What is your palm tree hot take?

[Merlyn]

@ncimino I don't think you can go wrong with either a Bismarckia or Hospita.    If I had to pick one I'd go for the Hospita, purely because the Copernicia tend to get that "moire" effect with the big fans.  I have three big Bismarckia in my yard, and the only real downside is that they get torn up by hurricanes and look tattered for a year afterwards.  I might change my mind if one of them turns out to be female, because apparently they put out buckets and buckets and buckets of seeds...

Edit:  recently FDOT has started planting big trunking Bismarckia at highway interchanges here.  I've been watching the batch of ~40-50 they planted at 417 and I4 in Sanford.  They planted them just like root pruned Sabals, with 1-3 fans each.  I really thought they were all going to die, but the palms just "ate" the old fans in about a month after planting.  The vast majority are pushing new spears now, roughly 2-3 months later.  So for people considering transplanting one, maybe the Sabal treatment is the key to success???

[ncimino]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@ncimino I don't think you can go wrong with either a Bismarckia or Hospita.    If I had to pick one I'd go for the Hospita, purely because the Copernicia tend to get that "moire" effect with the big fans.  I have three big Bismarckia in my yard, and the only real downside is that they get torn up by hurricanes and look tattered for a year afterwards.  I might change my mind if one of them turns out to be female, because apparently they put out buckets and buckets and buckets of seeds...

Edit:  recently FDOT has started planting big trunking Bismarckia at highway interchanges here.  I've been watching the batch of ~40-50 they planted at 417 and I4 in Sanford.  They planted them just like root pruned Sabals, with 1-3 fans each.  I really thought they were all going to die, but the palms just "ate" the old fans in about a month after planting.  The vast majority are pushing new spears now, roughly 2-3 months later.  So for people considering transplanting one, maybe the Sabal treatment is the key to success???

I actually have 2 Bismarck's that I planted. One was a silver from south Florida and the other was from a plant sale at Lowes. Random find but a Lowes in winter garden had some 26G Bismarck's 50% off. It looked like it had been field grown, pruned and placed in a pot the way the roots were in the pot. Both of them have ended up looking the same even though the other was marketed as silver. The one from south Florida ended up taking only maybe about 6 months before new spears, the one from Lowes has taken almost a year. It stalled for so long and I thought it was going to die but then it suddenly revived itself? Maybe it was focusing on root development. And yes the hurricanes beat them up.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

6 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Edit:  recently FDOT has started planting big trunking Bismarckia at highway interchanges here.  I've been watching the batch of ~40-50 they planted at 417 and I4 in Sanford.  They planted them just like root pruned Sabals, with 1-3 fans each.  I really thought they were all going to die, but the palms just "ate" the old fans in about a month after planting.  The vast majority are pushing new spears now, roughly 2-3 months later.  So for people considering transplanting one, maybe the Sabal treatment is the key to success???

yeah in south florida i saw a bunch of new royals and bismarcks being planted along the highways. i was quite unsettled by the look of bismarcks with 1 spear and like 2 fronds but i guess it works in the long run (?)

[sonoranfans]

18 hours ago, ncimino said:

I knew I would ruffle some feathers with that comment. Haha! 

I guess my mind thinks about the native flora's leaf style and uses that to form whether something belongs.

But with landscapes and gardens, I think of plants like sculptures. You don't buy a garden concrete or steel sculpture because it looks like the native Flora but rather that it creates a focal point. 

These are all my opinions of course.

Nothing blasphemous about it.  Florida has zones from 8a to 11 and soils from sand to limestone rock and clay.?  The term "native florida" doesnt mean so much with that kind of climate/soil variability.  what is out of place in northern florida is not necessarily out of place in southern florida.  We have tons of live oaks here in the bradenton area, down near miami there didnt seem to be any even on vacant land.  I have a neighbor who did the "florida native thing", turns out she planted stuff that was not from this part of florida and it looks shaggy, poorly adapted.  She actually wanted the HOA to restrict plantings to "florida natives" and knew a business that would supply them.  Nobody bit on that one, after looking at her yard.  The only plant we have in common is coonties(zamia. integrifolia).  She has no serenoa repens, a florida native palm that grows wild here, and I have (5).   What is out of place in northern florida is not necessary out of place here.  We even have local stands of royals here.  Grow what you can grow well, and that doesnt mean all of florida will be growing the same things.

[ncimino]

8 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

Nothing blasphemous about it.  Florida has zones from 8a to 11 and soils from sand to limestone rock and clay.?  The term "native florida" doesnt mean so much with that kind of climate/soil variability.  what is out of place in northern florida is not necessarily out of place in southern florida.  We have tons of live oaks here in the bradenton area, down near miami there didnt seem to be any even on vacant land.  I have a neighbor who did the "florida native thing", turns out she planted stuff that was not from this part of florida and it looks shaggy, poorly adapted.  She actually wanted the HOA to restrict plantings to "florida natives" and knew a business that would supply them.  Nobody bit on that one, after looking at her yard.  The only plant we have in common is coonties(zamia. integrifolia).  She has no serenoa repens, a florida native palm that grows wild here, and I have (5).   What is out of place in northern florida is not necessary out of place here.  We even have local stands of royals here.  Grow what you can grow well, and that doesnt mean all of florida will be growing the same things.

Oh exactly, that is why I said most of the lower 48, royal palms and buccaneers are native to south FL. I think they are the only pinnate palms native to the lower 48? I might be wrong on that. 

[Looking Glass]

8 minutes ago, ncimino said:

Oh exactly, that is why I said most of the lower 48, royal palms and buccaneers are native to south FL. I think they are the only pinnate palms native to the lower 48? I might be wrong on that. 

You’re not wrong about a lack of interesting palmate palms being planted around FL in yards and such.   Down here, most of the trees, let alone palms, that are present in yards are the same few fast growing pinnate palms.   People put these in because they are fast and easy.   Christmas Palms, Royals, Ptychosperma, Coconuts, Bottles, a few others, over and over and over again.   For the palmates, it’s Bismarks and Sabals over and over and over.   

Palms overall make more sense down here, and cause less damage and headaches over time here.  You just need a whole bunch, and the right kinds, if you like shade.  I always chuckle when someone compares a single lonely palm to a single giant oak tree.  Why not compare a single blade of grass….  You just need a bunch chosen wisely, and variation.   

[ncimino]

11 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

You’re not wrong about a lack of interesting palmate palms being planted around FL in yards and such.   Down here, most of the trees, let alone palms, that are present in yards are the same few fast growing pinnate palms.   People put these in because they are fast and easy.   Christmas Palms, Royals, Ptychosperma, Coconuts, Bottles, a few others, over and over and over again.   For the palmates, it’s Bismarks and Sabals over and over and over.   

Palms overall make more sense down here, and cause less damage and headaches over time here.  You just need a whole bunch, and the right kinds, if you like shade.  I always chuckle when someone compares a single lonely palm to a single giant oak tree.  Why not compare a single blade of grass….  You just need a bunch chosen wisely, and variation.   

Queen palms are my least favorite pinnate. I'm not sure that is a hot take because I have heard this opinion from quite a few others.

 

When I first moved into my house, the yard had like 10-20 queen palms planted. I removed them all. Maybe the previous owner was a queen palm enthusiast?