Felda / Immokalee Florida Zone? 10a or 9b?

[coco305]

I looked around the Felda FL area on google maps and I have seen mature cocos.  

I looked at the weather from LaBelle which seems to be the closest weather station https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@4161075/historic?month=1&year=2022

Seems much hotter here than other locations. 

Does this seem like a location I could grow Indian Laurel, possibly Cocos, as well as a Ficus Elastica, or maybe some areca palms?

 

 

[Jimbean]

9 hours ago, coco305 said:

I looked around the Felda FL area on google maps and I have seen mature cocos.  

I looked at the weather from LaBelle which seems to be the closest weather station https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@4161075/historic?month=1&year=2022

Seems much hotter here than other locations. 

Does this seem like a location I could grow Indian Laurel, possibly Cocos, as well as a Ficus Elastica, or maybe some areca palms?

 

 

Sure, but the question is can these plants survive a major freeze in that area.  The average annual minimum temperature is probably 30F to 35F, but overall I'm guessing that area is probably on the high side of zone 9B, if you factor in the major historical freezes.  Unlike central Florida locations, that area benefits from more daytime heating during cold events, and less freezing time overall.

[kinzyjr]

The AAL_ALL for their weather station (1970-2016) is 30.409F with a record low of 20F.  You can see the data points created using NOAA data on a map using the link below.  The AAL_30, the basis for the USDA Zone system is 31.6F.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1QCS-fTHGPmghnQJ7Q1phu7gSXSD6Rtxq&ll=26.771596046883477%2C-81.11492814717317&z=9

There are coconuts in Immokalee that have survived 2010 and they do look good because they get a good warmup during the day most of the time.  Zones in this area fall off very fast as you move north though, especially if there is no UHI or large body of water nearby to modify the overnight lows.

The absolute lows in the area were around 33F-34F last winter.

Mathematically, USDA 10a due to AAL_30.  Planting choices subject to tolerance for risk  

9 hours ago, coco305 said:

Does this seem like a location I could grow Indian Laurel, possibly Cocos, as well as a Ficus Elastica, or maybe some areca palms?

You should be able to grow them with some success.  Cocos may get killed by a hard freeze, but a lot of us along the I-4 corridor grow the same stuff you listed.  Being about 2 hours south, that should give you more protection against advective freezes.

[chinandega81]

La Belle's tropical vegetation is much less than that of Immokalee or Felda. It is mostly limited to microclimates under the canopy of large, mature trees and other types of windbreaks. Burnback and damage tends to happen annually here, even in protected microclimates in town.

I am not sure on the zones, but I can tell you that tropical almond trees, coconuts, mangos, plantains, etc are rather common in Immokalee/Felda, but burn back most winters if exposed and not in a microclimate. Not that it burns them back to the ground, just outer foliage or young branches. In protected areas, a lot of tropicals have minimal damage. Despite this, large, exposed Royal Poincianas are common here, unlike further north in LaBelle.

To answer your question, yes, you could grow everything you asked about in LaBelle, in the right microclimate. I have seen small coconuts, mamey, papayas, areca palms and pothos in several yards in LaBelle. Fortunately, there are many mature live oak trees there that will help facilitate this for you. The Indian Laurel and Ficus could be planted on the south side of a canopy of a mature live oak strand to block cold north winds and allow full sun in the winter day time, but a roof overhead at night time. You, could trim back the live oak as your tropicals grow too large and require more sun and require less winter protection.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[coco305]

Thanks for all of the feedback, 

I think Immokalee florida or Felda will be best for me. I want a place I can grow tropical plants and not worry about freezes like I would have to further north. 

Is there a big difference in temperature between Felda and southern Immokalee closer to Ave Maria?  I am trying to determine on google maps if there is a big difference in how tropical it is. 

[coco305]

Im just gonna buy in Homestead FL.  

I don't want to live my life in fear.  might as well YOLO on a property in zone 11 and grow anything I want

[chinandega81]

20 hours ago, coco305 said:

Thanks for all of the feedback, 

I think Immokalee florida or Felda will be best for me. I want a place I can grow tropical plants and not worry about freezes like I would have to further north. 

Is there a big difference in temperature between Felda and southern Immokalee closer to Ave Maria?  I am trying to determine on google maps if there is a big difference in how tropical it is. 

No, inland Collier is pretty similar. East Golden Gate, Ave Maria, Immokalee are all similar as is Felda.  There is always a risk of frosts and freezes, but not to the same intensity as further north. If you want to be carefree, try Pahokee; Belle Glade or South Bay. Clewiston is also an option more similar temp wise to Immokalee. 

The only place where there would never be a frost or freeze threat would be the Keys. SE FL near Miami and FTL are good options but can get close to freezing and have light frosts depending on the area.

[coco305]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:37 AM, chinandega81 said:

No, inland Collier is pretty similar. East Golden Gate, Ave Maria, Immokalee are all similar as is Felda.  There is always a risk of frosts and freezes, but not to the same intensity as further north. If you want to be carefree, try Pahokee; Belle Glade or South Bay. Clewiston is also an option more similar temp wise to Immokalee. 

