Major Cities where palms grow....

[cfkingfish]

I was just talking to a friend in The Netherlands today, and he mentioned that Trachycarpus are all over Northern Europe. I assumed this to be true to a point, but it made me wonder where palms have been brought to major centers of civilization. Here are some I can think of, I am counting only cities over 250,000 people (ones with a skyline so to speak), and where multiple species of palms actually thrive, not just get by a winter or two.

Texas - Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso

California - San Fran, Sacramento/Central Valley, LA and San Diego

Arizona - Phoenix, Tucson

Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver, BC

Europe - Madrid, Paris, London, Rome, Athens(?). I remember there being P. canariensis when I looked north from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

South America - Buenos Aires, Montevideo? I don't think there are any palms native to the immediate area, are there?

South Africa - Durban, maybe Pretoria/Johannesburg? I don't know if Hyphaene is native to the surrounding area.

Any other cities that would be surprising? I was thinking other areas of Europe and the Far East.

[Tyrone]

Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne.

[ariscott]

Brisbane? Pity it has to be 250,000 plus population.... the best ones are smaller here in Oz.

Oops... I just reread the thread.... it is for cold places, isn't it? LOL. Sorry.....

Edited February 13, 2011 by ariscott

[Xenon]

I believe Sabal minor is native to Houston and Dallas, athough it looks more like a bush to me...

Jonathan

[happ]

Not sure how populated Savannah Georgia is but palms do well along the southeast U.S. coastline.

[Dypsisdean]

  On 2/13/2011 at 5:47 AM, ariscott said:

Brisbane? Pity it has to be 250,000 plus population.... the best ones are smaller here in Oz.

Oops... I just reread the thread.... it is for cold places, isn't it? LOL. Sorry.....

I didn't necessarily read it that way Ari, only as places that didn't have any, or many, natively. At least I never thought of Buenas Aires as a cold place.

If that is the case, you would have to include Honolulu - only a handful (Coconut and Pritchardia) of native palms there.

[Walter John]

Start this thread again ?...

[Kostas]

Athens and Thessaloniki are fine and reliable palm growing cities. They used to be filled with palms actually!!! But Rhynchophorus has changed that to a good degree for Athens...

I am sure there are many other cities in Greece which are fine for palm growing but i dont know their population...

[gyuseppe]

in italy naples and palermo are full of palm trees

[Jim in Los Altos]

  On 2/13/2011 at 4:51 AM, cfkingfish said:

I was just talking to a friend in The Netherlands today, and he mentioned that Trachycarpus are all over Northern Europe. I assumed this to be true to a point, but it made me wonder where palms have been brought to major centers of civilization. Here are some I can think of, I am counting only cities over 250,000 people (ones with a skyline so to speak), and where multiple species of palms actually thrive, not just get by a winter or two.

Texas - Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso

California - San Fran, Sacramento/Central Valley, LA and San Diego

Arizona - Phoenix, Tucson

Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver, BC

Europe - Madrid, Paris, London, Rome, Athens(?). I remember there being P. canariensis when I looked north from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

South America - Buenos Aires, Montevideo? I don't think there are any palms native to the immediate area, are there?

South Africa - Durban, maybe Pretoria/Johannesburg? I don't know if Hyphaene is native to the surrounding area.

Any other cities that would be surprising? I was thinking other areas of Europe and the Far East.

In CA don't forget San Jose. That city has spent millions of dollars planting mature palms throughout downtown as well as other parts of the city.

[John in Andalucia]

Arequipa (Peru's second most populous city) introduced Washingtonia robusta and Phoenix canariensis to remind the residents of their motherland. I'm moving there in 9 days.

[Kelern]

  On 2/13/2011 at 8:24 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

In CA don't forget San Jose. That city has spent millions of dollars planting mature palms throughout downtown as well as other parts of the city.

I would love to be in such city that spend millions dollars plantings palms trees. Here in Brest (230000 people) the city officers refuse to plant palms in the streets despite a mild climate (9b and nearly ten in some part of the city by the sea shore) and a nice collection of over 20 species in the botanical garden wich is away in a cold area inland. How to force a city council to plant palms trees?

[cfkingfish]

Jim-

I was going to put San Jose, but I kinda added it to the San Fran metroplex in my mind. I know they are an hour apart.....

Savannah has native palmettos around its immediate area, as does Charleston, SC.

I was throwing out 250K as a general term, if it is a decent size city amongst a relatively rural area, I would count that.

I bet Brest would be a great climate for cool weather palms.

[Jim in Los Altos]

  On 2/13/2011 at 2:21 PM, cfkingfish said:

Jim-

I was going to put San Jose, but I kinda added it to the San Fran metroplex in my mind. I know they are an hour apart.....

Savannah has native palmettos around its immediate area, as does Charleston, SC.

