Zone 10 Palms in the Orlando Area Mega Thread

[Eric in Orlando]

The 2 Coconuts east of downtown Orlando, across from Fashion Square Mall look good after this past winter. And still holding coconuts.

[kinzyjr]

6 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

The 2 Coconuts east of downtown Orlando, across from Fashion Square Mall look good after this past winter. And still holding coconuts.

The Smashburger coconuts pictured did pretty well.  The I-Drive coconut doesn't appear to have more than very minor damage. 

I took photos of both on my way back home from the Leu spring sale and posted them to the Florida Christmas Freeze 2022 thread:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/76409-florida-christmas-freeze-2022/?do=findComment&comment=1106074

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 4/3/2023 at 5:37 PM, kinzyjr said:

The Smashburger coconuts pictured did pretty well.  The I-Drive coconut doesn't appear to have more than very minor damage. 

I took photos of both on my way back home from the Leu spring sale and posted them to the Florida Christmas Freeze 2022 thread:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/76409-florida-christmas-freeze-2022/?do=findComment&comment=1106074

I just nabbed a pic Thursday at I-Drive

[JASON M]

Driving home from Leesburg (yes, LEESBURG!!) last night and this cocos caught my eye outside of La Palma Mexican Restaurant.

after noticing all the palm trees I noticed an interesting pair, and I made a quick u-turn to get back and snap a pic.

Obviously they don’t look great, but the real spectacle is that these cocos have been in the ground for 5+ years (according to street view) . They have sycamore shade in the summer, but behind the fence the hill rolls down, away from the palms, in a potential cold sink during the winter. I need to eat at this restaurant sometime and support their efforts!

[Alex High]

Not sure if these have been shared before but I found these beautiful royals on iNaturalist in Delaney Park just south of Downtown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5255318,-81.3682246,3a,75y,136.92h,105.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5nyCL9K_ytB34cVi4IDiEA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Alex High]

These young royals and Adonidia Downtown look good too. Looks like they were planted about 2-3 years ago.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5382095,-81.3787942,3a,45y,103.23h,95.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFjtfdFXGQ5jUyRGWzPBvTw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.537167,-81.3786077,3a,45y,55.94h,96.73t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIyYFRtvi9IqnjYT3ECdO2g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Recent (last 1-2 years) planting of Adonidia and Wodyetia Downtown. Foxtails seem pretty common in Orlando and fully hardy I believe, and Adonidia are somewhat marginal from what I have heard.
https://www.google.com/maps/@28.542118,-81.378071,3a,36.1y,216.68h,92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJkP9-VLH5DUqW6w1RgYJ5w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5421208,-81.3784194,3a,55.1y,145.6h,87.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sV9oVXr-jJjAidW4GdvfOnQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Aceraceae]

On 4/3/2023 at 11:25 AM, Eric in Orlando said:

The 2 Coconuts east of downtown Orlando, across from Fashion Square Mall look good after this past winter. And still holding coconuts.

Are those thin spots 2010? 

[PortCharlotteCocos]

I followed those starting in 2013-2014.  They weren't there for 2010 (at the Smashburgers).

I think with coconuts if the cold could damage the trunk or the developing trunk tissue it would kill the palm outright.  This is not true with slightly cold hardier palms like royals though.

So they have been there about a decade now.

[kinzyjr]

6 hours ago, PortCharlotteCocos said:

I followed those starting in 2013-2014.  They weren't there for 2010 (at the Smashburgers).

I think with coconuts if the cold could damage the trunk or the developing trunk tissue it would kill the palm outright.  This is not true with slightly cold hardier palms like royals though.

So they have been there about a decade now.

10 hours ago, Aceraceae said:

Are those thin spots 2010? 

The earliest I see them on Google Street View is July 2013:

[flplantguy]

The Neovietchia storckii at Leu gardens is trying to come back.  Surprised to see it at all there.  Some other surprises too and a ton of cool plants and ideas.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

A coconut about a mile from me on Lake Conway. Took little to no damage this winter, maybe because it's under the canopy of large oaks. Been there since at least 2015. 

[Eric in Orlando]

That Neovietchia has been struggling since last year. It had been growing in heavy shade under an old Laurel Oak. The tree fell last summer missing the palm by just inches, most of the foliage was stripped. It was stunted for awhile since it went from shade to blazing sun then a little cold damage. Hope it recovers this summer.

