How to plant a palm tree in Arizona - digging the hole

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The old saying "dig a $100 hole for a $50 tree" really applies here in Glendale, Arizona. The ground is very, very hard, virtually sterile, and terribly alkaline. Hey, it's the desert, not Hawaii!

Native plants can find their way easily into the native soil, but tropicals like this Phoenix rupicola x canariensis can't. So you must dig a nice, wide, deep hole. When the plant gets bigger, its roots will extend into Arizona, but while it establishes, the roots will just be in whatever potting soil is available in the hole.

If you have a jackhammer or a backhoe, your process of digging a hole is probably easier than my method. I start with just getting the hole started, then flooding it with water. Once it sinks in, it makes the ground softer, but be careful, it is very, very heavy. Don't expect to dig it all out at one time unless you want to throw your back out! I started this morning with a fairly small hole, went out for coffee and dug out the first layer of goop, and refilled it. I'm now taking a break, and writing this, and I will keep an eye on the hole. If there is still standing water, I will need to wait some more. Once the water has all soaked in, I can start taking out small amounts of it. I have a couple of old 5-gallon plant containers nearby which I am using to fill and haul away the old ground.

Note that I have already re-positioned the Malibu lights to uplight this palm tree and the Dioon edule cycad behind it. Should look pretty cool at night!

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