How is Cape Coral fl for palms?

[Hardypalms]

Hi

Always thinking of relocating to Florida and visiting the fort Myers area, I could really live in Cape Coral. 400 sq miles of canals got to provide plenty of good areas to grow palms.

Thanks

Patrick

[Bill H2DB]

Use Google Maps or Google Earth , and zoom in to" Street View" in Cape Coral and "drive " down almost any

street , and you will see palms galore . Cocos are seen , so..........

[Palmaceae]

Hi

Always thinking of relocating to Florida and visiting the fort Myers area, I could really live in Cape Coral. 400 sq miles of canals got to provide plenty of good areas to grow palms.

Thanks,

Patrick

Patrick,

Cape Coral is in zone 10A, you will see coconuts galore in the area. The warmest place in the area is south of the Caloosahatchee river which is in Fort Myers west of 41. Of course the closer you are to the Gulf the warmer you will be. Meg from the forum can tell you more as she has lived here a lot longer than I have. I just moved here 6 months ago.

Cape Coral is also a nice place to live and housing is still very affordable.

[PalmatierMeg]

Patrick, Cape Coral always needs more palm nuts. I get lonely around people who don't know a palm from a party favor.

I've lived here over 21 years but only got deeply into palms in 2008. Our home is in the center of the city on an 80' freshwater canal - a solid 10a. I can grow coconuts and Adonidias in the ground but not lipsticks or Arecas. I believe the canal helps moderate the winter temps on my south-facing jungle. I have somewhere around 150-200 species of palm on our 5-lot site. The closer to the Gulf or river you are, the warmer your winters. North Cape above Pine Island Rd, by contrast, is too cold for coconuts.

I suggest you take a few days to come down to the Cape to check the area out. That's what we did in 1992 before we moved. I will be glad to give you the grand tour of our .61-acre paradise

[Palmdude]

Check out pine island as well. Same is true in both areas as far as being close to the water is concerned. It's a great area to live. Perfect spot for a boat, some of the nicest beaches around that you can only get to by boat and world class fishing on top of that. As well as palms you can grow a lot of tropical fruit trees a well

[Hardypalms]

Hi

Thanks for the answers. I just started using google earth it's interesting, I see plenty of palms in the cape. Meg I am surprised that you can't grow arecas in a zone 10a, what is the reason for that? I just came back from St Petersburg which I know is surrounded by water and saw tons of arecas. I have been to Cape Coral 2 years ago, I checked also Forth Myers and Lehigh acres and Cape Coral got our vote.

I was looking to buy in the north areas of the cape as I figured there are more lots available up there, I would like half an acre I guess to have room to plant. Are you sure coconuts don't do well north of pine island rd?

I would love to visit your yard and will contact you when I come back down. In the meantime do you have a site with pictures of it?

Thanks again for all the answers.

Patrick

[Palmaceae]

Hi

Thanks for the answers. I just started using google earth it's interesting, I see plenty of palms in the cape. Meg I am surprised that you can't grow arecas in a zone 10a, what is the reason for that? I just came back from St Petersburg which I know is surrounded by water and saw tons of arecas. I have been to Cape Coral 2 years ago, I checked also Forth Myers and Lehigh acres and Cape Coral got our vote.

I was looking to buy in the north areas of the cape as I figured there are more lots available up there, I would like half an acre I guess to have room to plant. Are you sure coconuts don't do well north of pine island rd?

I would love to visit your yard and will contact you when I come back down. In the meantime do you have a site with pictures of it?

Thanks again for all the answers.

Patrick

Patrick,

When Meg says areca's, she means the true Areca's such as Areca catechu, etc..... Dysis Lutecens, common name "Areca" does very well here.

As for north of Pine Island road, you will see many mature coconuts just make sure you are west of Hwy 41. I am just north of Pine Island road and you see many mature coconuts in the area, but again the closer you are to the Gulf or the river, the warmer you will be You will see coconuts as far north as St Pete and Clearwater on the west coast but only reliable further south. Do not go to Lehigh Acres as that is not zone 10a, more like zone 9.

I have started my collection, have over 70 species of palms now and are welcome to visit me when you are down here.