[flplantguy]

1 hour ago, Eric in Orlando said:

That Neovietchia has been struggling since last year. It had been growing in heavy shade under an old Laurel Oak. The tree fell last summer missing the palm by just inches, most of the foliage was stripped. It was stunted for awhile since it went from shade to blazing sun then a little cold damage. Hope it recovers this summer.

It looked like a few big oak trees fell recently and damaged things.  Its in a very exposed spot and beat up yet still going strong.  Maybe more hardy than "distinctly tropical" after all.  The oak density was not as heavy as i thought it would need to be either for effective canopy.  After that visit i need new knees and hips!  Do you have a plant list for the garden, not just the palms but the other trees? I took photos and the names are too blurry (shaky hands i guess🤷‍♂️)

[Borderline Tropical]

Been busy for a while but always looking around... Spotted this royal and coconut off the I-4 Colonial interchange in downtown Orlando. 

[Gottagrowemall]

6 hours ago, Borderline Tropical said:

Been busy for a while but always looking around... Spotted this royal and coconut off the I-4 Colonial interchange in downtown Orlando. 

Dang I would love to be able to grow royals and coconuts. I need to convince my family to move about 125 miles south 

[Eric in Orlando]

A Veitchia arecina poking above the roofline of a house on the southside of Lake Concord near downtown Orlando. This is the same house in the above post that has a large royal and coconut visible from the I-4 ramp at I-4 and Hyw 50/Colonial Dr.

[kinzyjr]

9 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

A Veitchia arecina poking above the roofline of a house on the southside of Lake Concord near downtown Orlando. This is the same house in the above post that has a large royal and coconut visible from the I-4 ramp at I-4 and Hyw 50/Colonial Dr.

Nice find!  I'm familiar with the coconut and Roystonea regia.  The street view from the ramp has a fairly clear image of them in 2021:

[Eric in Orlando]

On 7/19/2023 at 7:01 PM, kinzyjr said:

Nice find!  I'm familiar with the coconut and Roystonea regia.  The street view from the ramp has a fairly clear image of them in 2021:

 

 

That whole area on the south and east side of Lake Concord had commercial pineapple fields in the late 1880s, wiped out in the great freeze of 1894-95.

Theres a house on the north side of the lake with a planting of tall Royals in the front.

 

[Bkue]

I hope to be a thread in the future. I have hundreds of palms but the most stand out are bottles and 3 royals. Hundreds of areca’s, a few bismarcks, coconuts both dwarf from box store and home grown from Jamaican talls, a dozen, Livistona decipiens, .and several others. 

[Midnight Gardener]

I live in Orlando, close to Leu Gardens, and the microclimate here is borderline zone 10a. I thought I’d post some pics of my palms which include Satakentia, Cocos Nucifera, Kentiopsis Oliviformis, Wodyetia, Copernicia Falleansis, Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana, Livistonia Chinesa, Phoenix Robellini and Serenoa Repens.

The coconut, Satakentia and Cunninghamiana are the most borderline of the palms in my garden. The Cunninghamiana took a hit during the freeze in 2018, after I’d planted them in 2017. I didn’t know what to do, which is how I discovered Palmtalk after researching online and learned about pulling their spears and spraying with liquid copper. I didn’t think they were going to make it, their growth stalled completely for about nine months, but it worked and they pushed out new spears in the fall of that year!  Since then they’ve grown like weeds and I think they are a very underrated palm for central Florida. They are pretty cold tolerant once they get some size. I also included a pic of my Alcantrea Imperialis Julietta. It’s not a palm but a pretty nice specimen!

[kinzyjr]

On 9/4/2023 at 10:32 PM, Midnight Gardener said:

I live in Orlando, close to Leu Gardens, and the microclimate here is borderline zone 10a. I thought I’d post some pics of my palms which include Satakentia, Cocos Nucifera, Kentiopsis Oliviformis, Wodyetia, Copernicia Falleansis, Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana, Livistonia Chinesa, Phoenix Robellini and Serenoa Repens.

The coconut, Satakentia and Cunninghamiana are the most borderline of the palms in my garden. The Cunninghamiana took a hit during the freeze in 2018, after I’d planted them in 2017. I didn’t know what to do, which is how I discovered Palmtalk after researching online and learned about pulling their spears and spraying with liquid copper. I didn’t think they were going to make it, their growth stalled completely for about nine months, but it worked and they pushed out new spears in the fall of that year!  Since then they’ve grown like weeds and I think they are a very underrated palm for central Florida. They are pretty cold tolerant once they get some size. I also included a pic of my Alcantrea Imperialis Julietta. It’s not a palm but a pretty nice specimen!

