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From what I understand, most palms grow in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. In terms of “naturally growing” or “native” palms - it seems that palms are endemic from about 35 latitude southward toward the equator here in the Northern Hemisphere. I know little about where the rough “palm line” is in the Southern Hemisphere, but from what I have read it might be around Lord Howe Island (32 S). I also have read parts of New Zealand have at least one “native palm” and perhaps there is a native palm to the Mediterranean to around 40 latitude (unsure?). On the United States mainland, if you exclude the Florida peninsula of course …we have only five (5) “native” palms: One (1) originates on the far lower Pacific West Coast (Washingtonia)…and four (4) on the lower Atlantic East Coast (Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Sabal minor, Cabbage Palmetto, and Serenoa repens).
Here along the coastal plain of the East Coast of the USA, if one drives southward on I-95 highway or along the coastal highways (301/501), they encounter “wild/native” Rhapidophyllum hystrix and Sabal minor growing in the scrub lands and wet soft pine forests of southern North Carolina. As you proceed southward (South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) along the coastal plain more and more wild/native palms start to mix with non-native species… grouped in mass plantings at gas stations, hotels, office buildings, and in public and private gardens. The overall look of palms seems to fit with the latitude, climate, architecture, and overall look that one would expect in lower latitude Sunbelt regions. Nature (meaning the prevailing climate) created enough warmth, sunshine, few (or no) frosts, adequate rainfall…etc to allow palms to grow and flourish in these climates for thousands of years. The fact that other non-native species are often planted or that native/wild species are often planted in more urban/suburban areas seems like really just a natural extension.
Here is a few quick pictures of the basic idea. The locations are not really important, only the look of palms (both wild and cultivated) in the overall natural and man-made environment. On a climate map... this was traveling from South Carolina (Cfa – Humid Subtropical) to South Florida (Aw –Tropical Savanna):
A planting near the Atlantic Ocean beaches of native Cabbage Palms and non-native Canary Island Date Palms and Chinese Cycad - Jekyll Island, Georgia:
Wild Needle Palms off I-95 near Walterboro, South Carolina: :
Native Cabbage Palms - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:
Wild Serenoa repens palms as far as the eye can see in the wet pine barrens near the Florida/Georgia state line on I-95:
A mixture of native and non native palms on the Gulf of Mexico near Naples, Florida: :
Native Coconut palms and Cabbage Palms at Hollywood Beach, Florida:
Recently however, there has been an explosion of palms northward from tropical/subtropical regions…into the temperate zone (35 – 55 N/S). The Victorian area English seemed to be the starting point that ignited a passion for growing exotics/tropical’s in temperate latitudes. As Reynolds notes in his text on subtropical gardening…”the Victorian passion for exotic plants provided the British with tangible links to the far-flung tropical/subtropical lands within the empire”. The common Trachcarpus fortunei palm that is often found in temperate latitudes was acquired in subtropical China and brought back to England for just this reason.
Today, the explosion of palms can be seen in many temperate regions (especially coastal regions): At least some type of palm can be seen in/or around cities like Seattle, NYC/NJ, London, coastal Norway, Atlantic France, southern Germany, around the Black Sea, Seoul, South Korea, North China, Northern Japan, South Island, New Zealand…etc. Here are some pics of the basic idea:
Trachycarpus fortunei palms growing in front of the University of Seattle in winter:
Trachycarpus fortune palms growing in front of the Air/Space museum in Washington DC in winter (note fiber bananas cut below waiting for summer!):
So the questions comes down to this:
1) Do palms in the temperate landscape distort general perceptions of the true nature of world climates? (Since they seem to be growing in many areas of the temperate zone now).
2) Do palms look odd in temperate climates? I mean this in two ways – both the natural and man-made. In the Temperate zone (no matter where at least part of the year has low sun angles, cool stratus skies, cold weather (even occasional snow), people wearing jackets/heavy garments…etc…that seem at odds with sunshine and palms. Also, in terms of the man-made, low latitudes (below 33 N/S or so) Sunbelt areas seem to have a look that fits well with palms, do you think temperate areas do?
3) Do palms even belong in areas where there are no “native/wild palms” Is it the same as attempting to cultivate a maple tree from Germany or England in the deserts around Phoenix or Alice Springs?
.
Last edited by wavehunter007; 04-19-2011 at 01:32 PM..
I do think that palms look "out of place" in temperate zones. I do not get the recent obsession with palm trees. Palm trees are not supposed to grow in DC or Seattle. Even in North GA when people had palms it looked out of place. Those are not native species, they will become invasive. There is a reason why it is not native to the region...because it's not supposed to grow there. That's like me putting a Blue Spruce in FL, it's not going to be too healthy.
No doubt palms look out of place when you see them on our western coasts in the mid-50s latitude. I once showed a Polish girl a palm tree on the North Wales coast on a cold midwinter day and she actually touched it to reassure herself it was actually real and they actually do survive there
London has lots of Windmill Palms/Fan Palms and quite a few Canary Island Date Palms. I've even seen a few banana trees with fruit. Avocados and olives can also bear fruit here at 51N. Pretty much anything can be grown here.
I think palm trees should be planted anywhere in the world that is possible. The palm genera is just such an attractive genera that it should be used whenever possible. If it were possible, I'd rip out all the deciduous trees in Vancouver and plant palms instead. Most species native to temperate zones are so bland and boring. They are either barren looking for 6 months of the year or they lack colour and vigour the way palms do. Also, since a lot of people who live in temperate zones can't always go away to somewhere warm and sunny on vacation, they should be able to bring a bit of the tropics/subtropics to them.