Thanks

[Hardypalms]

Palmaceae

I am relieved about Dypsis Lutescens as it is one of my favorite palms, thanks for clarifying that. When I drove in Cape Coral 2 years ago I was amazed at the lush tropical landscape in the south of town and how few plantings were as you started going north. I guess south homes have been there for a while. Do you sit on just a quarter of an acre? I would like half to be able to plant many. 3/4 acre would be paradise but money does matter. Thanks for the offer for visiting your yard, I will definitely take you on that.

Thanks

Patrick

[Palmaceae]

Palmaceae

I am relieved about Dypsis Lutescens as it is one of my favorite palms, thanks for clarifying that. When I drove in Cape Coral 2 years ago I was amazed at the lush tropical landscape in the south of town and how few plantings were as you started going north. I guess south homes have been there for a while. Do you sit on just a quarter of an acre? I would like half to be able to plant many. 3/4 acre would be paradise but money does matter. Thanks for the offer for visiting your yard, I will definitely take you on that.

Thanks

Patrick

Patrick,

We have a "normal" size lot, but it Cape Coral you will see lots of open lots. There are a couple next to me so you could buy your house then the lot next to it for a good price. In the north cape, the houses are newer hence the reason for less mature trees.

[Palmdude]

You should be able to get excellent deals on houses and property, Cape Coral was one of the hardest hit areas in the country when the bubble burst. Things have recovered pretty nicely but there are still plenty of foreclosures out there at fantastic prices. You could probably pick up a second lot for 5 or 6K if you're lucky and the owners didn't pay too much for it in the first place. There are plenty of canal lots and properties down there. Pine island would be my first choice for a few reasons, 1. It feels like more of a community where you can actually get to know people, 2. I love the artsy island feeling you get there, it's like the old Florida I remember as a kid in the 70's. 3. I love all the agriculture on the island.

Of course it's just a personal preference. I also love Cape Coral on the canals and close to the gulf. Things just start looking way more lush and tropical there and you can tell you just drove into a different ag zone.

[PalmatierMeg]

The Cape has many vacant building lots. Our house is built on a slightly oversized 2-lot site on water. In 2011 during the recession we bought the 3-lot corner lot on the west. It has a canal "view" but is not on water. It faces the future LCEC electrical substation, aka Osama Bin Laden's FL vacation compound. We are landscaping this property to hide the coming erector set.

We've also petitioned to combine all 5 lots into one .61-acre property. FL has a homesteading law that protects permanent residents from skyrocketing taxes aimed at part time and vacation properties. This year the Tax Collector jacked up the assessment of our garden property by 30%, hence our move to combine our properties.

The other issue to consider is that CC south of Pine Island Rd has or will soon get water, sewer & irrigation. We have all 3 now, including sewer installed in 2006. We paid in full our $11,000 sewer assessment on our home in 2006. The previous owner of the garden lot opted for the 20-year payoff of her $16,000 sewer assessment. We took that over.

However, utilities are eventually coming to all of the Cape in accordance with FL law. For now, those residents are on well & septic. But what sets CC apart from any other community is its pioneering use of recycled water for irrigation - for which we pay a monthly fee of $10. I couldn't have afforded my palm jungle without that lifesaving irrigation.

[Hardypalms]

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[Hardypalms]

Thanks so much for the answers. I wish I could buy right now. What is exactly "Pine island"? A section of CC? A blvd?

So if I buy 2 or 3 lots to eventually build on them, shall I get some which are city utilities ready or well and septic tank?

Do any of you have pics of your yards on the web?

Thanks

Patrick

[Jeff Searle]

The Glocks ( very well known in the palm circle) live in the Ft Myers area and have one of the best collections of palms on the west coast. Everything from Copernicias to very large Corypahs to Licuala peltata Sumawongii, that fruits every year. So there's plenty to grow in that entire area that has been mentioned. Good luck!

[Palmaceae]

"Thanks so much for the answers. I wish I could buy right now. What is exactly "Pine island"? A section of CC? A blvd?

So if I buy 2 or 3 lots to eventually build on them, shall I get some which are city utilities ready or well and septic tank?

Do any of you have pics of your yards on the web?"

Thanks

Patrick

Pine Island is the intracoastal island between Cape Coral and Sanibel/Captiva. Very nice area, just like PalmDude said, very nice small community feeling. Most of the properties in the north cape have a septic/well system, but that will change in the future.

