Palms Available for Landscaping in Southern Florida

There are many hostile elements a street tree must en Florida, there remains a significant void in maintenance dure: air pollution, compact growing spaces, sterile soils, and replacement. Education of tree maintenance workers vandalism, insects, disease, even dog urine. However, by and of the general public is an ongoing process which far the greatest detriment to the urban forest is induced should become apart of a community street tree program. by man. As in most communities across the country south Street trees in south Florida are becoming an intergral part Florida's publicly maintained trees are often at the end of of the environment in which people work and play. As a "shoe string" budget. A reduced emphasis on tree Winston Churchill has said; "Man shapes his environment, maintenance allows untrained, unsupervised or unqual afterwards, his environment shapes him". And so it is with ified individuals to work with trees. While there has been street trees in south Florida. a overall increase the number of street trees in south

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100:156-159. 1987.

PALMS AVAILABLE FOR LANDSCAPING IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA

Murray J. Corman number of lines of palm listings was taken as a percentage Garden of Delights of total listings for the two years of 1980 and 1987. Also, 2018 Mayo Street the number of species listed in these years was compared Hollywood, FL 33020 for percentage of change (Table 1). Those palms affected by lethal yellowing are indicated by a " + " symbol and a "-" symbol indicates unaffected varieties. South Florida Abstract. Palms are highly ornamental and decorative, everg Water Management District and Fairchild Tropical Gar reen, mainly tropical, woody plants of the family Palmae. They are extensively planted in tropical and warm temperate den recommendations are also indicated by " + " symbols and a " - " symbol indicates non-recommended. Palm Soci regions around the globe. With about 210 genera and 2,780 species, the palm family can provide a wide range of texture ety sale catalogs and price lists from individual nurseries and shape to the landscape. In Southern Florida, nurseries were combined to produce a list of "secondary varieties" have exploited only a small percentage of theavailable (Table 3). For the purpose of this research, the southern germplasm. A list of readily available species has been in Florida area includes only the section of Florida south of cluded. the Palm Beach—Martin County line, including the Florida Keys, and east of the Everglades Water Conserva tion areas. "Man dwells naturally within the tropics and lives on the A combination of unusually cold winters in the late fruit of the palm tree. He exists in other parts of the world and there makes shift to feed on corn and flesh—Carolus 1970's and early 1980's and the continued effects of lethal Linnaeus 1707-1778. yellowing disease of susceptible palms, has left southern The words of the famed Swedish botanist (originator Florida in need of repalming, in order to maintain its un of the binomial nomenclature system of today) are not ique tropical appearance. nearly as true today as they were two centuries ago. How The economics of production and the functional limits ever, man's desire to "dwell within the tropics" is as true of various palm germplasm should be the main factors today as ever. Palm trees, a universal symbol of the tropics, determining availability of plant material in southern are increasing in popularity both as landscape plants (espe Florida. As the production of native and exotic palm vari cially in the warmer, southern areas) in Florida and as exo eties expands, the main limiting factors are (a) readily tic interiorscape plants throughout North America and available, reasonably priced seed and seedlings of appro Europe. priate varieties and (b) the willingness of producers to risk Locating sources for purchasing landscape plants com adding new plants to their product mix. As with all prod- patible with design plans and climatic conditions can be a frustrating challenge. Lists of varieties recommended for Table 1. Change in percentage of palm advertisements and number of landscape uses are published by Institute of Food and Ag species offered in Florida plant locator publications for the years 1980 ricultural Sciences of the University of Florida, South and 1987 (1, 2, 5). Florida Water Management District, and Fairchild Tropi cal Garden (3, 4, 8). However, the availability of many Publication Pages of % of % No. of % Month, year palm ads publication Change species Change palms listed is uncertain, at best. Those species available throughout the year now total more than 190 either from Florada Plant Finder 1.25 8.3 22 commercial nursries, Table 2, or semi-annual Palm Society Oct., 1980 39.7 172.7 Member Sales, Table 3. Florida Plant Finder 9 11.6 60 Sept., 1987 Dade County Materials and Methods Nursery Report 1.75 9.7 23 Sept., 1980 48.5 152 Professional nursery locator publications and Palm So Dade County ciety sale catalogs were used to determine number of Nursery Report 8.5 14.4 58 species and plant sizes offered (Tables 1, 2, 3). The June, 1987

