Hi Mike. Just had to respond to your thread about Areca palms. I have always loved them even tho I never owned or planted one,..or dug one up,..only saw photos of them, until I relocated to South Florida.

I finally ran up against them nose-to-nose when I moved here 8 yrs ago. A previous owner planted a 22 ft long " hedge " of Arecas many years ago, ( multiplied over the yrs to maybe 70 + trunks in 4 huge, round clusters ), right along the outside wall of the screened lanai. They were in dismal shape then, so I naively fertilized and watered them and soon they bounced back with a vengeance ! Finally after 7 years I realized I had blundered, big time. They were in the wrong spot, should have dug 'em up when I had the chance.

I love planting " my stuff ", but only if they are low maintenance. These guys were growing so fast I needed to aggressively prune them back 5, 6 times a year, otherwise they were banging up under the 8 ft tall metal roof overhang and punching holes in the adjacent screens only inches away.

Six weeks ago I finally decided it was time to dig 'em up and plant a softer, slower growing, smaller hedge that required less maintenance. When I first dug my shovel into the soil under them 10 - 12 foot clusters, it was like trying to dig up concrete. These guys were tough ! Their stringy roots defied removal. However, they CAN BE KILLED,...with patience and dogged determination ! It took me almost 6 weeks of hot, sweaty work to complete the entire elimination job and then plant the new hedge. Am impressed you were able to transplant 9 of them by yourself, - how long did it take ?

Will add a photo of the healthy arecas prior to the work,..then a photo of my just completed ( yesterday ) 6 small new hedge plants that will top out at 6 - 8 feet and only need trimming once a year, starting 5 yrs from now ! ( smile ) All's well that ends well,..the result has turned out OK,... according to my neighbors. ( smile )

Only advise, the Areca Palms are very attractive, - just be careful where you plant them !

jofus actualy I did the first 6 last sept one I put my the workshed and the last 4 I dug up Friday planted then sunday/ I used a rented backhow from homedepot. I tried a shovel with the size these were there was no way.

I plucked then and moved then to the side of the house then I layed them on a plastic tarp and dragged then over the grass of the backlawn and rolled them into each hole. I moved to gulf cove h=back in 04 planted about 6 arecas alond a side fence. I moved here in 2010 and now the arecas I planed in 04 are huge tall. with fat as my arm trunks.