Rain tests out the new stain job on the wooden wheelchair ramp

Rainwater beads up nicely on this freshly stained wood.

Nothing beats a trial by fire.  Or, in this case, rain.  We thought we did a good job of staining this wooden wheelchair ramp, but a nice little rainstorm early this morning really put it to the test.  The water beaded up and ran off just like it should. 

Even these handrails repelled water well.

We inspected the whole job and found that even the dryest and most weathered wood took the stain well and is repelling water as it now should.  It doesn't rain often in the desert, but when it does, it still does damage to wooden structures so this was worth doing.

Why stain your wooden hardscape? This picture tells the tale.

We had some stain left over after finishing the ramp (better too much material than not enough), so we stained a few other wooden hardscape objects as well.  It makes them all match and they all needed protection just as badly as the ramp did.  The puddles on this raised garden bed tell the tale of why staining wood outdoors is worthwhile. 

But how does water repellant wood stain work? I mean, it's liquid itself right? It soaks into the wood, especially this weathered wood, really well.  It didn't form a plastic like coating on the surface of the wood. Other than being a little darker, it looks and feels the same as before.  But now the rain water isn't soaking in.  I did some research.

The first thing I found out was that the stain we chose contains linseed oil. The oil fills the pores in the wood so that water cannot enter them.  It, like all oils, is naturally water repellant.  Everything is made from atoms which are incredibly tiny, electrically charged particles made up of negative electrons, positive protons and neutral neutrons and those atoms are combined to form molecules.  Some molecules are fundamentally stable enough to be considered elements, such as the oxygen and hydrogen that make up water. The hydrogen bonds that hold water molecules together are such that they leave some electrons still free to attract to other positively charged molecules, such as those that make up cotton fibers (which is why cotton clothes soak up water like a sponge).

Oil on the other hand, is made of chains of molecules that are bound together in ways that there aren't nearly as many electrons free to bond with other things, making a liquid oil nearly neutral in charge, thus the negatively charged water isn't attracted to it.  It get's quite complex, but that's about the most simple way to explain it. 

A great picture of the flax plant and its products by Handwerker on Wikimedia Commons.com

Water molecules. Note the positive charge of the hydrogen (H) is attracted to the negative charge of the oxygen (O)

A simple oil molecule. Hydrogen (H) electrons have filled all the available bonds with protons in the carbon (C) atoms, thus no space for the available electrons on the oxygen atoms of water to be attracted.

The stain we used also has what they call WaterGuard water repellants, which are trademarked and not disclosed, but are likely to be man-made polymers that are a lot like natural oils and that enhance the properties of the linseed oil. 


In addition to the raised bed, we also stained this wooden fence protecting a little patio area.

Water is running off this wooden fence now.

Stained this shade awning for the water system

And this shade awning.  Shade awnings like this are essential for protecting hoses, pipes, etc. of water systems for homes in the desert. Otherwise, the UV light from the sun will weaken the rubber and plastic they are made from. The awning also reduces the amount that the water gets heated during the summer so that water won't be so warm when it comes from the tap in the sinks.

Staining wood isn't terribly fun as it's difficult to keep the stain from getting on places where you don't want it and it's a sticky mess to get off your hands (rubbing alcohol on an old rag works about as well as anything), but it is important for having a sustainable landscape.  Being sustainable and environmentally friendly includes preventing materials in the landscape from becomming so damaged that they have to be thrown away and replaced.  By protecting these wooden structures, we're avoiding adding damaged wood to the landfill (or even the effort, time and money involved in getting it recycled before its useful life is truly over) and avoiding having to contribute to the demand for new lumber (and all the enviromental costs involved there), at least for the time being.  

What is a Palm and How Do We Care For Them?

Unpruned but healthy Mexican Fan Palm Washingtonia robusta at Fullerton Arboretum, CA

Areas around the world with a Mediterranean climate such as The Middle East, Florida, The Caribbean Islands and even places in the American Southwest have both native and introduced species of palms that grow well.  Las Vegas and Palm Springs are especially well-known for having palm lined streets and palms in many landscapes.  These popular plants are often referred to as 'trees' but they don't really grow nor behave much like most of the trees we are familiar with.  What are they and how do we take care of them?  We're going to briefly discuss those two questions in this blog post. 

