why arent royals or foxtails more common in south lousiana?

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

I know that much of south louisiana south of New orleans is zone 9B and some even 10A.  how come palms more tropical than queens are extremly scarce in that region?  here is one of the only royals ive heard of in that area.  its a good size too.  how come they arent planted more there?

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.261598,-89.9560394,3a,37.5y,299.99h,96.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgCygOBxzRhQ-1697Bp20ZA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[Xerarch]

Wow that's a nice Royal for Louisiana, last time I checked the 2012 interactive USDA zone map there was only a tiny blip of 10a in Louisiana waaaay down there on the end of the delta. 

Louisiana had a streak there of mild winters that made people think they could get away with tropicals, but truth is, it is not very hospitable to royals/foxyails. Within the last few years I've seen some hard freezes down there even deep south like Houma I've seen royal/foxtail killing freezes, we have forum members that sustained heavy damage in those areas, I wonder when that photo was taken with the royal. 

Having said all that, if I lived down there I might plant some anyway with the understanding that I would enjoy them for however long they lasted before the inevitable. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

1 hour ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

I know that much of south louisiana south of New orleans is zone 9B and some even 10A.  how come palms more tropical than queens are extremly scarce in that region?  here is one of the only royals ive heard of in that area.  its a good size too.  how come they arent planted more there?

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.261598,-89.9560394,3a,37.5y,299.99h,96.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgCygOBxzRhQ-1697Bp20ZA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

I dont think there are any inhabitable area in Louisiana that are 10a. The reason you dont see them is because they will die in the winter, just like they will in Houston. 

[Xenon]

Wow, I'm equally impressed by the Ravenala madagascariensis growing beside it. Nice pair of Bismarckia too. Bismarckia is a palm that should definitely be more common in S. Louisiana and the Texas coast. Imagine the banks of the Mississippi in New Orleans lined with Bismarckia...

[pin38]

3 hours ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

I know that much of south louisiana south of New orleans is zone 9B and some even 10A.  how come palms more tropical than queens are extremly scarce in that region?  here is one of the only royals ive heard of in that area.  its a good size too.  how come they arent planted more there?

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.261598,-89.9560394,3a,37.5y,299.99h,96.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgCygOBxzRhQ-1697Bp20ZA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Wow that neighborhood is waaay out in the gulf, I didn't realize Louisiana had developed areas that far south. I've heard New Orleans is borderline 10a (most years), so I'd be willing to bet that island is even closer to 10a. But with that latitude and all that water around it it's a lot more protected that the NOLA area and especially other southern LA cities like Baton Rouge.

[PalmatierMeg]

In the long run, LA is too cold.

[RedRabbit]

It is very interesting to see those plants growing in LA. The gulf coast of FL isn't warm enough to support those at the same latitude (29.26n).

That's probably the only town in the state capable of supporting a royal palm. You've really got to wonder what it is doing there, I doubt there's a local nursery selling them given the market is so small. 

[pin38]

13 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

It is very interesting to see those plants growing in LA. The gulf coast of FL isn't warm enough to support those at the same latitude (29.26n).

That's probably the only town in the state capable of supporting a royal palm. You've really got to wonder what it is doing there, I doubt there's a local nursery selling them given the market is so small. 

The fact that it's basically an island off the coast probably makes it's climate more comparable to Galveston than to a northern Florida coast city. And as people have shown on this site, there are a few royals in Galveston though they are marginal there.  This town is actually south of Galveston, closer in latitude to Daytona Beach. That homeowner probably trucked it in from south Florida.

Edited September 7, 2017 by pin38

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, pin38 said:

The fact that it's basically an island off the coast probably makes it's climate more comparable to Galveston than to a northern Florida coast city. And as people have shown on this site, there are a few royals in Galveston though they are marginal there.  This town is actually south of Galveston, closer in latitude to Daytona Beach. That homeowner probably trucked it in from south Florida.

Looks a lot like Galveston too. Strertviewed the area and saw some decent sized Araucaria, shrubby Ficus, and even a young Dypsis decaryi. Wonder how cold it got there in January of 2010. The north Atlantic coast of Florida is pretty mild too...there are pictures of tropical landscaping (somewhere on the web) in Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine comparable to Galveston.