Did you know there is PALM trees in Michigan???

Well ok not really BUT I had a request to post pictures of my final project pictures of the palm tree I made from scratch. The trunk is a old utility pole sunk 4 feet in the ground and it had somewhat of a natural bow to it and then I welded the fronds into the shape I desired ( time consuming and my back paid for it ) and then drilled holes in the trunk and placed each one as shown. The rest was adding some lights, raffia ( think thats what they call it ) and then I had a vacation in florida with my family so we sent home some coconuts, which I drilled thru and ran a wire thru them and hooked them around the base of the fronds. RECENTLY a great member here "wplugger" ( thanks again Will ) hooked me up with a few more coconuts and some other goodies from the tree he removed the coconuts from so I placed what I had on the tree for effect. I constructed the palm fronds in hopes that they would last without removing and I think they will do just that, basically made of "pencil" 1/8 rod which is a small re-rod and welded to a heavier "backbone" 3/8 of pencil rod and it lasted the winter here just awesome. Im sure I will remove some of the nautral material for the winter BUT the tree has been up for a year and a half and all looks good. The raffia last well the coconuts went in the barn for the winter and I did put a splash of paint on the darker ones for this season, they were sun blaeched and needed some color the green ones are the newer addition. Hope ya like it and a heres a few shots of the bar for this season, its like an old car, its never done but hell of a lot of fun to keep adding to. Mahalo

truly, a thing of beauty.

Seems I remember you were working on this a while back? Turned out great!

By Canton there is a landscaping place that has large live palm trees "planted" in a line out by the road every year. Yours looks nice though

By Canton there is a landscaping place that has large live palm trees "planted" in a line out by the road every year. Yours looks nice though

Me likey! Very ingenious. Love the tree!

Likey, likey the palm and the Lava Lounge!

Fabulous...I love the palm tree...gotta get a picture at night...light that baby up. :)

I WILL AD A NIGHT TIME PHOTO, GIVE ME A DAY OR SO. THANKS FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT.

On 2010-05-17 16:13, teaKEY wrote:
By Canton there is a landscaping place that has large live palm trees "planted" in a line out by the road every year. Yours looks nice though

teaKey I drove thru canton by mistake one day and saw the line of palm trees and about flipped. It was a site to behold for sure, wish I could afford to do so myself. I do believe there is a company that plants those for ya and then removes them near fall. Take care...

On 2010-05-17 11:46, MadDogMike wrote:
Seems I remember you were working on this a while back? Turned out great!

I sure was mike and thought you may have help steer me in the right direction. First time I made the fronds they looked more like a large leaf but with some suggestions I settled on this design AND i think it was a better design because the wind here can be bad but these stand up really well. Thanks bud... Take care.

Ok guys here are some night time shots, Im no pro but I hope these should give a good idea. Take care...

Yee Haw...now that is awesome!!!

Very cool. I love what happens when creativty meets "work with what you have."

TikiMe, these faux palm cell phone towers are common in California but it occured to me you probably don't have them in Michigan

Shows you what happens when money is no object and the government gets involved :D

On 2010-05-21 17:29, MadDogMike wrote:
TikiMe, these faux palm cell phone towers are common in California but it occured to me you probably don't have them in Michigan

Shows you what happens when money is no object and the government gets involved :D

No we dont have such cell phone towers but MINE can pick up 3 countries and the reception is fantastic!!!! LOL

The cell phone tower is too cool. We don't have them in NC/SC either that I have seen.

Love the nightime pics with the lights on. I'm ready to come over and relax while. Nice job!

On 2010-05-22 18:10, littlegiles wrote:
The cell phone tower is too cool. We don't have them in NC/SC either that I have seen.

Love the nightime pics with the lights on. I'm ready to come over and relax while. Nice job!

If your making a trip to michigan or near, YOUR INVITED!! thanks for your comments..

I'm in Michigan...and that is awesome!

Do you have any build thread or pics you can share (of the tree or the bar)?

I do have other photos on here just use michigan in the search bar, they should come up.

That's great! Do you keep the bar up year-round? Cover it with a tarp during winter?

My bar stays up year round, I just take most things down and store but the palm tree stays put but I do remove the coconuts and natural items from it, I usually paint them every year to make them look nice. Thats the reason for the metal roof on the bar, no maintence like I would have with thatch, but I sure would like to use that type of material. The synethic thatch is way to expensive for my blood.

you CAN grow live palms in cold climates, with certain species ....

http://hubpages.com/hub/What-are-the-Best-Palm-Trees-for-Cold-Climates

I've been looking into a lot of different cold hardy and tropical cold hardy look-alikes for my garden. Just planted a needle palm and windmill palm on either side of my bar. They are young so I will realy be mulching them a lot and hope we don't have to cold a winter this year. I've read about people using heat tape in the winter, like the kind used on pipes to keep them from freezing , to protect the trunk or the tree. The high water content of the trunks of palms is what tends to make them vulnerable to freezing temps. the next plant I's like to get is cold hardy banana...

http://www.beginner-gardening.com/hardy-banana.html

Your palm tree will help the winters here seem less cold. Awesome work!

Here's a faux banana tree I saw at the Orange County fair this summer. Pole wrapped in anti-erosion landscaping burlap, metal leaf ribs draped with green upholstery vinyl

In Nor-Cal, our cell towers are typically pine trees.

But I love the ingenuity of So-Cal with the palm trees.

Great job - truly a work of art. The bar is awesome, too. I'm always amazed by the creativity and technical skill I see on this site.