Zone 10 Palms in the Orlando Area Mega Thread

[Eric in Orlando]

They planted 2 groups of Roystonea and Adonidia downtown Orlando along Orange Ave. in front of the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. These have been there about 3 years.

[Eric in Orlando]

Across the street at Orlando City Hall are Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, been there at least 15 years.

[SeanK]

6 minutes ago, Eric in Orlando said:

Across the street at Orlando City Hall are Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, been there at least 15 years.

Absolutely Gorgeous 

[FlaPalmLover]

A yard in New Smyrna Beach not too far from the water with some nice foxtails and a big traveler palm.

[FlaPalmLover]

I see the City of Orlando couldn't pass on an opportunity to plant more 9a-safe, disease-prone palms instead of something more tropical in the middle of what seems like a favorable 10a microclimate. 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by FlaPalmLover

[Jimbean]

 

7 minutes ago, FlaPalmLover said:

I see the City of Orlando couldn't pass on an opportunity to plant more 9a-safe, disease-prone palms instead of something more tropical in the middle of what seems like a favorable 10a microclimate. 

 

 

I would think Mexican washingtonia palm would be a less hassle, better choice.

[FlaPalmLover]

31 minutes ago, Jimbean said:

 

 

I would think Mexican washingtonia palm would be a less hassle, better choice.

I would've preferred that even. It definitely adds a nice vibe to a downtown area to have some towering Washingtonia palms.

[Jimbean]

Easier to clean up, cheaper, less disease prone.  The problem is lightning. 

[FlaPalmLover]

I spotted this home with a mature foxtail palm in Deltona and it gave me some hope that perhaps I will be able to keep one. It is a little closer to Lake Monroe than my house is, but my house is also at a higher elevation and is still in the middle of town by high-traffic areas and closer to I4, so hopefully its microclimate isn't very distinguishable from mine. There's a several-year gap in the Google Earth pictures, so it's hard to say when it was planted or at what size, but its lower fronds were defoliated in the 2021-2022 winter and then it recovered and looked normal and healthy again on an image from just a year later. I'm sure it is at least somewhat helpful to have it planted up close to the house (although I read an old @sonoranfans post where he noted that the soil that tends to be closer to a house is actually less suitable for foxtails) with the radiant heat. 

[kinzyjr]

40 minutes ago, FlaPalmLover said:

I spotted this home with a mature foxtail palm in Deltona and it gave me some hope that perhaps I will be able to keep one. It is a little closer to Lake Monroe than my house is, but my house is also at a higher elevation and is still in the middle of town by high-traffic areas and closer to I4, so hopefully its microclimate isn't very distinguishable from mine. There's a several-year gap in the Google Earth pictures, so it's hard to say when it was planted or at what size, but its lower fronds were defoliated in the 2021-2022 winter and then it recovered and looked normal and healthy again on an image from just a year later. I'm sure it is at least somewhat helpful to have it planted up close to the house (although I read an old @sonoranfans post where he noted that the soil that tends to be closer to a house is actually less suitable for foxtails) with the radiant heat. 

I just grabbed two volunteer Wodyetia bifurcata (Foxtails) out of the bone pile today and potted them up.  You're welcome to have them if you want them.  They are offspring from plants that have survived 20+ years.

[FlaPalmLover]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

I just grabbed two volunteer Wodyetia bifurcata (Foxtails) out of the bone pile today and potted them up.  You're welcome to have them if you want them.  They are offspring from plants that have survived 20+ years.

I might well take them off of your hands sometime when I am passing through Lakeland. I don't know if I'd have the patience for growing them from that size in a centerpiece location,, but I could plant them in my back yard where I have some decent spots remaining near the house/fence and lots of wind breaks. Don't foxtails transplant fairly well? I guess the caveat is, even if they transplant well, it might still be more promising to plant an offspring of a mature one that has proven itself.

It is hard to say what is sustainable in this suburb of Orlando because it has grown so much over the past 20 years and most people here seem to only have queens and/or pindo palms. There are so many pindo palms that it makes me think they were given away by someone at one time, or that it was the only palm available at the big box stores. 

[kinzyjr]

Just now, FlaPalmLover said:

I might well take them off of your hands sometime when I am passing through Lakeland. I don't know if I'd have the patience for growing them from that size in a centerpiece location,, but I could plant them in my back yard where I have some decent spots remaining near the house/fence and lots of wind breaks. Don't foxtails transplant fairly well? I guess the caveat is, even if they transplant well, it might still be more promising to plant an offspring of a mature one that has proven itself.

I've had luck transplanting them in and out of the ground.  If you happen to swing through, send a PM.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Holy smokes. I had a coconut sprout! I remove them from the tree and use them to line the mulch area. These coconuts have sat here for months and I found this today.

