Palm trees came to town with the missionaries, for religious ceremonies, and then, decades later, with the great PR sales pitch of Southern California being the “American Mediterranean,” which demanded the right set dressing — palm trees.
The City Beautiful movement of the 1910s and1920s and the glories of the 1932 Olympics stuck thousands of trees of all kinds into the ground to adorn public L.A. All they had to do was look good; to fret over drought or heat was treason.
Angelenos’ faith that pretty much anything could grow here was usually right. The unlikeliest tree cuttings from the world over were carried here, adapted and came to elbow out the locals.
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Climate change changes cities. We can no longer afford freeloader trees, however glamorous. Palms suck down water like camels, but give back barely enough leafiness to shade a Hula-Hoop. Falling fronds can deliver a mean whack, and during fires, palms light up like a flare.
Ever since switching to a desert landscape in my front yard, I've been researching desert trees. I've found a few that will survive in my climate zone, only one of which is mentioned in the...
Ever since switching to a desert landscape in my front yard, I've been researching desert trees. I've found a few that will survive in my climate zone, only one of which is mentioned in the article. It is the desert willow, which is pretty when blooming, but very messy when it drops its leaves and seed pods. Not much shade from it either, and it likes to grow as a bush as much as a tree, so it requires a fair amount of trimming. Not so sure it's a great choice for city landscapes.
The jacaranda trees shown in the article are beautiful when blooming. I hadn't come across those before.
I'm going to plant Desert Museum palo verde trees in the front yard come spring. At the moment, I've got a few seedlings growing in pots, and I'm hoping they survive my black thumb over the winter, inside my shop with a good, sunny spot near a window.
The other desert tree I'm interested in is from Australia, called the mulga acacia tree. Anyone familiar with those?
I live in the high desert. I have 2 ever-blooming desert willows-- they flower from late spring to first frost, with a new flush of flowers every time it rains. They produce no seeds so no seed...
I live in the high desert. I have 2 ever-blooming desert willows-- they flower from late spring to first frost, with a new flush of flowers every time it rains. They produce no seeds so no seed pods and no mess (I love the seed pods--I thinks the trees with seed pods look amazing in the winter. I didn't realize what I was buying at the time.) The flowers are really nice all summer, which you don't get with the species. Hummingbirds and butterflies really like them. Santa Fe botanic garden link
I also have a few Chinese Pistache-- not native but very low water once established (I watered them once this summer) they can make tiny nuts that the birds will eat. The leaves are a rare source of red autumn color and the nuts also turn red in little bunches, making the tree look quite festive in winter. The first one we planted about 25 years ago has a very classic-looking shade tree shape and is 25-30 feet tall.
Other trees and bushes I've had good success with: Native elderberry --its really a bush but gets huge (mine is 15-20 feet after 5 years) and can be trained more like a multi-stemmed tree. It also grows quite fast if you give it water. Beautiful white flowers (kind of Queen Anne's lace-like) that smells amazing and berries that are technically edible (if cooked) but also very attractive to birds.
Jujubes. These are fruit trees. They taste like a cross between a date and an apple. They are more apple like at the fresh stage and more datelike when dried. My favorite variety is called Honey Jar-- I makes cherry-sized fruits that are especially delicious at the fresh stage. The trees are also very hardy, grow fast, and deal with heat and freezing and drought--although I water them to get better fruit production. Also the smell during the flowering stage is just amazing and appears to draw lots of tiny pollinators. There's a lot of info on jujubes on the New Mexico State Agricultural website.
I’ve seen these sorts of articles for awhile. There’s plenty of palms that are drought tolerant desert natives. California’s own fan palm (seen in some of the photos) is one of them, and while it...
I’ve seen these sorts of articles for awhile. There’s plenty of palms that are drought tolerant desert natives. California’s own fan palm (seen in some of the photos) is one of them, and while it naturally grows in oases, it can tolerate little-to-no irrigation once established. I suspect we’ll see palms stick around in the City of Angels.
