Palm Report from Emerald Isle, NC

[NCFM]

I spent last week on vacation down at our families beach house in Emerald Isle, NC. The island sits right on the 8a/b border, and is absolutely littered with Palmetto and Butia. Sagos and European fan palms are also very common plantings. Windmills are present as well, but most don't look very good - I'm not sure if this is due to the sandy soil or extreme heat. Sabal minor is the only palm native to the island, and can be found in the maritime forest as well as used in landscaping. There is actually a distinct native variety present called "emerald isle giant" that is known for its larger than average fronds. While Sabal palmetto is not native, the Florida transplants that are trucked in do seed and volunteers come up about anywhere they can - homeowners consider them weeds. 

I took a few pictures of some of the more handsome/impressive palm specimens I came across:

*I'm not the best at palm ID's, please let me know if I got any wrong*

Sabal palmetto - extremely common:

With Agave americana:

Butia capitata - very common:

This first one is in our yard, 18-20 years old, 15+ ft tall

Younger brother for scale:

Cycas revoluta - very common:

Chamaerops humilis - very common:

Livistona chinensis?:

Native yucca in bloom:

Yucca rostrata?:

Spanish Moss - very abundant on mainland, rarer on island. Not sure why:

Volunteer Palmettos - absolutely everywhere:

Is this a sabal minor or palmetto? Found in maritime forest park:

 

 

 

[Fusca]

36 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Butia capitata - very common:

This first one is in our yard, 18-20 years old, 15+ ft tall

Gray, that's a really nice blue Butia!  I visited 4 different garden centers in Houston before I bought mine (bluest one I could find) but it's not nearly as blue as this one seems to be!  Maybe it's just the lighting...

[Allen]

Lot's of nice palms here.  Thanks for the pics!

[NCFM]

41 minutes ago, Allen said:

Lot's of nice palms here.  Thanks for the pics!

Of course! 

[NCFM]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Gray, that's a really nice blue Butia!  I visited 4 different garden centers in Houston before I bought mine (bluest one I could find) but it's not nearly as blue as this one seems to be!  Maybe it's just the lighting...

Thanks! I think the lighting/overcast skies in that picture definitely made it look a little more blue, but I have also noticed younger ones tend to be greener for some reason. Yours looks really healthy, in a decade or so Im sure it will be stunning.

Edited July 15, 2020 by NC_Palm_Enthusiast

[Marco67]

Emerald Isle looks pretty cool. Love those Palmettos, especially when they are not overpruned and have that lollipop shape. They are so typical of the Southeastern US and are even a bit underappreciated there it seems. 

[NCFM]

37 minutes ago, Marco67 said:

Emerald Isle looks pretty cool. Love those Palmettos, especially when they are not overpruned and have that lollipop shape. They are so typical of the Southeastern US and are even a bit underappreciated there it seems. 

Agreed - I much prefer the natural, unpruned look. 

[DAVEinMB]

10 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Agreed - I much prefer the natural, unpruned look. 

Most landscapers hack them to pieces here. The best looking ones are the ones that are left alone. 

[NCFM]

Just now, DAVEinMB said:

Most landscapers hack them to pieces here. The best looking ones are the ones that are left alone. 

For sure. Not quite sure why they always want to over prune 

[PalmTreeDude]

Nice! I know Southeast NC can be really palmy! I’m glad there is no shortage of palms on the island. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Did you find any native Emerald Isle Giant minors?

Great photos! The place looks wonderful

[NCFM]

13 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Did you find any native Emerald Isle Giant minors?

Great photos! The place looks wonderful

Unfortunately I was unable to track any down. I spent several hours searching in the maritime forest but to no avail. There’s still plenty of places I didn’t check, however. Next time I’m down I’ll continue the search. I did see plenty of normal minors along creeks and swamps on the mainland, though.

[NCFM]

41 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

Nice! I know Southeast NC can be really palmy! I’m glad there is no shortage of palms on the island. 

Yes, along the NC coast anywhere from Atlantic beach down is quite palmy. From Hatteras up (basically the OBX) they're not quite as common - not entirely sure why, especially when there are plenty to the North in Virginia Beach. I do know that many of the old timers there claim palms survive the temps no problem, but the storm surges kill them. I don’t know if this is entirely accurate or not - definitely something to look in to. I believe @NC_Palms is currently working on a project which involves planting more s. palmetto along the OBX. I’ve heard about old books/research from the 1800s claiming that the palm was once native through Hatteras, and possibly even further north, but that they were harvested in high numbers for their edible “cabbage” by colonists to the point of extirpation. Not sure if there is any truth to this claim - but it sounds possible.