Coconut palms on RP beaches?

dirtsurfer

Well Known Member
Forum Supporter
Thank you, I have all of the naturally occurring stuff growing but was hoping to go up in the air a little.
 

MIRAMAR

Well Known Member
I've seen Mexican fan palms on the beach- you have to bring in the right soil, water quite a bit, and hose the salt off,but they do grow. It looks like California has the most north growing coconut palm- they are beautiful, along w/ Tulum.
 

InkaRoads

cronopiador
When I first move to Tucson, some 30 years ago, the house my brother and I lived at had a 35 to 40 feet high palm tree with fronds all the way to the ground in the front yard, one day we decided to trim it, with fire, lite the fronds and after a few seconds we could here a wrecking train coming but no flames about a minute passed by and then a huge explosion took place and the flames were another 40 feet high in the air, within a minute all the dry fronds were gone the flames some how dissipated and the fire trucks (2) were going crazy on how to reach the house as our street is a "u" shape and if you do not know the street you miss the turn very easily, specially if you are in a rush to get there!! by the time the firetrucks made it to the house we had the fire extincted and the yard almost clean, they asked were was the fire and we just shrugged our shoulders and they left!!! after that I decided that using a pair of pruners and a ladder is safer than fire, although I LOVE fire!!
 

apricot

Well Known Member
How about bougainvillea? I see a lot of that down there in a lot of different colors, particularly in Cholla and Las Conchas.
 

Roberto

Well Known Member
Bougainvillea grows like a weed once established. They take very little water to grow. I had at least 40 vines at my house. The thorns are brutal, making pruning hazerdous. If you want a beautiful security perimeter plant them close and interweave the vines. Better than razor ribbon and much more atractive. A thick vine also makes an excellent walking stick with thorns to wack a miscreant or attacking dog !
 

Roberto

Well Known Member
Very interesting. Wonder why it is not more popular. If those leaves are as tough as palm fronds you might have a chance, anything less would be shredded by the wind here.
 

dirtsurfer

Well Known Member
Forum Supporter
I think these trees would do well in Penasco proper but the salt and sand on the beach may make it a little tough for them.
 

Landshark

Well Known Member
We planted what I think are called Norfolk Island Pines on the back side of the house, not the beach side. They seem to grow good in town but just don't seem happy at our place. They've grown to be about 15' tall but just don't look full & uniform. The frost we occasionally get hits them hard & then they struggle. Same thing in the summer when it gets super hot. Tried more water, less water, fertilizer, but nothing seemed to make a difference. Pic is just an example. Bougainvillea, lantana, dwarf oleander, miniature date palms all grow great, but again on the back side of the house. When we tried them on the side of the house in the "wind tunnel" they didn't make it. The only thing we've found that grows well on the dunes is ice plants. We have had good success with the Mexican Fan Palms in a masonry planter against the house on the beach side. Never tried them out on the dunes.
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mis2810

Well Known Member
Those are the same trees that are planted in front of the Princessa Resort. They always looked out of place to me for the beach.
 

lagrimas85

AKA Carnac
There was, not is The Pinacate Nursery, they were north of town at about km65 all trees, plants and cactus from this area..Didn't last too long, they were off the highway a few hundred feet and no sign..

courtesy of carnac
 

mermaid

Active Member
There is a good nursery in Penasco on the same street as Telmex. Heading south on Bonito Juarez turn left at Portugal Insurance and then make the first right. About a block or so down on the west side of the street before you get to Telmex.
I have had great luck with (what the locals call Algadone) It is a big tree with big dark leaves that grow very fast. They seem to almost double in size every year, plus they flower. You see them all over Penasco. The closest English name I've found on the web is a Sea Hybiscus.
As for palms, my Mexican fan palms look great but are very slow growing. Date palms are doing very well. A couple years ago I planted coco palms and they are doing great.
 

lagrimas85

AKA Carnac
Mermaid, its actually algodon or Cotton..if you check when it blooms it actually does have balls of cotton... Martin owns the nursery you mentioned and if somebody wants native plants he will find them..

courtesy of carnac
 

mermaid

Active Member
Thanks Carnac. I have had my trees in now for about 5 years and have yet yo see any cotton balls. They do get a ton of flowers that are yellow in the morning, orange by noon and red in the evening and then they fall off.
I guess my trees just don't have balls.
 

lagrimas85

AKA Carnac
Here are some algodones, one with cottonballs and sick and one that should look like yours if it's an algodon
taken a couple minutes ago near Los Pinos

courtesy of carnac
 
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