Id be an interesting experiment to charge the water bill whose streets have all the heavy water drinking palm trees and over time we'll watch the majority come down cuz who wants to pay for...
Id be an interesting experiment to charge the water bill whose streets have all the heavy water drinking palm trees and over time we'll watch the majority come down cuz who wants to pay for something in a common space. State symbol or not.
The fan palms don’t need watering once established. Others might, but even then there’s plenty of desert-origin alternatives. Additionally, people are not purely logical with sentimental things.
The fan palms don’t need watering once established. Others might, but even then there’s plenty of desert-origin alternatives.
Additionally, people are not purely logical with sentimental things.
I think it was to say that if people had a line item on their local taxes (property taxes maybe?) that looked like "$XX.XX to water Y trees in public spaces within Z distance from property" then...
I think it was to say that if people had a line item on their local taxes (property taxes maybe?) that looked like "$XX.XX to water Y trees in public spaces within Z distance from property" then people would be telling their city council to just stop watering the trees lining their local street because they don't want to pay for it. This is unlike cases like golf courses that are businesses that generally need to use water and as a part of running said business. So not saying that no one would ever want to pay to water a plant, but that people may be less interested in footing the bill for the common space waterings if it was more apparent what they cost.
At least in California, water rights are a complicated mess that doesn't pretend to be equitable or efficient because of the legal doctrine called prior appropriation. Depending on when the golf...
At least in California, water rights are a complicated mess that doesn't pretend to be equitable or efficient because of the legal doctrine called prior appropriation. Depending on when the golf course was founded, it might pay very little compared to other users.
The book Cadillac Desert is a good introduction to the history of water use in the American West that I enjoyed reading.
I'm in Los Angeles. About 15 years ago I put laundry machines in the garage where there is no drain nearby. I researched a bit and dug out a hole in the yard nearby, put in a trash can with holes...
I'm in Los Angeles. About 15 years ago I put laundry machines in the garage where there is no drain nearby.
I researched a bit and dug out a hole in the yard nearby, put in a trash can with holes drilled in it. Put a wood platform over it.
Within a few years a palm bush thing started growing right next to the drain. It seemed to reach a full size poofy thing, right on the ground. Then it just levitated straight up over for the last few years. Fueled by our laundry water no doubt.
Trees in cities don't just provide shade, their roots absorb water when it does rain, cutting down on runoff and filtering out some of the gunk that water picks up from the street. Depending on...
Trees in cities don't just provide shade, their roots absorb water when it does rain, cutting down on runoff and filtering out some of the gunk that water picks up from the street. Depending on how much rain falls, this can make all the difference when there might be flash floods. They hold soil in place so it doesn't erode away in the wind. I don't know how much of a difference palm trees make in oxygen, they have a lot less greenage than other trees.
I can absolutely see the argument for planting something more suited to the environment, but I'd hate to see some politician get all excited about a platform on saving water by cutting down all the trees with no other plans.
https://archive.ph/UITVo
From the opinion piece:
...
Ever since switching to a desert landscape in my front yard, I've been researching desert trees. I've found a few that will survive in my climate zone, only one of which is mentioned in the article. It is the desert willow, which is pretty when blooming, but very messy when it drops its leaves and seed pods. Not much shade from it either, and it likes to grow as a bush as much as a tree, so it requires a fair amount of trimming. Not so sure it's a great choice for city landscapes.
The jacaranda trees shown in the article are beautiful when blooming. I hadn't come across those before.
I'm going to plant Desert Museum palo verde trees in the front yard come spring. At the moment, I've got a few seedlings growing in pots, and I'm hoping they survive my black thumb over the winter, inside my shop with a good, sunny spot near a window.
The other desert tree I'm interested in is from Australia, called the mulga acacia tree. Anyone familiar with those?
