Hurricane Tolerant Palms

[Xenon]

Just curious about palms and hurricane tolerance, I heard Satakentia, Dictyosperma, and Sabal were pretty hurricane tolerant(wind wise). What about saltwater inundation? What are your experiences with palms and hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic(and anywhere else with hurricanes/cyclones)?

Jonathan

Edited January 28, 2011 by Xenon

[war_eagle]

The Washys down in Galveston did well during Hurricane Ike. Many of them stood in a few feet of saltwater for a short time. There was also a prolonged drought that directly followed Ike, so there wasn't any rainwater to help decrease the salinity.

[BermudaPalm]

In Bermuda, we were hit by hurricane Igor in Sept '10 and a few others of note, e.g Fabian '05 (Cat 3)

The island is 2 miles wide at its widest point so salt is always in the air. I have four W. robust (8-10ft) in my garden and they all survived, despite their rough appearance at the time, they

have sprung back to life and are looking very healthy again.

Here is a list of the palms I've been able to identify on the island, most of them do pretty well in hurricane conditions tolerating salt and wind pretty well. Sorry about the formatting

S. romanzoffiana/Coronata, P. elegans,

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii,Pritchardia pacifica, Phoenix reclinata, Phoenix roebelenii, P.sylvestris,P.canarensis,Dypsis lutescens,Roystonea regia,Hyophorbe lagenicaulis,Howea forsteriana, L. chinensis (grow like weeds here), chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Chamaerops humilis, Archopheenix Alexandra & cunninghamiana, Thrinax radiata and even Caryota mitis.

Of course I have to mention our own claim to fame Sabal bermudana

Hope this helpful and gives your some choices.

[BermudaPalm]

In Bermuda, we were hit by hurricane Igor in Sept '10 and a few others of note, e.g Fabian '05 (Cat 3)

The island is 2 miles wide at its widest point so salt is always in the air. I have four W. robust (8-10ft) in my garden and they all survived, despite their rough appearance at the time, they

have sprung back to life and are looking very healthy again.

Here is a list of the palms I've been able to identify on the island, most of them do pretty well in hurricane conditions tolerating salt and wind pretty well. Sorry about the formatting

S. romanzoffiana/Coronata, P. elegans,

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii,Pritchardia pacifica, Phoenix reclinata, Phoenix roebelenii, P.sylvestris,P.canarensis,Dypsis lutescens,Roystonea regia,Hyophorbe lagenicaulis,Howea forsteriana, L. chinensis (grow like weeds here), chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Chamaerops humilis, Archopheenix Alexandra & cunninghamiana, Thrinax radiata and even Caryota mitis.

Of course I have to mention our own claim to fame Sabal bermudana

Hope this helpful and gives your some choices.

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Jonathan, I speak mostly for Sabal palmetto and Sabal minor in this regard but I have to put in a thumbs up for Washingtonia filifera and Butia. I am on the North Carolina coast. We were virtually hurricane damage free from the late 1950's till the late 90's when we had several hurricanes hit in rapid successsion. S. palmetto and S. minor are native here. They both grow right down to the very edge of the salt marsh. Some even grow surrounded by salt marsh where there is a buildup of marsh mud one to two inches higher than the regular marsh grass level. That means they get salt water covered yearly, several times, during flood tides. Hurricanes cover them even deeper with salt water. They grow fine there, although slower. S. palmetto is very wind tolerant. After our hurricanes they became THE landscape plant of choice because most everything else, even most natives (except live oak), took major damage but the S. palmetto held up like a champ. S. minor does break leaves in wind though. Because it is much shorter the wind does not get to it as much. W. filifera is scarce here but I know of two on a salt water canal, on a beach island, and fully exposed to southerly beach and northerly cold winds and only about two foot elevation above salt water and 5 feet from the waters edge that have definitely been flooded. They look great and only suffer from cold damage in our coldest winters. They have been there since the mid 80's and are huge. As far as Butia's go there are thousands here. There are too many to number that are in flood zones and have been repeatedly flooded. I have to say I have never seen any of the above mentioned palms killed or even badly damaged by hurricanes.

[Xenon]

There are a lot of century old CIDP and Washingtonia filfera on Galveston Island that also survived the freezes of the 80s. The city decided to plant P.dactyfilera right on the bay, wonder how they'll do...

Jonathan

[_Keith]

We've had lots of hurricanes here in Louisiana last decade, 5 in all. Washies, Phoenixes, Livistonas, and Butias stood strong. Queens went down. Mules are still undetermined. Some of mine went down, other stood, but there were all young. I think once established over 4 to 5 years, they would be sound as well.

