Quote:
Originally Posted by BMI
Agree.
Atlanta in winter doesn't look much different than NYC, mostly bare trees.
Rome looks much greener, more palms, more subtropical looking.
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I read something interesting that North America (Mid-Atlantic and southward), and Europe are artificially deciduous.
The Gulf of Mexico and SW deserts acted as seed blockers after the last ice age as the Med Sea did in Europe. Unlike China, which is directly connected to Vietnam and the tropics without deserts or large oceans. China has far more broadleaf evergreens than North America latitude for latitude. Places at the latitude of Louisiana in China look almost tropical.
In Asia, the tropical species were not blocked from moving northward and adapting. Many cold tolerant Broadleaf Evergreens like photinia, eunymous, camellia, windmill palm, citrus, come from Asia.
In China, places with the climate of Philadelphia in winter the natural vegetation is heavily broadleaf evergreen with ilex, lithocarpus, camellia,, etc. Areas in China with winter temps like southern Louisiana have a nearly tropical jungle flora.
In Europe due to Middle Eastern deserts and the Med, there was also a seed block. Maritime areas of Europe that are zone 9 or higher still have nothing but deciduous canopy species.
Even in Florida, tropical species in the southern part of the state are said to be from the last 2,000 years or so (somewhat recent). Southern species are still supposedly moving north post ice age. Bald cypress are naturalizing in upper New York state.
Even with that, the broadleaf evergreen flora in the southeast is quite extensive, especially compared to maritime zone 9 Europe:
Several species of Live Oaks, several species of hollies, magnolia (m. virginiana and m. grandiflora), s gordonia, myricas/waxmyrtles (several species), osmanthus (devilwood), perseas (red bay), prunus (cherry laurel), rhododendron, cyrilla (titi), kalmia, pieris, and illicium (anisetree). Also you have the native palms. If you add introduced broadleaf evergreens from Asia and elsewhere the evergreen planting varieties are quite large in the Southeast.
Thing is, people in the inland South like Atlanta prefer traditional deciduous trees and shrubs so they can have the spring flowers and fall color. This is well noted. People in Atlanta that want to have evergreen gardens, and there are quite a few on the subtropical gardening forums, can easily do so and they post pics all the time.
I'm not saying the pics below show as subtropical as Rome, just that people can have more green winter gardens there if they wanted.
Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board
Hardy Palms In Temperate Zones Board
Atlanta Feb 2014
Virginia Beach Jan 19th 2015
Dallas TX last week
Just in case the brown grass folks ask, that is warm season grass above that can't take below 0C.
Here is a lawn in same area same date with cool season grass:
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