Gopher barrier around Canary Island Date Palm

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
rhoswen San Mateo, CA Dec 23, 2014

Hi,

We are planning to plant a new 5 gallon Canary Island Date Palm into our yard. We have gophers in the area and they've occasionally been into the yard itself - the lawn has wire mesh under it, so they don't go into the lawn, and we also have a Gopher Chaser device that buzzes and is supposed to chase them away. However my concern is that when we dig out a fresh hole in the ground for the palm the gophers will be attracted to the spot because we will break the wire mesh (a), and there will be some fresh dirt to dig into (b). I also read some posts in the internet that gophers do actually find the canary palm roots tasty. To prevent that we want to install a new wire mesh around the palm, following these guidelines:
From: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7433.html
"bury hardware cloth or 3/4-inch mesh poultry wire at least 2 feet deep with an additional 6 inches of mesh or wire bent at a 90-degree angle away from the planting. "
but here are my concerns:

1) How far from the trunk should the wire mesh go? I imagine that the palm root ball should have enough space to grow, but I don't know how big would it be...
2) We are planning to install 1/2 " hardware cloth, and my concern is whether it would be too small for the roots to go through. Does anyone have good info on the root sizes of the canary island date palm?

I'd appreciate any advice.


This message was edited Dec 23, 2014 10:48 AM

Post #9993057
Quote
Baja_Costero Baja California, Mexico(Zone 11) Dec 23, 2014

We have been using gopher baskets (Digger's Root Guard) which are basically a cylinder of gopher wire (3/4" holes) with a bottom. You install the basket before the plant. I like the 5 gallon size for my succulents. It should not be hard at all to make your own in any size, but the key is that there is no entry point below ground, and there is a short portion rising maybe 4" above ground. The roots will grow through the wire so I don't think there is any particular reason to go extra large when you figure out the size of the basket.

Post #9993086
Quote
Baja_Costero Baja California, Mexico(Zone 11) Dec 23, 2014

Gopher and bunny guards on this aloe... the gopher basket goes around the small rocks in the center, bunny shield goes around the top. The plant will eventually be a tree and the bunny shield can be easily lifted away, but the gopher basket is for life.

Thumbnail by Baja_Costero
Post #9993132
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener Threads

Go to all Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener threads
BACK TO TOP