Palm Recommendations for Houston area?

Discussion in 'Outdoor Tropicals' started by Charchar, Mar 24, 2021.

  1. Charchar

    Charchar New Member

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    Location:
    Texas
    Hopefully there's some fellow Texans here. I live southeast of Houston and was researching palms before the freeze last month so now I'm back at square one. What palms do you guys have that look like they survived?

    I've talked to a couple local nurseries here but they all say something different, probably to push whatever they have in stock.

    The 3 I've considered and want to learn more about are:

    Windmill Palms- this was my first choice but I was told they have root rot issues and I don't want to hire a landscaper to level my front yard to make them work. I've also seen some posts on here saying they don't think theirs survived. They grow very slowly and I don't want to spend 9k on three decent sized palms. Did any in the Houston area survive? Have you ever had root rot issues?



    Washingtonia- This was suggested by a nursery I spoke to, they scare me because I have a small one story and I worry in a few years it's just going to look like light poles in my front yard because they'll get too big. I also saw pictures of dead ones on here too but not sure if it was in my region. Did yours survive? If I got a small one, how long would it take to grow in this climate to be out of control tall? Will most likely be staying in this house for 30yrs.



    Texas Sabal- I personally consider this to be not a very attractive palm, it always looks half dead and in need of a trim. It also gets very tall but not as bad as Washingtonia and I'd be willing to purchase some Texas Sabals if it would survive the freeze and be low maintenance. Did yours survive? Is there a difference between Texas Sabal and Florida Sabal? These names get very confusing.

    Are there any palm recommendations that would be good for this area that I haven't mentioned?

    Someone was kind enough to create and inspiration picture of what my house could look like if I did some landscaping.

    Thanks for your time.
     

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  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Location:
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    If there isn't anyone here to reply with direct experience (though there are a few Texans posting on the forums right now), do you have any local municipal or botanical gardens with palms that you can visit and speak with the horticulturists?
     
  3. monicasanchez

    monicasanchez Active Member Maple Society

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    Location:
    Mallorca, Spain (38ºC maximum/-2ºC minimum)
    Hello Charchar.
    What is the lowest temperature you have in your area?
    There are many palm trees that resist cold and frost, like these:

    • Trachycarpus bulgaria: -23ºC
    • Trachycarpus fortunei: -15ºC
    • Trachycarpus latisectus: -17ºC
    • Rhapidophyllum histrix: -23ºC
    • Nannorhops ritcheana: -12ºC
    • Sabal minor: -18ºC
    • Butia capitata: -10ºC
    • Parajubaea torallyi: -10ºC

    Regards!
     

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