Zone 10 Palms in the Orlando Area Mega Thread

[Eric in Orlando]

Green form Bismarckia nobilis

[Eric in Orlando]

Caryota obtusa, most are growing in the Pandora /Avatar section. They planted over 100 specimens. 

[Eric in Orlando]

More Caryota obtusa... 

[Eric in Orlando]

Also in Pandora are some huge Pachypodium (no pics) and some nice specimens of Pandanus utilis.  The 2nd photo is my Pandanus furcatus that I grew from a seed and planted in my yard. I gave it to Disney in 2014 and they planted it in Pandora. 

[Eric in Orlando]

A couple specimens at Disneys Hollywood Studios. A Howea forsteriana growing in the Indiana Jones jungle and a Pandanus utilis near the front entrance. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On my running path tonight, I found these palms where they are building a new home in Belle Isle. Royals, a coconut or majesty, and a bizmarkia. I think the middle is a coconut since the trunk is so lean.  Not sure what the smaller palm is. 

[Reeverse]

The smaller one looks to be an Archontophoenix maybe 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 12/21/2019 at 9:19 PM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Same palm 3 months later. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Here is a close up of the Belle Isle coconut I posted the other day. Good size. Needs fertilizer. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Hard to make this out but a nice size coconut also in Belle Isle on the lake 

[RedRabbit]

Belle Isle looks like the place to be in Orlando for palms. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On my run around Lake Conway this morning. King Palm. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Screw Pine 

[Cape Garrett]

On 3/10/2020 at 10:51 PM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

On my running path tonight, I found these palms where they are building a new home in Belle Isle. Royals, a coconut or majesty, and a bizmarkia. I think the middle is a coconut since the trunk is so lean.  Not sure what the smaller palm is. 

Looks like a king palm next to the bismark

[Eric in Orlando]

A couple of Beccariophoenix alfredii growing in the Audubon neighborhood down the street from Leu Gardens. 

[Jimbean]

I would like to see what they will look like here in Florida once fully matured. 

[chad2468emr]

Anyone ever see anything "zone-pushy" in the Lake Nona area? Relocating there from NH (originally from Fort Lauderdale, I'm used to zone 10b) in 4 months and wanted to get an idea of what I could possibly get away with from some Orlando-natives. Took a quick glaze through this thread and didn't see anything specific to that region, but I realize that it's pretty far from the city center and likely outside of the heat island. 

[Merlyn]

6 hours ago, chad2468emr said:

Anyone ever see anything "zone-pushy" in the Lake Nona area?

Search through this thread for the coconuts I posted in Buena Ventura Lakes and Kissimmee, just West of Lake Nona.  There's a coconut in great shape on Osceola Parkway and a couple of pretty decent ones on Carrol Street.  I posted a few different pics at random times.  There's also a nice Royal on Boggy Creek at "Lake Nona Outdoors" nursery.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 4/20/2020 at 11:28 AM, chad2468emr said:

Anyone ever see anything "zone-pushy" in the Lake Nona area? Relocating there from NH (originally from Fort Lauderdale, I'm used to zone 10b) in 4 months and wanted to get an idea of what I could possibly get away with from some Orlando-natives. Took a quick glaze through this thread and didn't see anything specific to that region, but I realize that it's pretty far from the city center and likely outside of the heat island. 

There is a massive screwpine at the entrance to Village Walk...I've posted it somewhere on this forum before. At North Shore, one house has a very large royal palm. When I lived there, I didn't see as many zone pushing palms like other places around Orlando. Probably for a couple reasons.  It is too new. Most of those homes were just built so people accepted what was planted in their yards. Also, when I lived in Village Walk, HOA ruled everything including landscape. It was all inclusive so you never touched your yard. I'm not sure you are allowed to plant anything outside a list of 5 things!  believe other places in Nona are like that. 

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is a palm I didn't think would last long, Neoveitchia storckii. It was planted in July 2010. To the left is Satakentia liukiuensis and front right is Cyrtostachys elegans x renda. These are at Leu Gardens.

[palmsOrl]

Here is the coconut on Lake Howell Road in Winter Park with fruit, taken today.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Took this pic in April off Old Cheney Hwy and Colonial. It is no longer there. Looks like they had it removed. That's too bad. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Smashburger coconuts look good. Fruit is big. 

[palmsOrl]

17 hours ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Took this pic in April off Old Cheney Hwy and Colonial. It is no longer there. Looks like they had it removed. That's too bad. 

Now why would they do that?!  That is a real shame.

[Eric in Orlando]

Postcard of Lake Eola in downtown Orlando from 1956. This would be on the northeast side. I bet that Royal was killed in the record freezes of 1957-58. 