[AggiePalms]

Hey Jonathan, another good question of yours. It is an important question around here...we are overdue due for a storm, and my part of the estuary is awfully low lying...certainly no higher than Galveston, maybe more like Bolivar Peninsula (but prettier, we have trees!) Jeff in NC is right; with S. palmetto and S. minor being native, they can take storms wind wise very well. Salt water doesn't seem to be a problem either. North of here on Hunting Island SC there is a very rapidly eroding beach (several feet per year) with S. palmetto covering the eroding old dune fields and low areas behind them. Palms are literally growing out of the beach, in the intertidal zone, until finally undercut by the waves and toppled. Up till then, salt water is not a problem, and winds are not an issue until the roots have no sand to hold them in place. I hate to see the Sabals destroyed like that, but it is natural and not a man made problem. It does give vivid evidence of their storm durability.

[Kumar]

coconuts, even talls are surprisingly resilient to high speed winds and tides. It seems to me that on average they are probably the best palm to survive a storm, given that there must be strong selection pressure on them to do so. Most of the lakshadeep and andaman islands and the coast have coconuts growing upto three feet of the sea - to do so and reach heights of 30+ feet in a temperamental area such as the bay of bengal must mean something.

I have also noticed that coconuts may not have as fine a stem as royals but in a very strong wind, they are more flexible. The amount a coconut can sway is huge - whereas the stiffer stuff like royals, areca are more prone to fracture. Even borassus stems are remarkably flexible.

[Manolitus]

In Bermuda, we were hit by hurricane Igor in Sept '10 and a few others of note, e.g Fabian '05 (Cat 3)

The island is 2 miles wide at its widest point so salt is always in the air. I have four W. robust (8-10ft) in my garden and they all survived, despite their rough appearance at the time, they

have sprung back to life and are looking very healthy again.

Here is a list of the palms I've been able to identify on the island, most of them do pretty well in hurricane conditions tolerating salt and wind pretty well. Sorry about the formatting

S. romanzoffiana/Coronata, P. elegans,

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii,Pritchardia pacifica, Phoenix reclinata, Phoenix roebelenii, P.sylvestris,P.canarensis,Dypsis lutescens,Roystonea regia,Hyophorbe lagenicaulis,Howea forsteriana, L. chinensis (grow like weeds here), chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Chamaerops humilis, Archopheenix Alexandra & cunninghamiana, Thrinax radiata and even Caryota mitis.

Of course I have to mention our own claim to fame Sabal bermudana

Hope this helpful and gives your some choices.

What is the record low for Bermuda ?

Manny

[BermudaPalm]

"What is the record low for Bermuda ?

Manny "

The lowest temperature on record is 44 F, (Feb 1950).

In the 20 years that I've lived here I have never seen it dip below 52.

[Patricia-CR]

Good question Learning a lot here.

[Walter John]

The North Queensland folk should chime in here, you there Anthony ?

[dan.vagnoni]

Any thing from cuba...

[Matthew92]

Here's one of the only CIDP's I've seen that is leaning from extreme wind. This is in Punta Gorda, FL, which went through the eyewall of category 4 hurricane Charley in 2004. I think this is an anomaly though, as I've never heard or seen of any other that has been significantly affected by high wind.

[DoomsDave]

All of the Roystonea species survive hurricanes well, as do the Cuban Cocothrinaxes, and Syagrus amara (the only one native to the Caribbean).

All of the Syagrus are totally trashed. Palms or Principes had an article about palm damage and survival after various hurricanes at Fairchild.

[Jeff Searle]

From past experiences, I noticed the following palms did pretty well during storms. Of course there's variables that determine how well some will do.

Satakentia

Royals

Kentiopsis oliviformis

Cccothrinax spp.

Thrinax spp.

Neoveitchia

The one genus that performed the worst was Caryota.

I had many, many Caryota mitis trunks go over along with C. urens and a big C. gigas.

[hbernstein]

15 hours ago, Jeff Searle said:

From past experiences, I noticed the following palms did pretty well during storms. Of course there's variables that determine how well some will do.

Satakentia

Royals

Kentiopsis oliviformis

Cccothrinax spp.

Thrinax spp.

Neoveitchia

The one genus that performed the worst was Caryota.

I had many, many Caryota mitis trunks go over along with C. urens and a big C. gigas.

Caryota is absolutely the worst. They are like big umbrellas that get lifted and tossed by wind. C. gigas will blow over in winds well below hurricane force.

[palmsOrl]

Palms that I know are resistant to hurricane force winds, based on what I've read as well as myself being a tropical cyclone/severe weather enthusiast (most have already been mentioned):

Sabal palmetto (extremely)

Cocos nucifera (extremely)

Dictyosperma album (?)

Phoenix robellenii (extremely)

Washingtonia robusta (very)

Syagrus romanzoffiana (not very)

Adonidia merrillii (moderately)

Roystonea regia (very, gets stripped of fronds as mechanism to resist extreme winds)

[cm05]

I've seen Sabals, Washys, & Phoenix lose fronds during a hurricane in Florida, but I've never seen a palm on the ground.

