Tuesday morning Karina and I went with Dan to water Rafiki's. Then, we watered the interior plants in sports, movies, and music. After that, we drove around and cut out dead saw palmetto fronds and those hanging over the sidewalks in the tree save area. We also helped unload a truck of plants which had come in.
Wednesday I went with Brian. First, we drove around looking for any palm boots and other debris. Then, we drove around looking for any low hanging branches which Brian cut using a pole saw and I helped him clean up the debris.
Thursday morning Chic and I drove around looking for debris. Then, with the help of Brian and Geraldo we planted Cereus sp. which is a type of cactus. An image of the planted Cereus can be found to the right along with a close-up of the flower. As you can see in the image to the right one of the arms broke off. This actually happened when unloading them from the delivery truck. The delivery person told us that we could plant the broken arms and they would grow so Chic and I planted the three arms which broke off and left them in the yard where they will hopefully grow. The cactus was in a 7 gallon container. First, Chic tied a rope around the arms of the cactus to make them more stable for transportation and planting. Then, the three guys carefully lifted them into the bed of the Toro. Upon getting to the planting site we moved the rocks to the side, dug two holes, and the guys lifted the cactus out of the Toro and moved them by the hole. Then, while one person held the pot the other two cut the pot off and then they slid the cactus into the holes and put soil around them. After that, we cut down dying stems and leaves in the area. Then for the rest of the day, Chic and I drove around cutting down limbs in the parking lot which were covering the signs.Class on Thursday consisted of a tour of the central shops which is where the ride vehicles go for repairs, where the character heads are put together, and where the printing is done. It was very cool to see this area but pictures are discouraged due to it being backstage.
Friday morning started off by replacing the huge pots in front of the sports, music, and movies lobbies containing Adonidia merrillii Adonidia Palm also known as Christmas Palm and the Epipremnum aureum also known as Pothos which surround them. First, everyone pitched in and took out the old Pothos and the three men Geraldo, Brian, and Chic took out the Adonidia palms. Then, they put in the new palm which had been tied to the Toro upon loading. After that, new soil was added if it was needed and then Karina, Cathy, and I planted the new Pothos. There are four large pots at sports, four at music, and two at movies. Between each resort, we had to go back to the yard to dump the Toro and grab more plants. I have a few pictures of the process as can be seen to the left. The final product is very similar to what the pots looked like at the beginning except that the new palms are taller and not as beat up as the old palms. This took a good portion of the morning. After planting, Karina and I went around to water the indoor plants in the check-in areas while Cathy went to water the newly planted outdoor pots using the water cart. Then, Karina and I drove around looking for debris. We found an area by the piano pool that looked particularly bad and raked that up. After that, we continued driving around looking for other debris.Plant of the Week:
Adonidia merrillii Adonidia Palm also known as Christmas palm is the plant of the week. Adonidias bloom with white flowers and then red berries (seeds) around Christmastime hence the nickname Christmas palm. It is a showy, highly ornamental palm that works well in small landscape areas. Dead palm fronds of adonidias fall off by themselves making it self-cleaning. Adonidia also typically is pest-free. Both of these things make it low-maintenance and good for home gardeners. Adonidias can be single or multi-trunk (the ones we used had three trunks. The palm has a green crown shaft, gray trunk, and long full fronds making it look like a miniature royal palm. Adonidia palm makes a good focal point as it is in the pots we replanted on Friday. Christmas palms work best in zone 10 however Orlando is zone 9b, but the palms are in a pot which won't freeze as easily and they are well protected by the buildings. Adonidias can grow to be 12-15 feet but they are slow growers. In the pots they will be changed out every 3-5 years so will not grow too tall for the space even though they were approximately 7 feet tall upon planting. The palm is moderately salt-tolerant. Christmas palm performs best in full-sun, but can tolerate partial shade however too much shade causes the trunks to grow skinny and fronds thin. The adonidias we planted are in partial shade, but they seem to grow well there. Palms should be fertilized with granular fertilizer three times a year (once in each season of spring, summer, and autumn. Allowing the fronds to fall naturally as they brown releases nutrients which go to the newly forming fronds. When planting in the landscape single trunk adonidias should be planed 5-6 feet away from the house. While multi-trunk adonidias need adequate room to spread out as the trunks naturally bow causing the fronds to extend a bit further. The trunks should be positioned so they won't be in the way once they gain some stature. The palms can easily grow in large containers as they do at all-star the pots just need to be large(the ones at all-star have a diameter of 46"). They can then be planted in a garden if it outgrows the pots or simply replaced. Some landscape uses for palms include using them by the main entry, as a corner accent, single yard specimen, focal point for small gardens and island beds, in tall pool cages, as the center of a circular drive, patio or pool container plant, accent for blank walls or privacy fences, or on each side of an entrance to a long driveway. Information from South Florida plant guide http://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/adonidia-palm.html
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