Which Palm Trees Are the Best at the Entrance of a Residence?

Layering

• Plan in layers. The visual attraction of landscaping is that all the elements can be seen at one time. This involves planning your designs in layers. Place the larger palm trees nearer the house, but not so close that rodents can leap from the tree to the roof. Be aware of spacing. The larger palms include the royal palm and foxtail palm. Both have long trunks and burst with greenery at the top. They are ideal for two-story homes. A single-level home can feature a queen palm or a series of three queen palms placed in the front. The fronds hang down and greenery is seen at eye level.

Moving Away From the House

• In front of the tall, background palm trees, a garden can be created using the pygmy date palm or the dwarf palmetto. Pygmy dates grow in bunches of three closely spaced trunks and spread out as they reach the greenery. Dwarf palmetto has spiked fronds and spreads out horizontally. Both fill up the spaces created by the trunks of the taller trees.

Privacy With Palms

• If your entrance is too open to the street, create a natural screen using areca palms. Plant the fast-growing trees four feet apart, and within one year they will fill in and create a privacy wall. Arecas are labor intensive and require frequent undercutting to guide the growth and prevent a ragged appearance.

Palm Accents

• The sago palm is one of the most attractive of the landscape palm trees. Looking like a fireworks explosion, the sago is lush, green and easy to grow and maintain. Other palm accents include the needle palm, a full-growing, compact and hardy palm with spiked fronds, and the Bismark palm, which is silvery in color and has spiked fronds. Less inviting than a sago, the Bismark stands alone.