I know Trachycarpus fortunei resents high winds, both of mine have lost fronds in high wind events and one was even left wobbly, they're both small but it was still surprising. God forbid we get another hurricane here, they'd probably become airborne.

[_Keith]

10 minutes ago, cm05 said:

I've seen Sabals, Washys, & Phoenix lose fronds during a hurricane in Florida, but I've never seen a palm on the ground.

I know Trachycarpus fortunei resents high winds, both of mine have lost fronds in high wind events and one was even left wobbly, they're both small but it was still surprising. God forbid we get another hurricane here, they'd probably become airborne.

Then you weren't in SoFl for Andrew.

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

my first post here (at all) - so, thank you very much (@IPS) that I could join and I am looking forward to

learn a lot and to give something useful back (one day) while growing my own palms.

But still being a beginner I might add here something because we usually get hit quite a few times by

typhoons between April and October every year - which limits the options of what may be grown here successfully or not.

The most common (and therefore strongest) palms here on this island are:

Satakentia (never seen any serious damage)

Livistona chinensis (like Satakentia)

Areca (I still don`t know how to distinguish them)

Cocos nucifera (usually loosing some fonds)

Roystonia (like Cocos nucifera)

Adonidia merrillii (sometimes the crown gets ripped off)

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (but they are probably not tall enough to be damaged, my guess so far).

 

best regards

palmfriend

 

[Mandrew968]

MBC did a really neat study after a hurricane and they found that Caribbean species(more broadly those palms from hurricane,cyclone or typhoon areas) generally are resistant to high winds. An example of a great choice for a hurricane proof palm would be a Cocos nucifera or a Syagrus amara(closest cousin)--both have flared trunk bases; this was another trait they found in the hurricane proof palms(I say this with a grain of salt as with the right storm, nothing is hurricane proof!). Poor examples were Syagrus romanzoffiana and botryophora; where they are indigenous, there are no hurricanes so they never had to adapt to such high winds. 

[Mandrew968]

On 12/2/2015, 3:18:41, _Keith said:

Then you weren't in SoFl for Andrew.

Keith, this is a prime example of a storm that is just too strong for any palm--sure some palms survived(that's how Dictyosperma got the name Hurricane palm), but the ones that encountered the brunt of these intense winds, were not left standing...

[DoomsDave]

There's not a lot you can do against a Cat 5.

Run if you can, hide and pray if you can't, and help those who need it.

Just like a 9 Richter earthquake.

 

[DoomsDave]

On 12/16/2015, 9:16:38, palmfriend said:

Hello everyone,

my first post here (at all) - so, thank you very much (@IPS) that I could join and I am looking forward to

learn a lot and to give something useful back (one day) while growing my own palms.

But still being a beginner I might add here something because we usually get hit quite a few times by

typhoons between April and October every year - which limits the options of what may be grown here successfully or not.

The most common (and therefore strongest) palms here on this island are:

Satakentia (never seen any serious damage)

Livistona chinensis (like Satakentia)

Areca (I still don`t know how to distinguish them)

Cocos nucifera (usually loosing some fonds)

Roystonia (like Cocos nucifera)

Adonidia merrillii (sometimes the crown gets ripped off)

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (but they are probably not tall enough to be damaged, my guess so far).

 

best regards

palmfriend

 

This is an important post.

The above are good suggestions, but only a start.

Start more by looking at a map ofthe world's cyclone activity and try to find palms native to there. I send you a PM for some free seeds from a palm that could be good for a storm and look great in the meantime if not . . . .

[Palmaceae]

I remember Andrew very well, did not matter how hurricane resistant palms were, they were devistated. I was really shocked to see Fairchild right after Andrew, as we volunteered to clean up the garden. I was surprised how bad the coconut palms were hit, most were taken down, it was a bad storm.

[Zeeth]

On December 16, 2015 at 13:31:59, Mandrew968 said:

MBC did a really neat study after a hurricane and they found that Caribbean species(more broadly those palms from hurricane,cyclone or typhoon areas) generally are resistant to high winds. An example of a great choice for a hurricane proof palm would be a Cocos nucifera or a Syagrus amara(closest cousin)--both have flared trunk bases; this was another trait they found in the hurricane proof palms(I say this with a grain of salt as with the right storm, nothing is hurricane proof!). Poor examples were Syagrus romanzoffiana and botryophora; where they are indigenous, there are no hurricanes so they never had to adapt to such high winds. 

 

Coconuts are troopers. Look at these pictures of the devastation after typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DoomsDave]

32 minutes ago, Zeeth said:

 

Coconuts are troopers. Look at these pictures of the devastation after typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yike!

Plenty of opportunities for survivors to help . . .

 

[Mandrew968]

And the key to them making it? They were not 'hurricane trimmed'. Contrary to popular belief and practice, over trimming of the fronds before a storm will weaken the crown by removing its support--look in the pics above; the palm limbs may have snapped or bent, but nothing near the heart of the crown was snapped.