This information is based on personal experience as well as discussions with teachers at the College of Southern Nevada's Ornamental Horticulture Department and University Research Extension Service circulars from both The University of Nevada Reno and The University of Florida. The extension services of these and a few other universities have even more detailed information about palms than we are going to go into here.  We encourage you to look into it if you are interested in learning more.  We can also discuss these topics in depth in the comments section if you would like.


First, what is a palm really?  There are two families of plants that are commonly called 'palm trees': Palmae and Cycadaceae.  Most are in the Palmae family, but at least one commonly planted 'palm' in the Southwest is in the Cycadaceae: the Sago 'palm' Cycas revoluta.  

Female (in background) and Male (in foreground) Sago Palms (Cycas revoluta)

Both palms and cycads are dioecious meaning that there are separate plants in each species: one being female and the other male.  You have to have a male plant nearby for the wind to carry its pollen to the female plants if you want fertilized fruit.  Some species of palms have edible berries or dates as long as they come from fertilized flowers.  This is beneficial to landscape designers since if you don't want to deal with the fruits falling on the ground, you can plant a male of the species.  On the other hand, if the people who will be near the plant the most have hayfever, you can plant the female plant instead to reduce the pollen count around the property.  Most of these plants do not flower until they are several years old, the exact age varying among species and depending on the health of the plant.  You can also prune off the flower stalks before they start dropping pollen or fruit without hurting the plant.  Removing flowers is harmless.  Removing leaves is harmful.  

Neither palms nor cycads are true trees.  They have significant differences in their anatomy and their behavior from what most real trees are like.  Palms are more closely related to grasses than to pines or deciduous trees and have anatomy somewhat similar to grasses although they are not anywhere near as tolerant of being pruned or cut as most grasses are.  Cycads are more closely related to pine trees in that they have a similar sort of flower structure as other gymnosperms (broadleaf plants that do not produce showy flowers).  Most trees will recover rather quickly from being pruned, even severely cut however palms and cycad species either recover extremely slowly or not at all depending on where the cuts happen. 

The most critical difference between palms and cycads versus most other plants we are familiar with is how they grow.  Both have their primary growing point at the very top of the plant.  If the buds at the top of the main stem are removed or killed (by frost, sun scald, pesticides, insect damage etc.) the plant will never recover from it and will be stunted at best, or begin to decline and die rather quickly at worst.  They cannot sprout at the base of their trunks as many trees can in response to damage.  They also lack true bark.  What some call the bark on these plants are just overlapping leaf bases and a porous material similar to what you see in the middle of a grass stem.  If this is damaged, it never scabs over and leaves wounds that make the plant more susceptible to insects and disease. 

Most species of palms also start very short and stay that way for many years as their trunk diameter gradually increases.  Once the trunk has reached the maximum diameter for the species (also depending on the plant's health), the trunk will begin to grow taller.  When the palm has reached its maximum height for its species (groups of palm species are capable of achieving different heights with species such as California Date Palm and Canary Island Date Palm being among the tallest at around 60 feet tall and pigmy palms such as Phoenix roebelenii and Sago palms that only get about eight feet tall at the most), it will begin to age and decline, living less than 100 years in most cases.  The shortest species, tend to be multi-trunked and spread out more, so they need more square footage of clearance where they are planted. Trying to prune a multi-trunked species so that it looks single trunked is a huge mistake and will make the palm fall apart as it grows bigger.  Almost all palm species should have at the very least 10 to 20 feet of space or more between the mature sized trunk and traffic areas, power lines etc. to avoid having to prune them because they are 'in the way'.  Never plant a palm or cycad right up against any solid object such as a wall, fence, sidewalk etc. or you are asking for trouble later on. 

