why do people hate palm trees?

[SueH_AZ]

It really depends on the particular Home Depot, as there's at least one exception to your blanket statement Axel. Check out the HD in San Rafael, the nursery manager there is brilliant, and has the highest volume nursery sales of any HD within California, and also has the autonomy to order what he knows he can sell. I regularly make the drive across the bridge if I don't have time to go further to a wholesale grower, and always know I can find great selection and/or unusual species. Most recently I picked up some nice Brahea armatas, and they also had B. edulis and Butia capitata. Another designer friend got some Bismarckia nobilis there a few weeks ago, which I still think is marginal up here, but not all HD's are equal. I wish we had a Charlie Rossi on my side of the bay!

We had a HD like that here in Mesa, Arizona, but when we went there a couple of weeks ago, we noticed very few unique plants and that it was looking more and more like a regular HD garden center. The last time we visited with the guy who did the ordering there last fall, he mentioned that they were pressuring him to standardize. We also didn't see him there, which was unusual for a Saturday.

I suspect they either got rid of him for not wanting to conform or he left because it wasn't fun for him to order the ordinary stuff...

Ken is still there... Management was asking him to tone it down a notch but a lot of the exotic stuff he used to bring in just hasn't been available for him to order anymore.Bottle palms and cocconuts come to mind...

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Good to hear. There was very little back in that section of exotics he always had, but maybe it was the time of year. I'll keep checking back...

[Tyrone]

Answer: Because they are missing a vital chromosone and are stoooppppiiiddddd.

[InvasivePlamsSuck]

because they dont fit and come off as tacky when ever they are planted most of the time in some rich person who wishes they lived in the tropics house for an example northern california when i think norcal i think of redwoods wich are not tropical there temprate also the palnts that grew before deforetsting where all pine trees oaks firs and sycamore ect no tropical plants at all here an example of natural northern  california none of this location gets snow that often because how the pay keeps northern california locked in spring and atumn with short summers and winters but still not rare by this is the same elevation as san fransico so the reason it looks like this isn't because of high elevation 

[Ivanos1982]

On 1/29/2014 at 1:03 AM, Brahea Axel said:

I don't understand why people hate palm trees so much. Tropicals have falled out of favor in the landscape world.

 

http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-home/2010/september-october/why-does-dallas-need-palm-trees

 

http://missionviejo.patch.com/groups/leslie-eskildsens-blog/p/bp--oso-creek-trail-is-a-mission-viejo-treasure-but-w5b809e7cec

 

http://ireallyhatemiami.blogspot.com/2009/06/palm-trees-whats-point.html?m=1

 

Apparently even Darwin thought palms are ugly:

 

http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Jubaea-chilensis.htm

It's just people who like "my way or the highway" mentality with everything. They are the picky eater spoiled children who turned into adults and now have a platform to vent. (The internet). I've met a few haters but it tends to be ladies who want vegetable gardens in everyone's front yards and who want native plants everywhere but plant crepe myrtles lol... I mean to each their own. They wanna hate on palm trees, hate as much as you want. But to advocate to get rid of them, now that is where people like me come in. I will counter protest that sht.. I don't care how much "irrational" they think I am. To me THEY are the ones that are irrational. So no win here, but you can't prohibit something just because you don't like it. Being an adult means you have to deal with what you don't like. That simple.

[Ivanos1982]

21 hours ago, InvasivePlamsSuck said:

because they dont fit and come off as tacky when ever they are planted most of the time in some rich person who wishes they lived in the tropics house for an example northern california when i think norcal i think of redwoods wich are not tropical there temprate also the palnts that grew before deforetsting where all pine trees oaks firs and sycamore ect no tropical plants at all here an example of natural northern  california none of this location gets snow that often because how the pay keeps northern california locked in spring and atumn with short summers and winters but still not rare by this is the same elevation as san fransico so the reason it looks like this isn't because of high elevation 

sorry but that looks boring

[Sabal_Louisiana]

Well, I hate oil palms because millions of acres of rainforest have been cleared to grow this monocultural crop. 

And even that is humans' fault, not to blame the plant itself.

[Tyrone]

On 5/4/2021 at 5:28 AM, InvasivePlamsSuck said:

because they dont fit and come off as tacky when ever they are planted most of the time in some rich person who wishes they lived in the tropics house for an example northern california when i think norcal i think of redwoods wich are not tropical there temprate also the palnts that grew before deforetsting where all pine trees oaks firs and sycamore ect no tropical plants at all here an example of natural northern  california none of this location gets snow that often because how the pay keeps northern california locked in spring and atumn with short summers and winters but still not rare by this is the same elevation as san fransico so the reason it looks like this isn't because of high elevation 

What's a plam?????????????? Is it contagious?