156 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. Table 2. Palm varieties and sizes offered in southern Florida (1) lethal Table 2. Continued yellowing susceptibility (4), xeriscape recommendation (8) and Fair- child Tropical Garden recommendation (3).z Parameters Scientific name Common name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 Parametersy Scientific name Common name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Ptychosperma elegans Soitaire palm 0 0 10 0 6 1 0 13 14 45' - + + Acoelorrhaphe wrightii Ptychosperma macarthurii Everglades palm 10 2 0 111 0 11 0 20' - + + Macarthur palm 0 1 10000 0 0 0-- + + Archontophoenix ahxandrae Rhapidophyllum hystrix Alexandra palm 10 010001 00-- + + Needle palm 0 0 01111000- Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Rhapis excelsa Piccabeen palm 00 101000 1 0- Slender lady palm 0 0 02220 0 0 2 12'- + + Arecastrum romanzoffianum Rhapis humilis Queen palm 1 0 62930 130 2 30'- + - Reed rhapis 0 0 01010 00 15 Arenga engleri Rhapis sp. Dwarf sugar palm 00 000100 0 0 6'+ Thai dwarf lady palm 0 0 22210 0 0 3 T Bismarckia nobilis Roystonia elata Bismarck palm 0100112 10 06'- + + Florida royal palm 2 1 10 0 0 0 0 12 0 50' - + + Butia capitata Sabalplmetto 00100 0 3 0 14'- + + Jelly palm 00 101010 108'- + - Cabbage palm 0 0 Carpentaria acuminata Serenoa repens 10000 0 0 0-- + + Carpentaria palm 0 1 50321 0 8 0 16'- + + Saw palmetto 0 0 Caryota mitis Thrinax morrisii 00010 0 2 0 12'- + + Clumping fishtail palm 10 12100 0 3 012'+ + + Key palm 0 0 Caryota urens Thrinax radiata 00020 0 2 9 9'- + + Toddy fishtail palm 00 00000 0 1 0-- + - Florida thatch palm 0 1 Chamaedorea sp. Trachycarpus fortunei 00 13000 0 0 0-- + + Windmill palm 1 0 00000 0 0 0-++- Chamaedorea cateractarum Veitchia sp. Sunshine palm 0 0 000000 10-++- Cat palm 00 01000 0 2 0-- + + Chamaedorea elegans Veitchia merrillii Christmas palm 0 0 11320 0 7 2 25'+ + - Parlor palm 00 10000 000 2'- + + Veitchia montgomeryana Chamaedorea erumpens Montgomery's palm 1 0 000000 10-+++ Bamboo palm 00 22210 000 5' + Chamaedorea seifrizii Veitchia winin Winin palm 1 0 000000 10-++- Reed palm 01 12000 000 5'- + + Washingtonia robusta Chamaerops huilis Washington palm 2 0 2 2 2 10 0 22 0 20' - + - European fan palm 0 1 21410 0 8 0 12'- + + Chrysalidocarpus lutescens yParameters are coded as follows: Areca palm 0 3 18 7 7 4 0 1 0 10 20' - + + 1) Liner (individual seedling or up to 50 plants per pot for repotting) Coccothrinax argentata 2) 1 and 2 gallon size containerized palms Florida silver palm 00 00010 0 1 0 12'- + + 3) 3 gallon size containerized palms Cocos nucifera 4) 7 gallon size containerized palms Coconut palm var. 5) 10 gallon size containerized palms 'Maypan' 00 00010 0 3 0 24'+ + + 6) 15-20 gallon size containerized palms Cocos nucifera 7) 30-40 gallon size containerized palms Coconut palm var. 8) 50-60 gallon size containerized palms 'Malayan' 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 113 0 20' + + - 9) Field grown individual palms Dictyosperma album 10) Field grown multiple palms Common princess palm 00 00010 0 105'+ + - 11) Maximum height offered Howeaforsterana 01 01000 00 0- 12) lethal yellowing disease (+ = susceptible) Kentia pallm 13) Xeriscape recommended (+ = recommended) Hyophorbe verschaffeltii 00 01100 100 5'+ + - 14) Fairchild Tropical Garden recommended (+ = recommended) Spindle palm zThis table represents only those varieties and sizes listed for sale in south Hyophorbe lagenicaulis ern lorida as of June 1987. Bottle palm 00 01111 0 1 0 6'- + - Latania loddigesii ucts, the tastes of the ultimate consumer determine the 00 01000 0 108'+ + - Blue latan supply of products presented to the market and the price Licuala grandis 01 11100 000 3'- + + for which they are sold. Licuala spinosa Palms usualy grown from seed often require years to Spiny licuala 00 01000 0 1 1 8'- + + achieve salable landscape size. Producers, therefore, can Livistona chinensis not respond as quickly to shifting tastes as with crops pro Chinese fan palm 22 85450 0 10 116'+ + + Livistona rotundifolia duced vegetatively. 00 02000 0 1 0 9' + The spectrum of palm varieties grown for ornamental Livistona saribus use in southern Florida is sufficient to supply many land 00 00100 000- © scape specifications. As building styles change over time, Neodypsis decaryi so do landscape needs. The palm nurseryman is often hard Triangle palm 10 10 111 1 1 0 18' + + + Phoenix reclinata pressed to shift from one variety to another due to the Senegal date palm 00 00000 0 7 028'+ + - comparatively slow growth rate from seedling to useable Phoenix roebelenii landscape size. This factor has created a unique enter Pygmy date palm 1 2 43940 0 11 17 8'- + + prise—that of purchasing mature specimen trees from Pinanga kuhlii 00 01000 000 6' older landscapes to supply new construction or landscape 157 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. Table 3. Palm varieties available in southern Florida from International renovations. A third source of large palm plants has been Palm Society sales and nurseries specializing in palms (7). from