More palm trees in Houston? (Galveston, Jacksonville: how much, homes, landscaping)

[Gunion Powder]

During my recent return to the city, I was immediately reminded of how much Houston is in dire need of smarter landscaping and couldn't help but notice how few palms I actually saw here for this being a subtropical city on the coast. There are species of palms native to the area, so why are they so few in number? I can't be the only one who believes that more of these trees would curb the "ugliness" and certainly improve the image of the city.

BTW, whose idea was it to plant slow growing oaks everywhere? Shouldn't the Magnolia City have a lot more magnolias?

[testmo]

The palms in meyerland plaza are beautiful. Elsewhere in the city they look like **** because people dont prune them

They can easily look an eyesore (palms in gulfton, along 45, gulfgate area)

Oaks are also beautiful and native to texas. They do quite well in houston. Mongolia trees also have to be kept pruned more so than oaks to not look a mess

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by testmo

The palms in meyerland plaza are beautiful. Elsewhere in the city they look like **** because people dont prune them

They can easily look an eyesore (palms in gulfton, along 45, gulfgate area)

Isn't that really only a problem with the non native palms being planted, though?

Oaks are also beautiful and native to texas. They do quite well in houston. Mongolia trees also have to be kept pruned more so than oaks to not look a mess

I agree that oaks are beautiful, but they take such a long time to grow, and thus don't work well as a street tree. I think there are just too many of them around the city and it makes the landscape look a little dull.

I think the trees that should be the most common along roads and freeways are palm, cypress, magnolia, and oak, in that order.

[shortel]

I personally hate palm trees and don't think they belong in Houston or Galveston.

My main hate is people plant them and just ignore it. They need to be trimmed regularly and no one ever does.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by shortel

I personally hate palm trees and don't think they belong in Houston or Galveston.

My main hate is people plant them and just ignore it. They need to be trimmed regularly and no one ever does.

I have several palms in my yard in Kemah and yes, one of the first things we had to do upon moving here was to get them pruned and cleaned up after they had been neglected for some time by the previous owner. Had to do the same thing in our yard when we lived in Jacksonville. Out there, there were day workers that just drove around and would knock on your door to see if you needed service. After a big rain, fronds would be scattered throughout the yard and we would need to bundle them and put them curbside for the trash.

So yes, I agree that they are lovely, if maintained, but otherwise, they can be an eyesore.

[War Beagle]

Palms don't look natural here to me. I'd prefer the various conifers and deciduous trees.

[Svensk08]

Virtually all palm trees in this area need to have dead fronds removed in every spring. Anyone who thinks about planting palms should first get an estimate of what this costs. Friends in Galveston paid $100. per palm tree for the past two years. This year, because the palms were taller., the cost was $125. each.

Live oaks are native to this part of Texas. They're hardy and provide welcoming shade. Mature ones can go several years without professional pruning. Shaping up smaller live oaks is an easy DIY job. There are other trees that do well in our area that don't grow as large as live oaks.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by shortel

I personally hate palm trees and don't think they belong in Houston or Galveston.

My main hate is people plant them and just ignore it. They need to be trimmed regularly and no one ever does.

Originally Posted by War Beagle

Palms don't look natural here to me. I'd prefer the various conifers and deciduous trees.

Why not? Quite a few species are already native to the Houston area; even those that aren't native do quite well in the city, especially the Washingtonias, and the various date palm species.

Houston, and the rest of the coastal South, has an interesting subtropic tree canopy that seamlessly intertwines conifers (in the form of cypress and pine), warm-weather deciduous trees (crepe myrtles, for instance), broad-leaf evergreens (live oaks, southern magnolia, tropical/subtropical trees and shrubs), and palms. If anything doesn't look natural, it would be some of the deciduous trees people try to grow in gardens for fall color.

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

During my recent return to the city, I was immediately reminded of how much Houston is in dire need of smarter landscaping and couldn't help but notice how few palms I actually saw here for this being a subtropical city on the coast. There are species of palms native to the area, so why are they so few in number? I can't be the only one who believes that more of these trees would curb the "ugliness" and certainly improve the image of the city.

BTW, whose idea was it to plant slow growing oaks everywhere? Shouldn't the Magnolia City have a lot more magnolias?

I don't think the palms are that few in numbers; many major areas of the city are lined with them, including Highland Village and Gulf Freeway. Many homes in the city are clustered with palms, if not palms, then many other subtropical/tropical plants, like citrus trees, oleanders, etc.

I agree that there should be more Magnolias; in the past, the East side of the city was forested with them, and many gardens made use of them, earning the city the nickname, but urban growth decimated that habitat.

[LocalPlanner]

The tall, spindly types of palms should be confined primarily to Galveston and the immediate coast area. Canary palms (I think that's what they're called) can be OK in Houston itself in certain situations, like the way they're used along Post Oak Boulevard. But broadleaf trees - and not just live oaks - almost always look better than palms. Highland Village should definitely get rid of its palms, they begrime the area.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by Yn0hTnA

Why not? Quite a few species are already native to the Houston area; even those that aren't native do quite well in the city, especially the Washingtonias, and the various date palm species.

What natural areas are left tend not to have many palms. For instance, Brazos Bend State Park is a natural area, and it has vegetation that is more traditionally Southern in nature. I prefer that look to what I consider attempts to make Houston artificially look like a tropical paradise.

Obviously, it all comes down to aesthetic taste. Some palms might be native here, but they are not the predominant vegetation. Too many palms strikes me as trying to fake it and make this area something its not.