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is an old photo of downtown Orlando, in 1972. It is looking north up Orange Ave. (now East West Expressway yet). In the bottom left is Lucerne Tower on the south side of Lake Lucerne. It is an appx. 10 story U-shaped building that faces south. In the center of the U is an old Royal Palm. That palm surved the 12/83 and 1/85 freezes. But sometime around 1987 it died (before the 12/89 freeze).  In this photo it appears there is also a tall Coconut on the far left. It wasn't there for the '83 freeze, probably killed in the 1977 freeze. That U shape facing south really gave it a great microclimate. Besides the Royal there were Queen and Pygmy Date Palms that survived with no damage after the '80s freezes. Also mature Schefflera and Crotons. Its recently been remodeled into apartments or something and relandscaped with the same sterile, no imagination landscape seen downtown without taking advantage of a great microclimate.

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

[RedRabbit]

6 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

Wow, that coconut appears to be 4+ stories tall. I can’t believe one could get that big in Orlando.

[Eric in Orlando]

1 hour ago, RedRabbit said:

Wow, that coconut appears to be 4+ stories tall. I can’t believe one could get that big in Orlando.

that building was built around 1962, so the coconut and royal were probably brought in as trunked specimens from south FL.  I wonder if there were any other coconuts or royals in the other corner.

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is an old photo of the Royal Palm that was at Lake Eola, same palm fromvthe old postcard a couple posts up. Not sure what the date is. 

[Oviedo_z10b_lol]

(Apologies in advance... I was driving and didn’t get a pic)

has anyone been on UCF’s campus lately? They planted two rows of big royals in the median on N. Orion across from the stadium. Looks like a relatively new planting. If anyone frequents the area, see if you can get a pic. Otherwise, I’ll be ready next time I have to drive out there. 

[kinzyjr]

50 minutes ago, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

(Apologies in advance... I was driving and didn’t get a pic)

has anyone been on UCF’s campus lately? They planted two rows of big royals in the median on N. Orion across from the stadium. Looks like a relatively new planting. If anyone frequents the area, see if you can get a pic. Otherwise, I’ll be ready next time I have to drive out there. 

Are these it?

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.6101454,-81.1916887,3a,75y,15.37h,98.57t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1s89I24eUSLlCe3vCfMA45lw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!9m2!1b1!2i37

and

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.6114575,-81.1918507,3a,75y,329.34h,91.32t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1stU98EJyD74wwVaY55UE9Tw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!9m2!1b1!2i37

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Somebody caught a video of the tornado crossing Lake Conway in Belle Isle. I noticed this homeowner had a nice sized coconut.

[Reeverse]

I saw that footage on 2news and saw the coconut too. Crazy weather last night 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 6/7/2020 at 2:02 PM, Reeverse said:

I saw that footage on 2news and saw the coconut too. Crazy weather last night 

Missed me by 1 mile. Thankfully only an EF-1 but still tore some roofs off. Started as a waterspout over Lake Conway in this pic. 

[Eric in Orlando]

A young Veitchia arecina at a house on the south side of Lake Apopka in Tildenville (west of Orlando, between Oakland and Winter Garden). 

[RedRabbit]

28 minutes ago, Eric in Orlando said:

A young Veitchia arecina at a house on the south side of Lake Apopka in Tildenville (west of Orlando, between Oakland and Winter Garden). 

It seems like it should have a great microclimate given the size of Lake Apopka, but I never really hear about much that area on here.

[Eric in Orlando]

18 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

It seems like it should have a great microclimate given the size of Lake Apopka, but I never really hear about much that area on here.

It is a good microclimate. You see some specimens around, several royals, Archontophoenix, Adonidia, Dypis lutescens, Caryota, etc.  But that big new soulless development north of the West Orange trail in Oakland is the same, sterile, no imagination 6 species landscape copy. This is after they clear cut any old trees.

In the late 80s, I used to go offroading there. There were lots of citrus groves still around. Oranges, tangerines and the biggest grapefruits I have ever seen. They survived the 80s freezes with just minor damage. And you saw more queen palms surviving around there than elsewhere away from the lake. Supposedly there is a big clump of Ptychosperma macarthurii growing near the lake somewhere on the southeast side around in the Crown Point area. I was told it survived the 80s freezes, froze back but regrew. I have never seen it.

[Eric in Orlando]

A yard with several Coconuts in Oakland, 20 miles west of Orlando. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:08 AM, kinzyjr said:

The best one to see is the International Drive coconut outside of Charley's Steak House: 8255 International Dr #100, Orlando, FL 32819

They do trim off the fruit for obvious reasons, but it is one of the few pre-2010 coconuts inland.

It's a shame they trim off the nuts.  If they are worried about "liability", just post signs saying "BEWARE OF FALLING COCONUTS!"