natural, native stands (dug and hauled to their new southern Florida location) Of these three sources, only Common name Scientific name palms from seed can ever enable the ornamental horticul Acrocomia mexicina Coyoli palm ture industry to expand varietal selection beyond the few A. total Gru-Gru palm old stand-bys and produce quantities needed to supply Aiphanes acanthophylla Coyure palm landscape industry demands. Harvesting native palms A. caryotaefolia Ruffle palm, Spine palm Allagoptera arenaria Seashore palm from either wild or private lands as mature specimens can Areca catechu Betel-nut palm provide large numbers of but a few varieties. In order to A. triandra provide a greater diversity of texture to the arsenal of land A. vestiaria scape palms, southern Florida growers have sought out Arikuryroba schizophylla Arikury palm Bactris gasipaes Peach palm, pejibaye exotic species from around the world. Some varieties have Brassiophoenix schumanii proven economically attractive, such as 'Solitaire Palm' or Borassus aethiopum 'Areca Palm', due to their rapid growth rates. Others have B.flabellifer Palmyra palm, wine palm succeeded, such as 'Pygmy Date Palm' and 'Washingtonia Brahea armata Blue hesper palm Palm', for their relative cold hardiness; still others such as Calamus sp. Rattan palm Chamaedorea spp. Bamboo palm, Pacaya 'Jelly Palm' and 'Coconut Palm', for their edible products Chrysalidocarpus cabadae Cabadae palm (6). While most exotic palms will adapt well to the southern Coccothrinas alia Florida climate, a few species find our winters too cold, C. dussiana such as 'Red Sealing Wax Palm' and Chamaedorea tepejilote. C.fragrans C. miraguama Others, such as 'Needle Palm' and 'Jelly Palm', prefer a Copernicia alba cooler climate. Southern Florida soils vary from fine sand, C. baileyana appealing to most palms, to oolitic limestone which man C. glabrescens dates remedial nutritional treatments on a regular basis. C. hospita C. macroglossa Petticoat palm Species such as 'Canary Island Date Palm' and 'Queen Corypha elata Gebang palm Palm' need such supplemental nutrition to sustain an at C. umbraculifera Talipot palm tractive appearance. Cyrtostachys renda Sealing-way palm Since the arrival of lethal yellowing disease in the mid- Dictyosperma aureum Yellow princess palm Elaeis guineensis African oil palm 1950's, the list of susceptible varieties has increased to in Euterpe edulis Assaipalm clude more than 28 species (Table 2). Pritchardia species Heterospathe elata Sagisi palm and coconut are considered highly susceptible. Nine other Howea belmoreana Belmore sentry palm species are considered moderately susceptible. Although Hyphaene spp. Gingerbread palm Aiphanes lindeniana is native to the Caribbean, an interest Latania verschaffeltii Yellow latan palm Livistona australis Gippsland palm ing fact is that not one susceptible species is native to con L. decipiens tinental U.S. L. humilis In recent years, the potential threat of drought in L. mariae southern Florida has weighed heavily on the decision mak L. robinsoniana Normanbya normanbyi Black palm ing process for irrigation systems as well as the product Opsiandra maya mix grown in commercial nurseries. This is met by low Phoenix canariensis Canary Island date palm volume irrigation systems and appropriate plant materials P. dactylifera Date palm that will survive in the landscape with comparatively little P. rupicola Cliff date palm P. sylvestris Wild date palm supplemental irrigation. These appropriate or Xeriscape Pigafettafilaris plants are properly located native plants and drought to Pinanga kuhlii lerant and non-invasive exotics. There are 53 species of Prestoea montana palms included in this group as defined by the South Pseudophoenix sargentii Florida Water Management District. (8). P. vinifera Cherry palm While many species are available throughout the year Ptychosperma salomonense Reinhardtia gracilis from commercial nurseries, a far greater variety can be Raphia farinifera Raffia palm obtained at the semi-annual salas of the Miami Chapter of Rhopalostylis sapida Nikau palm the International Palm Society, Inc. In recent Palm Society Overtop palm Rhyticocos amara sales, greater than 130 species of native and exotic palms Roscheria melanochaetes Sabal blackburniana have been offered for sale (7). S. causiarum Puerto Rican hat palm S. etonia Scrub palmetto Conclusion S. mauritiiformis S. mexican Texas palmetto Few plant families have grown in popularity in recent 5. minor Dwarf palmetto years as much as palms. From 1980 to 1987, commercial Salacca edulis Salak palm Syagrus comosa growers have increased the percentage of production area S. coronata Licuri palm alloted to palm varieties. Professional plant locator publica Synechanthus warscewiczianus tions are filling a greater percentage of their pages with Veitchia arecina price and availability information on palms (Table 1). Also, V.joannis V. Winin the number of species of palms included in the product Verschaffeltia splendida mix has increased by more than 150% in the same 7 year Wodyetia bifurcata Foxtail palm period (Table 1).

