Herself’s Houston Garden

Not rain, not sleet, not cold, not hot pepper sprinkled in your garden, not chicken wire over your bulbs shall keep the squirrels from your bulbs. Even being stalked all day long by a large black cat shall not keep squirrels from your yard.

Ever the bane of gardeners, I’ve tried all the remedies found online with little success. Down here bulbs are not very successful it doesn’t get cold enough to start them. So I no longer have the pleasure of watching several hundred bulbs disappear each fall.

I have found a way to keep them out of the bird feeders. It took several tries. First I tried stringing one between two trees on thin wire. But the trees were close enough to each other (~20′) for the squirrel to jump to the feeder from the tree. It did take a few hours but that was all I gained on that attempt. So next I tried putting a squirrel baffle over the feeder and coating it with vasoline. I did wind up with a very unhappy, slimy squirrel, but persistence won and he was not only back in the feeder but ate a hole through the plastic.

I purchased this feeder at a hardware store, you also can find it at Amazon.com. It’s been a year an a half and not once has a single squirrel gotten at the seed inside. Not only does the metal keep them from eating their way through but the feeding area is spring loaded so if something larger than a bird lands on it, the access to the seed is cut off.

Homestead 3201S Super Stop A Squirrel Wild Bird Feeder

What has worked for me with feeders on poles is to put vasoline along the pole for about 2′ about half way up the pole. I have to redo it every couple of months but it does keep the squirrels off the feeders.

That’s two days in a row we’ve had sun and some what mild temperatures.

I was able to get out into the back yard gardens and do a few things. I planted two of the Cymbidiums that had been out there on the porch waiting to be stuck in the ground and planted an Elephant Ear bulb I picked up when I went to buy a new shovel and clippers.

Some of the herb seeds I planted last fall are coming up. The Snake Plants look most unhappy. They don’t like to be wet and it’s been nothing but wet for a couple of weeks now. I hope I don’t lose them.

I made a quick pass on weeding the beds, they don’t look as bad as I had thought they would.

I’m hoping the weather holds out another day and I can make a quick pass on the beds out front tomorrow.

See also:
Snake Plant
Cymbidium orchids

12/3/08 We now have 3 distinct stalks and the palm is about 6

This palm will grow up to 10′ and is a slow grower ( ~6″/year ) making it a great potted plant as well. By late summer 2008 it had reached 5′ tall. By late summer 2009 it was about 6′ tall.

It will grow as far north as zone 9 and there are stories of it surviving at occasional temperatures into the mid to low 20s once it has been established. But it must be covered with a sheet or some plastic to provide frost protection.

During the winter of 2007-2008 it lost a few leaves after the ice storm. During the cold winter of 2009-2010 I lost it. All the pygmy date palms are reduced to trunks after that winter. As of June I’ve only seen one in the neighborhood even begin to show life again.

Flowers are tiny and cream colored followed by the dates. The dates, while not poison, are not especially eatable either.

They will grow in sun or part shade.

They like lots of water.

When the oldest, closest to the ground, fronds die, trim them back to the stem of the plant, taking care not to damage the trunk.

Wear thick leather gloves to protect your hands when trim this plant. It has some amazing thorns.

Date palms get frayed looking at the top when they are under fertilized. If yours looks frayed put it on a steady low dose of fertilizer.

Things to watch for:

Bud rot is caused by a fungus.  The top of the plant just rots.  Try treating with a fungicide containing copper.

Frizzle top is not usually seen in Houston, it is caused by a lack of fertilizer.  New grow appears light yellow and frizzy.

Palmetto weevils can cause trees to wilt in just a few days.  You can’t save it but treat nearby trees with a pesticide containing permethrin.

Phoenix species are especially susceptible to RoundUp damage.  So take care not to use it to weed around your palm.

I’m told this plant is damaged by frost and must be protected.  I have not protected this one and have not had any troubles with it.

Other than cold damage this plant grew with no help from me and did quite well. Perhaps on the south side of the city it would be warm enough.

More information
Floridata: Phoenix roebelenii
Palms and Cycads, Garden Web Forums