[kinzyjr]

45 minutes ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Holy smokes. I had a coconut sprout! I remove them from the tree and use them to line the mulch area. These coconuts have sat here for months and I found this today.

This is awesome!  You've given me hope.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

53 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

This is awesome!  You've given me hope.

What's crazy is I remove them after 7 or 8 months, well before they're mature.

[Bazza]

Good afternoon and Happy Friday everyone!

Been a while since I visited the site - good to be back!

I posted some pics a while back of the beachfront property here with all the coconuts. It's down by Van Kleeck & Hiles just to the north. Owner owns the Golden Corral business, I believe.

Anywho - I ride my bike by (on the beach) regularly and take photos if I see something of interest.

Well the past few weeks they have been planting new coconuts and moving some around. Here are a few pics I took this morning. The palms on this property have mostly survived, like others in the area, but they all pretty much took a severe beating during the 2 hurricanes in 2023. I think the property owner is trying to address this with all these new ones.

Here's a couple from 3 weeks ago......note the differences in the pics I took today......especially re-location of the (I'm assuming) Jamaican Talls......

Here are a few from today........

Part of the new theme.....2 palms framing the beach staircase....:)

Will post updated pics down the road when they're all opened up.......

[Bazza]

Happy Friday everyone!

Well....they added a few since my last post and then all were just opened up so as promised........

 

 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Passed what seems like a tropical looking yard in Winter Park.  Near Howell Branch and Cochise Trail. Google pic is a year old and I definitely noticed the coconuts above the fence line. 

[Eric in Orlando]

I was at Sea World last week. The tall Coconut in the Key West section is still alive. It is probably the oldest long term Coconut survivor in Orlando. I believe it was planted around 1996/97 when the KW area opened. They originally had a couple dozen planted here and around the dolphin pool. There is another near the dolphins but hidden back in the foliage. It has also never put much height on, I didn't get a photo of it. I took this pic at dusk in the rain so its not great.

[Fishinsteeg234]

Last week I stayed at the newly opened Evermore Resort in Orlando and enjoyed some nice exotic plantings all around the property. The resort opened just this Jan 2024, so these palms haven’t lived through any significant cold events yet, but they will be interesting to watch in the upcoming years. The 8 acre man-made swimming lagoon surrounded by multi story buildings definitely creates an ideal microclimate. For me, the dozens of Satakentia liukiuensis on the sandy beaches stole the show. Also observed was a large Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. 'watermelon', Copernicia baileyana(I believe?), Coccothrinax crinita, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, and Licuala grandis…along with many others. Theres a good chance I missed some other rare palms, as the new $1billion dollar property was quite huge and didn’t have time to walk every sidewalk. I highly recommend a visit. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Smashburger cocos this weekend 

[Eric in Orlando]

On 7/3/2024 at 9:32 AM, Fishinsteeg234 said:

Last week I stayed at the newly opened Evermore Resort in Orlando and enjoyed some nice exotic plantings all around the property. The resort opened just this Jan 2024, so these palms haven’t lived through any significant cold events yet, but they will be interesting to watch in the upcoming years. The 8 acre man-made swimming lagoon surrounded by multi story buildings definitely creates an ideal microclimate. For me, the dozens of Satakentia liukiuensis on the sandy beaches stole the show. Also observed was a large Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. 'watermelon', Copernicia baileyana(I believe?), Coccothrinax crinita, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, and Licuala grandis…along with many others. Theres a good chance I missed some other rare palms, as the new $1billion dollar property was quite huge and didn’t have time to walk every sidewalk. I highly recommend a visit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very cool! The Copernicia looks like C. gigas. And good to see some taller Livistona saribus used.

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

I came across this old photo of the Seminole Hotel in Winter Park. It opened in 1886 so this photo would have been taken between 1886 and 1894 (prior to the big freezes of 1894-95). There were some trunking coconuts growing at the hotel. 

 

 

[njpalmguy]

On 2/25/2019 at 7:18 PM, palmsOrl said:

This house off of Hampton Ave. has some amazing palms!!!

WOAH!!

[Fishinsteeg234]

While boating on lake Louise and Lake Butler on the chain of lakes in Windermere, I noticed a few large fruiting coconuts in the backyards on the water. I took photos of the largest ones, however there were about another dozen or so trunking size coconuts in other backyards too. Also noticed quite a bit of newly planted Royals around backyard pools, and some nice tall cunninghamiana specimens enjoying the lakeside microclimate. 

[FlaPalmLover]

I noticed a couple of fellow zone pushers here in my neighborhood. The coconut on the left in the second picture actually looks a little better than the picture shows in person. I don't imagine that those will be long for this world but they're looking surprisingly good for now. The royals at the RV shop in Sanford off of I4 are also looking nice and green now that we're getting late into the summer (it helps that last winter was pretty mild), though I haven't snapped a picture of them.