London has lots of Windmill Palms/Fan Palms and quite a few Canary Island Date Palms. I've even seen a few banana trees with fruit. Avocados and olives can also bear fruit here at 51N. Pretty much anything can be grown here.
I don't think they look that out of place.
I wonder when England will start exporting coconuts, mangoes and avocadoes...
Har Har. I've not heard of coconuts and mangoes surviving here, but olive, avocado and banana trees certainly can.
Avocado trees are hardy to zone 10, so should be fine in the Scilly Isles and some other coastal fringes but I don't think they would make it in London which is zone 9.
It was in inner west London so maybe in a sheltered location it could have grown and produced fruit. The very centre of London has a strong heat island with an average minimum of 5C in January and fewer than 10 frosts per year.
From what I understand, most palms grow in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. In terms of “naturally growing” or “native” palms - it seems that palms are endemic from about 35 latitude southward toward the equator here in the Northern Hemisphere. I know little about where the rough “palm line” is in the Southern Hemisphere, but from what I have read it might be around Lord Howe Island (32 S). I also have read parts of New Zealand have at least one “native palm” and perhaps there is a native palm to the Mediterranean to around 40 latitude (unsure?). On the United States mainland, if you exclude the Florida peninsula of course …we have only five (5) “native” palms: One (1) originates on the far lower Pacific West Coast (Washingtonia)…and four (4) on the lower Atlantic East Coast (Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Sabal minor, Cabbage Palmetto, and Serenoa repens).
Here along the coastal plain of the East Coast of the USA, if one drives southward on I-95 highway or along the coastal highways (301/501), they encounter “wild/native” Rhapidophyllum hystrix and Sabal minor growing in the scrub lands and wet soft pine forests of southern North Carolina. As you proceed southward (South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) along the coastal plain more and more wild/native palms start to mix with non-native species… grouped in mass plantings at gas stations, hotels, office buildings, and in public and private gardens. The overall look of palms seems to fit with the latitude, climate, architecture, and overall look that one would expect in lower latitude Sunbelt regions. Nature (meaning the prevailing climate) created enough warmth, sunshine, few (or no) frosts, adequate rainfall…etc to allow palms to grow and flourish in these climates for thousands of years. The fact that other non-native species are often planted or that native/wild species are often planted in more urban/suburban areas seems like really just a natural extension.
Here is a few quick pictures of the basic idea. The locations are not really important, only the look of palms (both wild and cultivated) in the overall natural and man-made environment. On a climate map... this was traveling from South Carolina (Cfa – Humid Subtropical) to South Florida (Aw –Tropical Savanna):
A planting near the Atlantic Ocean beaches of native Cabbage Palms and non-native Canary Island Date Palms and Chinese Cycad - Jekyll Island, Georgia:
Wild Needle Palms off I-95 near Walterboro, South Carolina: :
Native Cabbage Palms - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:
Wild Serenoa repens palms as far as the eye can see in the wet pine barrens near the Florida/Georgia state line on I-95:
A mixture of native and non native palms on the Gulf of Mexico near Naples, Florida: :
Native Coconut palms and Cabbage Palms at Hollywood Beach, Florida:
Recently however, there has been an explosion of palms northward from tropical/subtropical regions…into the temperate zone (35 – 55 N/S). The Victorian area English seemed to be the starting point that ignited a passion for growing exotics/tropical’s in temperate latitudes. As Reynolds notes in his text on subtropical gardening…”the Victorian passion for exotic plants provided the British with tangible links to the far-flung tropical/subtropical lands within the empire”. The common Trachcarpus fortunei palm that is often found in temperate latitudes was acquired in subtropical China and brought back to England for just this reason.
Today, the explosion of palms can be seen in many temperate regions (especially coastal regions): At least some type of palm can be seen in/or around cities like Seattle, NYC/NJ, London, coastal Norway, Atlantic France, southern Germany, around the Black Sea, Seoul, South Korea, North China, Northern Japan, South Island, New Zealand…etc. Here are some pics of the basic idea:
Trachycarpus fortunei palms growing in front of the University of Seattle in winter:
Trachycarpus fortune palms growing in front of the Air/Space museum in Washington DC in winter (note fiber bananas cut below waiting for summer!):
So the questions comes down to this:
1) Do palms in the temperate landscape distort general perceptions of the true nature of world climates? (Since they seem to be growing in many areas of the temperate zone now).
2) Do palms look odd in temperate climates? I mean this in two ways – both the natural and man-made. In the Temperate zone (no matter where at least part of the year has low sun angles, cool stratus skies, cold weather (even occasional snow), people wearing jackets/heavy garments…etc…that seem at odds with sunshine and palms. Also, in terms of the man-made, low latitudes (below 33 N/S or so) Sunbelt areas seem to have a look that fits well with palms, do you think temperate areas do?
3) Do palms even belong in areas where there are no “native/wild palms” Is it the same as attempting to cultivate a maple tree from Germany or England in the deserts around Phoenix or Alice Springs?
.
Your second pic looks like a saw palmetto bush that grows throughout Southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. I'm not sure but I can see it growing as far as North Carolina.
Taz near Palmetto bush | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7531977@N06/2084228794/ - broken link)
busta
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Avocado trees are hardy to zone 10, so should be fine in the Scilly Isles and some other coastal fringes but I don't think they would make it in London which is zone 9.
