City of Palms

Fort Myers truly is the city of palms.  From the Royal palm lined McGregor Blvd above, to the numerous palm varieties in everyone’s yard to the palm sheaves given out on Palm Sunday at church.  Here are some typical varieties of palm trees in our immediate neighbourhood.

The Royal palm can grow to 80 feet in height.  Smooth gray-white trunk topped with a green crownshaft and a long luxurious frond.  They are sought after in landscaping of houses on large properties and lining roadways and walkways.

The Coconut palm can grow to 50 feet tall and produces coconuts at random times after 6 to 8 years.  The coconuts take a year to ripen.

The very common Queen palm is fast growing attaining 40 feet.  Inexpensive, they are very popular and produce orange fruit which drops and can be messy.

The Latania comes in a red and blue variety and has gorgeous fan shaped fronds that grow to 8 feet across.

The Canary Island Date palm is sometimes also called the Pineapple palm.  The crusty thick leaf scar pattern and huge crown of stiff leaves are reminiscent of a pineapple.

The Washingtonia  palm is also known as the Mexican fan palm have very beautiful trunks and rich fan like plumage.  They are a favorite with builders and can grow to 100 feet tall.

The Foxtail palm is known for its smooth gray trunk, bright green crownshaft and big tufted fronds that each resemble a foxtail.

On Palm Sunday I was curious to see what would happen.  The ushers brought out several bundles of palm leaves wrapped in clear plastic.  They gave them out as we exited the church.  It is safe to say that they were not too worried about running out – they could have grabbed more growing not 20 feet from the door.  The City of Palms – no more appropriate place to be on Palm Sunday.