I really like the landscaping and plant selection you have in that garden.  You've got some tender stuff, some moderately hardy stuff, and then some bulletproof stuff.  Archontophoenix seem to handle the radiational cooling fairly well, especially under canopy.  Advective cold seems to be a different story as an Archontophoenix alexandrae was my one cold casualty from Jan. 2018.  Like yours, it had a crown infection, but since the leaf damage wasn't really bad, I didn't notice until it was too late.  Glad your Archontophoenix cunninghamiana not only survived, but are now standout palms in your landscape.

[Eric in Orlando]

I spotted this Coconut last week near downtown Orlando in the Thornton Park area close to Howard Middle School.

[Eric in Orlando]

[Midnight Gardener]

On 9/5/2023 at 11:08 PM, kinzyjr said:

I really like the landscaping and plant selection you have in that garden.  You've got some tender stuff, some moderately hardy stuff, and then some bulletproof stuff.  Archontophoenix seem to handle the radiational cooling fairly well, especially under canopy.  Advective cold seems to be a different story as an Archontophoenix alexandrae was my one cold casualty from Jan. 2018.  Like yours, it had a crown infection, but since the leaf damage wasn't really bad, I didn't notice until it was too late.  Glad your Archontophoenix cunninghamiana not only survived, but are now standout palms in your landscape.

Thanks Kinzyjr!

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 9/4/2023 at 10:32 PM, Midnight Gardener said:

I live in Orlando, close to Leu Gardens, and the microclimate here is borderline zone 10a. I thought I’d post some pics of my palms which include Satakentia, Cocos Nucifera, Kentiopsis Oliviformis, Wodyetia, Copernicia Falleansis, Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana, Livistonia Chinesa, Phoenix Robellini and Serenoa Repens.

The coconut, Satakentia and Cunninghamiana are the most borderline of the palms in my garden. The Cunninghamiana took a hit during the freeze in 2018, after I’d planted them in 2017. I didn’t know what to do, which is how I discovered Palmtalk after researching online and learned about pulling their spears and spraying with liquid copper. I didn’t think they were going to make it, their growth stalled completely for about nine months, but it worked and they pushed out new spears in the fall of that year!  Since then they’ve grown like weeds and I think they are a very underrated palm for central Florida. They are pretty cold tolerant once they get some size. I also included a pic of my Alcantrea Imperialis Julietta. It’s not a palm but a pretty nice specimen!

Gorgeous and so lush. I love how you make a robellini look so tropical. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:31 AM, Eric in Orlando said:

Great! I'm seeing a lot more this size and a little smaller around town. Would love to see these grow for 5 more years to see some great coconuts around Orlando. One at corner of conway and Judge now is growing over the wall. A few more heading north are visible from Conway Rd. 

[Midnight Gardener]

On 9/8/2023 at 4:45 PM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Gorgeous and so lush. I love how you make a robellini look so tropical. 

Thank you!

[kinzyjr]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:29 AM, Eric in Orlando said:

I spotted this Coconut last week near downtown Orlando in the Thornton Park area close to Howard Middle School.

If it is the same coconut through all of these years, it's been around since 2013.  It's definitely not a tall variety if it's the same one.  Photos below are snips from Google Maps:

April 2013

March 2014

April 2015

March 2016

October 2018

June 2019

April 2022

[FlaPalmLover]

Don't have a picture, but the window tinting business in downtown Orlando has added a couple of additional coconut palms to its collection. They will look pretty impressive one day if they survive and get big.

[kinzyjr]

14 hours ago, FlaPalmLover said:

Don't have a picture, but the window tinting business in downtown Orlando has added a couple of additional coconut palms to its collection. They will look pretty impressive one day if they survive and get big.

Taking a shot in the dark, but @Eric in Orlando may have posted them here:
https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1080242

[FlaPalmLover]

4 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Taking a shot in the dark, but @Eric in Orlando may have posted them here:
https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1080242

I didn't see them there. But if you look up Pro Tint of Orlando, you can see them on street view. There's 3-4 there now. I don't know how ideal the spacing is - I would think you'd want coconuts at least 6-8 ft apart. 

[Alex High]

8 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Taking a shot in the dark, but @Eric in Orlando may have posted them here:
https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1080242

 

3 hours ago, FlaPalmLover said:

I didn't see them there. But if you look up Pro Tint of Orlando, you can see them on street view. There's 3-4 there now. I don't know how ideal the spacing is - I would think you'd want coconuts at least 6-8 ft apart. 