158 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. Through the efforts of University of Florida—Institute 2. Galletta, K. (ed.). 1987. Plantfinder; Betrock Publishing, Inc. Ft. of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the International Palm Lauderdale, FL. 3. Hammer, N. 1985. Palms for South Florida. Fairchild Tropical Gar Society, the Division of Forestry—Florida Department of den Bulletin 40(3):7-17. Agriculture and Consumer Services, commercial nursery 4. McCoy, R. E. (ed.). 1983. Lethal yellowing of palms; Univ. of Florida, men and the Repalming Committee of the Metro-Dade Inst. Food Agr. Sci. Tech. Bull. 834. County Extension Service, education of consumers and 5. Nurserymen's Adv. Pub. Svcs. 1980. Florida Plantfinder Vol. 1:10. producers alike will assure increased availability of palm 6. Popenoe, J. 1977. Growing palms with edible fruits in Florida. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 90:21-212. plants to lend a hint of the tropics wherever they are seen. 7. South Fla. Chapter of the Palm Soc, Inc. Nov. 1984, May 1985, Nov. 1985, May 1986 Show and sale programs. Miami, FL. Literature Cited 8. South Fla. Water Management Dist. 1987 Xeriscape plant guide. W. Palm Beach, Fla. 1. Florida Nurserymen and Growers Assoc, Sept. 1980, June 1987 Dade County Nursery Report.

