Palms in Japan

[Yunder Wækraus]

Visited Japan for my first time and was surprised to see several palms in Tokyo. Are these anomalous ones that must be protected in winter, or is Tokyo as mild as the costal USA Pacific NW?

[iko.]

They’re not protected. There are other palms and subtropicals plants growing: bougainvillea and Syagrus to name a couple. Winters can get cold but summers are hot.
 

The consulate of Oman in Tokyo planted a few Syagrus romanzoffiana several years ago. For what I can see in Google Maps (2019), only one has survived. You can have a look here. 

Edited April 30 by iko.

[Yunder Wækraus]

Would you say Tokyo is a USDA 9a or 8b?

[palmfriend]

Hi,

 

On 5/1/2023 at 12:43 PM, Yunder Wækraus said:

Would you say Tokyo is a USDA 9a or 8b?

hard to say.

Almost tropical summers with intense heat and very high humidity - from May until end of September - winter temps are usually within the

5C/41F-15C/59F range with some exceptions. Snow falls not regularly, just from time to time. Same latitude on Japan's west coast is a different

story - the prefectures over there have heavy snow fall every winter. The mountains in the middle of Honshu main island usually stop the snow clouds

on their way from west to east, so usually just the cold air reaches the Kanto region around Tokyo...

So, in summary, it is probably between 8a and 9a... but it is just a guess.

 

Btw., if you move to the south (on the eastcoast), the number of palms (mostly CIDPs, Butia & Washies) increases - in Okinawa you will even find

coconut palms and Alexander palms... 

 

 Lars

 

[thyerr01]

Rather than start a new thread, I'll add some thoughts and terrible photos here. I also visited Japan for the first time recently, but perhaps had different expectations than @Yunder Wækraus. I was surprised just how few palms I saw, especially given the climate of Tokyo and other large cities in Southern Japan (Osaka/Nara) was unexpectedly mild. 

Trachies were by far the most common palm, easily 10x more common than anything else, both in commercial and home landscapes. They also seemed to be naturalizing everywhere they grew. 

 

Everything else was equally uncommon, but in no particular order I also saw Phoenix canariensis (photo from Osaka), Chamaerops (Tokyo), Butia (Tokyo), Rhapis (Osaka), Washingtonia hybrids (Osaka, literally the only one I saw in person - there was one planting in Hamamatsu I saw from the train), and P. roebelenii (Osaka, no pic).

The biggest surprise was what else was growing without protection. Tama zoo which probably doesn't get the full effect of Tokyo's urban heat island had several gardens of Aloes and a few large toothbrush-style Grevilleas, solid 9b/10a plants. Based on this evidence, I agree with the zones shown in this map (https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-japan-plant-hardiness-zone-map-celsius.php).

[iko.]

6 hours ago, thyerr01 said:

The biggest surprise was what else was growing without protection. Tama zoo which probably doesn't get the full effect of Tokyo's urban heat island had several gardens of Aloes and a few large toothbrush-style Grevilleas, solid 9b/10a plants. Based on this evidence, I agree with the zones shown in this map (https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-japan-plant-hardiness-zone-map-celsius.php).

 

Looks like a couple of Strelitzia between the aloes too. Probably, young S. juncea.

[Las Palmas Norte]

An interactive Japanese gardening zones map.

Japan hardiness zones

[tim_brissy_13]

Last time I flew into Tokyo it was literally right on freezing 0C/32F and snowing. Amazing that I’ve seen Phoenix roebellinii growing there unprotected and undamaged among other palms not traditionally known as super cold hardy. I think Tokyo’s growing season helps a lot of palms grow well outside of cold spells. Arenga engleri look great, whereas for me they are slow and much less robust despite less severe cold. 
 

For palm lovers, if you’re visiting Tokyo, Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome is worth a look. 
 

 

[poof]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:43 PM, Yunder Wækraus said:

Would you say Tokyo is a USDA 9a or 8b?

Central Tokyo? 9b. Outskirts are 9a. It's rather cold for 9b though. I would safely say it's milder than the majority of the PNW.

It's pretty much the same hardiness zone as London. Has a strong UHI too, there are probably 10a microclimates just like London. Might be more favourable given hotter summers. Last time I went there in the summer it was just miserable 😛

Anything filibusta and up is pretty much bulletproof. There are long term canaries/filibusta in Koto and the area around Disneysea.

Record low is 15f, a little warmer than Corpus' record in December 1989. Not bad for averages similar to 8a Virginia Beach.

Edited May 26 by poof