salt tolerance

[Konrad]

This has been a tough one, I did some landscaping right on the beach using only plants that I thought were salt tolerant (I have some nice lists prepared by the U of Florida and another one from the U of Hawai'i extension services as well as info I got from my own library).

Well, the point is that the palms I planted there didn't do well at all. I used Dictyosperma album, Coccothrinax radiata and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis. The only ones that made it are the Coccothrinax. All plants were from a nursery some 30 mi inland and my only explanation of the plants' demise is that they'd never been exposed to salt water before and that their natural tolerance "didn't kick in". Now I have another landscaping project by the sea and I'm reluctant to use plants produced far from the sea. Any ideas what went wrong or how to make the plants grow well?

[hanapalms]

Some salt tolerant palms are more tolerant than others, so it depends on how intense the salt conditions are and which species is planted there. Thrinax radiata has great tolerance while Hyophorbe lagenicaulis is somewhat tolerant as for Dictyosperma album, it isn't listed as tolerant.

Of course cocos are extremely tolerant. Then I guess you need to match up with cold tolerant to get the right species for your needs.

[Karen]

Hi Konrad,

I don't know if you have Riffle & Craft's "An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms", but it has a list of salt tolerant palms on pages 497-498. They even list how salt tolerant each palm is - some slight, great, etc.

Aloha, Karen

[Really full garden]

Konrad,I have a beachfront garden and it is a challenge.It is not just the salt thats the problem it is a combination of wind ,poor soil,poor water, and salt that are all working against you.I have Coconuts and Allagopteria arenaria and one Pseudophoenix sagentii that get full frontal beach conditions,even these do get brown leaves sometimes.Further back from the beach I can grow many other species.You might look up some of my posts to see what I am growing.Bismarckia nobilis is doing great just 70m from the beach.

[tank]

Pritchardia pacifica, P. thurstonii, Latania loddigessii have all taken some salt water inundation for me and made it along with Pseudophoenix sargentii, cocconuts, and coastal coccothrinax species. I'm sure there are several other Pritchardias that will do well. Also, my Bismarkia has taken a few drenchings and hasn't skipped a beat. All of these plants get a salt water bath a couple times a year at my house down south.

Not all Coccothrinax can take salt water inundation. Coccothrinax montana, an inland species does not like salt water at all.

[dp92651]

Will any of these grow in So. Cal? I have a nice spot on the beach that needs a couple trees for my hammock.

[drzoidberg1]

dp92651- Brahea edulis do great in So Cal and can take the beach exposure. They are some of the only palms that I have seen that do relatively well with the cooler temps and the salt exposure. It's natural habitat is Guadalupe island off NW Baja Cali.

[dp92651]

dp92651- Brahea edulis do great in So Cal and can take the beach exposure. They are some of the only palms that I have seen that do relatively well with the cooler temps and the salt exposure. It's natural habitat is Guadalupe island off NW Baja Cali.

Thank you. I might be an old man by the time I can use it to hang a hammock, but it will look good in the meantime.