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td1026

Tropical looking palms for zone 9 Florida.

td1026
12 years ago

I'm interested in some tropical looking palms, as queen palms and Mexican fan palms are grossly overplanted here in central Florida. I was wondering what are some tropical foliage palms that will survive zone 9 winters?

Will any of the following palms survive here?

Triangle palm

Kentia palm

Robellini palm

Everglades palm

Foxtail palm (Home Depot says these are hardy to 25, but I'm not so sure..)

If none of these I'll probably stick with date, pindo, & chinese fan palms.

Also, feel free to recommend tropical foliage plants/trees/flowers for zone 9 if you'd like.

Thanks!

Comments (13)

  • tropicalzone7
    12 years ago

    All the following yoy mentioned should survive your winters. Foxtail palms would be damaged or killed by freezes, but the foxtails at the Orlando theme parks show little or no damage (im sure some were protected though). I also recommend Bismarkia palms, Sengal Date palms, Royal palms, Sabal Palmettos, Chamaedorea radicalis and Microspadix, Cat palms, Sago palms, and tons of others. You can also plant some philodendrons for a tropical look with some hibiscus, plumeria, bromelaids, bananas, heliconias, birds of paradise, elephant ears, cannas, jasmine, gardenia, Michellia, lots of different flowering gingers, sun ferns, cast iron plants, peace lilies, pothos vines, and a million others! Some of the ones mentioned a frost tender so you should protect them when a frost is possible (and keeo them in a nice microclimate underneath the canopy of the trees. Definitely visit some of the theme parks or botanical gardens nearby because they have tons of tropical plants in your type of climate. You can also get some ideas as well!
    Good luck!
    -Alex

  • patbatzu
    12 years ago

    None of those would do well except the everglade palm, The foxtail would die for sure. If you want a nice looking tree, Get a Queen palm. European fan palm, they are pretty nice looking palms and they are very cold hardy. The issue with zone 9 is it can get quite cold, and My Foxtail Does not like it in zone 10a, (Melbourne FL) I protect it in the winter.

  • td1026
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    And what about areca palms?

  • tropicalzone7
    12 years ago

    I think kentia palms should be fine in shade. If anything it might not be so crazy about your summer weather, but Orlando does not get very serious freezes if any most years. If you are away from the city and in as bad of a microclimate as you think, then you probably do get a decent freeze at least once a winter most years. All it takes is one freeze a year to really limit your options. Much of Orlando is a zone 10a (even after the past 2 record cold winters, Orlando managed to stay between 25F and 30F).
    Areca palms should be fine. They may be damaged by a hard freeze, but I think recovery is likely.

    -Alex

  • garyfla_gw
    12 years ago

    Hi
    Hope you have a good landscape plan lol There are other problems to palms besides cold . First is size even dwarf types are very space consuming. Be sure to allow enough room There is a lot more palms than you'll ever be able to grow well anyway. "Floridata" has tons of info on all things florida.
    The reason Queens and MFP are so common is because they are hardy and cheap. Look around your neighborhood take notes on what you like and dislike about their methods . A good landscape plan will save you not only money but time effort and the result will be far more satisfying long term. Good luck gary

  • td1026
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks Gary, this isn't the first time I've landscaped with palm trees, so I know what I'm doing. I'm especially knowledgeable with Florida landscaping so I won't have any problems. I have more than plenty of room in my yard for palms and then some.

  • lzrddr
    12 years ago

    you in zone 9a or 9b?... a lot of difference between the two in terms of what will survive... .but growing palms in your zone (either) is a hit or miss sort of thing as your winters vary a lot more than do ours in So Cal... here we are pretty consistent year to year so we have a pretty good idea what will make it.. .but where you live, some years a coconut might do great for you, and the next year queen palms could be damaged. The good thing is you have a climate that palms grow a lot faster in, so you might just look at some of the more marginal one as 'annuals' and when they die you won't be disappointed, and just replace them the next time around. Dypsis lutescens, Dypsis decaryis and Wodyetias would certainly be considered 'annuals' in your area, but you may end up keeping them alive for over 10 years if the winters work out in your favor... but chances are eventually you will be replacing all three with something else.

  • kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
    12 years ago

    Clermont is definitely a 9a. 9b doesn't really kick in until you get toward the coast of Tampa Bay on the west side, much closer to Orlando on the east side, and Sebring/Avon Park down the US-27 corridor in the south.

  • jayinflorida
    12 years ago

    Sabal Palmetto, Sabal Minor, Sabal Louisiana, Needle Palm, Saw Palmeto, Euro, Windmill, Pindo... these are pretty much bullet proof in this area. 2 yrs ago I lost my 6' Bismarkia to the cold and even lost a few small Saw Palmetos (probably due to the wet, cold winter. One day the high was 33F with rain, snow flurries and sleet throughout the day. coldest day here 2 yrs ago was 16.7F)... it can get pretty cold here on occasion. I'm between Tampa and Orlando, out in the country and we tend to be several degrees colder than just a few miles up the road. Here's some pics from 2 yrs ago!

  • jpmarmaro
    7 years ago

    Hi-- I am in Spring Hill (zone 9) and at least hereabouts, the palms that do well are, besides the ubiquitous Sabal palmetto and Serenoa repens, the following

    Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island Date Palm, Pineapple Palm)

    Phoenix roebellenii (Pygmy Date Palm)

    Phoenix dactylifera (bearing or True Date Palm)

    Syagrus romanzoffiana (Queen Palm)

    Butia (several species, all quite similar)-- (Pindo Palm, Jelly Palm)

    Bismarckia nobilis (Bismarck Palm, Giant Silver Palm)

    Washingtonia (two species) (Washintonia Palm, Jamaica Palm)

    Trachycarpus (hWindmill Palm)

    Chamaerops humilis (European Fan Palm)

    xButyagrus (a natural hybrid between Butia and Syagrus)(Mule Palm)

    There are others offered locally as outdoor palms, such as Foxtail Palm, Triangle Palm, Bottle Palm and Christmas Palm, not to mention Coconut Palms. These don't survive well here, even in normal winters; the winter of 2008-9 was particularly harsh: about one in 5 Pygmy Date palms were killed outright, the Bismarckias and Syagrus were burned variably (but usually survived), even the Canary Island Dates and Washingtonias were damaged. Interestingly, the Butias seemed unfazed, as did the Mule Palms. Indeed, they were untouched by a string of nights in the upper/mid teens F. So the hardiest "tropical looking" palm is probably the Mule Palm: they usually resemble a straight-, thick-trunked Coconut palm on steroids. So I highly recommend them. I am also trying a seedling of the Doum Palm, Hyphene thebaica, which is doing tolerably well after almost a year.


  • sabalmatt_tejas
    7 years ago

    I would plant: mule palm, bismarckia, livistona decora, Phoenix canariensis & dactylifera, sylvestris, reclinata, Sabal causiarum, Sabal domingensis, arenga engleri, livistona saribus

  • sabalmatt_tejas
    7 years ago

    Also- copernicia Alba