very peaceful, and very lush. This is the high-water area, but the rest is all low water landscaping, with lots of Calif. natives as well as other water-wise specimens. So, it's nice to have a little corner with some tropicals to enjoy. As far as Hibiscus - yes, excellent choice. If you look above the two chaise lounges, that tree you see is a large Hibiscus trimmed up to a tree. There is another matching one just to its right, on the other side of the pretty little palm (as yet unidentified). And, we have two more that continue along that planter. We are very, very fortunate to be able to grwo them, as most folks in my area have given up on Hibiscus due to the severe White Fly infestations in our area. I probably have about 15 to 20 Hibiscus, various varieties and flowers in this part of my yard. I love them.

Patty S.

My hibiscus also suffer from white flies (when indoors for the winter), but they are such nice plants that its worth treating them. Whatever you find to put in that spot, Im sure it will be very nice like the rest of your yard.

Good luck!

Why not one of the large specimens of Banana. They can get quite large and provide that lush tropical look.

From my former days in California; whatever you do, don't plant a Eucaliptis within 40-50 of the pool. Those bugger leave always end up in the pool and are hard to get out.

A large Banana species might be a good option, as long as it doesn't drop fruit or develop a really large trunk. A Eucalyptus is a non-option. Way too dangeous for a couple of reasons - they can blow down very easily in a wind storm and they are a huge fire hazard for a second reason. And, they're not appropriate for around a pool due to litter, as you've mentioned. I'm trying to stick with our theme of tropical plants around the pool, so I'll check out some Bananas.

Patty s.

dear hoosierquilt,you don't have only a garden,you have what looks like heaven.i enjoy just LOOKING at your grounds.congrats and regards from alabama.

Thanks, colabama. We are very fortunate to live in an area of the country that grows just about anything and everything. I have decided on two Kentia palms and a Banana of some sort. I think this will give us a nice canopy without crowding out the planter below the pool deck where the palms will be planted. I'm going to move the Canary Island Date Palm to the front of our yard in an area where people aren't inclined to walk.

Patty S.

Sounds very nice. I hope you post some pics of how it looks when its done!
Good luck!

If they are hardy in your area, I vote for replacing your CIDP with a cluster of three King palms.

Thanks, tropicalzone, I wll post pics when we get everything spiffed up. And Dave, we did consider Kings, as they are very popular here, and reasonably priced, but they get huge here - over 40 feet tall. So, too tall for this particular area and what I want. That's why we are going with Kentias which will stay a little bit smaller and grow slower than Kings out here. If you look at the photo with the two tall glazed pots, those palms with the large trunks whose canopies are out of the photo are Kings. They are at least 30 feet tall and are only 5 or 6 years old!

Patty S.

Just read this thread for the first time, and I'm a little surprised that no one else has mentioned this, but won't the Kentias get too much sun? I've had one in a pot for about 20 yrs & I have to be very careful where I place it outdoors. If its in full sun with temps in the mid 80s it burns.
But perhaps there's something I don't know.....can they be acclimated to full sun?

John, this spot is on the east side of our house, and not too far away from the house, itself, which is a very tall two story structure. It does get shade in the afternoon, which is why I think a Kentia will do okay. From what I understand with Kentias in our area, they grow best in 35%-80% of full sunlight, tolerating direct sun only after about five years old. Any Kentia I'm going to be planting will be 5 years old or older, since I'm buying something in a very large container to get the height. I did discuss this at length with the guys at Junglemusic.net, THE "palm guys" in San Diego county (and probably for most of the western USA). They were the ones who suggested Kentias, as well as my landscaper and a few others. So, we should be okay with a couple of Kentias in this spot.

Patty S.

Hi Patty,

You certainly do have a piece of paradise. Very nice! Have you considered a grouping of 3 Carpentaria acuminata's? They are not as big as a group of kings and they are easy to maintain. Or even a group of Ptychosperma elegans? Both develop a nice canopy and the elegans are very simalar to the carpies. Just a thought :)