I was throwing out 250K as a general term, if it is a decent size city amongst a relatively rural area, I would count that.

I bet Brest would be a great climate for cool weather palms.

Christian, San Francisco's population is 809,000 and San Jose's is 1,023,000. San Jose is the third largest city in CA behind LA and San Diego. Just some trivia.

[rlowe]

When I lived in Vienna, they would bring out palms in mobile planters for the summer.

[greekpalm]

all greek cities can grow palms.. here is the list with the cities above 250 000

Athens

Thessaloniki

Patra

Iraklio

Larissa

[edbrown_III]

  On 2/13/2011 at 4:51 AM, cfkingfish said:

I was just talking to a friend in The Netherlands today, and he mentioned that Trachycarpus are all over Northern Europe. I assumed this to be true to a point, but it made me wonder where palms have been brought to major centers of civilization. Here are some I can think of, I am counting only cities over 250,000 people (ones with a skyline so to speak), and where multiple species of palms actually thrive, not just get by a winter or two.

Texas - Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso

California - San Fran, Sacramento/Central Valley, LA and San Diego

Arizona - Phoenix, Tucson

Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver, BC

Europe - Madrid, Paris, London, Rome, Athens(?). I remember there being P. canariensis when I looked north from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

South America - Buenos Aires, Montevideo? I don't think there are any palms native to the immediate area, are there?

South Africa - Durban, maybe Pretoria/Johannesburg? I don't know if Hyphaene is native to the surrounding area.

Any other cities that would be surprising? I was thinking other areas of Europe and the Far East.

Chris

realative to Durban --South Africa --- I have seen Hyphane and Phoexni around Durban, Cape town might be a good candidate as it is so far south.

Best regards

Ed

[amazondk]

  On 2/13/2011 at 6:20 AM, Dypsisdean said:

  On 2/13/2011 at 5:47 AM, ariscott said:

Brisbane? Pity it has to be 250,000 plus population.... the best ones are smaller here in Oz.

Oops... I just reread the thread.... it is for cold places, isn't it? LOL. Sorry.....

I didn't necessarily read it that way Ari, only as places that didn't have any, or many, natively. At least I never thought of Buenas Aires as a cold place.

If that is the case, you would have to include Honolulu - only a handful (Coconut and Pritchardia) of native palms there.

Dean,

It does snow every once and a while in Buenos Aires.

dk

[Walter John]

  On 2/13/2011 at 4:51 AM, cfkingfish said:

I was just talking to a friend in The Netherlands today, and he mentioned that Trachycarpus are all over Northern Europe. I assumed this to be true to a point, but it made me wonder where palms have been brought to major centers of civilization. Here are some I can think of, I am counting only cities over 250,000 people (ones with a skyline so to speak), and where multiple species of palms actually thrive, not just get by a winter or two.

Any other cities that would be surprising?

  On 2/13/2011 at 5:47 AM, ariscott said:

Brisbane? Pity it has to be 250,000 plus population.... the best ones are smaller here in Oz.

1/ Brisbane has a population of about 2 mill.

2/ The whole area was cleared to build the city which no doubt included native trees which probably included Archontophoenix and Livistona.

3/ After they removed native palms they brought in from Brazil, Syagrus romanzoffiana which thrived to the point of pest proportions. Go figure.

[ariscott]

Wal, I was referring to Townsville, Cairns & Darwin... which have less than 250,000 populations each. I guess I didn't word that very well...

Regards, Ari

[NBTX11]

  On 2/13/2011 at 4:51 AM, cfkingfish said:

I was just talking to a friend in The Netherlands today, and he mentioned that Trachycarpus are all over Northern Europe. I assumed this to be true to a point, but it made me wonder where palms have been brought to major centers of civilization. Here are some I can think of, I am counting only cities over 250,000 people (ones with a skyline so to speak), and where multiple species of palms actually thrive, not just get by a winter or two.

Texas - Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso

California - San Fran, Sacramento/Central Valley, LA and San Diego

Arizona - Phoenix, Tucson

Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver, BC

Europe - Madrid, Paris, London, Rome, Athens(?). I remember there being P. canariensis when I looked north from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

South America - Buenos Aires, Montevideo? I don't think there are any palms native to the immediate area, are there?

South Africa - Durban, maybe Pretoria/Johannesburg? I don't know if Hyphaene is native to the surrounding area.

Any other cities that would be surprising? I was thinking other areas of Europe and the Far East.

Re: TX. You can get a couple decades out of palms in Dallas, but they are not truly hardy (surviving the 100 yr freeze) until you get closer to Austin. Austin is 200 or so miles south of Dallas. For example, Filifera and Sabal can handle any winter Austin can dish out long term...not sure you can say the same thing about Dallas (other than a few exceptions).

