If ever in Tallahasee FL

[BobbyinNY]

Bobby, I found a picture for you to share with your wife. It's one of the members of the Florida welcome wagon....

Funny thing is Doug, She'd probably give him a hug. My wife is the Female version of Steve Irwin.... She loves animals more than people.

[merrill]

Gentlemen:

I arrived in Florida in 1960; familiar with corn [maize] but not palms, which have almost identical floral parts. I had bred corn for the USDA for about 6 summers. The driveway of the F. S. U. President's mansion, in Tallahassee FL. was lined with quite old mule palms, some 18 feet tall. They must have been there for many years, but died in a horrific freeze shortly thereafter. Their presence suggested that Tallahassee had been relatively freeze free for many years before the sixties.

merrill

[TikiRick]

I went to graduate school from 1984-86 at FSU. I had illusions of grandure when I arrived seeing the sabals, pindos, and phoenix palms all over town and campus. Superbowl Sunday, 1986 we say snow and a low of about 12F. Everything got torched.

Fountains froze, students got drunk, and the whole place turned to hell.

Tallahassee has the most extreme temperatures of the state...coldest by far in the winter, and hotter than hell all summer long with minimal breezes.

And yes, an occasional hurricane whips through.

Hurricane Kate Party....September of 1985 was fun!

[FRITO]

Great history Merril and Rick! it seems not many people really replanted the P. canariensis or any mules after the freezes in the 80's here.

The only CIDP are really onld ones, every now and then you will see a 'juvenille' planted in a residential area.

and if anyone comes to town id be happy to show you around and point out palmy places of interest!

[merrill]

Hi, Luke:

Many Thanks for the invite! I might be able to get a ride there with my son sometime.

Best Wishes,

merrill

[bubba]

Tallahasee is an absolutely beautiful spot but more Southern than Florida.The Oaks and canopy roads are incredible as is McClay Gardens.It is fascinating to see all the nearly tropical palms grown up there at this time.(and hopefully for a long time)

The interesting part about Florida is the further North you travel,the more Southern it becomes and vis/versa.

[Peter]

Is there anywhere hotter than Tallahassee in the summer?

Peter

Lincoln High '80

[bubba]

Peter,It is not the heat it is the humidity!

[floridagrower]

Tallahassee can easily grow queens in the same way south Texas and New Orleans etc can. They are not permanent fixtures but can and do survive many years. Robustas don't line the streets here but are fine long term. Sure a record winter could wipe them but that's a once in a lifetime event.

Bobby,

Don't kid yourself. There is no comparison between ANY island up north and Tallahassee. Tallahassee heats up faster and averages higher highs than ALL of the following cities: Houston, New Orleans, Pensacola, Jacksonville, and Mobile.

Edited March 24, 2009 by floridagrower

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Bobby, I live about 30 miles N-NW of St Augustine. Temperatures here in South Jacksonville fell from around 20 to 25 depending on location and there were 4 nights with temps in that range. I don't think we fell below freezing any other nights, but if we did it was short duration and really wasn't very damaging. Some places along the St Johns river probably remained above 25. It was the coldest weather since I moved here in March 2005. Ptychosperma is a no-go without protection. Arcontophoenix are a maybe, if you don't mind total defoliation from time to time and eventual death. Winters will get cold enough to kill the Queen palms periodically, but this year they just look a little fried. Livistona varies widely depending on species and location. L. decora (ribbons) are the hardiest I've found so far, but I have high hopes for L. nitida too. L chinensis is overrated and looks pretty rough around the area. Washingtonia robusta are a bit singed too, but oddly, some further south are more seriousy burnt than they are here! In Florida, latitide isn't a great indicator of climate zone as some areas between Orlando and Tampa on I-4 were much colder than Jacksonville. Tom Broome from Cycad Jungle reported 16 in Polk City near I-4 and that illustrates how important microclimate can be. St Augustine proper is a very nice microclimate and there is/was (haven't been there this spring) a Coconut with a few feet of brown wood that survived several winters. One of my biggest surprises was Leucothrinax morrissii (Florida Keys Silver Thatch Palm) has not apprecible damage in my yard. It is sited on the South side of the house but plants nearby certainly succumbed to damage. Another pleasent survivor is Bismarkia nobilis. It's suffered no more than the lousy Livistona chinensis. (Can you tell how I'm feeling about L. chinensis.....) Anyway, even though we'll have another arctic outbreak again some day, you can build a beautiful garden with palms that'll tolerate temps from zone 7&8 up to 10 so that when we get whacked again, many of your palms won't even notice. That way you won't be rebuilding an entire garden. So, come on down. I haven't regretted the move from Charlotte to JAX (except JAX is/was much more expensive that Charlotte). One other thing. Home values here haven't fallen like they have in most of the cities south of here. But do be prepared for Hurricane insurance (though even that has come down quite a bit).

[bubba]

While in Tallahasee on a palm tour,I would highly recommend Bradley's Country Store.(a little North)

[Lou-StAugFL]

Bobby I live in St. Augustine and hardly anything in my yard turned brown and nothing was killed. I live a few blocks from the Intracoastal waterway on the mainland side and I think the coldest we got was 27 degrees this winter and that is the coldest it has been here in years. I have lived in the same house since 1983 and grow many palms. Live oak canopy allows you to grow a lot without damage. I did notice just west of US 1 many things that look fine in my yard are burned. They get a lot more frost a little more inland. My dypsis lutescens was unprotected under a cedar tree and looks perfect. St. Augustine near the coast has a great microclimate and you can grow many palms. I have several very large queen palms that look beautiful and didn't even get a hint of cold damage this year. I have relatives in Daytona whose queen palms looked a little burned which surprised me and the phoenix roebelinii were totally fried. Here is what is growing unprotected in my yard.

Butia

caryota mitis ( a little burned)

chamaerops humilis

chamaedorea elegans(as a ground cover), microspadix, seifrizzi

livistona chinensis

phoenix canariensis, reclinata, roebelinii

ravenea rivularis ( a little leaf burn this winter)

rhapis excelsa

sabal palmetto

serenoa repens

syagrus romanzoffiana

washingtonia

wodyetia (this was protected)

[TikiRick]

Tallahassee is a great (southern) north Florida town. Quaint, historic, and diverse geography. Images of the huge oaks with swaying spanish moss with towering Sabals always come to mind.

Nowhere else do I know of so many beautiful Butia's growing. Luke, are those lining Strozier Library green still there? Please tell me that they are!

Tallahassee in the summer =

[FRITO]

Rick the Butia in front of Strozier are still there.

I took a tour of campus today with the assistant grounds director who is working to help make campus more palmy. They started about a year ago with new plantings and will continue into the future agenda!

I am working on a dedicated palm garden as well, similar to what Kyle has done at UF.

Edited March 27, 2009 by FRITO