Here they are:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5200397,-81.3763397,3a,16.6y,289.57h,91.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s25kgIL1i4HBMzl4FTAq-bg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[kinzyjr]

12 hours ago, Alex High said:

Here they are:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5200397,-81.3763397,3a,16.6y,289.57h,91.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s25kgIL1i4HBMzl4FTAq-bg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Rings a bell now.  Several posters have been following the Kaley/Orange coconuts.  @ck_in_fla was the first to post about them if memory serves correct.  Below are some of the posts.

A few posts about them in this thread from @ck_in_fla:

• 02/18/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=883699
• 02/23/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=884231
• 03/14/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?page=3#comment-886227
• 05/29/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=894680
• 05/30/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=894717
• 08/12/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=902514
• 12/13/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=916407

A few mentions from others ( @palmsOrl, @pj_orlando_z9b ) with the 04/18/2021 post having a photo at night.

• 09/13/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=906478
• 02/08/2020: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=922344
• 04/18/2021: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=992710
• 08/05/2022: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1073635

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 9/24/2023 at 1:42 PM, kinzyjr said:

Rings a bell now.  Several posters have been following the Kaley/Orange coconuts.  @ck_in_fla was the first to post about them if memory serves correct.  Below are some of the posts.

A few posts about them in this thread from @ck_in_fla:

• 02/18/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=883699
• 02/23/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=884231
• 03/14/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?page=3#comment-886227
• 05/29/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=894680
• 05/30/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=894717
• 08/12/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=902514
• 12/13/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=916407

A few mentions from others ( @palmsOrl, @pj_orlando_z9b ) with the 04/18/2021 post having a photo at night.

• 09/13/2019: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=906478
• 02/08/2020: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=922344
• 04/18/2021: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=992710
• 08/05/2022: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1073635

I could have sworn I drove by in the last year and they were gone, or maybe 1 or 2 of them. Good to know I must have been daydreaming and just missed them. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Trimmed up the coconut.  This has now been through a hard freeze (2018) and a prolonged cold event (2022).  The hard freeze was lethal for many around town and caused 100% defoliation on this one. In the prolonged freeze (almost 72 hrs below 45F with supplemental heat), a lot of fronds survived but became brittle. Several green fronds snapped in the spring/summer in a typical thunderstorm. Overall, it looks good. It's 7 feet to the top of the gutters so about 7 feet clear trunk.

 

[kinzyjr]

Happened to be on I-Drive yesterday, so I stopped by ICON Park.  The coconut palm has some immature coconuts on it and the nearby Adonidia merrillii don't have any pencil-pointing or latent damage from winter.  The fruit should be ready for Christmas.

[Bkue]

On 10/21/2023 at 10:18 PM, kinzyjr said:

Adonidia

Nice. I have a few and one is substantially bigger than that. 2yrs in a row I took some damage but this year fruited. It takes nearly 12mo to rid itself of all the past years damage. Hope this year is better than past. I have 1 of 3 out front approaching 16ft overall and 9ft of large mass trunk. Was just admiring a few hours ago. Wish these were more sustainable in the Seminole / Orange County area. Fortunately cheap and prevalent. 

[kinzyjr]

8 hours ago, Bkue said:

Nice. I have a few and one is substantially bigger than that. 2yrs in a row I took some damage but this year fruited. It takes nearly 12mo to rid itself of all the past years damage. Hope this year is better than past. I have 1 of 3 out front approaching 16ft overall and 9ft of large mass trunk. Was just admiring a few hours ago. Wish these were more sustainable in the Seminole / Orange County area. Fortunately cheap and prevalent. 

They have done pretty well down my way. 

My post here had a few of the larger ones in town:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/61172-remarkable-palms-of-tampa-bay/?do=findComment&comment=923765

[kinzyjr]

On 9/30/2023 at 10:49 AM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

I could have sworn I drove by in the last year and they were gone, or maybe 1 or 2 of them. Good to know I must have been daydreaming and just missed them. 

My travels took me through this area recently, so I grabbed a photo of the Kaley Cocos as they currently appear.  They are healthy and robust, but over-trimmed.  This might be due to the fronds covering the sidewalk or even protruding out into the street.  The largest one had some infructescences that had one or two very immature cocos on them about the size of Syagrus seeds.  Forgive the fog.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Evermore, the new mega resort near Disney, will have an 8 acre lagoon lined by sand beaches. In this photo it appears they planted several coconuts. Wonder if the lagoon will be heated which could help these palms on the coldest nights.  In other clearer pics, it looked like a lot of tropical looking palms that I thought might be King Palms.