Northernmost / Southernmost Royal Palm (Roystonea Regia) Where is located?

[RedRabbit]

3 hours ago, LivistonaFan said:

7 months later, the supposed royal is still alive.  However, I would say that it should receive more water in summer as the soil seemed to be quite dry. Also, the palm would benefit from a protected, less windy location like it exists in some coastal gardens like "Jardin Maria Serena" .

Thanks for the update! I’m glad to see it’s alive, although it still isn’t looking too great.

Edited August 31, 2022 by RedRabbit

[Alex High]

On 8/30/2022 at 5:45 PM, LivistonaFan said:

7 months later, the supposed royal is still alive.  However, I would say that it should receive more water in summer as the soil seemed to be quite dry. Also, the palm would benefit from a protected, less windy location like it exists in some coastal gardens like "Jardin Maria Serena" .

I just saw an old Facebook post of a royal slightly further north, just across the border in Sanremo, Italy. I did some Google Maps sleuthing and located it. This may be the new northernmost royal on Earth. It was planted in 2020 and the street view has not updated since September of 2021, but it's survived at least 1 winter so far and looked good as of then. Would love to see a more recent update on it. Really impressive palm!

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.8041007,7.7398876,3a,40.2y,307.2h,101.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sviZZvpQZPJURlUrvOQnqCA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

I visited this royal in San Jose, California a few months back and got a video of it for my YouTube channel, Palm Planet. It was looking a bit rough after this past exceptionally cool and rainy winter but has been there for many years and usually looks good. San Jose has similar weather averages to Sanremo and is about the northernmost place in North America royals are growable.

 

[RedRabbit]

2 hours ago, Alex High said:

I just saw an old Facebook post of a royal slightly further north, just across the border in Sanremo, Italy. I did some Google Maps sleuthing and located it. This may be the new northernmost royal on Earth. It was planted in 2020 and the street view has not updated since September of 2021, but it's survived at least 1 winter so far and looked good as of then. Would love to see a more recent update on it. Really impressive palm!

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.8041007,7.7398876,3a,40.2y,307.2h,101.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sviZZvpQZPJURlUrvOQnqCA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

I visited this royal in San Jose, California a few months back and got a video of it for my YouTube channel, Palm Planet. It was looking a bit rough after this past exceptionally cool and rainy winter but has been there for many years and usually looks good. San Jose has similar weather averages to Sanremo and is about the northernmost place in North America royals are growable.

 

Nice find!

[Alex High]

34 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

Nice find!

Thanks! Pretty awesome to see more people experimenting with royals in the northern Mediterranean.

[LivistonaFan]

3 hours ago, Alex High said:

I just saw an old Facebook post of a royal slightly further north, just across the border in Sanremo, Italy. I did some Google Maps sleuthing and located it. This may be the new northernmost royal on Earth. It was planted in 2020 and the street view has not updated since September of 2021, but it's survived at least 1 winter so far and looked good as of then. Would love to see a more recent update on it. Really impressive palm!

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.8041007,7.7398876,3a,40.2y,307.2h,101.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sviZZvpQZPJURlUrvOQnqCA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

I visited this royal in San Jose, California a few months back and got a video of it for my YouTube channel, Palm Planet. It was looking a bit rough after this past exceptionally cool and rainy winter but has been there for many years and usually looks good. San Jose has similar weather averages to Sanremo and is about the northernmost place in North America royals are growable.

 

Great find! I have actually been there last year and bought plants but did not recognise this palm as a royal (if it was still there). 

I will try to go back there in the next few months.

[Alex High]

8 hours ago, LivistonaFan said:

Great find! I have actually been there last year and bought plants but did not recognise this palm as a royal (if it was still there). 

I will try to go back there in the next few months.

Very cool, seems like a great nursery! That's awesome, I would love to see an update on this palm if it's still there when you go back. Thanks!

[FlaPalmLover]

Seems to me that royals will technically "grow" and survive in certain areas, but as far as actually having nice, green, healthy-looking fronds and the aesthetic you see in areas where it's thriving, it just doesn't happen. You can see that with a lot of the ones you see in zone-pushing areas - the trunk and crownshaft may look nice but the fronds just don't match, unfortunately.

[LivistonaFan]

On 9/10/2023 at 8:12 PM, Alex High said:

Very cool, seems like a great nursery! That's awesome, I would love to see an update on this palm if it's still there when you go back. Thanks!

The Roystonea is still there although the crown is only slightly bigger now than 2 years ago. 

The trunk is quite impressive in person,  shoe size 12 for comparison 

overall palm

 

[Alex High]

5 hours ago, LivistonaFan said:

The Roystonea is still there although the crown is only slightly bigger now than 2 years ago. 

The trunk is quite impressive in person,  shoe size 12 for comparison 

overall palm

 

Very impressive for such a high latitude, glad to see it's still alive and growing! Thanks for the update!

[RedRabbit]

7 hours ago, LivistonaFan said:

The Roystonea is still there although the crown is only slightly bigger now than 2 years ago. 

The trunk is quite impressive in person,  shoe size 12 for comparison 

overall palm

 

Thanks, I’m glad to see it’s still hanging in there…

It’s an interesting climate where it doesn’t get cold enough to kill the palm outright, but it also doesn’t have the heat/sunlight to really grow either. There’s definitely no eastern US equivalent. 

[Alex High]

16 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Thanks, I’m glad to see it’s still hanging in there…

It’s an interesting climate where it doesn’t get cold enough to kill the palm outright, but it also doesn’t have the heat/sunlight to really grow either. There’s definitely no eastern US equivalent. 

Yeah I find Mediterranean climates like that fascinating. Yeah certainly no Eastern U.S. equivalent, the closest in the U.S. would be parts of the Bay Area and Central California.