Palm tree misconceptions you once had

[ThePalmNovice]

Lets face it. Unless you grew up in a tropical garden, everyone at somepoint had a time before they were bitten by the palm bug. Before you became more knowledgeable with our favorite plants what were some of the misconceptions you had about Palm trees? Since I'm still new to the hobby I held most of these misconceptions up untill this year. 

*I thought there were only 20, perhaps 30 species of palm trees in total. 

*I assumed "booted" Sabal palmetto were a separate species from those with smooth trunks. 

*For that matter I thought Sabal minor were juvenile palmettos. 

*I assumed there were two growing zones, tropical and non-tropical, with Atlanta being the divideing line. Thus I thought you could safely grow a coconut palm up in Tallahassee, but a needle palm wouldn't survive anything north of Houston. 

*I assumed small palm trees cost hundreds of dollars and big ones cost thousands. While thats still partly true depending on the species I never thought you could by a palm for under $100 untill I moved to Florida. 

I'm sure my list is a bit more extensive than most, but I'm curious to see if anyone else had any misplaced notions like this. What misconceptions did you have? 

Edited March 29, 2017 by ThePalmNovice

[DoomsDave]

I've been in this so long, I can't even remember my earliest conceptions, much less misconceptions.

[GMann]

I thought Sabals were short Washingtonias.

I thought Latanias were small Bismarcks.

 

[RedRabbit]

I thought covering a palm in water before a freeze was a good idea like the farmers do with citrus... 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I thought palms were hard to grow after killing a few the first few years I started growing them as a boy when my mother bought me my first palms.  I thought coconut palms could be grown in Galveston, Texas (maybe in the next 5 to 10 years with Climate Change, but not 27 years ago when I lived there), and I thought palms get a lot of roaches in them (maybe they do when they are mature and mine are still too young for it to be a problem).

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

1.  Windmill palms could survive zone 5

2.  Sabals, chinese fan palms and washingtonias were all the same.

3.  palms only live in Florida Hawaii Texas and California.  this was a while back

4. After being bitten by the palm bug I thought sabal palmetto would survive in my state of CT as well as windmill palms unprotected.

5.  I thought trunking Yuccas were palms.

6.  coconuts are the same as queens, Royals, foxtails and other white trunked palms with green crownshaft were all the same.

7 I thought virginia beach was fake

8.  I thought becuse VA canada had unprotected palm trees Then connecticut could have them too

 

[GottmitAlex]

I thought coconut palms could be grown anywhere.

I thought palms grew to a large height overnight.

I thought Washingtonia's were pretty....

 

 

 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Also once when visiting Corpus Christi when I was a young boy, my parents told me the really tall Mexican Fan Palms growing along Ocean Dr. were coconut palms.  I don't know if they just didn't know better at the time, or if they were kidding me, but I remember looking up at the underside of the crowns of them trying to see some coconuts, LOL!

[jfrye01@live.com]

I thought all fan palms were cold hardy, imagine the disappointment when 12 year old jfrye dug up what is in hindsight a young thrinax radiata in Mexico and plopped it in the flower bed...it grew quite robustly through spring and summer, but it died long before actual winter arrived! Lol...live and learn! 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

15 minutes ago, jfrye01@live.com said:

I thought all fan palms were cold hardy, imagine the disappointment when 12 year old jfrye dug up what is in hindsight a young thrinax radiata in Mexico and plopped it in the flower bed...it grew quite robustly through spring and summer, but it died long before actual winter arrived! Lol...live and learn! 

That would definitely be a shocking disappointment.

[pin38]

I thought there was a "palm line", like a hard cut-off where all of them grow and then none of them do (like ThePalmNovice). I also thought all them grow in full sun, like "on islands". And that there are just a handful of species. I think these are pretty common assumptions many non-enthusiasts have.

[cm05]

I once thought Cocos nucifera and Phoenix canariensis were the only pinnate palms.

I also thought that Sabal palmetto and Washingtonia robusta were the same species, and that they were the only palmate palm.

I thought the criss-crossing boots on Sabal palmetto were a man-made design (like topiary), not natural.

I thought Florida, California, and Hawaii were the only states with palms.

I too thought Yuccas were palms.

I thought all trees/shrubs with pinnate leaves were related to palms or palms themselves, even if said plants were deciduous dicotyledons.

I thought my climate was too cold for palms, that's only partly true lol.

[PalmTreeDude]

Here are mine. 

 

*Palm trees only grew near beaches

*You had to live in South Carolina or South to grow them

* Sabal palmetto and Washingtonia robusta were the same palm

* Palm trees can't survive snow

[PalmTreeDude]

7 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Also once when visiting Corpus Christi when I was a young boy, my parents told me the really tall Mexican Fan Palms growing along Ocean Dr. were coconut palms.  I don't know if they just didn't know better at the time, or if they were kidding me, but I remember looking up at the underside of the crowns of them trying to see some coconuts, LOL!

