Royal palm locations in California

[Alex High]

Hello all,

Through my travels and research/reading through Palmtalk threads, I have created a Google My Maps of all of the royal palms I know of in California. I know there are lots that I'm missing, I know there are royals in the Inland Empire (Riverside, etc.) and Low Desert (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio), and plenty of others in LA, OC, and SD. Please let me know of any other CA royals to add to the map. Thanks, enjoy!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1FSlnGtLXPdk2x783aR92jki_cjqTH9c&ll=35.38601949243062%2C-119.92030945420171&z=6

Here are some videos I've taken of California royal palms on my YouTube channel Palm Planet:

 

[Cristóbal]

Not far south of San Diego in Playas de Rosarito where I live (also in Ensenada) there are royals planted for almost 1 kilometer in the principal street by the largest shopping center called Pabellón Rosarito. You can see them very well in the google earth street view.

They are doing very well but they need more water.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Cristóbal

[Butiagrus]

That's called dedication 😄 !

Great job and thanks for sharing the locations, it is easy now to look at them back in time and to observe the progress through the years 😁

[Alex High]

20 hours ago, Cristóbal said:

Not far south of San Diego in Playas de Rosarito where I live (also in Ensenada) there are royals planted for almost 1 kilometer in the principal street by the largest shopping center called Pabellón Rosarito. You can see them very well in the google earth street view.

They are doing very well but they need more water.

 

 

Very cool, thanks for sharing, great to see royals being planted there as well! I remember seeing pictures of your beautiful Cocos nucifera, how's it doing? Here are some massive royals I found while searching on Street View in Tijuana a few months back. Very impressive palms!

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5199411,-117.0014269,3a,41.8y,351.07h,103.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYWDcEGzom5tocYwaGgiLew!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu

11 hours ago, Butiagrus said:

That's called dedication 😄 !

Great job and thanks for sharing the locations, it is easy now to look at them back in time and to observe the progress through the years 😁

Thanks! It took a while to compile and create, but it was fun to make. I also love looking back and seeing how the palms have done over the years. Enjoy!

[FlaPalmLover]

It's kind of cute how Cali people want to grow royal palms and Florida people want to be able to grow CIDPs well. 😄  

[DoomsDave]

Artesia, Los Angeles county. South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa Orange County. 

[mnorell]

A couple I know of, off the top of my head:
1711 N. Ogden, Hollywood (these have been there since somewhere around 2000); and
73-218 Joshua Tree St., Palm Desert

And when you get ready to do your map of Veitchia arecina in California (to me that would be even more interesting), here is a fairly large grouping (intermingled with kings and queens) near the Park La Brea complex and The Grove/Farmers Market in Los Angeles. These were installed if I remember correctly around 2005, and have done very well considering they basically have a northern exposure (though surrounded by buildings, sidewalks, concrete and asphalt!).

[Alex High]

7 hours ago, mnorell said:

A couple I know of, off the top of my head:
1711 N. Ogden, Hollywood (these have been there since somewhere around 2000); and
73-218 Joshua Tree St., Palm Desert

And when you get ready to do your map of Veitchia arecina in California (to me that would be even more interesting), here is a fairly large grouping (intermingled with kings and queens) near the Park La Brea complex and The Grove/Farmers Market in Los Angeles. These were installed if I remember correctly around 2005, and have done very well considering they basically have a northern exposure (though surrounded by buildings, sidewalks, concrete and asphalt!).

Those are some beautiful royals, thanks for sharing, I will add them to the map! Wow those Veitchia are sweet, now I need to get working on that map of Veitchia arecina, problem is I don't know the locations of any others in Cali! I know they're planted here and there like royals and I find them to be super cool palms! I also made a map of California coconut palms, but after the Corona one was axed for no reason, as was the one in Palm Desert, and the Salton Sea ones died from not being watered, I only have 4 coconut palms left on the map, so not sure how useful that would be to post. And I recently heard the one in Del Mar died although can't confirm, I saw it in early spring and it looked rough after this past cool and very rainy winter. Thanks!

