Best place to live for palms?

[2palm]

I want the ability to grow palms everywhere in my backyard, but where I live is definitely not tropical enough. where would be a good place to have an entire backyard full of palms in America? This is not including big, popular coastal cities, as I want to live in a more rural area. If anybody has any good suggestions, I will appreciate it.

Thank you

Edited October 4, 2023 by 2palm

[RedRabbit]

South Florida seems like the clear answer for the continental US.

[flplantguy]

If you mean only mainland US, South Florida outside the cities is still a little rural but can still see freezes, but is still the best overall.  The keys too but that's not "rural" really.  If you include any part of the United States there are multiple areas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico being the best overall for living but Guam and other territories are also possible.  Parts of California are good too, but as you will see on here people there have to contend with other obstacles like chilly winters and hot dry winds.  Every place has it's pros and cons though so it's up to what you value the most.

[Looking Glass]

South Florida, wet areas of Hawaii, Some parts of Southern California for palms...  I like to think though, that you can have an amazing garden and natural landscape anywhere in the US, if you use right plant, right place principles.  Travel around the US and visit the natural wild areas and they are all amazing in their own way.  You can create a stellar garden with awesome arrangements of natives and exotics anywhere, and it can be peaceful, beautiful, and unique.  If I lived in a temperate area I’d be rocking Japanese maples and pines, and in the desert it would be cactus and agave.  I rather have a healthy, temperate garden with robust plants, than a frizzled, brown coconut any day.   

[Xenon]

It's not South FL but you can grow some palms in the southernmost tip of Texas...only 10 hour drive south 😜

[Xerarch]

Yeah, “BEST” means Hawaii or Puerto Rico. What practical considerations are you under? Work? Money? Cost of living? Recreational opportunities? Politics? There are still smaller towns in California that would be nice, but cost of living is prohibitive for many people. Out of lower 48 south Florida is the best, but again, what constraints are you under. For me, with all reasonable factors included, I’m happy being in south Texas (Corpus) I have tons of palms and tropical/subtropical fruits. As @Xenon has suggested, 100 miles south of me in the RGV is the unsung hero of palm growing that few people seem to realize, plus some of the cheapest cost of living around (if you can find a job/want to be there etc.) My personal goal when looking for where to live was at least zone 9b or warmer, that limits you to parts of California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Widest variety of palms ..in the continental  U.S. anyway? ( ..and plants in general ) S. Cal.  That said, many of the best spots are already developed.  Still some great spots around, if you look  around hard enough though.. Where else can one grow  Kentia, Rhopalostylis, Royals, Jubaea, and Pseudophoenix  ..on the same piece of property..

Biggest drawback(s) obviously would be expense ( though i still see " reasonable " land listings when i look ) Wildfire threat ( can be mitigated ) Drought ( ...can also be mitigated )  and Earthquakes ( which aren't a big deal ..Lived through many growing up in Cali myself )

Then again,  land / property is getting expensive pretty much everywhere you could grow dozens of species of palms ..so that part of the " negative " factor doesn't hold much water anymore.

At the same time, no Hurricanes ( Big " damage everything " events anyway )  and no sudden extreme cold events ( like what Texas can experience every so often )  Gets cold occasionally in S. Cal too ( Gotta go to Hawaii or Puerto Rico to escape cold entirely ) , ..but it really doesn't get that cold, esp if your property is on a hillside where cold air drains off of,  ..and / or it sits where you see some influence from the coast, to keep things moister / not super hot, ..but where you also see plenty of warmth during the summers / less of those grey, cool n' foggy days. 

 S. FL is good for tropical stuff, Coastal Cen. FL as well  but the annual, life changing Hurricane threat hangs large over both parts of the state.. 


If winters were more 9b,  rather than 8b,  ( ..or 8A )  areas south of Tucson  could  be great.  LOTS of wide open space  ..but close enough to Tucson, which is expanding to the south over time anyway

.  ..See Lots of land listings between $50 and 100K in / around Sonoita and Green Valley, ...and not necessarily  for a cramped,  1/3rd - 1/2 acre lots, ..more like 5 -10 or more acres.  That part of the state gets more rain in summer than this part of AZ and stays -at least a few clicks- cooler while we might try to survive weeks of 110+ heat.


Overall though, ..Hawaii wins the " best place for Palms " race ..hands down.

[2palm]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

It's not South FL but you can grow some palms in the southernmost tip of Texas...only 10 hour drive south 😜

Honestly royal palms are all I need.

[Xerarch]

22 minutes ago, 2palm said:

Honestly royal palms are all I need.

Royals really are magnificent, you need to look at 10a+ then, or maybe a high end 9b if you’re willing to accept some risk. Places like Orlando are 9b on the maps but there are numerous royals around. Many royals survived 2021 in RGV/SPI as well. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I strongly suggest Cameron County in the vicinity of Brownsville, Los Fresnos, and Bayview.  That area of the Rio Grande Valley is high end Zone 10A, with some winters Zone 10B there, has rich delta soil good for growing lots of things, still pretty reasonable property prices, and is just a 25 to 30 minute drive to the prettiest beach in Texas, South Padre Island.  You can grow Coconut Palms to maturity with nuts on them there, Royal Palms, Foxtail Palms, Bottle Palms, Christmas Palms, King Palms, Florida Thatch Palms, Bismarck Palms, etc. all to maturity there, as well as lots of tropical fruit trees like Mangoes, Papayas, Avocadoes, All sorts of Citrus, Guavas, Star Fruit Trees, etc.

John

Edited October 5, 2023 by Mr. Coconut Palm

[sonoranfans]

Id take hawaii in a heartbeat if it wasn't 5k miles from my kids and grands.  But I went from Socal (working )to Hawaii  on vacation and what i missed most was the food both at the market and the restaurant, and it took only one week for me to miss it.  If palms are an overwhelming factor and you can afford it, Hawaii is great.  Just remember the dry side and the wet side of the islands may jack your cost of irrigation or limit what you can grow in a dry hot area with limited irrigation.  Annual rainfall was 18-200 inches in kawaii depending on location.  Eighteen inches mean you will have to irrigate a lot($) for those jungle palms so many like.  The wet(east) side of the islands get lots of rain so, no desert species is a wise condition, but the palm jungle will be in near peak jungle climate, my favorite palm gardens are there.  There are also the digs to consider, you may have to dig volcanic rock in hawaii or limestone rock in miami just to plant a palm  I did not understand that till I saw that that Ken Johnson dug wholes to plant/transplant palms using a huge impact hammer to break up the rocks.  What does it mean when a shovel and pick axe are just about useless?   Southern California does appear to be at the top in palm species diversity, but its also the most variable climate, so many different climates from foggy seacoast to sun blasting desert, sea level to several thousands feet above the sea just 30-45mins inland.  At any one site the numbers of potential species will drop off but some areas there are likely the highest in species diversity potential.  Finally if you want to grow palms into the future realize water may be a problem as these areas expand in population access to water and/or the cost to irrigate will rise.   If you dont get much rainfall, plan you garden to have a good number of palms that arent super thirsty.   What is the best place to grow palms for you is a complex question only you can answer.