Palms for Porch in Florida Keys

[JimInTheKeys]

Hello All, 

We're transplants from the Northeast and have been in Marathon in the Keys for a couple of years (the very bottom of Zone 11a). I'm gradually learning to care for tropicals and am starting to choose plants for the landscape of our new home. 

 

Our porch faces NW toward the Gulf of Mexico. When we moved in I planted some Elephant Ears in pots, but the regular squalls off the Gulf with winds in the 20's and 30's tore them up. They've gone from 5 feet tall down to 3 feet to stay below the railings out of the wind. I'm moving them to a more protected spot in the landscape and want to replace them with hardier palms that will survive in pots, be slow growers and around 4-5 feet tall (12' ceiling height).

 

I've looked at Sago palms and was wondering what other varieties you might recommend. I have a watering system set up on the porch so I can control how much water they get.

 

Thank you,

Jim 

[Harry’s Palms]

Sago “palms” would probably handle the wind and look great but the fronds are just a bit prickly when you brush up against them . Not too bad just mildly irritating. They are a cycad and very slow growing , around here I only get one set of fronds a year . They produce a bunch of fronds all at once and then sit there until the next time. A palm that is pretty resilient and does well in pots is a Chamaedorea Radicalis. They are sun and wind tolerant , I don’t even feed mine . The tree form can get rather tall but it takes a while. They are non clumping so if you want a full effect , plant two or three in a pot. Harry

[SeanK]

Monstera may work. Comes from mother nature looking beat-up.

[PalmsInBaltimore]

A pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) might be a good choice. Depending on the size when you buy it (they are common and some of the cheapest palms you can get), it would be fine for years living under your 12' ceilings. Slow growers, I would say, at least compared to other palms once they start developing a "trunk." Easy to find some that are 3-4 feet tall and have a good tree-like look to them. 

I don't know how they do in the Keys. My guess would be fine, especially if sited under a porch. They are hardly the most spectacular or interesting palm out there, but they really do fit the bill when it comes to being a container plant that looks like a miniature palm tree. Don't know how well they handle strong winds. Also if it's in an area with high foot traffic, you have to be careful of the spiny thorns

[SoFlo]

If it were me . . . I would litter the lot with palms from Hispaniola and Cuba. They like the rocks and handle wind. Coccothrinax species like C. crinita (old man palm), and C. argentata (silverpalm from Florida), C. argentea (Hispaniola silver thatch palm), ... These palms can be grown in containers and are slow growers. Leaves can look like pinwheels with silver underneath and even when small are popular for their appearance. Pseudophoenix sp. (buccaneer palm) is a native in the Keys. I would not purchase anything from a big box store. I would visit nurseries in the area or finally have the confidence to grow lipstick palms. Hey, you are living in a great zone.

[Silas_Sancona]

Aside from the idea of slower " Caribbean " palms suggested above,  some of the smaller  Whale - Tail type  Chamaedorea sps,  like metallica, ernesti-augusti and / or brachyopoda / stolonifera  ..among some other far rarer species  do great in pots, though if the porch gets several hours of afternoon sun, that might be a little more sun than those palms might prefer..

Bird's Nest Anthuriums ( Section Pachynerium ) can also do great in pots, on the porch, or in a bright room indoors.. Anthurium cubense, hookeri,  plowmanii,  ..and / or schlechtendalii  are the easiest / easiest to find, though there are others too.

Will take some sun, though too much can burn the leaves.  Do like to stay moist, but, pot placed on a saucer that holds onto a little water should be fine there.

Most of the above suggestions should be pretty easy to track down in the same nurseries you'd find the suggested Caribbean palms..  Lucky for you, some fantastic nurseries are close by in the Miami / Homestead area.

[Looking Glass]

When I lived in a condo for years, I had majesties, coconuts, Pygmy dates, and all kinds of other stuff out there on the balcony.  It all got way too big, way too fast.   I didn’t know much about palms And tropical plants during those years.  

@SoFlo mentioned the slow growing Carribean stuff, which is what I would do if I was in that situation today.  Coccothrinax argentata or borhidiana would be ideal.  @Silas_Sancona mentioned C Metallica which I think is a really cool palm.  

I’ll add to their suggestions the Croton Piccaso’s Paintbrush which stays small and is happy in pots.  Also various Neoregelia, Small Aechmea, and Billbergia Bromeliads that catch your eye would be happy to live, flower and reproduce on a tropical balcony.   

One consideration is sun exposure, too much can fry a lot of stuff on a concrete balcony.  Your northwest exposure might be just right though.  
 

[happypalms]

While iam not in Florida I can recommend a few patio plants chamaedorea adscedans variegated rhapis chuniphoenix nana chamaedorea genoformis lytocarum weddlianum licuala triphylla arenga hookeriana Johannesteijsmannia altifrons a chambeyronia or Howea fosteriana or some small  Zamia fischeri cerotazamia subroseophylla try to avoid palms or plants with spikes in a small setting or if you have children or pets anthurium veitchii philodendron hose bueno a nice little rhododendron species all the species i mentioned are cool tolerant with temperatures as a 2 degree Celsius iam not sure of how much sunlight you get but a well placed shade cloth sale may help with sunburn potential these plants are proven winners sure to impress the neighbours.

[JimInTheKeys]

I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback. I'm landing on a Sago Palm in the corner (that gets the most wind) and a combination of a Red Sister and either Variegated Ginger or some variety of colorful Croton in the other pot.  

Everything I've found on the Sago Palm makes it look ideal for the windiest corner.  Also no one will bump it there.

For the other pot to the left in this picture I'm thinking of Red Sisters and either Variegated Ginger or a variety of colorful Crotons sharing the pot. These common landscape plants in the Keys and will give some layered color and interest. 

I planted pygmy date palms (Phoenix roebelenii) recommended by @PalmsInBaltimore in the landscape when we were still in our condo. I love the way they look, but their spikes go right through leather gloves and make pruning a bit painful 🙂 

I like @SoFlo 's suggestion of using native species for the landscape. We had Silver Thatch Palms seed themselves on our lot before we built.  Unfortunately we had to add a couple of feet of fill so they were lost, but I'm going to add a few back along with a coconut palm at each corner along the dock, a Lady Finger Banana along the fence and a Royal Palm near the stairs.

Now if we can just get the pool finished so I can work on the landscaping...