Park of Palms: Part I

Fort Myers, Florida, known as the City of Palms, has an old park dedicated to them in downtown, the Park of Palms. Unfortunately there isn’t much information about this park, expect this plaque and the 37 different palms in this small park. In this post we’ll look at some of the more common ones used in SW Florida as landscape palms.

Sabal Palm

The state tree of Florida, also known as the cabbage palm, has a solitary trunk with a compact crown. Palms are known for their crown of evergreen leaves. These leaves are palmately or fan-shaped.

Canary Island Date Palm

This Phoenix canariensis is one of my favorites. It grows from 40 to 60 feet tall with a wonderfully large 20 to 40 foot spread and 20 foot long pinnated or feather-like shaped leaves. The leaves on the specimen below are so long they hide its trunk.

Adonidia Palm

Also known as Veitchia merrilli or Christmas palm due to its red berries is a self-cleaning palm. When the fronds die they easily peal off leaving a very clean looking trunk unlike a lot of its fellow palms that have a crosshatch trunk once leaves are removed.

Coconut Palm

Or Cocos nucifera is a tropical palm found commonly in the Western Pacific and often conjures images of sunny destinations. They grow 50 to 80 feet tall with 15 to 17 foot long pinnates of olive green.

Fishtail Palm

Caryota mitis is an unusual looking palm with a bi-pinnated leaf resembling a fish’s tail. This palm grows in clusters from the ground unlike the solitary palms that have one growing point on top.

Areca Palms

Known as Dypisis lutescens, these palms also grow in a cluster. They are commonly used as a screening hedge for privacy as the different heights of growth tend to resemble more of a bush than a tree. When manicured, like the specimen below, you can see the trunks.

Bottle Palm

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis has a unique round base. Their curved striking pinnated leaves usually number 6 to 7. Their slow growth, usually to 10 feet, make for interesting landscape features.

Triangle Palm

Neodypsis decay has a very unique geometrical shape. The pinnated fronds grow from three different sections forming a unique crown.

Pygmy Date Palm

This common palm, also known as Phoenix roebelenii, is popular for its small compact and distinct form. A popular focal point found in pots or a bordered flower garden.

Silver Bismark Palm

This Bismarkia nobilis has huge palmated leaves with an unusual silver-grey coloring. They can have big crowns and add a striking dimension to the landscape.

Royal Palm

Roystonea regis have self-cleaning trunks like the adonidia. These palms grow tall up to 80 feet. Thomas Edison, the famed inventor, had a mile of them planted along his  Seminole Lodge Estate in Fort Myers. The city later added more miles of them inspiring the name; the City of Palms.

Next time we’ll look at some  uncommon palms in Park of Palms: Part II.

Edison & Ford Winter Estates: Part II

In Edison & Ford Winter Estates: Part I we explored some of the many plants Thomas Edison and his wife Mina planted at their winter home, Seminole Lodge, in  Fort Myers, FL. His good friend Henry Ford would often visit and in 1916 purchased the property next door, The Mangoes, named after the many mango trees on the property.

Here is a statue of Ford in front of shell ginger.

Ford's winter home is a Craftsman bungalow. You can see a bit of Edison's winter home, Seminole Lodge, behind the mango trees on the right.

Thomas Edison and his wife Mina planted many things to make their estate attractive and comfortable for their family and guests. Edison had 1.5 miles of royal palms brought in from Cuba to line McGregor Blvd. in front of the estate. Fort Myers is known as the City of Palms and the royal palms now stretch for seven miles along the boulevard.

Two rows of royal palms line the walkway up to the back of The Mangoes.

Of course, there are many other palms on the grounds. These three Archontophoenix alexandrae ‘King Palm’ are from Australia.

Elaeis guineensis ‘African Oil Palm’ is from West and Central Africa.

Sabal palmetto ‘Cabbage Palm’ is a native and the state tree of Florida.

Bismarkia nobilis ‘Bismark Palm’ is from Madagascar.

The Caloosahatchee River flows behind the properties and is shaded by a variety of trees. Edison loved to fish and this was a great place to catch tarpon.

Edison researched many botanicals to find a domestic  source of rubber. One such tree was this ficus drupacea ‘Mysore Fig’ or ‘Brown Wooly Fig’ found in China, SE Asia and India. It has an incredible root system.

Epidendrum radicans ‘Ground Orchid’ is a bright lovely orchid.

Plumeria sp. 'Frangipani' is a small tree that looses its leaves during the dry season. The long leaves start to appear in March or April and beautiful blooms follow and continue till December.

Caesalpinia pulcherrima 'Rosea' or 'Dwarf Ponciana' has fern-like leaves and brilliant blooms that start to bloom in March and soon dominate the tree's canopy lasting through the rainy season.

Visiting Ford’s winter estate wouldn’t be complete without some antique cars. On the left is a 1929 Ford Model A and next to it a 1917 Ford Model TT Truck.

1919 Model T Ford, can you imagine driving this?

You can learn more by visiting Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Next time we'll explore the Park of Palms in downtown Fort Myers.