Bay Area California Palm Growing

[Jadd Correia]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to posting and collaborating about my passion for gardening and growing palms in Oakland California. In short, I am looking for others experience and guidance on edible and/or beautiful palms that can be grown in the climate of the east bay. 

So far, I have close to 20 different palm species growing in my garden, and I would love to keep adding to the collection. Species include bolivian voconut + high plateau coconut + sabel + king + queen + fishtail + canary + kentia + majesty + chamerops + trachycarpus + others. I also have sensitive fruit trees that include white and black sapote + mangos + bananas + guavas and more. Thanks and looking forward to the discussion.

[PalmatierMeg]

Welcome. We love photos. Photos of your garden will earn many more responses.

[Tracy]

17 hours ago, Jadd Correia said:

So far, I have close to 20 different palm species growing in my garden, and I would love to keep adding to the collection. Species include bolivian voconut + high plateau coconut + sabel + king + queen + fishtail + canary + kentia + majesty + chamerops + trachycarpus + others. I also have sensitive fruit trees that include white and black sapote + mangos + bananas + guavas and more. Thanks and looking forward to the discussion.

Welcome to the forum.  Having lived up the way from you in El Cerrito and worked in downtown Oakland, I'm pretty familiar with the climate you have but Darold Petty   who is on this forum will have much better advice as he has lived across the bay in the Sunset district for a long time.  You get a little warmer and the marine layer does clear back more in Oakland, but that fog does often float through the gate and into Oakland where it stacks up against the foothills in spring and early summer mitigating the heat.  While you are already growing Kentia (Howea forsteriana), you could probably grow the other Lord Howe Island palms as well such as Howea belmoreana and Hedyscepe canterburyana.  You may also want to try some of the New Caledonia species, like Kentiopsis oliviformis (now Chambeyronia oliviformis) and Burretiokentia hapala.  I'll defer on further suggestions to some of the people that are growing palms up there though since I didn't actually have a yard or garden back when residing in that part of the Bay area.

[Darold Petty]

Jadd, if you are vaccinated then you are most welcome to visit.  (I have two risk factors)

PM me for details.  Welcome to Palmtalk !  

[Jadd Correia]

Edited May 9, 2022 by Jadd Correia

[Jadd Correia]

Thank you all so much for the replies and for welcoming me to palm talk. I finally got a hold of a nicer phone to take some much needed photos of my garden and respond to each of you. I really like your idea Tracy for the suggestions of the other Lord Howe palm species. I definitely will plant those palms in the front garden to go with the double Kentia as soon as I can. Looking forward to the feedback and suggestions. Hope everyone is having a great Mother's Day. 

[BayAndroid]

Nice Ensente Maurellii! Huge

[Jadd Correia]

Thanks BayAndroid.

I have planted 3 of them so far in my yard, and this one is the largest by a long shot! This was planted as a 3 + foot, 15 gallon in February of 2021. Super fast growth and healthy leaves all year long. 

[BayAndroid]

4 hours ago, Jadd Correia said:

Thanks BayAndroid.

I have planted 3 of them so far in my yard, and this one is the largest by a long shot! This was planted as a 3 + foot, 15 gallon in February of 2021. Super fast growth and healthy leaves all year long. 

I have one that was purchased in 6 or 8" pot, it froze back over the winter (we had a couple of bad cold snaps that took it down to the trunk, unfortunately), but it's putting out some of the most vibrant looking leaves this Spring. It's going to grow a lot this Summer, I can tell!