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best microclimate in central florida


empireo22

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Where do you think the best locations are in central florida during cold fronts?

In Brevard county Cocoa Beach and South Patrick Shores usually have the warmest lows during cold fronts almost as warm a palm beach county sometimes. What about on the west coast?

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I have no idea where Palm City lies in the mix but there sure are some very nice palms here and lots of them. The city is very aptly named

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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Keith,

That is in Stuart area. I considered that the south end of central florida....but if you compare low temps from cocoa beach and Jensen beach (stuart area) on www.weatherbase.com they are not much different even though cocoa beach is an hr and half north. I would give you a link but PT wont let me paste.

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I'd say on the West Coast, St. Pete, and the islands like Holmes Beach and Anna Maria. Sarasota/Bradenton near the water are also excellent microclimates. There are lots of coconut trees all over the area.

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Anna Maria is the best in this area. St. Pete where Kopsick is located is pretty good, but not as good through freezes like the '80s. I've seen Jamaican talls on Anna Maria that are extremely tall and are obviously older than those freezes. I think the biggest threat to them is being bulldozed by developers wanting to turn the small '60s houses into 3 story McMansions.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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Keith,

Do you have any google map links to the ones on Anna Maria island? you're right about the biggest threat being an excavator....same problem with many ancients tree...even live oaks.

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Well there is the issue of proximity to the coast. For a central location that has no coastal influence - Leu Gardens hands down.

Coral Gables, FL 8 miles North of Fairchild USDA Zone 10B

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Keith,

Do you have any google map links to the ones on Anna Maria island? you're right about the biggest threat being an excavator....same problem with many ancients tree...even live oaks.

Here was my favorite until it was bulldozed...

http://goo.gl/m3XwnE

2010 got it pretty bad but it came roaring back! Until someone decided that the new house should enjoy a less coconutty view...

I'll post a few more that have caught my eye over the years, but they won't all be very old.

http://goo.gl/7U7z8H

http://goo.gl/aWRfPF

http://goo.gl/XaRndM

There are some more really tall ones, but I'll have to go find those and try to get some pictures one day, as it's a pretty big island and I'm not sure where all of them are.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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Whatever grows in Martin county grows just about as good in coastal Brevard county. The beaches in Brevard do not look much different than on the Treasure coast.

Brevard County, Fl

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Well there is the issue of proximity to the coast. For a central location that has no coastal influence - Leu Gardens hands down.

There are some good micro climates along the Lake Wales ridge and in Polk county.

Brevard County, Fl

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Anna Maria is the best in this area.

I was going to say Anna Maria Island also. It lies due south of Tampa Bay so northern winds are modified nicely on advective freeze nights. It's comparable to coastal Lee county.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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Well there is the issue of proximity to the coast. For a central location that has no coastal influence - Leu Gardens hands down.

Leu Gardens has a great micro climate but there are lots of locations like that in the metro Orlando/Winter Park. Lots of lakes and concrete and Southern Live Oak canopy. Probably one of the best is right downtown amongst the buildings. It is definitely a solid zone 10. Wish they took more advantage of it with plantings.

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Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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are there any coconuts at Leu Gardens? or in the area? for sure on the lake wales ridge there are some great microclimates Walt has shown before.

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Well I know there are pre-89 royals here in Merritt Island. I have also seen pre-89 royals in Polk and Highlands counties.

Brevard County, Fl

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Where do you think the best locations are in central florida during cold fronts?

I guess it depends on what you regard as the best. If you regard the Stuart area as part of central Florida, than that's probably the best location.

Brevard County, Fl

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best microclimate...so mostly bottom temperatures....during cold fronts cant stuart be colder than cocoa beach at times?

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best microclimate...so mostly bottom temperatures....during cold fronts cant stuart be colder than cocoa beach at times?

Saw lot of fruitin coconuts in Stuart today.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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best microclimate...so mostly bottom temperatures....during cold fronts cant stuart be colder than cocoa beach at times?

Saw lot of fruitin coconuts in Stuart today.

There are several my way as well, especially beach side.

Edited by Jimbean

Brevard County, Fl

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....during cold fronts cant stuart be colder than cocoa beach at times?

Yes, I have seen that before.

Brevard County, Fl

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Keith,

did you take any pics? thanks

No today, client kept me busy till 7pm. But I have a free morning tomorrow and hope to take many.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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The coconuts in those photos are likely post 1989. You can grow a coconut to that size or more in 25 years depending on the variety.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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I'm pretty sure the first one I linked to was pre-'89. It was significantly taller than the two at Kopsick, which were alive during '89. In person, it was about the same height as the nawassi coconut at Fairchild, which planted at Fairchild in 1926 according to this paper:

http://archive.org/stream/annualr36cana/annualr36cana_djvu.txt

I don't think the one on Anna Maria was that old, as the house looks younger than that, but it was certainly older than the freezes of the '80s.

The ones empireo22 posted look like they were planted in the mid '90s.

Here are some post-89 coconuts though to show how quickly coconuts can grow:

http://goo.gl/3z9mmZ

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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I'm pretty sure the first one I linked to is pre-'89.

