Best place in the world to grow every species of palm trees

[Palmfarmer]

If you where to try and grow every species of palm trees in one place at a fast speed. Where in the world would you choose to do so? 

[kinzyjr]

I would think the closest you could get is a frost-free, oceanic climate with very little change in temperature from day to night.  It would have to provide just enough heat to support tropicals, but give more temperate palms a break when the sun goes down.  Something like the Azores.  I don't think there is one spot that would make every palm happy, though.

[RedRabbit]

Hawaii

[PalmTreeDude]

I would also say Hawaii on The Big Island. 

[greysrigging]

Maybe a highland tropical climate close to the equator ( 12 hours of daylight every day )
In Australia perhaps the Atherton Tablelands at 16*-17*S  and between 400m and 1000m altitude. Also the Sunny Coast and Gold Coast hinterlands perhaps ?

[Darold Petty]

That's an easy choice, the windward, wet side of Big Island. (island of Hawaii).

[pigafetta]

Technically its not really possible but the Sunshine Coast on Australia you can grow a very huge range quite well.

[Daryl]

Any tropical island with a range of altitudes and high rainfall . Any continental landmass suffers from too many temperature extremes, unless it is equatorial, but that is very limited.

[sandgroper]

Apparently London.....Just joking!

[Yunder Wækraus]

Greater Cairns area! Theoretically, you could own a reasonably sized ranch that would be divided between wet rainforest and dry open forest if you sliced things just right between Kuranda and Mareeba. You could probably get away with Chilean wine palms at one end and Columbian wax palms at the other! I can’t think of a single species you could theoretically grow in such an imaginary slice of land. 

 

 

[sonoranfans]

I think the "fast speed" requyuirement is  a problem.  You cannot grow bismarckia at a fast speed without heat, while some palms like  ceroxylon dont like that heat.  I suspect that you just have to divide the weather up further to get them to grow happily.   Thialand is great for many species but Im sure parajubaea and ceroxylon dont like it there.  In the US Hawaii is going to have the best weather for growing the largest number of species.

[UK_Palms]

3 hours ago, sandgroper said:

Apparently London.....Just joking!

You're hilarious, mate. A natural born comedian for sure. In fact you deserve a medal for how funny you are. 

All sarcasm aside, a lot of us UK palm growers have put a lot of time and effort into getting palms established here... only to have our endeavours mocked and told that our climate is crap... over and over. I would see the funny side to your comment if it wasn't for the countless other comments in recent weeks about London being a disgusting, awful, rainy place with no sunshine and terrible summers. You know full well that those sort of comments are going to piss off dedicated UK palm enthusiasts and possibly turn them away from the forum, which is why I have been on the defensive over this provocative in recent weeks. Your comment above plays into that.

If I could grow palms anywhere, it would probably be on the leeward coast of Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii, but unfortunately I live at 51N in northwestern Europe. Yes, it's clearly far from ideal, weather-wise, and I have to work with what I have got at this latitude. But the palm enthusiasts around London and southern England are doing a bloody good job. We grow a wide range of specimens here now and take pride in having the furthest north Chamaerops, Phoenix, Washies, Queens etc. So you can jog on with your sarcastic, provocative comments mate... 

[waykoolplantz]

11 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

That's an easy choice, the windward, wet side of Big Island. (island of Hawaii).

Settled in @700 species.

Like to keep what I have going...not sure I need more. 

[GottmitAlex]

If by "place" you mean, a large territory, I'd say Madagascar.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

The perfect spot to grow all 2600 or so palm species, to perfection.. at optimal speed?,  WITHOUT any extra help ( water, fert. Winter/ Summer protection )? On an island the size of Hawaii, or with as many different potential habitats as Madagascar,  or somewhere along the southwestern coast of Mexico where one can go from hot tropical beach to cool and foggy cloud forest pretty quickly? maybe.      On 10, 20, or even 100 acres, quite doubtful.  Conditions will always be unfavorable for something. 

[Xenon]

Medellin, Colombia I think is where you can find Ceroxylon together with Cyrtostachys renda.  So anywhere 5-6000 ft or about 1600 to 2000 m above sea level within a few degrees of the equator aka "the premium coffee belt". 

Donald Sander's garden in Kona also boasts an interesting assortment of species.  Seems like that area has the magic combo of enough daytime heating for some of the more tropical stuff and enough diurnal range for cooler climate species. Not surprisingly, coffee is also grown nearby. 

[tropicbreeze]

Kew in London does pretty well for one discrete location. If you can micro-manage  conditions the sky's the limit. But as has been said, naturally occurring ideal conditions for some palms will exclude many others. It also depends on what you define as a "place". It it a city, region, state, country, or just within the property boundaries of a parcel of land you could own?

[maxum2610]

Canary Islands, especially Tenerife. Very stable climate. Everything will do well there, from coconuts to trychacarpus. 

[sandgroper]

4 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

You're hilarious, mate. A natural born comedian for sure. In fact you deserve a medal for how funny you are. 