[Growingwithdrew]

This is really neat i have seen the one royal in Cambrian in San Jose it seems to be yellow and the queen palm 20 feet away also seems yellow possible iron deficiency, that particular area of west San Jose has an issue with iron deficiency in palms queens tend to be stunted and will grow with thin canopies and very skinny trunks. There also were some royals in Los Altos California I'm not sure if they are still around I believe the gentlemen’s name was Jim

Edited September 28, 2023 by Growingwithdrew

[pogobob]

Here’s a beautiful group of Royals growing in Lake Forest at the Saddle Back Eye Center 

[pogobob]

This is growing in the Sleeping Indian farming community in Oceanside 

[pogobob]

This is in San Clemente 

[Brandon39.5]

nice! I would love to see a map of royals in Europe.

[pogobob]

And this is growing in a neighboring property in Bonsall 

[FlaPalmLover]

4 hours ago, pogobob said:

This is growing in the Sleeping Indian farming community in Oceanside 

I can't tell if the fronds just grow in weirdly on that one or if some goofball trimmed the lower fronds not realizing it's silly to do so with royals since they're self-cleaning, but it's definitely different. Looks good, though.

[Alex High]

17 hours ago, pogobob said:

And this is growing in a neighboring property in Bonsall 

Wow gorgeous royals, thanks for sharing! Do you have the exact locations of the ones in Sleeping Indian, San Clemente, and Bonsall?

[pogobob]

The Royals in Bonsall are on Via Arrarat off Lilac Road. 
the one in San Clemente is on Domador off Veracruz 

[pogobob]

And here are my Royals that I planted January 8th 2017, and today they are growing strong 

[RFun]

Those are great pics!  I am a big fan of Royal Palms.

[pogobob]

Here’s a few more Royals at the Lake Forest location 

[pogobob]

A few more Royal palms in Bonsall Ca 

[Yunder Wækraus]

On 9/27/2023 at 1:37 PM, Alex High said:

Hello all,

Through my travels and research/reading through Palmtalk threads, I have created a Google My Maps of all of the royal palms I know of in California. I know there are lots that I'm missing, I know there are royals in the Inland Empire (Riverside, etc.) and Low Desert (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio), and plenty of others in LA, OC, and SD. Please let me know of any other CA royals to add to the map. Thanks, enjoy!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1FSlnGtLXPdk2x783aR92jki_cjqTH9c&ll=35.38601949243062%2C-119.92030945420171&z=6

Here are some videos I've taken of California royal palms on my YouTube channel Palm Planet:

 

It's sad to see how most of them look pretty ratty. Do you think it's the lack of humidity, or do the cool, wet winters just mess them up each year?

[RedRabbit]

Any chance they can survive in Eureka, Crescent City, or Brookings? I’m guessing no, but maybe?

[Alex High]

32 minutes ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

It's sad to see how most of them look pretty ratty. Do you think it's the lack of humidity, or do the cool, wet winters just mess them up each year?

Yeah, I think it's a combination of factors, such as the prolonged cool weather and lack of humidity, but most importantly, lack of water. There are some gorgeous royal palms right by the coast where it's cool year-round in Southern California, and then others in hotter locations inland that look rough, I think water is the biggest factor. SoCal is super dry and royals are notorious for being water guzzlers. Even in the desert where it's bone dry, a well-watered royal can look great, such as in Phoenix, Palm Springs, etc.

[Alex High]

3 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

Any chance they can survive in Eureka, Crescent City, or Brookings? I’m guessing no, but maybe?

Unfortunately no, too cool for too long there, plus they are quite rainy cities. Such cool temperatures plus constant winter rain wouldn't be suitable for royals. The one in San Jose looked rough after this past cool, rainy winter, and San Jose is warmer year-round compared with Eureka, Crescent City, and Brookings, especially in summer.

[Jim in Los Altos]

On 9/28/2023 at 11:33 AM, Growingwithdrew said:

This is really neat i have seen the one royal in Cambrian in San Jose it seems to be yellow and the queen palm 20 feet away also seems yellow possible iron deficiency, that particular area of west San Jose has an issue with iron deficiency in palms queens tend to be stunted and will grow with thin canopies and very skinny trunks. There also were some royals in Los Altos California I'm not sure if they are still around I believe the gentlemen’s name was Jim

Jim here. I reluctantly had to cut down my Royal as it was pushing out my Foxy Lady and Foxtail palms as its trunk expanded into their space. Also, being at my driveway, I didn’t savor the idea of big fronds falling on my cars in the future. Foxy Lady fronds are very light by comparison when they fall. One fell off two days ago. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Jim in Los Altos

[Yunder Wækraus]

9 minutes ago, Alex High said:

Yeah, I think it's a combination of factors, such as the prolonged cool weather and lack of humidity, but most importantly, lack of water. There are some gorgeous royal palms right by the coast where it's cool year-round in Southern California, and then others in hotter locations inland that look rough, I think water is the biggest factor. SoCal is super dry and royals are notorious for being water guzzlers. Even in the desert where it's bone dry, a well-watered royal can look great, such as in Phoenix, Palm Springs, etc.

