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Southern California Zone Pushing Thread


Alex High

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Hey folks,

I've gotten really interesting in SoCal zone pushing recently, and since so many more palms have become available in recent years we have seen an explosion of zone pushers trying lots of tropical species previously thought to be unable to survive in Southern California in fact thrive, as well as other harder to grow palms for SoCal. I'll start things off by posting two videos from my YouTube channel, Palm Planet, of two gorgeous coconuts I have a had the pleasure of seeing, one in Del Mar, and one in Santa Ana. And before someone says it, yes, coconuts DO grow in Southern California. I hope to get out and visit more SoCal coconuts soon. I look forward to seeing all your posts! Thanks!

 

Alex

 

 

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Blows my mind to see a Cocos surviving in costal CA because that seems like the worst place for one considering they don’t see the sun nearly enough and it never gets above 80. Makes me want to remove a dragon tree by my driveway and go for it since that seems to be the best spot between concrete on three sides with my house at its back also giving off warmth. 

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31 minutes ago, James B said:

Blows my mind to see a Cocos surviving in costal CA because that seems like the worst place for one considering they don’t see the sun nearly enough and it never gets above 80. Makes me want to remove a dragon tree by my driveway and go for it since that seems to be the best spot between concrete on three sides with my house at its back also giving off warmth. 

I know, it's truly a sight to behold, it just shows you what's possible in SoCal. Go for it!!! Plant a palm, you can't grow wrong!

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19 hours ago, James B said:

Blows my mind to see a Cocos surviving in costal CA because that seems like the worst place for one considering they don’t see the sun nearly enough and it never gets above 80. Makes me want to remove a dragon tree by my driveway and go for it since that seems to be the best spot between concrete on three sides with my house at its back also giving off warmth. 

I have coco's that I'd gladly trade for a dragon tree ;)

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Look at those gorgeous Del Mar Howeas! You have to blink hard to realize they're not coconuts. The Cocos, on the other hand...reminiscent of the long-tortured victim of the Newport Beach experiment. It is a side-by-side lesson in what to plant, and what not to plant, in the fogbelt of SoCal. Rather akin to an experiment of planting, say, a Delonix in Santa Monica next to the line of Erythrina caffra on San Vicente Blvd.

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Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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On 1/13/2022 at 6:10 PM, James B said:

Blows my mind to see a Cocos surviving in costal CA because that seems like the worst place for one considering they don’t see the sun nearly enough and it never gets above 80. Makes me want to remove a dragon tree by my driveway and go for it since that seems to be the best spot between concrete on three sides with my house at its back also giving off warmth. 

James, let me talk you off the ledge. :floor: 

Speaking of zone pushing, how’s the Carpoxylon macrospermum?

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19 hours ago, The Gerg said:

James, let me talk you off the ledge. :floor: 

Speaking of zone pushing, how’s the Carpoxylon macrospermum?

Lol! It’s doing good. Slow growing but healthy. No frost damage has seen 33-34 a few times. But it’s under heavy canopy so it’s deep in my jungle a couple feet away from a Bentinckia Condapanna which is also looking good halfway through its first January in ground.

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  • 1 month later...

Bump. Are you telling me no one in all of Southern California is zone pushing with anything? If you live in SoCal and are zone pushing any palm species, please post it here. Coconuts, joey palms, rattans, Licuala, Hyophorbe... as long as it's a marginal or rare palm in Southern California, I would love to see it, I always love reading about and seeing pictures of the gorgeous palms people manage to grow in SoCal's "temperate" climate.

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IMG_20220228_195054_1.jpg

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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12 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

IMG_20220228_195054_1.jpg

H. lagenicaulis? Very nice, I love it, there are some really nice specimens in SoCal, one of my favorite palms. Thanks for sharing!

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  • 10 months later...

Here is a shot of my somewhat struggling/ new spear coconut palm that I have had in the ground since June of 2022. It's enclosed in a cold frame of clear corrugated plastic (hence the wavy image). 

I understand that this is a total longshot for my location, but I am in a really funky microclimate that has allowed me to grow some more sensitive small stuff in my 2+ years at this house. Here's to hoping! image.thumb.jpeg.58bbf78c73816807e39858bb09e77270.jpeg

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Here are some "can't grow here" species I've seen in Southern California! 

D2F1F140-DE2C-4C53-B643-C4EC13656F24.jpeg

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68AA6B98-51FD-4C8B-A4A2-5F32C48A1BBF.jpeg

C913C482-A52D-42AD-8CDA-75638C3E4C72.jpeg

7BEABBFF-5F48-4ED8-B058-AF3C319BB60F.jpeg

E288B20A-1854-4200-97F2-2F0D0C27AC6C.jpeg

B7EB698D-9885-4779-86D3-97B5C53B20BA.jpeg

ABB42AFD-7007-4B62-A3E1-83528C0626E2.jpeg

81E305A2-A879-46A9-A363-E5D149B604FD.jpeg

E556C873-D60D-4844-8FFF-CBF718EFCA7F.jpeg

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I'm always up for learning new things!

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