The only place where there would never be a frost or freeze threat would be the Keys. SE FL near Miami and FTL are good options but can get close to freezing and have light frosts depending on the area.

I am trying to find a place that is safe as well as good for growing palms.  I have heard that all of these towns have a very high crime rate.  I was considering homestead as well but I heard florida city is the most dangerous place in all of florida. I like to walk around at night and stuff and I don't think it would be safe there. 

I guess maybe if I am in a more isolated location it will be safe. but I guess all of south florida is like that. 

Sure I could live on the beach, which is much safer since everyone is rich, but that is extremely expensive, you get a small lot and have high flood risk. 

After Ian I am afriad to be too close to any rivers or the ocean itself due to flooding. 

When I was looking on google maps I saw cocos in Immokalee but not really many in Felda, In Felda I saw tons of palmettos and some foxtails and maybe royals. but no cocos. 

Immokalee I saw much more tropical stuff.  Maybe its due to all the concrete in the area retaining heat.  Its crazy that its only a few miles away and much more tropical. lol

[kinzyjr]

@coco305

We had a short discussion about Immokalee on this thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/61989-immokalee-florida-and-tropical-palms/

The graphic I posted there compares Immokalee's climate normals to the cities along the I-4 corridor.  These were the older climate normals, though.

I've added the current climate normals (1991-2020) for comparison if you're interested.

[chinandega81]

On 10/16/2022 at 10:01 PM, coco305 said:

I am trying to find a place that is safe as well as good for growing palms.  I have heard that all of these towns have a very high crime rate.  I was considering homestead as well but I heard florida city is the most dangerous place in all of florida. I like to walk around at night and stuff and I don't think it would be safe there. 

I guess maybe if I am in a more isolated location it will be safe. but I guess all of south florida is like that. 

Sure I could live on the beach, which is much safer since everyone is rich, but that is extremely expensive, you get a small lot and have high flood risk. 

After Ian I am afriad to be too close to any rivers or the ocean itself due to flooding. 

When I was looking on google maps I saw cocos in Immokalee but not really many in Felda, In Felda I saw tons of palmettos and some foxtails and maybe royals. but no cocos. 

Immokalee I saw much more tropical stuff.  Maybe its due to all the concrete in the area retaining heat.  Its crazy that its only a few miles away and much more tropical. lol

FYI I wouldn't consider Immokalee or Felda safe places to walk around at night. And Golden Gate Estates or other inland areas in Collier generally don't have streetlighting or sidewalks, so just for lighting and traffic issues, they probably wouldn't be good places to roam around on foot at night. Ave Maria should be the exception, but expensive and one of the colder locations.

Homestead has many safe subdivisions, but small lots. Florida City is not safe as you noted. The Lake O towns are generally not safe but out of all of them, Clewiston certainly is one of the better ones and has safe areas.

You might want to consider Pt. St. Lucie, although it has the same lack of sidewalks and street lighting as many communities in SW Florida.

I'm not sure your budget, but I assume if considering Immokalee or Felda, it isn't very high, so if that is the case, I would encourage you to look moreso at Clewiston because you could have a pretty tropical yard there, despite having occasional damaging cold events. Colder than the other Lake O towns to the east, but safer and nicer.

 

[coco305]

17 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

FYI I wouldn't consider Immokalee or Felda safe places to walk around at night. And Golden Gate Estates or other inland areas in Collier generally don't have streetlighting or sidewalks, so just for lighting and traffic issues, they probably wouldn't be good places to roam around on foot at night. Ave Maria should be the exception, but expensive and one of the colder locations.

Homestead has many safe subdivisions, but small lots. Florida City is not safe as you noted. The Lake O towns are generally not safe but out of all of them, Clewiston certainly is one of the better ones and has safe areas.

You might want to consider Pt. St. Lucie, although it has the same lack of sidewalks and street lighting as many communities in SW Florida.

I'm not sure your budget, but I assume if considering Immokalee or Felda, it isn't very high, so if that is the case, I would encourage you to look moreso at Clewiston because you could have a pretty tropical yard there, despite having occasional damaging cold events. Colder than the other Lake O towns to the east, but safer and nicer.

 

I am actually rich and can afford to live on the beach of Naples if I wanted to. But I am looking for larger plots of land. And most of these large lots are available in Felda. Everywhere else in florida is subdivisions with small lots.

[chinandega81]

If money isn't an issue, I would recommend a large lot in Broward County. Southwest Ranches, Davie, Cooper City and many other nearby areas have large lots and are some of the warmest locations in Florida not on the coast. They are quite safe in general. Redlands is another option, but it's more like urban adjacenet countryside, definantly not whomesome being so close to the city. If I were rich I would look for a house near Biscayne Bay in Coral Gables or Miami. Plenty of large lots for tropical plantings too! Pinecrest, just south of Miami, might also be a place you could look in to.