Am I the only one that gets bothered by this?! (Seattle: transplants, homes)

[distortionmaster20]

Palm trees....in Washington. A state that's roughly at the same latitude as Northern Idaho, Montana, N Dakota, Northern Minnesota, etc. In my opinion they look ugly and out of place, and most of 'em look really unhealthy (gee, I wonder why ). Palms don't belong up here, and every time I see one while driving around I get really annoyed. Like when someone has one of those ugly little things growing in their front yards, it just screams to me "Hey look at me!!! I'm a Cali/Southern transplant, and I'm PROUD!!!!" Am I just crazy, or are there other people out there who find those stupid sub-tropical plants a bit out of place?

[azoria]

Yep and yuccas too. They don't belong here and look really out of place and generally unhealthy.

Most of the yuccas I've seen around Seattle lately seem to have died this spring, probably as a result of the snow during the winter. Good riddance I say. Ugly things.

A lot of inappropriate plants have been installed in western WA as it is officially mapped as zone 8--the same zone as a lot of Texas and Alabama for example. There is no climate similarity between Seattle and Tuscaloosa. None.

This is what happens when you open a book, read hardiness zones, and install plants from the recommended list without looking around your neighborhood to see what thrives and what doesn't.

[j_k_k]

I haven't seen them yet except for some utter failures planted by a local car dealer, but I agree. If you want to plant palm trees, move to Orlanduh or LA. If you want to plant something suitable in Seattle, plant rhodies, the state flower.

[RobE]

Palm trees are overdone even in California.

[nwraider]

Doesn't bother me at all... As a SoCal transplant (been up here 5 years) I actually miss palm trees to a degree, but they indeed do not survive well up here, as already stated.. The wife and I have tried to plant a couple in the back yard and it's just a fruitless effort, so we've given up. I'll just have to catch a few (or few thousand) on the rare occasion I trek back down to SoCal to visit family/friends..

[Ratski_8]

I think Sago Palms look the best, in California, and I would never dream of trying to trans plant one to Forks Washington, Too cold and too wet for a sago! I do agree all other palms are ugly, and if they are in Washington they won't live long! We can hope...

[toodie]

OMG thank you for posting this. As a person who once lived in Woodinville WA in the 1980s and was looking to move back soon, this news is unacceptable.
I cannot tolerate PALM TREES. The thought of seeing them in the state of Washington is so offensive to me, personally, that I'll stay away. I am sickened by the thought of Palm Trees in the Pacific Northwest. GROSS.

Good luck to you all in the PNW citizens, if Palm Trees and the rest of California culture is invading your beautiful land. So sad.
best,
toodie

[skinem]

Distortionmaster20, you are crazy.

I know this because I hate them, too!

[Sandy Nelson]

Doesn't bother me at all. I'm German and am fond of the "blue spruce' native to my country. I planted one in my front yard and was informed by a neighbor that it won't thrive because it's not a native plant. My tree is thriving, which proves that transplants can thrive in another region, look at me. If everything would have to stay "native" the only architecture we'd have in Washington would be Craftsman-style homes. When driving through older neighborhoods I love seeing Spanish colonial architecture. Who's to say it doesn't fit? It's exotic, it's interesting, it's inspiring. Try looking at transplants as an enrichment to the boring same-old, same-old. Just because some of them don't thrive, doesn't mean they shouldn't exist. There are lots of natives that don't thrive either.

[JBoughton]

Originally Posted by distortionmaster20

Palm trees....in Washington. A state that's roughly at the same latitude as Northern Idaho, Montana, N Dakota, Northern Minnesota, etc. In my opinion they look ugly and out of place, and most of 'em look really unhealthy (gee, I wonder why ). Palms don't belong up here, and every time I see one while driving around I get really annoyed. Like when someone has one of those ugly little things growing in their front yards, it just screams to me "Hey look at me!!! I'm a Cali/Southern transplant, and I'm PROUD!!!!" Am I just crazy, or are there other people out there who find those stupid sub-tropical plants a bit out of place?

You probably wouldn't like them in places like Southern New Zealand or Ireland either, which are other places with a nearly frost-free climate that where palms can grow. None of the other places you mentioned has a climate that is even remotely frost free.