Palms near swimming pools

ddoyle

Hi Everyone
I live in Perth, Western Australia.
We have a below ground fibreglass pool and there are a number of palms planted around it: 2 golden cane palms (approx. 2 metres high and 2 metres from the pool ), 3 Alexandra palms (approx. 2 metres high and 2 metres from the pool. These palms are also have a retaining wall on the other side of them) and 2 foxtail palms (approx. 1.5 metres high and 2 metres from the pool).
Will these palms cause damage to the pool itself and pool pipes over time?
Thanks for your help.
Damian

newguy18

Pics please?sounds like they might.

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old schooler

OutofMytree

What suburb are you in mate? I cover from Highgate to Mullaloo but I don't mind a drive if I can fit it in with other things. NG is spot on. Pictures are very important.

It sound as though you have them a decent distance from the pool but palms are sneaky buggers and have an amazing capacity to seek out water. Let me know if I can help. Drop me a line 0418 28 99 88.

Eric Frei

Read this thread, it wil have most of the answers you seek.

Palms around above ground pool

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ddoyle

Hi Outofmytree
I've attached some photos of the palms:
JPG 68: Golden CAne palm
JPG 74: 2 small foxtail palms and golden cane palm in foreground, cotton tail palms in background
JPG 75: 3 Alexandra palms (these have a retaining wall on the other side of them)
Are all of these far enough away from the pool?
Thanks
Damian

Attached Thumbnails

     

newguy18

The palms in the last 2 pics,i think they might cause some damage later on in thier life,consider installing root barriers.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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old schooler

OutofMytree

Photo 2 shows you are not in the hills so the soil is going to be predominantly sandy and likely alkali. The size of the washingtonia's (cotton palms) in the background indicates reasonable groundwater. The alexandrias in photo 3 could be ok if you use a root barrier as NG suggested but how to install this without destroying the pool?? It holds at least 20,000 litres and so generates 20 tonnes of pressure sideways. Dig too close to the pool and it may well fracture under that sort of pressure. If you really want palms around the pool, put them in pots. You will need to purchase more to get the same effect but it will be cheaper than pool repairs imho.

OutofMytree

The photo's in Ekka's thread are a great indicator as to just how invasive palm roots can be. The palms in WA don't grow as fast as in Qld but they still go a heck of a long way. Great photo's Eric. Really useful thread for this situation.

Eric Frei

Personally I dont think the palm roots will damage the pool being fibreglass and the distance they are away.

Roots will get to the pool then go sideways and a few beneath.

The amount of force on the walls of the pool needs to be verified by a pool builder, many fibreglass pools like that can sit full above ground, very strong.

For the palm roots to damage the pool they need to push in or crush the pool, that means pressing in against the wall, unlikely when full of water.

Fribreglass pools also are easily repairable compared to concrete.

The concrete path also helps keep the roots away a little.

I think you'll be OK, I'd get rid of the washy's anyway, ugly messy things. The other palms are stunted like they're growing in pots. Palms in pots will quickly be root bound and look like crap frankly ... unless potted up or roots trimmed.

Root barrier along the outside edge of that path would be good, you can cut a slot perhaps 300mm deep and 6mm wide and insert Nylex Root Barrier sheeting

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OutofMytree

Is 300mm going to be sufficient depth? Palms here have about 250mm less annual rainfall than Brizzie so they go hunting for water. How do you get a slot 300mm deep and 6mm wide? You use a modified edger or something similar?

Eric Frei

Some water cut it, some get a spade and plunge it etc, not that hard unless it's rock/shale etc.

At that distance the concentration of roots will be in the top 300mm. Next sheeting size is 600mm, be OK but dang gets tough to make the slot.

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TreeDimensional

Vermeer make a root cutter which looks like it may cut deep enough. Do a google search for Vermeer V2050 Root cutter. If nothing else, it would sever the existing roots.

Eric Frei

Yeah I'm not sold on that.

It runs tungsten carbide tips and I reckon it will tear the roots and not clean cut them.

I know Dosko has one too, seems to run a saw blade like a concrete cutter. We need clean cut roots not tears.

With my Kanga I can drop the cutter head into the ground all the way and drive backwards making a trench maybe 100mm deep, could go deeper but the guards prevent it. So I had the idea of a root cutter but the tungsten tears it all up, need more like a circular saw blade or something that cuts clean. There's a market for an innovative machinery man to make a miniloader attachment for root cutting. click click, Red Roo?

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TreeDimensional

I have never seen one of those root cutters in action. They use them here to cut the roots of Dutch Elm Disease infected trees. This prevents the spread of the disease through root grafts. I have no idea how clean a cut it would make, but I think it would depend on the type of soil.

If I had that issue here, you could do it when the ground was frozen. Then again we can't grow palm trees outside, and I am pretty sure it doesn't freeze the ground solid in Perth!

OutofMytree

Actually the issue would be the gap between the teeth and the tooth width itself. We use fine teeth saws for hard timbers and for cleaner cuts in conventional saws and the same would apply to cutting roots. The problem is that fine teeth go blunt quickly in sand so wouldnt last long. The most obvious solution that can be reasonably engineered would be a water cannon/fine saw combo. It can be rigged to be done in one action much like our saws oil pumps. The water cannon to precut and lubricate with the fine saw to provide the actual root cutting. Sounds like a challenge for some gifted motorhead.