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Roystonea regia in Flagler Beach (North Florida)


MOlivera

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Beautiful tree. I too will care for mine as well as can be during cold snaps, but in the end I know my 9a zone will take it's toll. I will enjoy it while it last. Wish you continued success with that tough guy you got there.

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I forgot to mention that if you look at my emoticon, you can see the original three trees in a picture that was taken in late 2006.  At that time, the trees had been in the ground a little over 5 years and all three were looking good.

When I lost the two on the ends, they were unbelievable heavy to remove...

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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6 hours ago, Insomniac411 said:

The middle one that made it looks different than the other 2. Was it more mature?

They were all sprouted at the same time.  And, they all received the same care.  The only variable was the overall variability that the individual genetics provide.  And, I guess the available nutrients (other than the fertilizer I use) at the planting site might be in play.  But, the short answer to your question is "no", it was not more mature.

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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7 hours ago, Insomniac411 said:

The middle one that made it looks different than the other 2. Was it more mature?

Insomniac, where are you located?

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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I'm in Ponte Vedra Florida,  it's midway between the city of Jacksonville and Old St.Augustine on the eastern side of i95. Hoping to pick up a little of the  "coastal" climate pockets. 

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4 hours ago, Insomniac411 said:

I'm in Ponte Vedra Florida,  it's midway between the city of Jacksonville and Old St.Augustine on the eastern side of i95. Hoping to pick up a little of the  "coastal" climate pockets. 

I know exactly where you are.  My father-in-law had a store right off Old St. Augustine Road on the South side of Jacksonville many years ago.  So, I spent lots of time in that area.

My experience is that once they have some size to them, Roystoneas are more cold tolerant than you would think.  Especially if you keep them happy with the right fertilizer and also adequate irrigation.  They love water.

At the size mine is, it would take a once in a hundred year cold event to take it out.  At my age, I most likely won't be around the next time that happens in my area.

I get lots of people asking me "what kind of Queen palm is that...".  So, most people still are not aware that these can be grown successfully in this area.

Good luck to you.  Keep everyone posted on your tree's progress.

  • Upvote 2

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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Neat experiment with the hardy royal. I've got some seedlings of the Florida strain I collected in the Fakahatchee strand, so it should be interesting to see how they compare to royals that I sprouted from cultivated palms. 

  • Upvote 1

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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11 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Neat experiment with the hardy royal. I've got some seedlings of the Florida strain I collected in the Fakahatchee strand, so it should be interesting to see how they compare to royals that I sprouted from cultivated palms. 

I'm sure my royal is of Cuban origin as most of the landscape specimens in that era were brought into Florida from Cuba.  I have always wanted to grow a Roystonea that I knew (for sure) was of Florida origin.  Years ago, they actually considered them two different trees.  The Cuban Royal was Roystonea regia and the Florida Royal was called Roystonea Elata.  But, now these are considered the same species and all of them are referred to as Roystonea Regia.  At least, that is what I have read.

If you have enough seedlings that you are certain of Florida origin that you can spare one or two, I would really like to see how they grow compared with my experience with Cuban trees.  Hint, Hint...  :-)

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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Lively discussion.  The 1989 freeze killed royals in coastal Brevard County and in Vero Beach, though one visible from my front yard is almost certainly a survivor.   Fort Pierce fared a bit better.  Now, we've got thousands of royals.  

Bartram definitely encountered royals on the the St. Johns River.  Francis Harper figured out the location with pretty good certainty in his annotated edition of the Travels.  That's where the scientific name "elata" came from.  

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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13 hours ago, ck_in_fla said:

I'm sure my royal is of Cuban origin as most of the landscape specimens in that era were brought into Florida from Cuba.  I have always wanted to grow a Roystonea that I knew (for sure) was of Florida origin.  Years ago, they actually considered them two different trees.  The Cuban Royal was Roystonea regia and the Florida Royal was called Roystonea Elata.  But, now these are considered the same species and all of them are referred to as Roystonea Regia.  At least, that is what I have read.

If you have enough seedlings that you are certain of Florida origin that you can spare one or two, I would really like to see how they grow compared with my experience with Cuban trees.  Hint, Hint...  :-)

If you're ever in Tampa on a weekend send me a PM to see if I'm free and you can pick one up. Feel free to find my thread on the Fakahatchee strand to see where I collected them.

