Coconut,Royal and other palms in New Smyrna Beach, FL

[Eric in Orlando]

New Smyrna Beach is located in southern Volusia County just north of Cape Canaveral. There are 2 sections of NSB, the mainland and the barrier island/beachside. Southern Volusia County is the northernmost range for some tropical natives (Strangler Fig, Gumbo Limbo, Red Mangrove, Seagrape, Stoppers, etc). There is a nice variety of palms growing there, people are starting to plant other things besides the common species. I saw lots of newer plantings of X Butyagrus, Livistona decora Allagoptera arenaria and Chamaerops humilis var. argentea. I also saw lots of Bismarckia, Wodyetia and Adonidia.

The barrier island is a zone 10a climate but it will get cold enough occasionally to kill off Coconut Palms. There were quitea few growing here until the 2009-10 winter wiped them out. I saw quite a few younger specimens planted. Here are a couple of the larger ones I saw.

This one is on Flagler Ave. just a block or so off the beach ramp.

 

 

 

 

Another over on the barrier island

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Some barrier island Roystonea regia

 

 

 

 

These are growing on the mailand, on US1 just north of downtown

 

another mainland planting

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Some other random specimens;

 

Dypsis decaryi

 

 

 

X Butyagrus and Hyophorbe verschaffeltii

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Bismarckia nobilis, surrounded by green, it really stands out

 

 

 

Coccothrinax miraguama

 

 

Pandanus utilis and Ravenala madagascariensis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

There are lots of native Ficus aurea in yards on the barrier island. Here is a large Ficus benghalensis along Flager Ave. a few blocks off the beach

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

I also saw several Ficus lutea growing in yards on the northwest side of the barrier island north of Flagler Ave. Someone must have been selling these for awhile. Here is a nice specimen

 

 

A large Mango Tree with Ravenala

 

 

 

[Zeeth]

Super cool! Thanks for the visuals. I know that the coconut in your first post (out front of The Beacon restaurant for those wondering where to find it) is pre-2010, but it's positioning along the south-side of that wall certainly would have helped keep the warmth up during the freeze. The leaf form makes me think it's a tall type, which probably helped too.

I love the banyan and Mango pictures too. 

[PalmTreeDude]

Sweet! I like how the Royals look, and well, all the palms! Thank you for sharing!

[PalmTreeDude]

I also love how this is more up north, yet, still has thriving tropicals!

Edited October 14, 2016 by PalmTreeDude

[donalt]

beautiful ! 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

11 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

New Smyrna Beach is located in southern Volusia County just north of Cape Canaveral. There are 2 sections of NSB, the mainland and the barrier island/beachside. Southern Volusia County is the northernmost range for some tropical natives (Strangler Fig, Gumbo Limbo, Red Mangrove, Seagrape, Stoppers, etc). There is a nice variety of palms growing there, people are starting to plant other things besides the common species. I saw lots of newer plantings of X Butyagrus, Livistona decora Allagoptera arenaria and Chamaerops humilis var. argentea. I also saw lots of Bismarckia, Wodyetia and Adonidia.

The barrier island is a zone 10a climate but it will get cold enough occasionally to kill off Coconut Palms. There were quitea few growing here until the 2009-10 winter wiped them out. I saw quite a few younger specimens planted. Here are a couple of the larger ones I saw.

This one is on Flagler Ave. just a block or so off the beach ramp.

 

 

 

 

Another over on the barrier island

 

Nice coconut palms for that part of Florida.  I hope mine will look like those over the next couple of years, since I have a winter time climate pretty close to that of New Smyrna Beach.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Eric,

Thanks for all those nice tropical photos of north central coastal Florida.  That area I honestly think is more tropical about 80% of the time (like here where I live) than it is given credit for.  I remember reading a post several years ago here on Palmtalk or on Garden Web Forums (I forget which) that mentioned someone having a decent sized coconut palm that was either just trunking or about to start trunking in Tarpon Springs on the Gulf Coast.  I think a Jamaican Tall could do pretty well there near the water, but a Malayan Dwarf would probably struggle there.  For some reason, I can't get a Jamaican Tall to survive being planted in the ground here, and just lost another one in a pot.  They must not like it here in Texas.

John

[RedRabbit]

Thanks for sharing Eric! I downloaded some historical data from the NSB airport once and found they had an avg annual low of 32f since 2004, and that's on the mainland. Over on the barrier island I guess we're talking 33-34F... It is a little surprising coconuts don't fare better there.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

34 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

Thanks for sharing Eric! I downloaded some historical data from the NSB airport once and found they had an avg annual low of 32f since 2004, and that's on the mainland. Over on the barrier island I guess we're talking 33-34F... It is a little surprising coconuts don't fare better there.

They probably do fare better there.  I think that it is that not too many people think they will grow there and thus the local nurseries probably don't carry many of them.  It is like in the Rio Grande Valley, where coconut palms do really well and fruit, but not many people have them, nor do nurseries routinely carry them there.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Mr. Coconut Palm

[RedRabbit]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

They probably do fare better there.  I think that it is that not too many people think they will grow there and thus the local nurseries probably don't carry many of them.  It is like in the Rio Grande Valley, where coconut palms do really well and fruit, but not many people have them, nor do nurseries routinely carry them there.

Nah, they really don't do too well long term in Volusia County. I think Bill said there are only something like 3 still alive from before 2010 (though 3 is better than 0)... Home Depot and Lowes sell coconuts so if they could survive there they'd be all over the place like you see them 50 miles south. 

[Yunder Wækraus]

7 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Nah, they really don't do too well long term in Volusia County. I think Bill said there are only something like 3 still alive from before 2010 (though 3 is better than 0)... Home Depot and Lowes sell coconuts so if they could survive there they'd be all over the place like you see them 50 miles south. 

 The freeze in 2010, as I understand it, did not have a significant effect on the covenants growing in my part of Brevard County (Indialantic).  Are there any coconuts that survived the 1989 freeze up there?

[RedRabbit]

2 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

 The freeze in 2010, as I understand it, did not have a significant effect on the covenants growing in my part of Brevard County (Indialantic).  Are there any coconuts that survived the 1989 freeze up there?

In Volusia County? Not a chance. I'm pretty sure 89' would have killed any royals living there too.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2016‎ ‎11‎:‎14‎:‎15‎, RedRabbit said:

Nah, they really don't do too well long term in Volusia County. I think Bill said there are only something like 3 still alive from before 2010 (though 3 is better than 0)... Home Depot and Lowes sell coconuts so if they could survive there they'd be all over the place like you see them 50 miles south. 

I didn't mean that they fare as well there as they do in Cocoa Beach or Melbourne, just that for the climate there in New Smyrna, they probably do better than most people would give them credit for there, especially between 2010 type winters.

[Ajonesumcane]

I used to live on 16th ave Beachside. I have since sold that property. Truly a unique microclimate. I was able to grow spindles, bottles and christmas palms in the ground and they thrived. 2010 we had a super cold winter that wiped those trees out. It is a great area to try different plants. I live in sanford now and I have to be much more conservative. 

[Eric in Orlando]

I found this awhile back, a streetview image from 2007 in NSB. It is on the barrier island but along the Indian River, between the North and South causeways. They were killed out in the 2009-10 winter. Seems they were planted around 2002, from a previous Palmtalk discussion.