My Caribbean Front Garden

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

Still quarantining here in Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise), FL. And it's been a while since I posted any photos. I spent several weeks sewing masks and surgical caps for my son and daughter-in-law on the medical front lines as well as masks for my husband and me. It's also been hot and sweltering as well as drought stricken around here and because of that and that the monthly injection I give myself for chronic migraines ran out a week early, I was unable to spend much time outside. But..... We got a whopping 0.4" of rain this past week (the rest of the FL got 10x that) followed by one last gasp of cool, dry air and I was able to rectify my oversight and take some photos.

About a month ago someone on PT asked me to take updated photos of my Caribbean Garden in front of the house. Around 95% of the palms in this garden come from that part of the world. The few interlopers are grandfathered in because they were planted before I adopted a unifying theme for this part of the yard. The genus Coccothrinax forms the backdrop. Some of them were planted as far back as 2004 and have weathered multiple hurricanes and tropical storms. If I were forced to plant only one genus of palm, Coccos would be my choice. They are tough yet elegant and the sight of those starlike leaves swaying with the breeze can brighten anyone's soul.

Caribbean Garden Views, Cape Coral, FL, 2020

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

Caribbean Garden Palms, Cape Coral, FL, 2020

Coccothrinax Azul - planted 2006. Very slow growing and stingy with seeds

Coccothrinax argentata - FL native palm planted as 1g in 1993; the shorter-trunked mainland form

Hemithrinax ekmaniana - native to Cuba

Coccothrinax crinita brevicrinus - for me a much easier grow than C. crinita crinita

Hyophorbe lagencaulis - bottle palm from Round Island

Coccothrinax argentea (l) and spissa (r) trunks

Sabal miamiensis - received as a seedling in 2008

C

Coccothrinax boschiana - very slow growing

Chamaedorea elegans

Sabal minor Blountstown Dwarf - this adult "uber" minor has been this size for 5-6 years

Thrinax radiata - survived being almost ripped out of the ground by Hurricane Charley. Spent 18 months staked upright.

Coccothrinax fragrans - the largest and one of the fastest Coccos I have

Sabal minor - for years I mis-ID'd it as S. etonia

 

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

Caribbean Garden, Cape Coral, FL 2020

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - usually clusters but I removed offsets until the palm gave up and stayed solitary

Coccothrinax miraguama

Guihaia argyrata - from China

Coccothrinax alta double - Clumpers say it is merely barbadensis but I prefer to keep it separate

Copernicia berteroana - from seed

Sabal miamiensis - from Leu Garden seed, flowering for first time

Kerriodoxa elegans - from Asia

Coccothrinax inaguensis

Coccothrinax scoparia - from seed. Fast growing for a Cocco

 

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

Caribbean Garden, Cape Coral, FL, 2020

Coccothrinax montana - a desired species. Note trunk fiber detail

Copernicia macroglossa - I received it as a 1g in 2009. Now my late Sabal Lisa no longer competes I hope it will grow faster

R

Ravenea xerophila - from Madagascar

Leucothrinax morrisii

Serenoa repens Green Form - from local seed

Coccothrinax x Zombia - intergeneric hydrid

[JASON M 97]

Meg, great pictures. Your gardens are amazing and inspiring. Hopefully it has rubbed off on a neighbor or two!

[James760 377]

Everything looks wonderful! I always enjoy looking at pictures of your garden! 

[Palm Tree Jim 990]

Thanks for sharing the great garden.

Love the gator!

[TomJ 391]

Nice. 

I know very little about Caribbean palms. I was googling them as I went ha ha.

Off topic but that Kerridoxa Elegans made me set my coffee down and zoom in. It looks great.

Also I wouldn't have thought that D. Xeriophla could handle all your rain. Mine are tiny.

Thanks for starting my self quarantine day the palmy way.

[palmfriend 1,449]

Very, very interesting! A lot of very nice looking palms! (I made some notes for my next seed order  )

Thank you very much for sharing!

best regards

Lars

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

49 minutes ago, TomJ said:

Nice. 

I know very little about Caribbean palms. I was googling them as I went ha ha.

Off topic but that Kerridoxa Elegans made me set my coffee down and zoom in. It looks great.

Also I wouldn't have thought that D. Xeriophla could handle all your rain. Mine are tiny.

Thanks for starting my self quarantine day the palmy way.

Thank you. I carefully planted the R. xerophila in the rocky drain field of our former septic system. It is also at the highest point in the front yard so drainage is the best it can be. I also placed pea rock several inches deep around the base of the stem. So far this guy has survived 9 or 10 rainy summers. Very slow growing. I'll probably not live long enough to find out if it is male or female.

[Rd003 95]

Probably one of the most comprehensive collections of Caribbean palms I’ve ever seen. Quite lovely and I’ve been thinking about getting other Coccothrinax or Leucothrinax sp. since my C. argentata met a mysteriously quick demise in February. Meg, just a question: does the close proximity of all the Coccothrinax sp. mean that there usually is hybridization? Or do they just reproduce purely?

[redant 959]

Very nice, I have very few due to my yard now being very shady and it seems they all love blazing sun. 

[PalmatierMeg 5,066]

16 minutes ago, Rd003 said:

Probably one of the most comprehensive collections of Caribbean palms I’ve ever seen. Quite lovely and I’ve been thinking about getting other Coccothrinax or Leucothrinax sp. since my C. argentata met a mysteriously quick demise in February. Meg, just a question: does the close proximity of all the Coccothrinax sp. mean that there usually is hybridization? Or do they just reproduce purely?

They can hybridize and likely do although some of the species have staggered flowering times. I don't worry about that as I'm not going into the palm breeding business. We usually cut down the infructescenses except for a few rare, reluctant seeders like Azul, argentata & montana. I care mostly about showcasing the many species. On my 3-lot garden site west of the house I have only two Coccos that have produced staggered seeds: proctorii & cupularis. I would wager those likely produce pure seeds.