[Tyrone]

9 hours ago, Ivanos1982 said:

sorry but that looks boring

It needs some nice Trachycarpus princeps planted out on the waters edge, just like in China where you get the same sort of forest but also palms.

[Teegurr]

On 5/3/2021 at 4:28 PM, InvasivePlamsSuck said:

because they dont fit and come off as tacky when ever they are planted most of the time in some rich person who wishes they lived in the tropics house for an example northern california when i think norcal i think of redwoods wich are not tropical there temprate also the palnts that grew before deforetsting where all pine trees oaks firs and sycamore ect no tropical plants at all here an example of natural northern  california none of this location gets snow that often because how the pay keeps northern california locked in spring and atumn with short summers and winters but still not rare by this is the same elevation as san fransico so the reason it looks like this isn't because of high elevation 

Besides being unintelligble to read...I actually kind of agree with what you're saying. I don't want natural environments like these overrun with palms, especially if there are endangered species in habitat there. I think palms should mainly be used for botanical gardens, civic use, and private property. 

But about not planting palms in gardens, why come to Palmtalk to make that argument?

[Reyes Vargas]

6 hours ago, Teegurr said:

Besides being unintelligble to read...I actually kind of agree with what you're saying. I don't want natural environments like these overrun with palms, especially if there are endangered species in habitat there. I think palms should mainly be used for botanical gardens, civic use, and private property. 

But about not planting palms in gardens, why come to Palmtalk to make that argument?

I was going to say the same thing. Use some punctuation marks.  I also agree with you that these places should be kept natural.  

[Reyes Vargas]

16 hours ago, Ivanos1982 said:

sorry but that looks boring

That guy is probably just a troll but I see nothing boring in that picture.  It's a beautiful North cal natural environment.  

[chad2468emr]

Huh... there really is a type of troll for everything on the internet, I guess.

[Tyrone]

2 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

That guy is probably just a troll but I see nothing boring in that picture.  It's a beautiful North cal natural environment.  

In all honesty that picture isn’t boring. It’s a beautiful natural environment and I wouldn’t agree in actuality with planting up a pristine environment like that with any foreign plants.

But I believe our Invasiveplamssuck troll believes that all palms are tropical and that anyone growing them in a cooler environment is some kind of “try hard” when in fact the cooler environments like Northern California can grow palm species that are impossible in the tropics.

Anyone can grow what they like in my opinion. If you want to try and grow roses and Californian redwoods in the wet tropics, good luck to you.

[PalmatierMeg]

People who hate palm trees need to find a hobby to occupy their minds and time.

[AnTonY]

21 hours ago, Ivanos1982 said:

sorry but that looks boring

What's interesting is that the photo is of Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP near Crescent City, California. Last in a stretch of ancient, old-growth redwood forest along the northern areas of coastal California. For sure, the region has tons of general appeal regarding natural beauty. Yet, with regards to that photo in particular, I agree with your sentiment, it strikes me as surprisingly dull considering the general appeal the region holds.

I think it's just that particular shot vantage. Makes it look like one of those "typical" alpine/sub-alpine conifer forests commonly seen in mountainous areas out West. Other photos of the redwood forest region look more interesting because they include more of the shady understory plants like ferns, lending a somewhat "Jurassic" feel.

[oasis371]

Interesting to see how much palm hate seems to reside within the tropics and subtropics.  Well, maybe it's because they are just overrepresented there to the virtual exclusion of

other tropical/subtropical species, evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous.

Or, maybe it's just because they are complicated and force people to think. 

This northerner has alway LOVED palms, and the idea of ugly palms is ultimately stupid.

http://thatslifesci.com/2019-11-25-Are-palm-trees-really-trees-dalcott/

[chad2468emr]

12 hours ago, oasis371 said:

... the idea of ugly palms is ultimately stupid.

Except adonidia and roebelinii. I could never see one again and I’d be okay with it, haha. While my hate for them stems from how much I love OTHER palms that could be much better fits in-place of the over-used used species I’d just mentioned, it does help me understand the mindset of people that don’t know the difference and think palms are palms and there is no delineation between species.

I blame poor placement, over-use, and poor species selection for anyone that hates them. Because no one is going to walk through Leu Gardens or Fairchild or other similar fantastic tropical gardens and say “this is all so hideous!!”

When people say “I hate palms” all I hear is “I hate tacky poorly-placed palms next to a mailbox and a garden gnome” or “neglected, stunted, under-fertilized queen palms in the middle of a perfectly circular red mulch bed surrounded by sunburned bromeliads front-and-center in a yard.” 