 

I bet some of the old royals in Manatee county are from the Florida strain. Reasoner's nursery in Bradenton started selling royals that they collected in the Everglades as early as 1884, there are still some old royals around from that time, like these ones in Palmetto planted in 1909:

IMG_5083.thumb.JPG.91dfd5071a527d881372d

  • Upvote 5

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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9 hours ago, Dave-Vero said:

Lively discussion.  The 1989 freeze killed royals in coastal Brevard County and in Vero Beach, though one visible from my front yard is almost certainly a survivor.   Fort Pierce fared a bit better.  Now, we've got thousands of royals.  

Bartram definitely encountered royals on the the St. Johns River.  Francis Harper figured out the location with pretty good certainty in his annotated edition of the Travels.  That's where the scientific name "elata" came from.  

Dave I live in sanford and I was in port canaveral today and I seen a bunch of 30 foot coconut palms right in the piers there with tons of coconuts on them...don’t know how long they been there but if coconuts can grow like that here in central Florida no reason royals can’t do just as good or even better 

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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The bad winters of 2010 and 2011 killed nearly half the coconut palms in my neighborhood, 3 miles inland from the ocean in Vero Beach (south of the airport, whose temperature records are relevant).  The survivors have boomed since then.  Despite the short distance between leaves (internode length), they grow fast when happy.  

Of course one of the wonderful things about Cuba is the abundance of royals.   They thrive around people;  there have been comments that the Seminole carried royal seeds around so there'd be trees to produce fruits to feed the feral pigs.  Perhaps the same in Cuba?  I should have asked.  

Sancti spiritus near Coccothrinax azul-  Roystonea (1 of 1).jpg

  • Upvote 2

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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On 11/11/2017, 11:03:36, Zeeth said:

If you're ever in Tampa on a weekend send me a PM to see if I'm free and you can pick one up. Feel free to find my thread on the Fakahatchee strand to see where I collected them.

 

I bet some of the old royals in Manatee county are from the Florida strain. Reasoner's nursery in Bradenton started selling royals that they collected in the Everglades as early as 1884, there are still some old royals around from that time, like these ones in Palmetto planted in 1909:

IMG_5083.thumb.JPG.91dfd5071a527d881372d

I don't get to Tampa very often.  Traffic in Downtown Orlando and the Disney/Attractions area is brutal no matter what time of day it is.  But, my wife and I have discussed a short vacation to St. Petersburg or Clearwater.  When we get that planned, I will let you know to see if perhaps I can swing by on my way home.  Thanks for the offer!

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 11/7/2017, 5:40:39, ck_in_fla said:

I met a guy a number of years ago who told me a story about a street in St. Petersburg, FL that had been landscaped with Royal Palms.  I think he said the original plantings took place in the late 1930's.  Over the years, freezes took out palms until there were only a few remaining.  He gathered seeds from these "survivors" and sprouted them.  He actually gave me three of these seedlings in April of 2001.  I planted them on the side of my Winter Springs, FL (Suburb of Orlando) home.  When they were small, I tented them with a spotlight to provide supplemental heat anytime we had temperatures under 32 degrees F.  This was normally once or twice each winter.  They grew very rapidly.  I lost two of them in 2010 as we got quite cold here and all of the trees were way too large to protect.  But, the tree that was planted in the middle has continued to thrive.  It towers over my home.  I am convinced that this tree has some additional genetic disposition to tolerate cold.  It has seen a few events as cold as 24-25F and keeps growing.  Even though it is huge, I am still waiting for it to seed.  When it does, I intend to sprout as many as I can.  The attached images show the size this tree has attained.  The pictures were taken right after Hurricane Irma blew through here.  So, the tree took a beating from the 105 MPH winds we had for more than 6 hours.  But, other than that, the tree remains healthy.

IMG_1181.JPG

IMG_1182.JPG

Update: After 16 years of growth, my Roystonea is finally going to bloom.  The latest crownshaft dropped off yesterday revealing a bud.  I will try to get some pictures later and post.  But, if the seeds mature, I am definitely going to try to sprout as many as I can.  I am going to try to get my neighbors to plant them in their yards.

  • Upvote 3

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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6 hours ago, ck_in_fla said:

Update: After 16 years of growth, my Roystonea is finally going to bloom.  The latest crownshaft dropped off yesterday revealing a bud.  I will try to get some pictures later and post.  But, if the seeds mature, I am definitely going to try to sprout as many as I can.  I am going to try to get my neighbors to plant them in their yards.

Here is the picture I promised.  You need to look closely, but there is definitely a bud forming.

Royal Palm Bloom.jpg

  • Upvote 5

Winter Springs (Orlando area), Florida

Zone 9b/10a

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  • 4 months later...
On 11/5/2017, 7:54:06, Insomniac411 said:

We've got a ways to go you and I lol. Good luck. They appear similar in size.