There was a Jamaican tall in south Tampa planted in the spring of 1990. It was at least the size of the one in the photo before getting wiped out in 2010.

Jeff from Costa Rica, who often posts here, will attest to how tall it was.

Many of those were likely already planted with some size and had a head start.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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I'm pretty sure the first one I linked to is pre-'89.

There was a Jamaican tall in south Tampa planted in the spring of 1990. It was at least the size of the one in the photo before getting wiped out in 2010.

Jeff from Costa Rica, who often posts here, will attest to how tall it was.

Many of those were likely already planted with some size and had a head start.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, as the one I'm talking about was bulldozed over last year to build a waterfront condo anyway.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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I was talking about the one on Merritt Island from emperio's post not Anna Maria. The tall ones on AM were there when I first visited in the 1970's.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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I was talking about the one on Merritt Island not Anna Maria.

The one emperio22 posted? I agreed that that one was younger, probably planted in the mid-90's.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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Here's the one you're talking about. Definitely taller than the ones on Merritt island.

coconuttrask.jpg

Here's the one I'm saying is older than the freezes of the '80s.

ScreenShot2015-01-23at101650.png

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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I was originally saying the Merritt Island Cocos are post 1989. Many of the cocos on AM are very old I agree. I first visited AM in the 1970's and many of those Cocos were already there. North of the Manatee Ave entrance to Holmes beach, the entire island is a SOLID 10b.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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I was originally saying the Merritt Island Cocos are post 1989. The one's on AM are ancient. I first visited AM in the 1970's and many of those Cocos were already there. North of the Manatee Ave entrance to Holmes beach, the entire island is a SOLID 10b.

Okay then we're in agreement! There's a nice Jamaican tall on the beach off of Park Ave that looks like it's growing at the area that used to be the high water mark before all of the dredging projects. I've got to remember to bring my camera next time I go but it's almost as tall as the one that got bulldozed last year.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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Where'd you get a photo of the Tampa coco? Wow, I'm impressed. No one can call me a liar now. There are still 3 good sized ones near the Green Iguana pub on Westshore Blvd. They survived the 2010 freeze amazingly.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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Where'd you get a photo of the Tampa coco? Wow, I'm impressed. Noone can call me a liar now. There are still 3 good sized ones near the Green Iguana pub on Westshore Blvd. They survived the 2010 freeze amazingly.

I like keeping record of interesting coconuts I see or hear about. That's interesting to know about the coconuts on Westshore. I remember going to a Macdill airshow after 2010 and the whole area looked trashed by the freeze. It's good to hear that some nice stuff made it through alright.

Here's a picture of the Nawasi coconut at Fairchild ten years after it was planted in 1926 (so the picture was taken in 1936). Considering that a few coconuts on AM are similar height to that one, it makes me wonder how old the tallest ones on the island are. Though, they call it a dwarf in this publication, so I'm not sure about that... Later publications call it a tall, and say it's closely related to the Panama tall.

post-3598-0-63672000-1422027813_thumb.jp

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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are there any coconuts at Leu Gardens? or in the area? for sure on the lake wales ridge there are some great microclimates Walt has shown before.

We had several juveniles and a flowering adult. They were killed in the 2009-10 winter. That winter was a very long cool one. The overall low here was only 29F. The adult had taken down to 27F in the past. But during the 2009-10 winter there were 11 other nights with lows between 30-32 and several days the highs only were 45-50. The coconuts only had minor damage initially but once May came around they started declining. The mature specimen had maybe 7-8ft of clear trunk. It started putting out small stunted leaves by late Aug./early Sept. But the winter of 2010-11 was also a cool one and it perished. We have a few young ones planted out again.

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Most of the coconuts in Tampa got wiped out in 2010. There are some survivors in Culbreath Isles (gated community again off Westshore) and Davis Islands (Tampa's warmest microclimate).

The 2010 freeze was unprecedented because of the 11 day duration. The big Tampa coco as I call it, had survived other freezes but the duration of 2010's cool temps was more lethal than one extreme low might have been.

That's a great historical photo from Fairchild. What book is that? I collect old palm books.

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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Most of the coconuts in Tampa got wiped out in 2010. There are some survivors in Culbreath Isles (gated community again off Westshore) and Davis Islands (Tampa's warmest microclimate).

The 2010 freeze was unprecedented because of the 11 day duration. The big Tampa coco as I call it, had survived other freezes but the duration of 2010's cool temps was more lethal than one extreme low might have been.

That's a great historical photo from Fairchild. What book is that? I collect old palm books.

It's from page 52 of this book:

https://archive.org/stream/annualr36cana#page/n0/mode/2up

I noticed a few Veitchias but no coconuts when I was shadowing a physician at Tampa general. I'll have to check the island out some more.

I think 2010 was bad for the duration, but also that it was both December and also January that there were freezes, so the coconuts didn't have a lot of time to recover before they were hit again. I know 1996 was colder, but I hear that it was less damaging.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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