There are two main appearances of palms: 'Feather' and 'Fan'.  The feather types have leaves that look like a bird's feather since they are so deeply lobed that they appear to have hundreds of long, narrow 'leaves' growing out from the central axis of the leaf in a sort of herringbone pattern.  Fan palms look more like the palm of a persons hand or ceiling fan with wide leaves that appear to be almost completely entire with lobes of varying length (depending on the species) extending beyond the solid part almost like little fingers from a persons hand.  The solid part usually looks corrugated like a piece of tin or carboard.  All types of palms produce strong, stringy material from the leaf margins with the strings being longer or more abundant on some species than others.  California Fan Palm Washingtonia filifera, for example, has so many of these threads that it is how it got its name.

Fan Palm leaf style vs Feather style

California Fan Palm Washingtonia filifera with its threads

In general, the feather type palms tend to do better in full sun than the fan palms do here in the Southwest, so it does make a difference which type you plant in certain locations.  It especially matters what exact species you plant as some species get much bigger, height or width, than others. 

We recommend Pygmy Phoenix roebelinii and Sago 'palms' for most residential purposes in Las Vegas as they don't get very tall and are easier to care for than the palms that get huge.  If you have the room and want a really hardy palm California Fan Palm Washingtonia filifera which is actually native to the Southwest and grows wild in oasis in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.  The younger of a plant you get, the better it will survive the transplanting process and the healthier it may be later on.  It is sometimes easier to tell what sex the plant is once it is several years old. 

Palms should be planted in the late spring, after the last hard freeze, but way before temperatures start getting up into the 100's.  It is a myth that palms establish best when it is really hot.  They should be watered almost daily as they get established, but only need water occasionally once the root system has anchored in. When they are watered, it is important that they are irrigated long enough for water to moisten the soil down to the bottom of the rootball.  Light watering will leave them drought stressed.  However, that does not mean that they will tolerate saturated soil for long. They need to be planted in soil that drains quickly such as a fine sand or loamy sand.  They do best with irrigation water that soaks into the soil around the root zone of the trunk (from the trunk out several feet, depending on the species and age) rather than having water sprayed at them. In fact, our high pH water can actually cause salt damage to the trunks and leaves of palms when it is sprayed.  

Palms also need a lot of Potassium (K) and usually need it supplied by a low Nitrogen (N), low Phosphorous (P) but high Potassium fertilizer.  Over-supplying Nitrogen and Phosphorous runs the risk of polluting the ground water since the soil needs to be fast draining and over-fertilizing will not benefit the plant.  Potassium deficiency is the leading cause of most of the poor performance we see in palms.  Having leaves that droop, turn brown and 'need' pruned off (they never need pruned off as long as humans don't decide that they have to be) every year is a sure sign that the palm is lacking K and maybe other nutrients. It is also probably not getting enough water either. 

Most palm species have leaves that live three to five years at least, and as long as 10 years when the plant is really healthy.  Also, the 'dead' leaves are beneficial to the plant as they provide physical support to the younger leaves above them; protect the trunk from temperature extremes; and gradually release their nutrients back to the rest of the plant as long as they are still attached.  In fact, yearly pruning can lead to chronic K deficiencies that actually wind up causing even more rapid leaf drop and shortening the palm's lifespan. 

Some palm species hang on to their old leaves longer than others but all of them will shed the leaf when it is totally drained of mobile nutrients and has dried out completely.  Some shed dry leaves a few at a time over a very long time period, like evergreen trees do, while others will shed several all at once.  How clean you feel the area around your palm must be is something to consider when picking a palm species to plant.  If you are a neat freak or have others around you who dictate that nothing can stay on the ground, it's best to either not plant a palm at all, or to pick species that produce very little fruit, the smallest fruit, drop leaves less often and, if you can get them, the male of the species.  That species usually winds up being the Sago 'palm' as it has tiny berries, delicate leaves and drops them very seldom. 

Gardening Is Every Bit As Fun, But Not As Simple As It Might Seem

             Not all plants are created equal.  Radishes are easy.....Roses? Not so much.




I take partial blame for this problem and other writers should too: Oversimplification to the point of misinformation.  We try so hard to make everything we write as easy to understand as possible that sometimes we leave out so much detail that what the reader sees is no longer completely true.  One of the most common examples of this that I see is in articles and instructions on how to care for plants. 