20171105_074807-747x1328.jpg

20171105_074857-747x1328.jpg

20171105_074943-1328x747.jpg

How did your royal

do this winter ? Mine died with 1 freeze. I went to the same nursery I got the one I took a pic of here and they gave me half off a new one . This time I just had them plant it for me . THey put it in today 

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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Wow, a royal palm was killed in Sanford?  I know that this January was a particularly cold one there (two freezes, back to back), but I am surprised that this royal palm died so close to the Orlando suburbs.  It wasn't what I'd call a juvenile tree.  There are supposed to be large, old royal palms in Sanford off I-4 too.     

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30 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, a royal palm was killed in Sanford?  I know that this January was a particularly cold one there (two freezes, back to back), but I am surprised that this royal palm died so close to the Orlando suburbs.  It wasn't what I'd call a juvenile tree.  There are supposed to be large, old royal palms in Sanford off I-4 too.     

I'm surprised to hear that too. My little 3G sized royal was defoliated from 28f but it is bouncing back now.

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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56 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, a royal palm was killed in Sanford?  I know that this January was a particularly cold one there (two freezes, back to back), but I am surprised that this royal palm died so close to the Orlando suburbs.  It wasn't what I'd call a juvenile tree.  There are supposed to be large, old royal palms in Sanford off I-4 too.     

I don’t think it was completely dead as the core was still green but the problem was I planted it in October so it was not rooted at all..I just planted a new one today and it has all summer to root ....I won’t make that mistake again and yes , we had one night it got to 28 degrees and a few days at about 31 at night 

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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32 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I'm surprised to hear that too. My little 3G sized royal was defoliated from 28f but it is bouncing back now.

And yes the royal palm here in sanford off I -4 are 5 Min from my house ...they got some damage also but they are fine 

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On 4/10/2018, 5:22:29, Jason-Palm king said:

How did your royal

do this winter ? Mine died with 1 freeze. I went to the same nursery I got the one I took a pic of here and they gave me half off a new one . This time I just had them plant it for me . THey put it in today 

As yours did, mine bit the dust. Decided to go with another ribbon Palm Instead. 

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40 minutes ago, Insomniac411 said:

As yours did, mine bit the dust. Decided to go with another ribbon Palm Instead. 

DC3D64D2-1D5F-49AF-93D9-AF031E3BEDFB.thu

40 minutes ago, Insomniac411 said:

As yours did, mine bit the dust. Decided to go with another ribbon Palm Instead. 

here is my new royal planted 2 days ago! I shouldn’t have planted the other one in November ...I have all year for this one to establish and root....I ordered a frost blanket yesterday in case I need it next winter ....

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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On 4/10/2018, 7:45:09, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, a royal palm was killed in Sanford?  I know that this January was a particularly cold one there (two freezes, back to back), but I am surprised that this royal palm died so close to the Orlando suburbs.  It wasn't what I'd call a juvenile tree.  There are supposed to be large, old royal palms in Sanford off I-4 too.     

Maybe these?

SanfordRoyals.jpg

  • Upvote 1

Tom

Bowie, Maryland, USA - USDA z7a
hardiestpalms.com

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45 minutes ago, tjwalters said:

Maybe these?

SanfordRoyals.jpg

EF1835E3-E08B-435C-BB9B-4FE828CB1E52.thuAC7DCAB3-E2BD-4EA8-985C-E00405756F4C.thuTJ these royals are 5 Min from my house .....here is a pic of them I took last summer ....they will be fine as they have some burned damage but that’s it 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/8/2012, 8:59:16, MOlivera said:

Today i took this picture of a royal palm growing up here in Flagler Beach. I don't know how old or how long its been planted at this site. The tree looks like its been there for at least 4 or 5 years, maybe more. It looks like its got some cold damage on the trunk. I first saw it from my friends boat while we were fishing in the intracoastal and i was surprised to see it. I figured out where we were and here's the picture. I haven't been able to speak with the owners but if i do i will make sure to find out more about it.

post-1837-0-85900800-1352426297_thumb.jp

Any updates on this Royal today ? Any recent pics ???

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Don't have a photo but the royal palms in St. Augustine on Water Street, look fine,  they took off some burned fronds but it is all green in the middle.

 

Lou St. Aug, FL

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2 hours ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

Don't have a photo but the royal palms in St. Augustine on Water Street, look fine,  they took off some burned fronds but it is all green in the middle.