[Tropicgardener]

  On 2/13/2011 at 2:10 PM, Kelern said:

  On 2/13/2011 at 8:24 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

In CA don't forget San Jose. That city has spent millions of dollars planting mature palms throughout downtown as well as other parts of the city.

I would love to be in such city that spend millions dollars plantings palms trees. Here in Brest (230000 people) the city officers refuse to plant palms in the streets despite a mild climate (9b and nearly ten in some part of the city by the sea shore) and a nice collection of over 20 species in the botanical garden wich is away in a cold area inland. How to force a city council to plant palms trees?

You obviously have the same problem in France..............think about the warm subtropical/tropical Queensland coastline where palms thrive and definately should be planted. Many coastal councils here also refuse to plant palms (and many are removing what palms are left). I get very cranky when councils refuse to embrace our tropical climate and insist on planting temperate climate species of trees and shrubs. The native plant lobby too has had far too much to say on what is and is not planted in our coastal cities.

[sarasota alex]

Sochi, Russia

Tbilisi, Georgia

Baku, Azerbaijan

Tel Aviv, Israel

Haifa, Israel

Jerusalem, Israel

Beirut, Lebanon

Damascus, Syria

Aleppo, Syria

Amman, Jordan

Istanbul, Turkey

Tirana, Albania

Podgorica, Montenegro

and ... Washington, DC

[ariscott]

  On 2/14/2011 at 8:47 AM, Tropicgardener said:

You obviously have the same problem in France..............think about the warm subtropical/tropical Queensland coastline where palms thrive and definately should be planted. Many coastal councils here also refuse to plant palms (and many are removing what palms are left). I get very cranky when councils refuse to embrace our tropical climate and insist on planting temperate climate species of trees and shrubs. The native plant lobby too has had far too much to say on what is and is not planted in our coastal cities.

Don't you get me started, Andrew.... It was funny that Darwin city council planted livistona in the new refurbished mall and you wouldn't believe the radio was concerned because they might make more work for council workers to pick up fallen fronds!!!!

Regards, Ari

[Tyrone]

I thought this thread was about cities where palms naturally don't exist, but palms are grown really well. This takes Brisbane and Sydney out as they have native palms there.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Trópico]

Not sure why you're not mentioning Miami, Orlando, Tampa, San Juan, etc. but you specify "surprising"... Ok, I was kind of not expecting to see King palms (Archontophoenix) thriving (but not properly seeding) in Bogotá, Colombia. Besides the usual suspects (Phoenix sp, Trachycarpus, Washingtonia), Ceroxylon quindiuense is starting to get used there generously as a city street (the only mature, trunking ones are in botanical gardens and some parks).

[paulgila]

san diego has native palms--washeeeeez.

[ariscott]

  On 2/14/2011 at 10:47 AM, Tyrone said:

I thought this thread was about cities where palms naturally don't exist, but palms are grown really well. This takes Brisbane and Sydney out as they have native palms there.

Best regards

Tyrone

Yeah... that was why I got confused....

[John in Andalucia]

  On 2/14/2011 at 5:17 PM, pohonkelapa said:

san diego has native palms--washeeeeez.

That's torn it!

[sarasota alex]

Just though of Virginia Beach

[Jonathan]

Hobart, Tasmania (we can just scrape in at 250,000 if you include a few satelite towns!).

CIDP common here, established for 100+ years and looks great in our climate, with a nice tight crown.

Plenty of Trachycarpus, and the odd Chamaerops, Washy and Bangalow around.

Nearest native palms are near Orbost in Victoria, about 200kms north of our State border in Bass Strait...so close, yet so far away!

Cheers,

Jonathan

[JasonD]

Mexico City: how far away are the nearest native palms? Johannesburg, ditto? Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kobe, Okayama, Kyoto, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, etc. in Japan: Livistona's not native to the major islands and Trachycarpus & Rhapis are imports from China. Speaking of: Shanghai and other east-central Chinese cities (nearest native palms are a ways south).

[PalmsZA]

Here in Durbs. Ed is correct, Hyphaene and Phoenix reclinata abound... so we out.

Johannesburg and Pretoria.... The nearest natural stands are hundrends of clicks away, lots of palms in those cities.

[Erik]

Portland, Oregon, USA, where I grew up has Trachy all over the place; I think they are common in Vancouver, BC, Canada as well.

[paulgila]

  On 2/14/2011 at 9:01 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 2/14/2011 at 5:17 PM, pohonkelapa said:

san diego has native palms--washeeeeez.

That's torn it!

jealous?

[John in Andalucia]

  On 2/15/2011 at 6:59 PM, pohonkelapa said:

  On 2/14/2011 at 9:01 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 2/14/2011 at 5:17 PM, pohonkelapa said:

san diego has native palms--washeeeeez.

That's torn it!

jealous?

Maybe, but I prefer never to push my luck!