[Palmdude]

If you get a house on well and septic, your water will be free but then you need to maintain the softening system add salt etc. I'm on a well and the no bill thing works for me. On the other hand, like Meg said CC has the $10 grey water thing which is awesome. Also consider that a house not already on city water and sewer might have to switch over eventually like Meg said and then you'll have to pay for the installation.

[waykoolplantz]

The Glocks ( very well known in the palm circle) live in the Ft Myers area and have one of the best collections of palms on the west coast. Everything from Copernicias to very large Corypahs to Licuala peltata Sumawongii, that fruits every year. So there's plenty to grow in that entire area that has been mentioned. Good luck!

Indeed the Glocks garden is one of the most impressive...west of 75 but east of Hwy 41, it affords some protection being inland..from storms.

Prior to finding my place here in S Fla I checked out property on Pine Island....looked like little topsoil ...pure limestone rock.

So it appears there would be some expense to amend the soil...tho if it didn't get too cold...you could have an amazing collection of Pseudophoenix and Hemithirinax

[Palmdude]

Prices are going back up, I'd buy sooner than later. Look at short sales and foreclosures. The bank owned properties will get back to you within 24-36 hours usually and the short sales can take forever. I'm always looking at/buying real estate around here. My strategy is to throw offers out on all short sales I'm interested in and then just forget about them while I look for bank owned property. If a short sale comes through that's great, if not, don't get emotionally involved in the shorts.

I'm up in North Port so I'll be jeleous of what you'll be able to grow down there!

[Hardypalms]

I didn't even drive to pine island when I checked CC 2 years ago. We were limited by time there was so much ground to cover with also looking at Lehigh Acres (Yurk!), North Fort Myers, Fort-Myers and Naples.

For Naples I could only afford that area which is inland, but while driving there we realized it appeared to be prone to flooding. Pine island is not that expensive after all, I just found half an acre lot for $12000.

Now pine island seems a little scary when a hurricane or storm might hit, it's so close to the water.

Patrick

[doranakandawatta]

Seeing from Europe, this question would make us looking forward to many wonderful pics of unknown "Cape Coral", but I think we'll have to go there and see… no pictures yet

[spockvr6]

Prior to finding my place here in S Fla I checked out property on Pine Island....looked like little topsoil ...pure limestone rock.

So it appears there would be some expense to amend the soil...

Perhaps Pine Island may vary, I'm not sure, but my yard is pure sand. Ive dug down probably about 5 feet and it was consistently sandy.

[Alicehunter2000]

I have been thinking about buying property for future retirement somewhere in the Caribbean, Keys, ect. .....recently Sanibel island and Captiva has been an interesting possibility. 

On paper it has multiple attributes ....still in US, nice beaches, near shopping  (for wife), low crime? Nice neighborhood's, upscale island vibe? .....could anyone tell me more about this area ..... I would like to be within walking distance to the beach, maybe a peak a boo view of the water ..... is this possible for a lot priced less than 100k ? 

[PalmatierMeg]

If you want to live on Sanibel and esp. Captiva, plan to have piles of cash stored up. Both are accessible only by a causeway (or boat). Toll is $6 per car to get on unless you buy a toll transponder that drops toll to $3-4. Traffic is horrendous, esp in Season. I worked for a year on Captiva and it is at the end of the earth - a tiny island reached by a winding 2-lane. Almost all properties there are on water. Sanibel is much larger and has more land-locked properties.

Then there are the hurricanes - no surprise to you I'm sure. Charley clobbered both islands and put people out of their homes for months, sometimes years. My boss and I spent 18 months working on the restoration of Captiva's South Seas Resort. Insurance, if you can get it, is astronomical.

If you still have money but not as much as Bill Gates, check out Cape Coral which has many homes/lots on saltwater canals and the river. A not-quite 1/4-acre vacant saltwater lot may run $250-300K and up depending on access to river/Gulf. You can also buy a 50-year-old house, teardown and build your custom mega mansion.

I live on a freshwater lot but that is a closed system of canals and lakes with no access to the Gulf - poor man's waterfront.

[Alicehunter2000]

Thanks Meg,

I know you have the scoop to living down there. My current situation is about 300 yards (900-1000) feet to the beach. If I get up on the roof I can barely see some little snippets of blue from the gulf. I know my wife would want some sort of walking/biking/golf cart distance to a nice beach. Being on an inland lot is not a big deal if there is nearby beach access. 