 

There are royals in saint Augustine??? I don’t beleive it ! I beleive you but can i see some proof ???? Hard to beleive royals would survive up there . I lived in Jacksonville for 15 years . Please post some pics of them !

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19 minutes ago, Jason-Palm king said:

There are royals in saint Augustine??? I don’t beleive it ! I beleive you but can i see some proof ???? Hard to beleive royals would survive up there . I lived in Jacksonville for 15 years . Please post some pics of them !

I just looked down that street on Google Street View, I saw no Roystoneas. Maybe he meant a different street or city or maybe I missed something, but I didn't see anything on Water St, St. Augustine, FL.

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32 minutes ago, Palmsbro said:

I just looked down that street on Google Street View, I saw no Roystoneas. Maybe he meant a different street or city or maybe I missed something, but I didn't see anything on Water St, St. Augustine, FL.

It was a nice street, but I didn't see any royals on it either. St. Augustine does have at least one A. cunninghamiana though:

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8955467,-81.319918,3a,37.5y,190.11h,86.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdnBAzoCF4e5vWny7iiSugg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

  • Upvote 1

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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8 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

It was a nice street, but I didn't see any royals on it either. St. Augustine does have at least one A. cunninghamiana though:

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8955467,-81.319918,3a,37.5y,190.11h,86.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdnBAzoCF4e5vWny7iiSugg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Red I myself highly doubt there are ANY royals in St. Augustine . He might have it confused with another type of tree

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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Not mistaken,  it is 68 Water Street but they are in the backyard and you can't really see them on the Google Streetview, you can barely make out the trunks, but when you walk by the house you can see them.  But you can see them on this Zillow link.  https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/47776539_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/29.903537,-81.311142,29.900724,-81.314999_rect/17_zm/ They have been there I think at least five years. 

  • Upvote 2

Lou St. Aug, FL

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On 4/24/2018, 8:34:34, Jason-Palm king said:

There are royals in saint Augustine??? I don’t beleive it ! I beleive you but can i see some proof ???? Hard to beleive royals would survive up there . I lived in Jacksonville for 15 years . Please post some pics of them !

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/47776539_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/29.903537,-81.311142,29.900724,-81.314999_rect/17_zm/

Lou St. Aug, FL

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12 minutes ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

Not mistaken,  it is 68 Water Street but they are in the backyard and you can't really see them on the Google Streetview, you can barely make out the trunks, but when you walk by the house you can see them.  But you can see them on this Zillow link.  https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/47776539_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/29.903537,-81.311142,29.900724,-81.314999_rect/17_zm/ They have been there I think at least five years. 

I wonder how much protection they get in the winter....

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1 minute ago, Palmsbro said:

I wonder how much protection they get in the winter....

That also looks like an awesome microclimate, with heat from the home, concrete, and a body of water (pool) plus high fences to block cold winds.

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41 minutes ago, Palmsbro said:

That also looks like an awesome microclimate, with heat from the home, concrete, and a body of water (pool) plus high fences to block cold winds.

Yeah , for now . I lived in Jacksonville for 15 years and trust me , that royal will eventually go bye bye . Many times it got into the low 20’s in north Florida during many winters I lived up there . I remember the saint Augustine coconut palm that survived at least 5 years until 2009 when it was down in the teens up there ....

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1 hour ago, Palmsbro said:

I wonder how much protection they get in the winter....

The coldest it got at my house in St. Augustine which is also close to the Intracoastal was 28 degrees so I don't think 28 will kill a royal.  It was much colder inland in our county but here by the water it didn't get colder than that.

  • Upvote 1

Lou St. Aug, FL

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50 minutes ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

The coldest it got at my house in St. Augustine which is also close to the Intracoastal was 28 degrees so I don't think 28 will kill a royal.  It was much colder inland in our county but here by the water it didn't get colder than that.

I live in sanford 20 Min north of Orlando and it got down to 28 one night and ultimately killed my royal this past January . This was 2 days after it got to 28 here . I have since replaced it with another royal , but at the same time this royal I only planted in October, 3 months  prior so it wasn’t rooted yet 7B4003AE-A201-4343-BFEE-E9853D2AB303.thu

Edited by Jason-Palm king
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7 hours ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

Not mistaken,  it is 68 Water Street but they are in the backyard and you can't really see them on the Google Streetview, you can barely make out the trunks, but when you walk by the house you can see them.  But you can see them on this Zillow link.  https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/47776539_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/29.903537,-81.311142,29.900724,-81.314999_rect/17_zm/ They have been there I think at least five years. 

NICE! Thanks for sharing. :greenthumb:

 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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