All sarcasm aside, a lot of us UK palm growers have put a lot of time and effort into getting palms established here... only to have our endeavours mocked and told that our climate is crap... over and over. I would see the funny side to your comment if it wasn't for the countless other comments in recent weeks about London being a disgusting, awful, rainy place with no sunshine and terrible summers. You know full well that those sort of comments are going to piss off dedicated UK palm enthusiasts and possibly turn them away from the forum, which is why I have been on the defensive over this provocative in recent weeks. Your comment above plays into that.

If I could grow palms anywhere, it would probably be on the leeward coast of Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii, but unfortunately I live at 51N in northwestern Europe. Yes, it's clearly far from ideal, weather-wise, and I have to work with what I have got at this latitude. But the palm enthusiasts around London and southern England are doing a bloody good job. We grow a wide range of specimens here now and take pride in having the furthest north Chamaerops, Phoenix, Washies, Queens etc. So you can jog on with your sarcastic, provocative comments mate... 

Whatever mate, get a sense of humour and stop being so defensive. As a matter of fact I have posted some palm seeds to the bloke who started the other thread for him to experiment with.  Enough said on the subject of what can and cannot grow in London, do whatever you like.

[GottmitAlex]

4 minutes ago, sandgroper said:

Whatever mate, get a sense of humour and stop being so defensive. As a matter of fact I have posted some palm seeds to the bloke who started the other thread for him to experiment with.  Enough said on the subject of what can and cannot grow in London, do whatever you like.

Hear, hear!

[UK_Palms]

36 minutes ago, sandgroper said:

Whatever mate, get a sense of humour and stop being so defensive. As a matter of fact I have posted some palm seeds to the bloke who started the other thread for him to experiment with.  Enough said on the subject of what can and cannot grow in London, do whatever you like.

I do have a sense of humour, mate. Perhaps if you post something that is actually funny, as opposed to antagonistic... then people like myself would laugh at it.

Like I don't see why you need to sarcastically post "apparently London" in this topic. You know full well that you are opening a can of worms, given the recent debates and disagreements, which you reference. I'm only defensive due to the numerous comments crapping on London's climate and its palm exploits in that thread.

I was speaking to a guy on another forum last week, about seed swaps, who mentioned to me that he doesn't bother using PalmTalk anymore due to recurrent, negative, ignorant comments towards himself and other UK growers. Most of which are from the same individuals. There are clearly 2-3 fake profiles on here as well, specifically trolling UK growers (you know who you are). Which is why I have been taking a stand against these sort of comments on the forum. 

Also, you haven't even listed the 'best place' in your opinion, besides your witty, sarcastic London remark, meaning your input in regards to the topic is irrelevant. Maybe try to genuinely answer the OP's question, instead of trying to be a comedian... 

[GottmitAlex]

Ben, Dave did not mean any disrespect. Let's keep this party going without the jabs. 

Here again, I opt for Madagascar. It is in the correct latitude. It has the correct altitude (in certain places).  And it's free of nematodes which affect palms... so the sky is the limit.

Edited November 17, 2019 by GottmitAlex

[palmsOrl]

I would think places like Hilo, HI with its warm to mild but not hot, and also humid, rainy all year tropical climate would grow as close to(but not all) palm species in existence as possible.  Many desert palms and palms like Juania australis and Jubaea along with tropicals needing drier, less humid or highland climates would not survive.  Some like Geonoma undata and some Ceroxylon, may just make it.

But since most palms (by shear numbers of species) thrive or at least survive in a warm to mild rainy humid climate, I would go with Hilo and the few other places on earth with similar climates.

[Josh-O]

Big island of Hawaii-rainy side of course

[greysrigging]

10 hours ago, sandgroper said:

Whatever mate, get a sense of humour and stop being so defensive. As a matter of fact I have posted some palm seeds to the bloke who started the other thread for him to experiment with.  Enough said on the subject of what can and cannot grow in London, do whatever you like.

Some don't 'get' a good old Aussie p*ss take..... I had a chuckle..... in fact still chuckling....

[sandgroper]

1 minute ago, greysrigging said:

Some don't 'get' a good old Aussie p*ss take..... I had a chuckle..... in fact still chuckling....

Cheers mate, you're probably right!

[greysrigging]

Norfolk Island probably too cool for real tropicals..... bit further north Vanautu and New Caledonia too warm for temperate species.
The big US gold and copper mine in Irian Jaya / West Papua ( Freeport ) has an altitude range from tropical lowlands to cold mountain climate with snow and sleet.
Had a cousin working there who was a mad keen fisherman.... he could catch trout in the highland waters in the morning and barramundi in the lowlands of an evening
http://www.drivetrainpower.com/blog/2012/06/14/high-altitude-mro-at-freeport-mine/
 

[petiole10]

22 hours ago, sandgroper said:

Apparently London.....Just joking!