I've had people try to tell me that Washingtonia were coconut palms. 

 

Oh wait, one more, all palms grew coconuts.

Edited March 29, 2017 by PalmTreeDude

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

4 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

I've had people try to tell me that Washingtonia were coconut palms. 

 

Oh wait, one more, all palms grew coconuts.

That's funny, but once you see a REAL coconut palm, nothing else compares!  Anyone who doesn't get bitten by the palm bug after seeing a nice mature healthy coconut palm, has something wrong with them.

[cisco]

I thought you can't grow palms in Finland.

[Pal Meir]

As in the past young Lytocaryum weddellianum palms were sold in small clay pots without a hole in the bottom I (and the German books on palms) believed that those palms should always stand in water, at least should always have wet feet, I killed many of those beautiful »miniature coconut palms« during our dark winters.

[PalmTreeDude]

17 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

That's funny, but once you see a REAL coconut palm, nothing else compares!  Anyone who doesn't get bitten by the palm bug after seeing a nice mature healthy coconut palm, has something wrong with them.

I have attempted to infect some of my friends with the palm bug, but they have good immune systems. 

[donalt]

Even as young as 5 or 6 years old, i can remember being fascinated with coconut palms. I used to collect fallen coconuts then and bring them home.  At the same time, I was just as fascinated when we would drive by Dinner Key in Coconut Grove and I gazed at the mix of tall royal palms and coconut palms. 

When I was college aged, I used to go the the beach on Key Biscayne. The road was lined with stands of jamaican tall cocos nuciferas. We used to hand dig up sprouted nuts then take them home and plant them. 

So, it's been a lifetime for me. In the meantime, I have fallen in love with many different kinds of palms.

 

[diane_33]

On 3/30/2017, 1:46:21, PalmTreeDude said:

Here are mine. 

 

*Palm trees only grew near beaches

*You had to live in South Carolina or South to grow them

* Sabal palmetto and Washingtonia robusta were the same palm

* Palm trees can't survive snow

*Palm trees only grew near beaches

* Palm trees can't survive snow

Same :D

[nitsua0895]

When my family went on trips to the beach in Destin/Ft. Walton Beach we used to play "Spot the first palm tree" on the drive down there. I specifically remember a row of very large Sabal palmettos in Florala. To me it was almost as if there was a magical barrier that kept palms from growing north of Florida.

The funny thing is now I see them growing all over Montgomery and I've even seen large, healthy Butias in Birmingham. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2017‎ ‎5‎:‎08‎:‎25‎, PalmTreeDude said:

I have attempted to infect some of my friends with the palm bug, but they have good immune systems. 

I know the feeling, but let's keep trying.  I just met two new palm enthusiasts this week where I live.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2017‎ ‎8‎:‎06‎:‎16‎, donalt said:

Even as young as 5 or 6 years old, i can remember being fascinated with coconut palms. I used to collect fallen coconuts then and bring them home.  At the same time, I was just as fascinated when we would drive by Dinner Key in Coconut Grove and I gazed at the mix of tall royal palms and coconut palms. 

When I was college aged, I used to go the the beach on Key Biscayne. The road was lined with stands of jamaican tall cocos nuciferas. We used to hand dig up sprouted nuts then take them home and plant them. 

So, it's been a lifetime for me. In the meantime, I have fallen in love with many different kinds of palms.

 

Hey Don,

Welcome fellow coconut palm lover.  I envy you growing up in a coconut paradise like that.  It sure beats growing up in Abilene, Texas.

John

[Jim in Los Altos]

I got the palm bug when I was 9 years old in 1969 and planted my first seedlings of Washingtonia, Chamaerops, and Trachycarpus. I thought for a long time that most palms grew best with minimal water. 

My first trip to Hawaii I thought that all the lovely Pritchardia were Washingtonia growing under ideal Hawaiian conditions which accounted for their prettier appearance and also learned that maybe palms like lots more water than I originally thought.

I went crazy when I got my first palm field guide. Even though it was written in the 1920s it had a wealth of knowledge and photos of exotic palms. 

 

 

[donalt]

John, it was even more impressive when I was a kid because the lethal yellowing disease had not yet taken hold of the Jamaican tall variety that was prolific .....every street was lined with tall, swaying coconuts...and back then municipalities didn't trim the nuts. That was before we became so worried about being sued. You knew better than to park beneath a coconut palm. Period.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, donalt said:

John, it was even more impressive when I was a kid because the lethal yellowing disease had not yet taken hold of the Jamaican tall variety that was prolific .....every street was lined with tall, swaying coconuts...and back then municipalities didn't trim the nuts. That was before we became so worried about being sued. You knew better than to park beneath a coconut palm. Period.