I don't live in flood zone because the area behind the beach is up pretty high  but I understand high insurance ect....my old house was flood zone.

Tourist and high season are pretty much normal for me....grew up with it my whole life, so probably not that much of an issue. ....so if I get a Sun Pass it will still cost 3-4 dollars everytime I go over the bridge? ... that would suck.

Anyways my current situation would almost be ideal but the cold weather absolutely sucks....never liked winter here in N. Florida. 

I'm seeing empty lots down there in the 150 K range and homes less than 500 K available. I would prefer to build but a finished home might work too. 

Property in my location is skyrocketing and if continuse I would have a nice nest egg in about 10 years or so. Would like to buy land earlier because I'm sure it ain't getting any cheaper there either.

Any other suggestions with nice beach fairly close by down there?

I'm open to Naples ect. too

[PalmatierMeg]

Naples with Gulf access is comparable to Sanibel (and the toll hit is each time you access the islands). Further inland is a bit cheaper. There is some beachfront property in Bonita Springs but I don't know much about it but ALL beach property down here is massively expensive. I'm not trying to scare you away from any of it, just give my perspective, because I don't know how much money you have to spend. You might be able to scarf up a property I can only dream about and I hope you do. I'm set for life on my little 0.61 acre estate/botanical garden.

[Alicehunter2000]

Marco island looks like they got some older home properties in 350-650 range within a short walk to the beach. Can't afford beach front but a few houses back maybe. Will check out bonita springs...thanks

[PalmatierMeg]

I don't know much about Marco but know it is a primo place to live if you can afford it. Sounds like you could get an older, smaller teardown house or - what a concept - fix up that smaller house. Tiny houses are in.

[Palmaceae]

David, another place you can check on is Pine Island. There are a few "beach front" properties available, but there is not much as in the way as beaches on Pine Island. Pine Island reminds me of the old Florida, laid back and quiet.  Pine Island is situated between Sanibel and Cape Coral.

[Zeeth]

2 hours ago, Palmaceae said:

David, another place you can check on is Pine Island. There are a few "beach front" properties available, but there is not much as in the way as beaches on Pine Island. Pine Island reminds me of the old Florida, laid back and quiet.  Pine Island is situated between Sanibel and Cape Coral.

I'd pick Pine Island if I were thinking about moving to Lee county. It's super cheap for land out there and it's in a super warm location. 

[Moose]

18 hours ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

I have been thinking about buying property for future retirement somewhere in the Caribbean, Keys, ect. .....recently Sanibel island and Captiva has been an interesting possibility. 

On paper it has multiple attributes ....still in US, nice beaches, near shopping  (for wife), low crime? Nice neighborhood's, upscale island vibe? .....could anyone tell me more about this area ..... I would like to be within walking distance to the beach, maybe a peak a boo view of the water ..... is this possible for a lot priced less than 100k ? 

Puerto Rico - look at all the cool species of palms Cindy has going!

[Alicehunter2000]

Thanks all, ....yes Pine Island would be cool except no nice beaches? Hard to beat the quality of our beaches up here except its too cold 3 months out of the year. Like the idea of a relatively cheap lot and warmth and laid back atmosphere.

I lived in Puerto Rico for two years....saw two murdered bodies and got stolen from multiple times.....other than that the island is beautiful. Surf is great there too...a bonus, but probably wouldn't buy property there.

Looked at Abaco Island's Elbow Cay. My neighbors folks have a place on the Cay above it. They say it's nice but not a lot to do except relax. May still check it out.

Can Rusty reliably grow coconuts up on Pine Island?

 

[PalmatierMeg]

I didn't mention Pine Island because I thought you were looking for white sand beaches, yadda yadda. PI has zone 11 climate for palms but not the storied beaches most people demand. It's a great place to grow mangroves and they are stringently protected by local, State and Federal law. You can't snip a leaf without multiple permits. The other thing that comes to my mind is to be sure that whatever place you buy your land you know how local HOAs, etc. view your palm passion. Some snooty places like Marco, Sanibel & Captiva may place restrictions on what residents can plant and require permission for anything larger than petunias. This is particularly true of so-called "gated communities". My older son lived in one and needed permission to plant anything - and palms were forbidden altogether.