Edited May 6, 2021 by chad2468emr

[Matthew92]

I agree with @InvasivePlamsSuck in that I'm not a fan of how people are so desperate to have a "tropical" look that they will hodge-podge overplant a bunch of marginal palms that really detracts from the natural flora and climate of a certain area (such as in North FL). There's a fine line though, because I'm into zone pushing and planting unusual things that have a different look, but if I would intersperse it with native species and regular trees so it wouldn't be so one sided. I'm not slamming palm aficionados who may fill their yard with many zone pushed palms, just that it's done tastefully.

[Jimhardy]

Whats next?  Complaining about nice weather?

[PalmatierMeg]

50 minutes ago, Jimhardy said:

Whats next?  Complaining about nice weather?

Yes. When I visited San Diego in August many years ago I heard residents grouching about the same old, same old boring unchanging weather: All day sun, warm days, cool nights, on and on and on and.......

[James B]

Seriously who gives a crap about what someone else does with their yard? Unless it’s dropping leaves or branch’s into your property, live your life and I’ll live mine.

There are far worse things people can do with their yards than planting palms. 

Edited May 6, 2021 by James B

[Ohiopalmloverz6]

On 1/29/2014 at 6:43 AM, Tropicgardener said:

It is interesting and sometimes disheartening to hear comments of palm haters.........Queensland is an interesting case. Much of the Southern coast of Queensland shares a similar climate to Southern Florida but you don't see as much palm flora grown. In Miami you see Coconut Palms absolutely everywhere, in Brisbane (where they can grow to perfection) you really have to look around to find any.

 

Part of the Queensland problem has been poor selection by wholesalers........Queen Palms were one mistake and everyone in Queensland hates Queen Palms and effectively they are treated as a weed. Wholesalers these days tend to only grow palms that are easily propagated and quick growing so that a rapid turnover can be made. As a result choice of palms in many nurseries is limited to common species such as Golden Canes, Foxtails, Alexandra and Rhapis etc. with the occasional Solitaire or Macarthur making an appearance.

 

The general public only know a few species of palms and most nurseries wouldn't know one palm from the next. I used to enjoy showing differing palm alternatives when I showed people around my own garden for example advising them to use Macarthurs instead of Golden Canes. Many of the good old retail nurseries and have been replace by hardware nurseries!! quite often their staff are poorly trained and unable to offer sound advise on tropical plants.

 

Then you have the Native Nazi's...........as far as they are concerned any plant that is not native is a weed and any palm even though it is native is still a weed !!!!....... These sort of people have done a huge amount of damage to the reputation of palms and other tropical plants.

 

Another problem for Queensland is that our garden media is generally based in Southern Australia and adopt a 'one size fits all' approach to gardening in Australia and just simply ignore or refuse to recognize warmer climate zones. As a result of this you get misinformed gardeners attempting to replicate southern or European style gardens with appalling results.

Old post, I know. The “native nazis” are absolutely annoying. Especially here in the US (especially in California). Now I like native plants, but there is no way in hell I’m replacing most of my plants with natives. A lot of them just don’t like to plant palm trees because they think none of them are native to the US (there are around 15 native palms that grow in the US). Half of them also want people to have their front yards to be veggie gardens (which most vegetables aren’t even native to the US hahahaha). I feel like their heads aren’t screwed on straight. Arguing with them is also like arguing with an AI chatbot, they say the same bs over and over. I once argued with one who said that the Trachycarpus palms in Vancouver and Seattle were invasive. Even though they’ve almost never been found in the wild. Most of the FL native plant people just want tons of pines and bald cypresses in their yard which is fine but super dull. Again, some native plants are nice but some of them are just straight up boring. Sorry native plant nazis!

[Jonathan]

On 5/4/2021 at 7:28 AM, InvasivePlamsSuck said:

because they dont fit and come off as tacky when ever they are planted most of the time in some rich person who wishes they lived in the tropics house for an example northern california when i think norcal i think of redwoods wich are not tropical there temprate also the palnts that grew before deforetsting where all pine trees oaks firs and sycamore ect no tropical plants at all here an example of natural northern  california none of this location gets snow that often because how the pay keeps northern california locked in spring and atumn with short summers and winters but still not rare by this is the same elevation as san fransico so the reason it looks like this isn't because of high elevation 

This post is brilliant!

Gold standard, pointless trolling. Its worth stopping to ponder the deeper implications of what's happening here, as I think it encapsulates everything that's truly rubbish about the internet:

- An individual with no particular interest in a subject offering strident opinions

- The narcissistic self importance to publicly proclaim a certainty on a subjective issue 

- An incoherent statement of fact, with no supporting evidence 

- Callous disregard for the sensitivities of others 

- Gutless anonymity 

Perfect. And perfectly pointless...well played to you sir, in whichever cave you are lurking tonight!