Don,

Wow, you really are making me jealous, LOL!  What a place to grow up.  The Old Florida sure was paradise in every way!  I miss seeing what was left of it in the Glades and the Keys in the early "80's before all the over development down there now.  I miss the beautiful healthy coral reefs too back then and the clearer cleaner water than now.  You were very blessed to have grown up in such a place.  I on the other hand grew up in ugly dry borderline desert Abilene, Texas.  As a boy, I remember two California Fan Palms about 15ft. to 18ft. tall growing on the south side of a building in the center of town until they were presumably killed by a freeze down near 0F, but that was it for palms.  I remember how much I enjoyed our annual trips to Corpus Christi with my parents to visit my uncle and aunt here, and how much I loved seeing the tall Mexican Fan Palms along Ocean Dr. here.  I would always get excited when we got to San Antonio on our wary down here, because that is where I would always see the first palms on the trip, and they were California Fan Palms.  But once I encountered my first coconut palms in South Florida and the Keys back in the early '80's, they have since been not only my favorite palm, but my favorite plant, period!

John

[ExoticPalms]

Yeah, at one point and along with many other people I know.... "where are the coconuts" on any palm tree. Palm trees can't grow where it snows. Only some states like california, florida, and hawaii can grow palms. Not all palm trees are particularly good looking or "tree like". 

Edited April 4, 2017 by ExoticPalms

[donalt]

John, I totally agree, the coconut is THE symbol of not only the tropics, but of a lifestyle. It's unique and graceful. I think if I ever was to live in a climate where palms didn't grow, I would have to have a greenhouse in my back yard so I could still enjoy their beauty!

[JasonD]

I remember feeling that Washingtonia robusta and coconut palms had similar trunks--the way they tapered, the way roots pushed out of the base aboveground. I remember seeing a pair of Brahea armata and thinking they must be Sabal because they were so costapalmate. I remember then thinking those armatas were straight armatas and then realizing ten years ago that one of them is a clara. I remember seeing an old picture of a palm in Rio and thinking it was like a washingtonia that had conditioner in its hair--I think it was actually a Thrinax radiata. I remember asking my friend who lived at the beach to bring me sand so I could lay it down as a beachy mulch under my seedling fishtail palm. The salt from the beach sand killed the palm.

[Palmsbro]

I thought that there were only 2 palm species that they both grew coconuts.

There was a line between where you can and cannot grow all palms, a tropical paradise on one side, cold on the other.

All palm trees love beaches, saltwater, and regular water, but humidity could also work.

Snow kills palm trees instantly, and even any temps below 32F would do the same.

[frienduvafrond]

For years, landscaping, I thought the sabal palmettos grew as far as Myrtle Beach and that was there limit. I could be a very wealthy man had I the foresight to try a few here in the 80's. I also thought when you planted a sabal palmetto you were supposed to stick a hose down its throat for a week or two.

[Rickybobby]

A lot of people I know think all palm trees have coconuts 

[Nakheel1412]

Before I started to get some minimal knowledge about palms and plants in general, I used to have 2 ridiculous misconceptions :

1/ I thought you could grow new palm trees with cuttings, i.e. trimmed fronds
2/ I thought coconut trees weren't palms, but some kind of affiliated tree type

[Palmsbro]

7 hours ago, frienduvafrond said:

For years, landscaping, I thought the sabal palmettos grew as far as Myrtle Beach and that was there limit. I could be a very wealthy man had I the foresight to try a few here in the 80's. I also thought when you planted a sabal palmetto you were supposed to stick a hose down its throat for a week or two.

I actually thought that Myrtle Beach was their limit, too (after learning that palm trees aren't just 2 species).

[Brad Mondel]

When I was a kid I thought all palms were tropical and only grew at the beach. I thought that palms needed only sand to grow in. I thought that palms couldn’t handle snow and ice. I thought all palms liked a lot of water and I thought palms in California were like hawaii or Florida palms. 

 

When I saw a Palmetto in Greenville SC I scoffed as a young kid and told myself it was tropical and would die. Lol 

[Grasswing]

When I found seeds of Phoenix canariensis on the vacation in Greece when I was about 10 years old, I planted them at home and when they germinated I thought it was Cycas revoluta. I spent so much time getting info about the species, I also named it Cykas and I was lecturing my whole family about it. After some time I found the photo of the plant and the place where I got the seeds from and realized my whole passion is a lie.  But this mistake led me to discovering the palm family and since then I am in love!

[Missi]

I never had any, but I just wish people would stop calling palms "palm trees".  They're not trees, they're palms.