I so wish it was true

Places like the Canary islands at face value would seem a good all round suggestion, but palms there have to deal with the near constant blow of the wind. There is a topic on here (somewhere) from someone who lives there and talks about the degradation effects of the wind on certain palms. It could well be a stress factor to the plant working against this force so much of the time and hence certain species would struggle long term.     Although clearly a much cooler environment this far north, and so restricting the species of palm that can be grown here, its true that based on my own maritime coastal location that wind strength and frequency of windy conditions is a much bigger factor than any degree of cold, frost or snow most commonly the largest perceived threat to exotics at these latitudes.

Its increasingly very hard to get the optimum conditions in more and more places when factors like climate change are having unpredictable consequences in all parts of the world. Also environmental threats such as invasion of pests like palm weevil which target species in regions of the hemispheres that otherwise have so few other obvious threats.

[necturus]

If I lived in Hawaii I'd have a garden on the west side near Hilo for the real tropical stuff and a garden an hour or so away up near Volcano for all the Parajubes and Ceroxylon.  There can't be a place where you could grow all the palms on one property, the real tropicals won't tolerate Juan Fernandez Island type weather.

[Tyrone]

Hawaii is it I reckon. But can you grow Juania there????

[necturus]

41 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

Hawaii is it I reckon. But can you grow Juania there????

When you get high enough, probably. Check out the climate stats for the town of Volcano - it is extremely mild up there. I doubt anyone is growing a Juania or any other cool hardy palms up there simply due to lack of availability/interest. 

[sonoranfans]

If you HAVE to have the maximum number of species its easier to add water for thirsty ones than subtract humidity from a dry loving palm.   For this reason and the maximum theortetical number on big island would be on the kona side burt would require lots of expensive irrigation for the wet lovers.  I doubt anyone will do that. The water also has a cooling effect in dry environs so you can drop temps outside at the end of the day.  You have to add water and that may be expensive and impractical, but Im sure many dry loving desert and even some savannah species will cark it in Hilo given its incessant rain and humidity.  

[Kim]

If you were so fortunate as to have one of the old Hawaiian land grants consisting of a swath of land from a high point at elevation on the island all the way down to the ocean, a generous "piece of the pie," you could grow a very broad range of palms. Bo and I talked about his experiences trying to grow many palms in the rainforest of Leilani, and two he could not grow at 800 ft. elevation there were Jubaea chilensis and Ravenea musicalis, but he was able to grow Copernicia alba, baileyana, berteroana, gigas, hospita, macroglossa, prunifera, and rigida.  He also grew Ceroxylon amazonicum, but alpinum died fairly quickly. If one were higher in elevation with less rain, it certainly could be grown in Hawaii. If one had a piece of land in the dry south of the island, the list could expand to include palms needing more arid conditions with heat. So, in conclusion, if one owned multiple properties, almost anything could be grown. But not everything. A palm such as Maxburretia furtadoana would remain a challenge due to a need for limestone based soils -- not so abundant on a volcanic island.  Pseudophoenix, same problem. They did not do well in the heavy rain, and the soil was probably wrong.

For myself, I am satisfied with the broad range of palms that grow easily on the windward side of the island. One would need a much larger property to accommodate every species that grows well here. I don't recall exact numbers, but there are 300+ palms and 100+ species in my garden, and yes, it is always tempting to add more, having barely sampled the multitude of palms that thrive in east Hawaii Island.

You can see many of the traditional land holdings on this map. 

Land Office Map of the Island of Hawaii

[Stevetoad]

Santee California for sure. I can grow absolutely any palm here. They may only live for a month or two but you never said anything about longevity. 

[Sr. Califas]

I think the Galapagos, (if they allowed introduced species) has a diverse range of climates in very close proximity where you could get the most amount of species to thrive. Short boat or car rides can get you to range that consists of very arid islands to tropical rainforests.  Cool water current, proximity to the Equator, coast and highlands, provides this very unique, diverse biome. 

http://galapagos-cruises.eu/galapagos-information/galapagos-flora.html

Edited November 20, 2019 by Sr. Califas

[sarasota alex]

I am unfortunately yet to visit either Hawaii or Australia or Medellin, however out of the places that I have been to, my vote would go to Mindo, Ecuador. The town is situated about 3 miles from the Equator in a valley at 1,280m (4,200ft) elevation, surrounded by mountains. Temperatures are almost identical all year round with an average high of about 24C/76F and an average low of about 15C/59F. There is also plenty of rain almost all year round. The area is a cloud forest, yet tropical enough to sustain lowland palms. There are mature cultivated fruiting specimens of native, but higher elevation palms, all over town, such as Prestoea acuminata var. acuminata and Ceroxylon echinulatum. Which grow alongside palms like Adonidia merrillii and Licuala grandis (although I haven't seen any of these two species flower there). Although I haven's seen any coconuts there, I've seen non-fruiting coconut palms at similar elevations elsewhere in Ecuador. The surrounding mountains slope up quickly, and within 400m (1/4 mile) or so of houses, elevation of 1,600m (5,250ft) is reached. Looking at the slopes from the streets of Mindo, in addition to the Ceroxylon and Prestoea, other high altitude species, such as Geonoma undata or Socratea rostrata can be observed.

Nice view of Mindo from TripAdvisor -