In Cape Coral, outside of a few snooty housing developments, you have much more freedom to design and plant on your lot. People can buy vacant lots and build as they wish as long as it meets basic city codes. I know of few places around here where I could plant the 100s of palms and tropical trees we now grow. In some areas you can acquire numerous contiguous lots (80 x 125' each). I now have 5 lots making up my property, 2 on water, 3 more off. That's part of the Cape founders' genius: peddle lots to Yankees. That hasn't changed in the past 55 years. No other community in the US is quite like it.

[Palmaceae]

21 minutes ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

Thanks all, ....yes Pine Island would be cool except no nice beaches? Hard to beat the quality of our beaches up here except its too cold 3 months out of the year. Like the idea of a relatively cheap lot and warmth and laid back atmosphere.

I lived in Puerto Rico for two years....saw two murdered bodies and got stolen from multiple times.....other than that the island is beautiful. Surf is great there too...a bonus, but probably wouldn't buy property there.

Looked at Abaco Island's Elbow Cay. My neighbors folks have a place on the Cay above it. They say it's nice but not a lot to do except relax. May still check it out.

Can Rusty reliably grow coconuts up on Pine Island?

 

Coconuts grow here in Cape Coral very reliably (zone 10a), and Pine Island is warmer, so that is not something to worry about. 

[Zeeth]

1 hour ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

Can Rusty reliably grow coconuts up on Pine Island?

 

Coconuts are reliable long-term as far north as Anna Maria Island. 

 

You might include Anna Maria Island, Longboat key, Lido Key, and Siesta key on your list if the price is right. They all have gorgeous beaches, close shopping (Lido in particular, with St. Armand's Circle) and low crime. You can drive from Anna Maria Island through Longboat and onto Lido without going onto the mainland as well (this isn't the case for Siesta). They aren't cheap places to buy a house, but I suspect they'll be more affordable than Sanibel or Captiva. I would pick Longboat key out of the three, as it's a little cheaper. The problem is that there is no bridge to the mainland, so you have to drive to Anna Maria or Lido to take one of those bridges out (the bridge from Lido is the better of the two though, as Anna Maria has a drawbridge and traffic is awful in the winter). 

[redbeard917]

Not that I have the money for even the cheapest lot, at the moment, but I'm wondering about hurricanes. I've been through a few but it seems like they aren't as bad in the big bend because they almost have to hit land somewhere else before they hit us. Will your palm collection be reset every few years? Would Pine Island be better protected from storm surge with the mangroves?

[Ed in Houston]

Frequency of Hurricane strikes.

Ed in Houston

 

[palmsOrl]

It is interesting that the map you posted Ed clearly depicts zero hurricane strikes (1900-2010) from Flagler County extending northward to include all counties of Coastal Georgia.  I know for a fact Hurricane Dora hit just north of Saint Augustine in 1964 as a borderline cat. 2 / cat. 3 storm.   This strike occurred in St. Johns County, so that map should be adjusted accordingly.

[PalmatierMeg]

I find it odd that one county on the Big Bend hasn't been hit by a hurricane in 110 years but all those around it have. Even Tampa/St. Pete which haven't been struck in many years chalked up 4-5 hurricanes in 110 years. Ft. Myers, which went 44 years between hurricanes (Donna 1960, Charley 2004) is in the 7 storm range. Charley was destined for Tampa before it changed direction. Punta Gorda was its ground zero.

Cape Coral has no beaches other than the man-made one down at the yacht club. It has the same problem as Pine Island: it is shielded from the Gulf by barrier islands Sanibel, Captiva, et. al. If you want true beachfront you have to consider those, including Estero Island (Ft. Myers Beach), coastal Naples or further north to Englewood or Venice.

You are much younger than I. When I was your age my dream was living on the beach down at Nags Head NC where I could swim and walk the beach daily. I got my beach walking dream when I worked for 10 months on Captiva. But as I grew older the surf riding desire faded as I grew more sensitive to sun and bright light. Also, while the sea of my youth was clean and safe, today seawater is full of trash and pollutants. Two years ago, the waters around Ft. Myers Beach were contaminated by freshwater runoff. I haven't swum in them since. What you wish for when you are 30 may not be what you want when you are 60. I've settled for 2 weeks at a timeshare facing the sand at Ft. Myers Beach. Those weeks are one of the highlights of my year.