Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - 3 Palms that are NOT for this zone.
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Old 11-11-2022, 06:48 AM
Ozzello Ozzello is offline
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Default 3 Palms that are NOT for this zone.

Areca, Foxtail and Christmas palms ... NOT for this area, and are becoming commonly planted. (Add Norfolk Island Pine to this list as well)

If you do the research (or remember the past) you will see these palms are DAMAGED most winters here. Damaged is not just a little brown from frost, it hits the center bud (heart) of the tree and takes more than a season for recovery... or kills the tree. on a 10 year freeze cycle, they are all DEAD. Horticulture is a SCIENCE, and doesn't change because some uneducated landscape designer wants to convince you they are better than other designers because they will plant these beautiful palms.. and give you a warrantee that EXCLUDES FREEZING (Acts of God) Find a designer with ANY college in FLORIDA horticulture, landscape design, or FL agriculture and you hang on to that unicorn.

These palms are beautiful, yes. But go find a healthy 20-year-old specimen of any of these (recently planted doesn't count) and I will remove this post and apologize for the following statement:

Any landscaper encouraging use of these palms in your landscape, either doesn't know what they are talking about, or is just plain greedy beyond any sort of integrity.

Rant is over, but if you already planted one of these palms, good luck this year. The acorns are dropping REALLY heavy. No that isn't science from a book, but sometimes the old-timers around here were on to something.