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100:159-161. 1987.

TROPICAL DAYLILIES: AN UPDATE

J. WOOTEN damage. The occasional real frost, maybe once in ten years, Jean Wooten Daylilies can be devastating. But to perennial plants from the North 9045 SW 64th Court cold weather—even frost—can be as invigorating as a letter Miami, FL 33156 from home. The enemy—the mortal enemy—of these "foreigners" is the lack of cold. "Chill requirement" is the Abstract. Daylily hybridization undertaken in Miami in the two-word explanation of why the equivalent of the north early 1970's to produce daylilies which could reliably survive ern perennial border or flower bed is so little in evidence the absence of winter chill has produced a full color range in southern Florida. Foliage plants so dominate the land including bicolors, color blends and contrasting eyezones; a scaping of dooryard, driveway, backyard, terrace in south range of flower characteristics including ruffling, doubling ern Florida that it's as if the technological revolution in and reblooming; and a range of plant habit from tall and flower color and form has yet to happen. It is not robust to miniature. New named cultivars have been crossed suggested that southern Florida lacks flowering plant ma into the breeding line resulting in a race of plants with prop terials but, as with tropical and subtropical plants gener erties vying with the finest available elsewhere. Favorable ally, they have lacked the selective improvement evidenced notice has slowly increased the reception of tropical daylilies in temperate climate plant materials, with notable excep in landscaping and home gardening in southern Florida. tions such as the hibiscus. The paucity of flowering plant materials is inescapably evident in the use of such plants Moving from "Up North" to southern Florida can be in gardening and landscape applications. Northern visitors viewed in gardening terms as something like a step back to Fairchild Tropical Garden are sometimes heard to ask, in time. "Up North," the rather meager palette of garden "But where are the flowers?" color of our distant gardening forebears—fence-border Moving from Virginia to Coral Gables twenty years ago, hollyhocks and goldenrod and sunflowers and foxgloves, as a landscape architect and flower lover I brought some the occasional edging of pansies or forget-me-nots, the of my favorite irises and daylilies with me. The irises, flower bed of transported wildflowers: columbines and planted in October, barely lasted into the heat of the fol poppies, perhaps some near-antediluvian daylilies among lowing summer. One valiant large tall white, untriggered varieties of daisies—has exploded over the last two or three to dormancy, rebloomed several times at irregular inter generations to a massive rainbow of color in elegant peren vals, each time at reduced height and bloom size, until it nial borders and eye-riveting flower beds punctuating expired as a six inch miniature. The daylily experience was neighborhoods of gardeners. happier but marred by selective attrition. "Up North" to the southern Florida gardener needs I have discussed elsewhere the complex relationship definition. It has less to do with the Mason-Dixon line than between evergreen and deciduous daylilies (3, 8). Briefly, with a line across mid-Florida. North Florida from this the evergreen quality derives from but one ancestor, perspective is much like Georgia and South Carolina, and Hemerocallis aurantiaca Baker, although more than a dozen not so different from North Carolina and Virginia. South species contribute to the highly genetically mixed modern ward from Maryland and Virginia, spring comes a little daylily population (2). It is a dominant characteristic, how earlier, fall a little later. The cold of winter regularly ever. The evergreen daylily understandably does not sur reaches down on arctic front wings into northern Florida, vive the rigorous winters of New England and the upper and when it hangs on for a while it often does mortal reaches of the mid- and far west. The deciduous daylily damage to plants from warmer climates. Almost never do does well in both the North (except in regions with extreme they inflict mortal damage to plant usually populating per winters) and South. ennial borders, but southern Florida is another matter. The usual assumption has been that deciduous daylilies On reaching southern Florida, arctic fronts have mostly need cold weather to trigger dormancy and ultimately the lost their sting, but the cold they bring sometimes can do bloom of the next season. Both the North and the South

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. 159