Palm trees - "Cabbage" palmetto trees - does your southern city have them? (ATTN: Atlanta/Columbia/Birmingham)

[poonther]

USF I've seen Coconuts thriving as far north as Melbourne on the East Coast, but they were right near the water like they are in Pinellas. I've only seen coconuts in SoCal right near the coast and often in very protected areas like courtyards. They also didn't look so healthy. That maybe b/c they do have several chilly nights in the winter (especially in the valleys like the San Fernando), their daytime highs in the winter often stay colder than FL's and their long dry season and low average yearly rainfall. I've also seen adult coconuts in far south Texas. I use to have two monster ones (the Jamaican variety) at my house in Ft. Lauderdale and miss them very much.

waccamatt, Canaries do well here in Tally which is zone 8b, but the central city under the trees and urban heat is more like zone 9a. Here you can see them at FSU's Wescott bldg. There are a lot taller ones around town too.

pinetree I'm in Charlotte a lot visiting good friends. I'm surprised that Washingtonia's survived there. I've seen them die from cold points much further south. Same goes for date palms. They must have been California Fans and not Mexican Fans. I'd just as surprised about the Australians, however I'm not doubting you since you know your palms it seems. The Australian's cousin, the Chinese Fan, does grow here in Tally zone 8b, but when they are young, you must provide them w/protection from the coldest nights. Most of the palms I've seen in CLT have been Windmills and Needle Palms.

[NCMike1981]

I've noticed a few palm trees are starting to make their way into Raleigh (NC). I think they are mainly windmill palms. The few that I've noticed are Pullen Park, 1 in front of the police station downtown, Bahama Breeze off Wake Forest Rd (yep they are real haha) and there's this spa off Hwy 70/Glenwood near Umstead that has a whole slew of them. It seems like folks are starting to experiment with them more but you really have to look closely for them as the winters in central NC can be a bit tough for widespread palms. If you want lots of palm trees in NC you'll need to head to coastal NC, Wilmington has them everywhere, although I don't think they grow naturally in the wild, except maybe in the extreme SE corner of the state.

I think the main factor in NC when it comes to palm trees is distance from the ocean. The exception to this is of course the mountains and foothills region in the western part of the state. I can't imagine a palm tree ever surviving a winter at an elevation above 5 or 6k ft in western NC, I think you'd be hard pressed to even grow one above 2000 ft without alot of precautions during the winter. Across the central part of the state the elevation change is much more gradual. The Triangle area (Raleigh/Wake Co-Durham/Durham Co-Chapel Hill/Orange Co) is in the north eastern piedmont, Raleigh being near the fall line where the piedmont meets the coastal plain. Elevationwise in the Triangle it varies from around 200 feet in SE Wake County to a few hilly peaks just under 900 feet in NW Orange County. Raleigh in central Wake County is about 120 miles from the coast with an avg elevation of 350ish ft, and Hillsborough, in central Orange Co is about 40ish miles northwest of Raleigh with an avg elevation of 600ish ft just to give you an idea on distance. As a side note I've never noticed any palm trees in Orange County although I'm sure there are a few small windmill or needle palms tucked away in residential areas. I've noticed a few small (trunkless) palms in Durham before, but it seems like Raleigh/Wake County is sort of on the boundary of where you'll start noticing taller palms, and even then you have to almost be searching for them.

Here's a few examples of some of the windmill palms found in Pullen Park in Raleigh. Note they tend to turn a bit brownish in the winter but seem to do just fine overall. I know they've been there for years, and the ones pictures tend to be as tall as the few that we have scattered around Raleigh get. I'd definately recommend all palm fans head out to Pullen Park, there are a few clusters of these palms scattered about, and a few are even tucked away off to the side amongst other types of trees.....

Sorry for my ramblings, this palm tree talk has got me wishing for the summer haha.

[Hybrid0NE]

Row of Palmettos at Days Inn Atlanta Marietta Galleria location...

It was a rough winter here in the Atlanta Metro. Can't wait to get back to Columbia and see some lush green ones.

[NCMike1981]

Here are some palms located off Glenwood Avenue in NW Raleigh (NC):

They didn't seem to mind the last few cold winters we've had...seems like more palm trees are popping up in Raleigh everyday!