Hardiness of Royal Palm

8 years ago

I recently took a 2 1/2 hour trip south of me to Ft. Myers, FL. While there, I saw many mature Coconut and Royal Palms and it just amazes me how much a difference 2 hours of travel time can make. While I fully understand that the Royal Palm is a USDA Zone 10/11 palm, I have seen people in this forum push various palms by 2 or 3 zones beyond their limit and with the way climates are changing, I'm not so sure how long I will still be Zone 9. Though I am not adverse to trying to find the right microclimate to growing a more tender plant, I am personally also not into planting things that will definitely need to be replaced down the road because it was in the wrong place. What ultimately has me wondering about trying to grow a Royal Palm in Zone 9 is the mature height. It would be one thing to protect a young palm for a few years from the cold and another to find a way to protect a 50+ ft palm. So I am curious as to just how cold an established Royal Palm can get and still survive?

Thank you.

Featured Answer

Kevin

8 years ago

I grow coconuts and royals. I actually have about 40 royals growing in pots from 3 ft to about 10 ft. I am in Cape Coral Fl. and I've lived in the same house for 24 years. The coldest we have ever gotten is 28 degrees. It was that temp for about 2 hrs. It burned the some of the leaves, but by July you would never know it happened. That happened I believe about 2002.

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Comments (10)

kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
8 years ago
There are some survivors here from the 2010 "2 week freeze." They are definitely a little hardier than coconuts, but I'm not too up on the exact line between their survival and demise. My guess is in the mid or lower 20s.
tropicbreezent
8 years ago
The best way to find out is to look around you. See what's growing. where it's growing and try to figure if any microclimate differences come into play.
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garyfla_gw
8 years ago
Hi

there are 3 planted along a drive accross the street from me that I helped plant as two foot seedlings in 1977. have no idea which variety but suspect florida royal . they are still there. around 50 feet . remarkably the first winter ,78 there was a "snow storm " snow actually accumulated on the fronds have a pic somewhere .. Has never repeated but has fallen to 26 and daytime has remained below 40 on a few occasions . Wiped out many palms over the years particularly coconut but these keep chugging along lol

Might mention they also get cursed every year when the fronds drop. Actually broke the windshield on one occasion So be careful where you plant them. good luck gary
tomtrocc
8 years ago
I've only seen 1 in my area and it's by a river. If you check out the street view it's a nice one!

If my coconut palm doesn't survive the winter I may try a royal..... If I find one!

http://goo.gl/maps/FTFQr
Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
Original Author
8 years ago
So it looks like if I were closer to the coast, it might be worth giving it a shot. Or if I can find an inexpensive, young one and try for myself. Either way, it sounds like something I might want to wait until I am on my own property before attempting. Thanks folks.
garyfla_gw
8 years ago
Hi

You could always collect your own seeds IF you can find a location that allows them to mature .Most whack off the seed pods as they form.. Very easy from seed and can be kept in a pot for several years so it could move with you gary
peejer150
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I've seen some very large and healthy royals scattered across Orlando, which is only about 50 miles from you. What is your average annual low temp? Orlando is generally z9b, give or take depending on microclimate.
Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
Original Author
8 years ago
I have been to Orlando more than a few times and it is definitely a different climate than here. I think there are some areas of Orlando that are considered 10a. Leu has a few plants that I wouldn't attempt here, not on a permanent basis at least. If I find a young one cheap or seeds, as Gary suggested, I will give it a go. I have yet to see temps drop below 27F and 32 is the general low for my area, so worth a shot.
Cameron Self
8 years ago
I am by no means a palm expert, but Royal Palms are growing quite well in my zone 9 location of Houston . HOWEVER, I live near the center of our urban heat island where we may be more on the warm side of 9b. The last two winters were more like 10a winters. We didn't even dip below freezing this past winter. The royals also do very well South of here and closer to the coast which is borderline 9b/10a. But when you consider that we have some tall Royal Palms in a location that had a very hard freeze (low 20s) just a few years ago, I assume that with some added TLC, a royal palm can certainly survive plant zone 9. I do think more mature trees can handle the freezes a bit better than the younglings.