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Cuban Royal Palm
Roystonea regia
September,
2000
This month's choice for
Blue Ribbon Palm of the Month winner is the quintessential "signature" South
Florida avenue, or boulevard palm: the Cuban Royal Palm!
 Words
that describe this palm are: stately, formal, elegant, regal, & tropical! The
Cuban Royal Palm is a native palm that all the tropical world wants to grow, and it is
South Florida's very own! Its native "habitat" is warm, moist, &
rich Everglades muckland. It hates to be planted where it must make do with rocky
sub-soil that offers little, or no nutrition, and does not get almost constant moisture at
its root zone. When you see a healthy looking Cuban Royal Palm, chances are that it
is well-watered, well fertilised, and planted in enriched organic-infused topsoil!!
The Cuban Royal Palm is a Zone 9B to 11B
palm, meaning that it will be happy at minimum temperatures over 35 degrees F. (1 degree
C.), but also must have warm to hot summertime temperatures to "look
good!" California coastal zones meet the winter minimum temperature
requirements for Cuban Royals, but do not provide the summer heat required so roystoneas
as a rule do not perform well here! It is also generally too dry for Cuban Royals
to look their "lushest" in the American West garden.
 Great
places to try growing Cuban Royal Palms, and expect a happy tree, are: Queensland,
AU, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, the entire Caribbean Basin, India, Hawaii,
eastern coastal Mexico, i.e. the Yucatan Peninsula, and the central west coast of
Africa. In these areas, all ingredients: heat, moisture, and freedom from winter's
freezes will make the Cuban Royal Palm quite happy AND quite successful, indeed!
Expect your Cuban Royal Palm to attain a
mature height of about 50 feet (16 metres), so placement considerations for FUTURE GROWTH,
are mandatory! Cuban Royal Palms easily dwarf a typical Florida-style ranch home, so
if one wants to plant a roystonea regia, please plant your new Cuban Royal Palm behind
the home in the yard, NOT in front of the house, near the building!! That way,
the now mature Cuban Royal Palm serves as a backdrop specimen, and adds stature to your
property, in that it becomes a "skyline accent", or signature of height for your
landscape!
Your palm will look elegant for many years
to come; it is not unusual for your Cuban Royal Palm to be your beautiful companion for 50
years to come! Enjoy its refined and understated TROPICAL ELEGANCE.
For SEPTEMBER, there could be no
other winner, for your Wise Gardener to choose than the regal, stately and lovely:
CUBAN ROYAL
PALM:
The
Blue Ribbon Palm of the Month!
Paul,"The
Wise Gardener!"
See all the
previous Blue Ribbon Award Winners by Clicking Here!!
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