Palms are great gardening plants, and comprise of Arecaceae, Cycadaceae and Heliconiaceae plant families. When most gardeners think of palm gardening plants, they are referring to Arecaceae (palm trees).
Palm trees are very distinctive, with a thin trunk, no branches, and thick green leaves at the top. Although generally associated with hot climates (probably from their appearence on the steryotypical desert island), they can thrive pretty much anywhere - from the rainforest to the middle of the desert.
Most gardeners would agree that palm trees look good, and they are used a lot for landscaping. If you're planning to add palms to your garden, you'll probably want to buy them fully (or near enough) grown, to be transplanted in to your garden - rather than growing them yourself, a time consuming process! The fasted growing palms can grow to a decent size in about 7 years. You will have to decide which option is best for your particular garden.
Whichever growing option you choose, you will need to take good care of your new palm. Palms require a lot of care and attention - you will need a good fertilizer in the soil (consult the seller of your palms for more information). If you are growing the palm yourself, it may be advisable to grow it indoors (or in a greenhouse) for the first two years, until it has grown large enough to protect itself from extremes of weather.
The fruit of the palm tree - coconuts - are seen as very valuble around the world - and with good reason! They make great gifts for friends and family, and taste great.
Like so many people in history, you will learn to love palm trees, when you're sitting under the shade of their leaves, sipping on your fresh coconut, all the hard work will suddenly seem worth it...
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