Location, Location, Location

[Jesse]

The other day I was in conversation with a Realtor and was asked, "Where is the best place in orange county for building a palm garden?" This really got me thinking.  If I were to ever move, where would I want to go based on palms alone, within Orange county of course.  I'm in Orange, about 14 miles from the ocean. We can tend to get a bit cool but also fairly hot.  I've been here only 2.5 years and have recorded 107. My soil is fairly well draining and rich. The winds and dry air can get downright nasty with 40mph gusts with single digit humidity. I assume that this question is also dependent on what kind of palms. For discussion sake this palm garden would be focused on Dypsis and Pritchardia.

Taking all things into consideration such as temperature, wind events, soil type, sun exposure, microclimate, and geography, where is THE spot.

Looking forward to learning.

[happ]

One suggestion might be WU [Weather Underground] for microclimates. Elevation/ topography for frost concerns. Santa Ana mountains are warm but not necessarily hot in summer. Newport Beach is very mild; last freeze was December 1990 [31° & 32° on 22/ 23rd at airport].

I lost the proper habitat for a dypsis leptocheilos when a large ficus tree was taken out by a windstorm. Pritchardia do well here despite santa ana wind since they are protected a bit near the house/ under higher canopy. 

[Jesse]

That was my initial thinking but I question the accuracy of each WU station.  On top of that its hard to view the history of each station because a lot of them have not been around a terribly long time. I do use it, I just view with a grain of salt.

[happ]

There is a discussion on another thread devoted to the question of frost-free locations in California. Otherwise the issue is exactly what kind of climate you want for the palms you like. Getting out of the path of santa ana winds probably means areas south of Orange. My hunch is that there is less wind around Lake Forest/ Rancho Santa Margarita. Laguna Beach/ Dana Point are less windy.

There are several palm growers in Orange county [ie. DoomsDave] who could help you with the specifics related to best conditions for particular palm trees [Dypsis and Pritchardia]. 

 

[Matt in OC]

For most Dypsis and Pritchardia, I can't imagine that it would make too much of a difference within OC. Out here in Irvine and Costa Mesa, the Santa Anas this year were absolutely hellish but the palms were fine. At my house in Costa Mesa, we do get frost on the roofs/lawns a couple nights a year, but my stuff has been fine. If I were to move, I'd probably choose a couple miles to the south, closer to the beach, as it makes a difference comfort wise, but I can't imagine it'd make all that much difference palm-growing wise unless you're growing really tender stuff. 

[Hammer]

The answer is...it depends. 

In general a yard with a nice down slope for good air drainage is a must.  For example, my yard is a higher elevation than Palm Tree Jim's but he has better cold air drainage (and canopy) which allows him to grow betting looking palms.  We are just a few minutes drive apart.

For humidity and cooler temperature  loving palms San Clemente, Dana Point and southern Laguna Niguel are hard to beat.

For a balanced temperature (slightly warmer) and still having some ocean influence/humidity with little to no chance of frost, Nellie Gail Ranch and Kite Hill neighborhoods are excellent spots.  Probably my top choices in OC for palms.  Homes are great too!

For more heat loving palms I like Mission Viejo and some areas in northern San Juan Capistrano.