Wednesday, May 21, 2008

VOLCANIC GRAVEL.

We planted a palm tree 5 years ago in a block surround raised bed. The palms need regular trimming and the more you trim, the higher they grow.



This is the same tree last October and see how the osteospurmum was getting squashed and tatty.
Here's the palm a year before.

Recently we dug out the osteospurmum, removed the blocks and gave the palm a real good trim to properly reveal the patterns in the trunk. Today we placed the volcanic gravel round its base. It's supposed to retain moisture and provide nutrients, so most of the herbs grown in pots are now round the palm.....let's see how they do.

Caring for the palm tree trunks is a work of art here. When the exposed wood is mature enough it's
trimmed back further, all the fibrous matter is dug out and the trunk sanded down to provide a smooth finish. They look really beautiful and I will look around the area and find a good example and post a picture here.

1 comment:

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

So the Japanese have their bonsai trees and the Spanish their palm trees. I had not realised that there is so much work involved in getting a beautiful palm tree trunk.

BTW that volcanic gravel around your palm tree is looking great; it is showing off the gorgeous trunk a treat!