AVOID TROPICAL PALMS
Many people order
tropical palm trees online because they like their vibrant colors, cool
features, or rarity. Some popular species include the Lipstick
Palm or Sealing Wax Palm (Cyrtostachys renda),
Seychelles Stilt Root Palm (Vershaffeltia splendida),
Christmas Palm (Adonidia merrillii),
Bottle Palm (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis),
and Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera).
They are typically sold in small sizes (under 15 inches tall) and are
bare-rooted (shipped without soil).
The
problem with this practice is two-fold:
1)
Tropical palms (Zone 11) are really only successful outdoors in south
Florida, the Brownsville area of Texas, and Hawaii. Of course,
they can be grown in a heated greenhouse with proper care and
maintenance.
2)
Tropical palms are typically sensitive when in their seedling stage and
require an extensive recovery/transplant period in order to survive to
maturity. This translates into a high mortality rate, even among
the most experienced collectors.
NOTE:
If you are a rare palm collector or have a particular green thumb, you
shouldn't be discouraged from trying one or two tropical palms if you
want to, but don't put too much stock or hope on them! (Palm
collecting, after all, is all about trial-and-error. In other
words, push the limits of palms as an experiment to see if "the
impossible" can be done.) |
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