Roystoneas in Jax

[edbrown_III]

I had heard about these from George Baker ----  in a sweet spot between Goodbys creek and Saint Johns River ---   They have been there a whlle full grown royals 

[kinzyjr]

Seeing these never gets old.  I remember seeing them years back on this thread.

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/58085-northern-most-royals-east-of-the-mississippi/

[Scott W]

Thanks for the pics @edbrown_III 

I wonder if they get many people knocking on their door to ask about the palms??? 

[Collectorpalms]

Those Royals in the last pictures are growing in a protected alcove of the house. In 2010, they were just short enough to not have their crowns sticking up too high. In street view you can tell in 2011 the fronds were rather sparce.  The next event below 22F they wont be so lucky. But they do have an almost perfect microclimate for a house all things considered up until this point. Only thing better would be a southside of a highrise in same spot.

Just comparing Texas zone 9bs and Florida zone 9bs, the duration of killing cold in Florida is quicker, and daytime highs are well above freezing. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[KDubU]

Seen these twice now and cannot believe they have done so well. Jealous!

[Johnny Palmseed]

1 hour ago, Collectorpalms said:

Those Royals in the last pictures are growing in a protected alcove of the house. In 2010, they were just short enough to not have their crowns sticking up too high. In street view you can tell in 2011 the fronds were rather sparce.  The next event below 22F they wont be so lucky. But they do have an almost perfect microclimate for a house all things considered up until this point. Only thing better would be a southside of a highrise in same spot.

Just comparing Texas zone 9bs and Florida zone 9bs, the duration of killing cold in Florida is quicker, and daytime highs are well above freezing. 

I agree with your analysis. The protection afforded as young palms is not there as they grow. The thing I shake my head about though is the Bismarckia.  I’m surprised it looks as good as it does now but there’s no way that thing is a long term success.

[Steve the palmreader]

1 hour ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

I agree with your analysis. The protection afforded as young palms is not there as they grow. The thing I shake my head about though is the Bismarckia.  I’m surprised it looks as good as it does now but there’s no way that thing is a long term success.

 Bismarcks do well there except for the palm weevils

[Xenon]

4 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

Those Royals in the last pictures are growing in a protected alcove of the house. In 2010, they were just short enough to not have their crowns sticking up too high. In street view you can tell in 2011 the fronds were rather sparce.  The next event below 22F they wont be so lucky. But they do have an almost perfect microclimate for a house all things considered up until this point. Only thing better would be a southside of a highrise in same spot.

Just comparing Texas zone 9bs and Florida zone 9bs, the duration of killing cold in Florida is quicker, and daytime highs are well above freezing. 

This microclimate is particularly warm with the Saint Johns river directly to the west and northwest. I drove through that area along the river and it looks warmer than even Jacksonville Beach based on what is growing, I doubt it dropped below 23-24F even in 2010.  

Bismarckia shouldn't be a surprise either. The area east/south of the river really is freakishly warm. 

[KDubU]

I agree about the Bizzie. They can do okay up this way. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

6 hours ago, Xenon said:

This microclimate is particularly warm with the Saint Johns river directly to the west and northwest. I drove through that area along the river and it looks warmer than even Jacksonville Beach based on what is growing, I doubt it dropped below 23-24F even in 2010.  

Bismarckia shouldn't be a surprise either. The area east/south of the river really is freakishly warm. 

It might be slightly better than some areas but that’s only good for so much. Trust me, I lived there before moving to Merritt Island. Microclimates will bite you eventually. I lost a bunch of palms and tropicals about 20 years ago. Some things died quickly but others lingered on for some time before I just put them out of their misery. The only things that shrugged it off were the citrus which I was surprised about. Lost the fruit but the plants survived and are still there I believe.