I live in the high desert. I have 2 ever-blooming desert willows-- they flower from late spring to first frost, with a new flush of flowers every time it rains. They produce no seeds so no seed pods and no mess (I love the seed pods--I thinks the trees with seed pods look amazing in the winter. I didn't realize what I was buying at the time.) The flowers are really nice all summer, which you don't get with the species. Hummingbirds and butterflies really like them. Santa Fe botanic garden link
I also have a few Chinese Pistache-- not native but very low water once established (I watered them once this summer) they can make tiny nuts that the birds will eat. The leaves are a rare source of red autumn color and the nuts also turn red in little bunches, making the tree look quite festive in winter. The first one we planted about 25 years ago has a very classic-looking shade tree shape and is 25-30 feet tall.
Other trees and bushes I've had good success with:
Native elderberry --its really a bush but gets huge (mine is 15-20 feet after 5 years) and can be trained more like a multi-stemmed tree. It also grows quite fast if you give it water. Beautiful white flowers (kind of Queen Anne's lace-like) that smells amazing and berries that are technically edible (if cooked) but also very attractive to birds.
Jujubes. These are fruit trees. They taste like a cross between a date and an apple. They are more apple like at the fresh stage and more datelike when dried. My favorite variety is called Honey Jar-- I makes cherry-sized fruits that are especially delicious at the fresh stage. The trees are also very hardy, grow fast, and deal with heat and freezing and drought--although I water them to get better fruit production. Also the smell during the flowering stage is just amazing and appears to draw lots of tiny pollinators. There's a lot of info on jujubes on the New Mexico State Agricultural website.
Edit: New Mexico state gov also has a nice xeriscaping guide online
If we get rid of the palm trees, I’m guessing that the only remaining natural symbol for LA will have to default to coyotes.
Does oil count as natural? The tar pits are certainly a symbol of the area.
I’ve seen these sorts of articles for awhile. There’s plenty of palms that are drought tolerant desert natives. California’s own fan palm (seen in some of the photos) is one of them, and while it naturally grows in oases, it can tolerate little-to-no irrigation once established. I suspect we’ll see palms stick around in the City of Angels.
Id be an interesting experiment to charge the water bill whose streets have all the heavy water drinking palm trees and over time we'll watch the majority come down cuz who wants to pay for something in a common space. State symbol or not.
The fan palms don’t need watering once established. Others might, but even then there’s plenty of desert-origin alternatives.
Additionally, people are not purely logical with sentimental things.
People do pay for water, and yet we have golf courses, presumably because they make enough to pay for the water. Not sure what you mean?
I think it was to say that if people had a line item on their local taxes (property taxes maybe?) that looked like "$XX.XX to water Y trees in public spaces within Z distance from property" then people would be telling their city council to just stop watering the trees lining their local street because they don't want to pay for it. This is unlike cases like golf courses that are businesses that generally need to use water and as a part of running said business. So not saying that no one would ever want to pay to water a plant, but that people may be less interested in footing the bill for the common space waterings if it was more apparent what they cost.
Eloquently said. Quite literally better than I would have managed lol
At least in California, water rights are a complicated mess that doesn't pretend to be equitable or efficient because of the legal doctrine called prior appropriation. Depending on when the golf course was founded, it might pay very little compared to other users.
The book Cadillac Desert is a good introduction to the history of water use in the American West that I enjoyed reading.
I'm in Los Angeles. About 15 years ago I put laundry machines in the garage where there is no drain nearby.
I researched a bit and dug out a hole in the yard nearby, put in a trash can with holes drilled in it. Put a wood platform over it.
Within a few years a palm bush thing started growing right next to the drain. It seemed to reach a full size poofy thing, right on the ground. Then it just levitated straight up over for the last few years. Fueled by our laundry water no doubt.
Trees in cities don't just provide shade, their roots absorb water when it does rain, cutting down on runoff and filtering out some of the gunk that water picks up from the street. Depending on how much rain falls, this can make all the difference when there might be flash floods. They hold soil in place so it doesn't erode away in the wind. I don't know how much of a difference palm trees make in oxygen, they have a lot less greenage than other trees.
I can absolutely see the argument for planting something more suited to the environment, but I'd hate to see some politician get all excited about a platform on saving water by cutting down all the trees with no other plans.