That seems right. When we lived in Florida, I had a mature one brought in with heavy equipment and planted in our front yard. The nurseryman who sold it to me told me he only bought royals that were raised in the Glades and therefore had a rootball full of muck soil. Our yard was 95% pure sand, so I was worried the royal might not do too well. It looked ratty for a year, and then I realized it was a water issue. We had an artesian well on our property (don't know how, but I never had to turn the pump on to get water), which ran at a slow, steady drip. I would place the hose next to the royal and let that slow drip keep its feet wet 24/7 during the dry season. It was looking great by the time we sold the house. (When I lived in California, it would have been illegal for me to have a well on a small residential property, and the water bill to leave the hose on drip all day for months would have bankrupted me!)

I'm attaching a pic of that royal in late 2017 (not long before we moved).

[cocoloco]

On 9/26/2023 at 8:37 PM, Alex High said:

Hello all,

Through my travels and research/reading through Palmtalk threads, I have created a Google My Maps of all of the royal palms I know of in California. I know there are lots that I'm missing, I know there are royals in the Inland Empire (Riverside, etc.) and Low Desert (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio), and plenty of others in LA, OC, and SD. Please let me know of any other CA royals to add to the map. Thanks, enjoy!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1FSlnGtLXPdk2x783aR92jki_cjqTH9c&ll=35.38601949243062%2C-119.92030945420171&z=6

Here are some videos I've taken of California royal palms on my YouTube channel Palm Planet:

 

Hey Alex, i’m always in Santa Ana as I live in Tustin, i’ve spotted tons of healthy looking royal palms there before but the only ones where I remember there locations are, Right infront of Rubys Diner at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA (33.69279° N, 117.89215° W) if you look around on street view the end of the street is packed with them. they look like royal palms to me they might be foxtails tho, same case for the next one as i’m not familiar with royal palms. and the other location is right next to the Santa Ana stadium, (33.75114° N, 117.87849° W) they are very tall in both locations and i hope this helps and i hope you can identify them as royal palms because they look different from every other palm tree you find here in Orange County.

[bubba]

Great topic and examples. I am old enough to remember when it was believed that no Royal palms could be grown in California! This demonstrates just how far the palm growers in California have pushed the ball. I fully expect Cocos nucifera to be established at a much greater level in California and likely in the desert.

I am interested to see the relative latitudes throughout the world where Roystonia can be established. The Royal most northerly that you posted was approximately 37° north. I have seen pictures of large and healthy Royals established in European areas like Lisbon, Portugal at approximately 39° north

Can anyone share their experience with the location of the Royal growing furthest from the equator in either the northern or southern hemisphere?

[Harry’s Palms]

The first Royal I saw was when I discovered Sullivan’s gardens in Ventura . I met Terry , Pauline’s son , at a coffee bar and he told me about some of their apartment buildings where they had planted rare palms . There are some HUGE skyline examples in Ventura . I am inland about 15 miles and my Venezuelan is getting large ( about 15’ of smooth white trunk) but it isn’t as robust as the ones nearer the coast. We are at about 34 degrees north latitude.Harry

[Alex High]

12 hours ago, cocoloco said:

Hey Alex, i’m always in Santa Ana as I live in Tustin, i’ve spotted tons of healthy looking royal palms there before but the only ones where I remember there locations are, Right infront of Rubys Diner at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA (33.69279° N, 117.89215° W) if you look around on street view the end of the street is packed with them. they look like royal palms to me they might be foxtails tho, same case for the next one as i’m not familiar with royal palms. and the other location is right next to the Santa Ana stadium, (33.75114° N, 117.87849° W) they are very tall in both locations and i hope this helps and i hope you can identify them as royal palms because they look different from every other palm tree you find here in Orange County.

Yep, they're all royals. I've got them on my map. Thanks, seems like a great area for them, mild winters and hotter summers than right by the coast.