Palmy Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda

[palmsOrl]

Last weekend, I enjoyed two days at my grandma's house down in Port Charlotte.  We did some exploring of the area and my dad took me out on the boat into Charlotte Harbor.

Naturally, I was quite interested in the palms planted locally by the residents.  The flora doesn't really look tropical in this immediate area until you are a stone's throw from the water.  

Along the canals and on the harbor, one might as well be in Miami, as it looks (and likely is) a 10b climate.

As I particularly enjoy coconuts, the photos are pretty Cocos nucifera heavy but I tried to get some photos of a variety of palms.  Interestingly, I didn't see any rare or particularly unusual tropical palms.  Enjoy.

-Michael

[palmsOrl]

More photos of our voyage around the Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda waterways...

The final photo shows the mangrove swamps lining the undeveloped areas along the canals.  I was kind of surprised to see a number of Sabal palmetto growing within the mangroves.  This is a tough palm species for sure, capable of tolerating a wide range of conditions in a subtropical (and tropical climate).

I took a number of other photos, but they are mostly more coconuts and I don't want to 

[palmsOrl]

Phoenix rupricola.

[palmsOrl]

What I have concluded is a Roystonea regia volunteer under a large live oak in my grandma's back yard.

[palmsOrl]

I'm not going to call this Phoenix in my parent's yard ugly...really, I'm not. 

[palmsOrl]

Where is that Palmtalk thread regarding the saddest palm specimen (or something to that effect)?!  This is a Phoenix roebellenii btw.

[palmsOrl]

I saw a few golden Malayan dwarf Cocos here and there.

Most of the Cocos nucifera I saw in the area appeared to be talls of some sort or Maypans.

[chinandega81]

Great pics, I enjoyed the tour of the area. The cocos look great. It's too bad the microclimate there is only adjacent to the waterways. I hope yo ufertilized your parents' robellini!

[PalmatierMeg]

Great tour. Charlotte Harbor area is beautiful. Punta Gorda has a neat historic district of vintage houses. You can no longer tell the area was almost demolished by Hurricane Charley 17 years ago. Punta Gorda was ground zero.

[palmsOrl]

Chinandega81, I plan to the first opportunity I get.  That one really needs it.

Meg, it is a beautiful area.  I did notice their are no really tall trees in the area.

[RedRabbit]

Thanks for sharing all the pics! I’ve always been impressed by the microclimate there, I’m not sure if it’s 10b but it certainly could be. It seems to be a step up from places like Sarasota and Venice.

Edited August 2, 2021 by RedRabbit

[palmsOrl]

Right by the water (and I mean a stone's throw from the water and closer) it is definitely tropical flora, whereas inland just a mile it looks subtropical like Tampa.  Virtually all of the trees, shrubs and palms by the water are tropical.  There is a particularly high concentration of tropical fruit trees.

[Cape Garrett]

For the most part I notice a big difference in plantings between Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.  Punta Gorda being on the east side of the Peace River has a much better micro climate than Port Charlotte to grow more tropicals.