From so many of these things, you might get the impression that almost all plants can be cared for the same way.  This is patently untrue!  Green, flowering plants (which are mostly what we talk about) are one of the most diverse groups of living things on the planet.  Each genera (or closely related group) of plants has different requirements to thrive and different adaptations to help them survive less than ideal conditions.  Plant care that would make an agave thrive would kill an aloe plant and vice-versa for exa

mple.  But they are both 'succulents for xeroscapes' as some lump them together, so they too often get treated the same.  

One of the biggest mistakes we make is in assuming that we can care for plants in broad categories with a slightly different cookie cutter approach for each category.  Grass is a prime example.  There are far too many examples out there of advice on how to care for your lawn that might work (or might not, depending on where you live but that's yet another subject) for one genera of grass but might kill grass in another genera, yet some of these pieces of advice are portrayed as being applicable to all turf grasses.  Some people think that all grass is just like Bermuda grass, for example and treat it that way.

                              
 


 This Bermuda grass is colonizing a patch of previously bare soil where an outdoor playhouse used to be. It got a jump start from me using a technique called 'sprigging'. This picture was taken two years ago. Now, you can't tell where the bare spot was at all.


Actually, Bermuda grass is something of a freak of nature and is very different from most other commonly used turf grasses.  It thrives on abuse.  It reproduces by seed, stolon (above ground horizontal stems) and rhizomes (below ground horizontal stems).  When you break these stolons and rhizomes during mowing, pulling etc. it actually stimulates the plant to grow even more of them.  Abuse also stimulates the plant to produce more flowers (those 'turkey foot' looking things that it grows).  The growing points in Bermuda grass are not only in the base of the plant, but in these horizontal stems which can grow new roots and tillers (or upright stems) at almost any point along them if conditions are right.  This grass is adapted to living in harsh, full sunlight and even salty environments such as along the coast of an island as the name Bermuda might suggest.  About the only way to kill it once it's established is with several months of below freezing temperatures coupled with 100% shade.  If those difficulties aren't around, nothing else will hurt it.  There aren't any herbicides available to the general public that will kill it no matter what the label says.  Even most of the professional stuff only stunts it for a short time.  It is so able to go into a dormant state that as soon as you quit spraying for it, it will come right back. 

I've even seen people spray it, stop watering it, mow it right down to the ground, cover it with a layer of 'weed barrier' (which is worthless, don't buy it!) and crushed rock out here in Vegas. As long as it is kept dry, it seems to be dead. But it is only sleeping.  As soon as you plant something else you want such as a flowering yucca or agave or cassia etc. in this 'xeroscape' landscape you've created and start watering it, you'll start having little green, leafy stolons popping up. If you don't pull them or spray them on a regular basis, you'll soon have a nice little patch of Bermuda grass turf around your desired plant. I've even seen the stolons climb up through the branches of a shrub like it was a vine or something. If you want this for a yard, these traits make for a nearly fool proof turf. If you don't want it around, they make for something that is pretty much a noxious weed as far as you are concerned. The picture above is a good example of this situation.  It will take some time to get this allegedly 'dead' Bermudagrass under control.

And then you have the other commonly used turf grasses.  These, such as Tall Fescue, Italian Ryegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass and such will barely survive in the Southwest without plenty of irrigation and care.  Many of them, such as the Fescues and Ryegrasses, are bunch-grasses and have only a few growing points in the base of each bunch.  When the grass starts to grow flowers (botanists call them 'inflorescences of florets' when it comes to grasses), these growing points are elevated up towards the middle of the stems. If these stems get whacked off below that point, that stem won't grow anymore.  Even the other sod-grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass, aren't as aggressive as Bermuda since, while they might have rhizomes, they don't have the ability to stay dormant for such long periods and the rhizomes aren't quite as able to punch through soil that seems to be too hard and dry for plant life. 

