Palms in Hanoi

[BobSDCA]

I was really surprised to find a fair amount of palms being used in the landscape in Hanoi...being a large capital city I really was not sure what to expect. However, I was shocked to find coconut, Areca catechu, Roystonea regia, and Livistona chinensis being used often. R. regia seemed the most commonly planted palm in parks and parkways. It was really cold the four days that I spent in the city and it is amazing that the coconuts and A. catechu took it in stride. The daytime highs were unusually cold 50F to 55F each day with a thick cloud cover. The saving issue for the palms is that the night time temperatures didn't fall much below that. The coconuts and Areca must be growing on the edge (climactically speaking) because the average high temps in January and February are from 67-68F, but the nights are rather mild 57-59F. They do get frosts occasionally, but no freezes....just so cold being so close to the tropics, I had to return to California to warm up...lol! Good thing the winters in Hanoi are short...it really begins to warm up fast in March...so I am told.

C. nucifera with fruit at Ho Chi Minh residence

R. regia one of the most common palms

A. catechu standard and dwarfs planted below at mausoleum exit

A. catechu dwarf in park near mausoleum.....yet another palm I can't grow in California!

[LJG]

I am surprised Hanoi gets frost. I could never imagine that. Sapa? Yes. Hanoi. No.

Hanoi really grows on you, does it not?

[fan palm]

Was in hanoi for the 1000 year anniversery in 2010, what a crazy place a that time!! i noticed there were alot of dwarf, in-between, normal catechus in and around alot of the temples. I also noticed a true dwarf in Lao Cai which is on the way to Sapa. I believe it gets quite cold there. nice pics btw, thanks

[stygiana]

Hi BobSDCA,

Good thing the winters in Hanoi are short...it really begins to warm up fast in March...so I am told.

This is why they have thriving Areca catechu and coconuts, etc.

While in a Mediterranean climate like southern California, March, April and May are far too cold for trully tropical species.

Besides, because of the latitude, days are far longer in winter in Hanoi, and that helps a lot too.

Plus air moisture is high in summer and rainfall abundant.

Last but not least, average night temperatures from late March until late November are very high, while they are low (less than 20°C) even in August in San Diego. This is a major point.

A few cool, almost cold, days in winter are not a problem in such a figure.

It's just always amazing when you go in such places right during on of these cold spells.

The same thing could have happen to you in Florianopolis (Brazil), Key West, New Caledonia, Hong-Kong, Okinawa, etc... Most of the time, the weather is "tropical", but if you go there during the "wrong" weak, well, that's quite a shock!

Of course, Hanoi is quite low in latitude, so it's even more puzzling. But don't only think in terms of latitude. Dallas is further south than San Francisco, but much colder in winter. Bermuda is further north than Cape Canaveral, but frost-free... Hanoi is just in a spot where cold continental air can go south in winter. No sea north of it, no mountain range (with the right orientation, which would be East-West) either to block cold air masses.

Thanks for these photos, they are great! Plus it's freaky cool to imagine the fresh, chilly air while this pics would otherwise give a lush hot feeling if you don't mention the weather you had there. I love such contrast. It's a bit like "snow+palms"!

Edited January 22, 2012 by Sebastian Bano

[BobSDCA]

Hi Len - The frost in Hanoi is very rare so I am told by locals...perhaps just once a decade thing and a very light frost. Hanoi has some small hills and cold air can pool in low areas...that is where the frost occurs, so it is not wide spread. Hanoi really never grew on me it was really such a freaky cold week, so perhaps if I returned in spring I would have a different perspective. It was not only cold in Hanoi but on Halong Bay and in Hue...the sun only came out for an hour for the first week! I liked Hue a lot better and really enjoyed the old capital and citadel. I wasn't really happy until we reached Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the Mekong Delta...nice steamy hot!

I wish I had the opportunity to travel to Sapa...it would have been nice to see what species of palms they grow in the north. From what I understand Sapa has frost annually and has a lot of elevation change surrounding the city, so frost could be more widespread.

Good Points to bring up Sabastian...the short winter and more tropical climate the rest of the year sure makes a big difference! The interesting thing is that while Hanoi stayed quite cool, I traveled south to Dalat and it was even warmer there for a couple of days than in Hanoi. That continental air mass that effects Hanoi makes the climate more extreme. Dalat is up at around 5,000 ft. in elevation. The summers are cooler there and the climate more mild so no coconuts (a fair amount of Royals though), but you travel just 1000 feet lower and coconuts are possible right around the airport. In the main part of the city of Dalat, there were a few A. catechu growing, they seemed to do okay even with the cooler weather they get year around. Unlike San Diego, Dalat has spring temperatures all year around, so the three months of winter San Diego gets is just too much for most tropicals. It was really nice to see a lot of the same plants growing in Dalat that we grow in southern California...Dypsis lutescens, Birds of Paradise, Jacaranda, Bauhinia. There were even a few struggling Hyophorbe lagenicaulis there. It almost made it seem like home

Edited January 22, 2012 by BobSDCA

[bgl]

Bob,

Thanks for the photos and insight into palm growing in Hanoi! And Sebastian, thank you for the additional information. The issue of latitude and elevation in combination with large bodies of water and how nearby mountain ranges are situated is quite fascinating and provides for unique climates in many tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world.

Bo-Göran

[stygiana]

Dalat: It was really nice to see a lot of the same plants growing in Dalat that we grow in southern California...Dypsis lutescens, Birds of Paradise, Jacaranda, Bauhinia. There were even a few struggling Hyophorbe lagenicaulis there. It almost made it seem like home

It reminds me of a post a few months ago about palms in central mountainous Costa Rica. I agree with you, there is something magical with tropical highlands. You find it too at mid altitude in the Andes, in central Sri Lanka, and I'm sure in parts of Hawaii, above 700 or 800 m.

Jacarandas, Proteas, Camelias, Hydrangeas, Magnolia grandiflora, Strelitzia and just next to those, Arecas, lush Heliconias and other quite tropical specimens.

20°C year round... Eternal spring

Hi Bo,

I agree, climate, micro-climate and all these nuances and combinations are a fascinating subject. There is always more to learn, and there's always new stuff to question and challenge what you believed you knew!

[realarch]

Thanks for the photos Bob, interesting. i really had no idea how tropical Hanoi was or rather how mild the temps could get. I wonder how much influence the South China Sea has on the climate?

[Xenon]

My dad (from Qui Nhon) never believed coconuts could grow in Hanoi; some old story about Ho Chi Minh having a liking for them but always failing to grow them up north. Do you have any more pictures of Vietnam? I'd love to see how Hue, Da Lat, and Saigon look like...

Thanks for sharing!

Jonathan

Edited January 22, 2012 by Xenon

[Mike in Nelson]

I was in Hanoi in November of 2004 and the weather was pleasantly warm. If they have winter conditions it must be very short. Hence the existence of Cocos etc.

[paulgila]

its great to have some pix from a region we dont often see on PT,thanks so much for posting these,bob!