Marco Island • Collier County
Palm Installation in Marco Island, FL
Ian in September 2022 flooded Marco's roads and, across the region, hit waterfront property along canals and bays hardest. That is the argument for choosing palms with wind and salt water in mind, and the city's Beautification Advisory Committee has published a hurricane-resistant tree list, drawn from UF/IFAS field studies, that ranks palm species by wind resistance. Placement has rules too: the city's planting guidelines bar trees and palms from a swale's flow line, and planting in the public right-of-way takes a city permit. For the install itself, Hodges follows UF/IFAS: set the palm at the depth it grew in the nursery, never deeper, and brace it without nails until roots take hold, usually about a year. Mixing species also hedges against lethal bronzing, which Naples Botanical Garden reports is present in Collier County.
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Where it comes up in Marco Island
Old Marco
Caxambas
South Marco Beach
Plants and materials that suit it in Marco Island
Questions
Can I plant palms in the swale in front of my Marco house?
Not in the flow line. The city's tree planting guidelines, citing its land development code, prohibit trees and palms there, and any planting in the public right-of-way requires a city permit. Hodges sets palms on private property or along the swale's edge where allowed.
Which palms stand up best to Marco Island hurricanes?
The city's Beautification Advisory Committee publishes a hurricane-resistant tree list based on UF/IFAS research that groups palms by wind resistance. Check where a species falls on that list before buying, and favor the tiers rated most resistant for exposed canal and beach lots.
Why plant a palm so shallow? The root ball looks exposed.
UF/IFAS research shows palms planted deeper than they grew in the nursery can suffer root suffocation and decline. Hodges matches the original depth, backfills firmly, and braces the trunk so the palm stays upright while new roots grow.