[KDubU]

I agree the Jacks is at risk when it comes to a cold spell. One rolls the dice and tries for as long as possible. Speaking of Merritt Island, I was there 3 weeks ago looking around at moving there. Could not find what I was hoping for and found that at Cocoa Beach a lot of garbage on the beach. Assuming that is from the cruise ships??? It was insane how much we collected on one short walk. The palm growing opportunities are awesome there, saw some beauties and wish I could grown them up this way.

 

 

 

 

[Jimbean]

1 hour ago, KDubU said:

I agree the Jacks is at risk when it comes to a cold spell. One rolls the dice and tries for as long as possible. Speaking of Merritt Island, I was there 3 weeks ago looking around at moving there. Could not find what I was hoping for and found that at Cocoa Beach a lot of garbage on the beach. Assuming that is from the cruise ships??? It was insane how much we collected on one short walk. The palm growing opportunities are awesome there, saw some beauties and wish I could grown them up this way.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the garbage on the beach can be pretty bad if the winds come from the east. 

[Xenon]

3 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

It might be slightly better than some areas but that’s only good for so much. Trust me, I lived there before moving to Merritt Island. Microclimates will bite you eventually. I lost a bunch of palms and tropicals about 20 years ago. Some things died quickly but others lingered on for some time before I just put them out of their misery. The only things that shrugged it off were the citrus which I was surprised about. Lost the fruit but the plants survived and are still there I believe.

Agree but it's still impressive considering the location/surrounding area. Actually stopped by Merritt Island on the same trip for some life changing Lemon Zest mangos. Saw tons of beautiful "post-89" coconuts in Brevard all along A1A. 

[ruskinPalms]

Those are great! Has anyone ever seen them with seeds on them? I see they are flowering. 

[ChristianStAug]

Thanks for the update on these Royals!

[bubba]

Perhaps Bartram was more accurate than believed?

[Johnny Palmseed]

On 12/9/2021 at 6:55 PM, KDubU said:

I agree the Jacks is at risk when it comes to a cold spell. One rolls the dice and tries for as long as possible. Speaking of Merritt Island, I was there 3 weeks ago looking around at moving there. Could not find what I was hoping for and found that at Cocoa Beach a lot of garbage on the beach. Assuming that is from the cruise ships??? It was insane how much we collected on one short walk. The palm growing opportunities are awesome there, saw some beauties and wish I could grown them up this way.

 

 

 

 

I believe that it is from the cruise ships but it could be from anywhere. Unfortunately the ocean is literally filled with garbage. It’s so bad that now there is measurable plastic in fish. As far as living here, I’m not sure what you are looking for but I couldn’t find what I wanted so we settled on a house that I now regret buying. There’s nothing new here and if you want waterfront, it’s not very nice. The rivers are polluted as hell with algae blooms that kill the sea grass and sometimes the fish. We wanted to be in the St. Augustine area but I work in Orlando so we settled on Merritt Island. And yes, you can certainly grow more stuff here but it’s still zone pushing. Royals and Bismarcks are pretty safe and do very well. And there are plenty of things like Veitchia, Archontophoenix, Ptychosperma, etc that are tall and mature. But an Arctic blast can still cause a lot of grief. The only difference is that now I don’t spend time wrapping palms with lights or blankets. They have to fend for themselves.

[Johnny Palmseed]

On 12/9/2021 at 10:08 PM, Xenon said:

Agree but it's still impressive considering the location/surrounding area. Actually stopped by Merritt Island on the same trip for some life changing Lemon Zest mangos. Saw tons of beautiful "post-89" coconuts in Brevard all along A1A. 

It is impressive. I’m actually very surprised they are as nice as they are. And yes, Brevard County has many nice coconuts but I have not had a lot of luck with them. I have tried and failed but I do have 3 Jamaican Talls in 15 gallon pots waiting to go in the ground. They were supposed to be planted last year but I didn’t have the spot ready and they got messed up from the cold winter so I just waited. I was hoping they would rebound significantly over the s ummer but they really didn’t. We will see how they do over the winter. My spot is ready to go.