Types Of Palm Trees
By Kevin Stith

There are more than 2,500 species of palm trees in different parts
of the world and most are available in the United States. Some of the
most common species found in Florida and California include the Florida
Royal Palm, coconut palms and the Canary Island Date Palm.

According
to the structure of the leaves, palms are classified as palmate or fan
shaped, pinnate or feather shaped and bipinnate. The only palm under
bipinnate is the fish tail palm that carries the Caryota genus. Yet
another classification of palms is named for their ability to survive
extreme weather conditions like cold and drought. Cold hardy palm trees
can withstand very cold winters and are the most common type of palms
found in America. The drought hardy palm can survive on very small
amounts of water.

In America, palm trees come in two different
varieties -- Southern Palms and Northern Palms. The northern palms are
cold hardy and can withstand extreme winter temperatures. The Pakistan
Palm, Needle Palm, Saw Palmetto and the Windmill Palm are examples of
cold hardy palms. They can be grown in minus temperatures but need
adequate cold protection. The southern palms are found in southern
parts of the United States and in coastal regions. They thrive well in
saline soils and are best replanted during summers. The Cabbage Palm
reaches an average height of 40-50 feet and is found in North America
and South America. It is a flexible and adaptable outdoor variety that
requires large quantities of water immediately after transplantation.

The
Fish Tail Palm is native to southern Florida and southern California
and thrives well in almost all varieties of sun and shade conditions.
They do require fertile soils and reach an average height of 15-25 feet
and an average width of 3 to 4.5 meters. To reach their average height
of 60 feet, the Canary Island Date Palms need plenty of sunlight and
survive well in well-drained, moist soils. They are native to Central
Florida, Southern Louisiana and Texas and coastal California. The
Florida Royal Palm leaves average around 36 inches and grow as tall as
50-80 feet. They require acidic soils and good sunshine and grow fast
in well-fertilized soils.