[Merlyn]

@FlaPalmLover it'll be interesting to see how those Adonidia handle a "normal" winter.  It was one of the first palms I tried here, mostly because it was at one of the big box stores.  They died of trunk rot after the first winter.  That may be because I planted them on the front side of the house, facing North.  They had no direct sun in the winter.  I still really like them, I just haven't seen any survive in the Lake Mary area.

The Royals over at the RV dealer were planted around 2013, so they are definitely long-term survivors!  Here's a Google streetview from July 2013:

[Keybmp]

I just planted this 5ft (of trunk) coconut palm in my front lawn in east Orlando. I’m curious to see if it will survive the winter here since it just went in the ground less than a week ago 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

20 minutes ago, Keybmp said:

I just planted this 5ft (of trunk) coconut palm in my front lawn in east Orlando. I’m curious to see if it will survive the winter here since it just went in the ground less than a week ago 

Looks good. Even if we get a cold snap, it's small enough you can wrap burlap around the trunk with some lights. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Goldenrod and Sun Vista Way SE Orlando. Based on Google maps, been around for about 12 years. 

[RiverCityRichard]

A couple of nice Roystonea and a Wodyetia in my neighborhood in DeBary, about 30 miles north of Orlando. These palms had some minor foliage burn in the 2022 Christmas freeze, but appear to be thriving. This neighborhood has several Royal Poinciana trees, as well as three large mango trees that were covered in fruit this year. (With the addition of several zone 10 palms and trees that I am growing)

[howfam]

On 7/15/2024 at 10:28 PM, njpalmguy said:

WOAH!!

Hey njpalmguy. Can you give a cross street for these palms. I searched Hampton Av. but didn't see them on Street View.

[kinzyjr]

1 hour ago, howfam said:

Hey njpalmguy. Can you give a cross street for these palms. I searched Hampton Av. but didn't see them on Street View.

The original post was by @palmsOrl, who no longer comes on the forums under that handle.  The current Google Street View shows a lot of growth :

House Near Downtown Orlando

[Plantking165]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:52 AM, Keybmp said:

I just planted this 5ft (of trunk) coconut palm in my front lawn in east Orlando. I’m curious to see if it will survive the winter here since it just went in the ground less than a week ago 

Hopefully we're in for a warm winter just got one myself 2ft of Grey wood a few days ago. The 2 other ones are 3 growing seasons in they are fiji dwarf and red spicata. I also have 2 Jamaican talls not pictured. 

[howfam]

4 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

The original post was by @palmsOrl, who no longer comes on the forums under that handle.  The current Google Street View shows a lot of growth :

House Near Downtown Orlando

Thanks for the directions. That's some nice yard. I especially like the Spindle Palms.  Royals & others look so healthy too. Very encouraging for zone pushers.

[Spikeinthetriangle]

Royal on Lake Woodward in Eustis. Wish I could provide a better photograph, as it’s barely perceptible in this street view image from a couple years ago. Palm is currently looking fantastic. Very robust and healthy. There’s also a large Ficus Lutea nearby that can be seen from 441, and a nicely developing Ceiba that’s a bit trickier to spot. Anyone familiar with this Palm? I know that’s it’s been there since at least 2018, when I relocated to the area.

[RiverCityRichard]

This is the new Tiger Woods Putt Putt course in Daytona Beach. This location is near 95/LPGA at the Tanger Outlet mall. At least 2 dozen Cocos, a bunch of Ptychosperma Elegans and Adonidia.
 

There are many mature/seeding Archontophoenix Alexandrae and Roystonea Regia planted in the outlet mall area, that suffered some foliage burn during the freeze around Christmas 2022. Those are in a much more protected location than these Cocos.

[Spikeinthetriangle]

One more from Eustis 

 

[Merlyn]

@RiverCityRichard I wonder if the Tiger Woods place knows that they planted a bunch of annuals.  At least the Tangier Outlets people were smart enough to do mostly Sabals on the outside parking lots and only put a few Foxtails and Royals on the inner courtyard areas.  I guess the Tiger Woods plantings will be a good Darwinian experiment! 

[RiverCityRichard]

39 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@RiverCityRichard I wonder if the Tiger Woods place knows that they planted a bunch of annuals.  At least the Tangier Outlets people were smart enough to do mostly Sabals on the outside parking lots and only put a few Foxtails and Royals on the inner courtyard areas.  I guess the Tiger Woods plantings will be a good Darwinian experiment! 

For real. I can’t imagine how much they paid for those. I’d wager that area is mid-z9b. If they get a chance to establish before that next 10 year freeze, they may just exist there looking haggard for most of the year. But I am curious how the Ptychosperma will do. Seeing more planted around and didn’t notice any casualties from that 2022 cold snap.