L.A. Palms Do Vanishing Act

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2006/oct/17/101703790.html

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The city's palm trees - as much a symbol of L.A. as the automobile, movie stars and the beach - are vanishing.

The trees are dying of old age and a fungal disease, disappearing one by one from parks and streets, and city planners are replacing them with oaks, sycamores and other species that are actually native to Los Angeles and offer more shade, too.

Not all palms are infected, and there no danger of their vanishing altogether any time soon. But some parts of the city could look noticeably different in the years ahead. And that troubles some.

"I think the palm tree kind of fits with the whole Southern California vibe," says Jonathan Scott, who manages the fashionable downtown restaurant The Palm.

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[Richard D]

1. Other than that L.A. . . .

. . . pseudo-tropical look, palms are worthless here. They don't provide shade, are really rather ugly looking, the fronds fall and damage cars, etc. Planting natives is so much better of an idea.

[K8-EEE]

2. I love my date palm!

Although the fronds are like SWORDS...OUCH!!!

[Richard D]

6. Date palms are a whole different thing

I'm talking about those super tall useless things that are always in pics of L.A. with a blond in a yellow or red convertible in the foreground.

[Javaman]

10. I just found out that a few people here in Texas grow Date palms...

How tough are they to take care of?

I'm wanting to have one in my yard. :)

[Champion Jack]

8. They give the rats a place to live!

[K8-EEE]

9. Oh, totally, I found a dead one under my bed once, lovely.

Present from the cat. Rats, squirrels, possums, you name it, they all love my lime & date palm trees, but I'm still a proud liberal tree-hugger!

[LSparkle]

3. Only when I moved away from L.A. did I miss the palm trees

Now I'm back and as I look out the window there must be a dozen visible. Can't help it -- I like 'em; they make me feel warm even when it's not 90 degrees.

[kestrel91316]

4. I HATE the palm trees. There is one in my front yard, a TALL

Mexican Fan Palm, IIRC, and those goddam fronds come down and are potential lethal weapons. Especially on a windy day. The edges of the stalks (about 5' long) are covered with sharp serrations!!

And they spread like weeds. They put out huge numbers of seeds which ALL germinate. They fill my lawn. They fill my flower and perennial beds. They even fill my raised vegetable beds. And good luck pulling up those seedlings - they put down very deep roots, and the upper part breaks when you pull on it, and the root regrows. And you can't kill them with Roundup.

If somebody wants to have the occasional Queen Palm in their yard, that's one thing. They aren't invasive. But the Mexican fan Palms are a friggin' PLAGUE!!!!!

:rant:

I feel better now, getting that off my chest.

[mitchtv]

5. the Mexican Palm has been classified

an invasive species. I prefer the native Cal. desert fan palm, with the lagre robust trunks and bigger fronds, also not so tall.

[kestrel91316]

7. Invasive doesn't begin to describe it, lol!!