These grasses are not nearly as tough as Bermuda and are killed quite easily.  Giving them too much water is just as deadly to them as not enough water as their roots drown much more easily than Bermuda's do.  They need partial shade for at least part of the day in our climate, but can't handle anything near 100% shade.  In full sun, they need irrigated a lot to avoid burning up (although it's a myth that replacing turf-grass with trees and shrubs saves water since trees and shrubs use more water than most people realize, more on that in another article).  If you mow off more than the top 1/3 of most of these grasses on a regular basis, you will eventually kill them as they won't be able to produce enough carbohydrates to replenish their root reserves and to grow more roots.  You'll wind up with grass that has shallow, weak roots that will also require more irrigation as they won't have enough roots to get to water that has soaked down deeper into the soil.  You also prevent them from flowering and producing seed that can grow new plants for you, so guess what? You wind up buying more seed and spreading lots of that out in hopes that some of it survives and 'thickens' up your turf.  

The result of a turf that starts dying off or 'thinning out' as some say, is an increase of 'weeds' or other plants that you don't want in your yard.  Seeds from all sorts of plants fall on your yard on a regular basis, being carried in by the wind, water, stuck to feet, in pots of potted plants that you buy, etc.  If a seed lands in a spot with enough water, sunlight and lack of competition, it may germinate and grow a new plant.  What happens then? People spend even more money to spray and/or pull those 'weeds'.  If they apply the herbicide incorrectly, they may even wind up weakening the very grass they are trying to keep.
 

Oleanders are the shrub above while the groundcover below is Lantana. This is one of the lavender varieties which spread wide rather than forming a small bush as the red and yellow varieties do.


Another major example of treating all plants the same centers around the ubiquitous ornamental shrub of the Southwest: the Oleander.  I like Oleanders!  They can be quite nice when used correctly as the picture above shows.  They are nearly as foolproof as Bermuda grass. They need very little water too.  You can see evidence of this by looking at all of the abandoned and neglected lots in towns in the Southwest.  The last shrubs to die when the irrigation is shut off for good are the Oleanders. In fact, sometimes they thrive even more now that most of the competition is dead and no one is pruning them anymore either.  If you want a nearly foolproof plant for shade, blocking the wind and giving you fragrant flowers, it's a good choice.  If you want a more 'native and natural' look for your Southwest landscape, they'll be as big of a weed as the Bermuda grass :)  Oleanders tolerate excessive and abysmally poor pruning jobs better than any other shrub I've ever seen.  You can hack at them all you like and they'll survive.  I've even seen people cut an established Oleander clear to the ground only to have it grow new shoots around the cut off trunk.  In a couple of years, they've got a little Oleander shrub right back where the stump used to be visible.  About the only way to kill them, it seems, is to dig the stump up.  Even then, you'll have seeds from the pods those pretty flowers produce germinating for years.

And.......Then you have the other shrubs we want to grow.  Most of them, like Feathery Cassia, Purple Cloud, Rosemary, Acacia, Mesquite etc. (yes, Acacias and Mesquites are Shrubs not trees, more on that in another post).  These plants have different requirements and abilities from each other as I mentioned above. They do have one thing in common though: none of them are as tough as Oleanders!  We've simply got to stop treating them like they are.  They cannot survive being pruned too frequently, too closely to the trunk and main branches, having too many leaves removed, at the wrong times of the year etc. like Oleanders can.  They also need more water, even the 'desert adapted' ones.  They simply don't grow as rapidly nor quickly develop as massive of a root system as Oleanders.  If you want to have healthy, thriving shrubs other than Oleanders, you need to do your homework about the specific species of shrub that you want and do your best to meet it's specific needs.  Same goes for turf grasses, ornamental grasses and flowers (yes, not all flowers can be abused like Lantanas can either).

We highly recommend obtaining the services of experienced, knowledgeable people like ourselves who are here to help you succeed, not just to sell you products and wait for you to come back for replacements.  Whether you want to do as much gardening as you can yourself or are looking for someone to take care of your garden for you, it's really important to get advice and assistance from people who can tell their Bermuda from their Tall Fescue and more importantly, know how to properly handle each one.