Zone 10 Palms in the Orlando Area Mega Thread

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, RiverCityRichard said:

For real. I can’t imagine how much they paid for those. I’d wager that area is mid-z9b. If they get a chance to establish before that next 10 year freeze, they may just exist there looking haggard for most of the year. But I am curious how the Ptychosperma will do. Seeing more planted around and didn’t notice any casualties from that 2022 cold snap.

Given how many there are, I'd have to guess $50k or more?  I really don't know how much a 10+ foot cocos goes for these days, installed.  I'm interested in the Ptychosperma Elegans too, reports have them surviving into the upper 20s in kinzyjr's spreadsheet.  I am going to try them out here and see what happens.  Schefferi and Macarthurii haven't been total failures here, and grew back from the roots on two smaller 3-4' tall clumps.  I need to get back in touch with the PTers who had some Elegans available!

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Cleaned up the coconut today removing lots of boots and fruit. Clear trunk now about 9 feet. On to winter we go. 😬

[kinzyjr]

On 3/28/2019 at 5:17 PM, Jimbean said:

What about pond apple, (Annona glabra) ?

I would assume they could grow them there for some period of time between nasty freezes.  We have some CFPACS members in the Sanford/Orlando/Kissimmee areas that grow them. They are also grown at Hollis Gardens in Lakeland:

The city maintains a fruit tree digital tour here:

https://lakelandflorida.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=ceb70c93127c47239300fa348fc2536b#

 

[FlaPalmLover]

Large coconut palms in Winter Garden, Florida. Sorry if these were posted already.

[Spikeinthetriangle]

Royals and Ravenea on Lake Dora visible from the canal tour. Apologies for picture quality. Best I could do from the boat.

Lots of successful zone pushing along the Harris Chain lakes…for now. Hoping for a few more years without catastrophic cold 🤞

It’s been a somewhat miserable and protracted winter for much of central Florida. Especially north of Orlando. Heat loving palms/ plants have certainly languished, but many marginal tropicals still looking quite good in this area 

[FlaPalmLover]

On 2/24/2025 at 1:21 PM, Spikeinthetriangle said:

Royals and Ravenea on Lake Dora visible from the canal tour. Apologies for picture quality. Best I could do from the boat.

Lots of successful zone pushing along the Harris Chain lakes…for now. Hoping for a few more years without catastrophic cold 🤞

It’s been a somewhat miserable and protracted winter for much of central Florida. Especially north of Orlando. Heat loving palms/ plants have certainly languished, but many marginal tropicals still looking quite good in this area 

With climate change being what it is, I don’t see there being much of a problem zone pushing many tropical palms in that area anytime soon. 

[kinzyjr]

The Smashburger restaurant didn't make it, but the coconuts have.  They are a little over-trimmed, but the fronds probably looked a little ratty due to the long duration of below normal weather this winter.

The IDRIVE coconut looks surprisingly ratty given the ultimate low of 38F in this area, but the duration took a bit of a toll.

The more cool-tolerant Wodyetia bifurcata, Adonidia merrillii, and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis species in the area look pretty good since they tolerate low temperatures without frost a little better than coconut palms.

 

 

[MrTropical]

On 9/30/2024 at 10:07 AM, Spikeinthetriangle said:

Royal on Lake Woodward in Eustis. Wish I could provide a better photograph, as it’s barely perceptible in this street view image from a couple years ago. Palm is currently looking fantastic. Very robust and healthy. There’s also a large Ficus Lutea nearby that can be seen from 441, and a nicely developing Ceiba that’s a bit trickier to spot. Anyone familiar with this Palm? I know that’s it’s been there since at least 2018, when I relocated to the area.

July 2023:



Link to Google Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/aZ5ZbHwfRg9mn4A86

[letstalkpalms]

Windermere area. Coconuts foxtails and I believe Christmas!

[FlaPalmLover]

So some heartless maniac removed all of the massive royal palms that were right off of I4 in Sanford. It appears they are building something new there. Can't believe they just gutted them all. Sad.

[Eric in Orlando]

Nothing lasts or gets saved in Central Florida; historic buildings, houses, forests, animals or landscapes. Its all about $$$ and concrete. Nothing else.

 

[ck_in_fla]

On 6/20/2025 at 12:09 AM, FlaPalmLover said:

So some heartless maniac removed all of the massive royal palms that were right off of I4 in Sanford. It appears they are building something new there. Can't believe they just gutted them all. Sad.

Damn...

[Rubberboots]

What a dumbass...I take donations🤦🏽

[Bkue]

I’m a couple years in from small pots and no wood. No damage so far. Areca’s, bottle,  and adonidias have damage every year but survive. 
 

 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

On 4/30/2019 at 4:10 PM, Eric in Orlando said:

 Bactris gasipaes at Leu Gardens.  Planted June 1994.

Any update on these ones?

[Eric in Orlando]

Still alive and healthy!

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Here are the 2 mature Coconuts growing across from Fashion Square Mall at the former smashburger restaurant. The one on the left is totally brown but the petioles are still green. The one on the right actually has a couple leaves in the center with green. These palms are less than a mile from the Executive Airport which has an official NWS station and recorded 24F. If both or one survives it will be the new I Drive coconut.

 

 

[Aceraceae]

The one is gonna survive for sure, right? At least the cold unless it gets a disease or falls over with those thin spots in the trunk. 

[Floridaman43]

That is 

On 2/18/2026 at 8:40 AM, Eric in Orlando said:

Here are the 2 mature Coconuts growing across from Fashion Square Mall at the former smashburger restaurant. The one on the left is totally brown but the petioles are still green. The one on the right actually has a couple leaves in the center with green. These palms are less than a mile from the Executive Airport which has an official NWS station and recorded 24F. If both or one survives it will be the new I Drive coconut.

 

 

That is incredible the right one has that much green in the middle. I drove through Jupiter farms and the majority of coconut trees looked just like that, which is 150 miles south. I have about 10 mature coconut trees in southern Palm beach county and only my yellow Malayan is showing some browning on the bottom fronds. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 2/18/2026 at 8:40 AM, Eric in Orlando said:

Here are the 2 mature Coconuts growing across from Fashion Square Mall at the former smashburger restaurant. The one on the left is totally brown but the petioles are still green. The one on the right actually has a couple leaves in the center with green. These palms are less than a mile from the Executive Airport which has an official NWS station and recorded 24F. If both or one survives it will be the new I Drive coconut.

 

 

Wonder if it pushed open a new frond since the freeze although I suspect it wouldn't be so green. One down the road from me has the same thing. 

[Eric in Orlando]

I have a 'Green Malayan' at my house in Altamonte Springs (north of Orlando). I'm in a cold pocket and wasn't planning on trying a coconut here. We have Great Danes and one of them liked to carry and chew on coconuts. My inlaws live in Jupiter so we would brink coconuts back and had a pile on the side of the house. One of them sprouted so I planted it in my banana patch. That was about 10 years ago. It would get some damage almost every year. This year it already had about 25% burn before the freeze hit. Its about 10ft tall with 3ft of clear trunk. I had 23F in my yard with the winds, 28F the 2nd night with frost. All the leaves are burned but the petioles are still green and a few leaflets stayed green. I cut the center leaves out last week in case rot tried to set in, spear was solid. With 3 days last week near 90F it is actually pushing new growth. I will be floored if it does regrow.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

1 hour ago, Eric in Orlando said:

I have a 'Green Malayan' at my house in Altamonte Springs (north of Orlando). I'm in a cold pocket and wasn't planning on trying a coconut here. We have Great Danes and one of them liked to carry and chew on coconuts. My inlaws live in Jupiter so we would brink coconuts back and had a pile on the side of the house. One of them sprouted so I planted it in my banana patch. That was about 10 years ago. It would get some damage almost every year. This year it already had about 25% burn before the freeze hit. Its about 10ft tall with 3ft of clear trunk. I had 23F in my yard with the winds, 28F the 2nd night with frost. All the leaves are burned but the petioles are still green and a few leaflets stayed green. I cut the center leaves out last week in case rot tried to set in, spear was solid. With 3 days last week near 90F it is actually pushing new growth. I will be floored if it does regrow.

When you say cut the center leaves out, do you mean cut the petioles around the spear? Mine is too tall so had a professional come out to spray copper fungicide. He even said the palm is so tall he did his best to get all around and inside. Center spear has pushed out 0.5 inch a day the last couple weeks. About 7" so far. So cautiously optimistic. 

[kinzyjr]

In the same boat with @pj_orlando_z9b + @Eric in Orlando.  The large coconuts are recovering thus far, but not optimistic if we keep getting heat flashes at or above 90F followed by drops to near freezing.  Hope the best for you both over there.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

In the same boat with @pj_orlando_z9b + @Eric in Orlando.  The large coconuts are recovering thus far, but not optimistic if we keep getting heat flashes at or above 90F followed by drops to near freezing.  Hope the best for you both over there.

Yes, the fluctuations are brutal. I do feel this should be the end of freezing worries based on long range forecasts. Anything is possible anymore though! I soaked the soil today around the coconut but am not planning any protection.

[Eric in Orlando]

21 hours ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

When you say cut the center leaves out, do you mean cut the petioles around the spear? Mine is too tall so had a professional come out to spray copper fungicide. He even said the palm is so tall he did his best to get all around and inside. Center spear has pushed out 0.5 inch a day the last couple weeks. About 7" so far. So cautiously optimistic. 

Yes, I cut the 2 or 3 inner leaves and an opening leaf and spear. I did this Thurs. and it has pushed out new growth about 1.5". I'm going to put a sheet wrap around this center tonight. Its supposed to be 35 but still so maybe frost. Next week I will trim the other leaves but going to leave the lower halves since the petioles are still solid, green and alive.