Once you get into the south, the trees around you usually aren’t super tall. At least, until you start seeing the palm trees.
These trees can grow to be crazy tall. Some palm trees have been reported of being over 70 feet tall. That’s taller than many buildings, even some city buildings.
But why do these trees get so tall? Is there something special about them that allows them to reach crazy heights?
Let’s see why palm trees get so tall.
Why and How Do Palm Trees Grow So Tall?
Again, palm trees can get really tall. For example, the Quindio wax palm can grow up to 200 feet tall which is as tall as some skyscrapers.
If you ever want to feel tiny, stand next to one of these palm trees.
Palm Trees Grow Tall Because They Are Light
One of the main reasons that palm trees can grow so tall is that they are generally light trees. Unlike other kinds of trees, palm trees have thinner trunks that shoot upwards instead of growing outwards.
They are also lighter in their wood density. This means that they need less material to grow and can grow faster because of that.
Palm trees can use their resources to shoot up towards the sky because they aren’t focused on being super dense or being very wide.
Palm Trees Get a Ton of Sun
Palm trees grow in locations such as Florida and other places in the south. In the south, there is a ton of sun that provides lots of nutrients.
The sun is a huge part of photosynthesis as it is where much of the energy comes from.
With a lot of sun, the palm tree can produce a lot of glucose and nutrients for itself.
Palm trees also aren’t at as much risk of drying out as how other plants suffer from too much sun. With that, palm trees thrive by getting as many nutrients from the sun as they do.
Each day the palm tree gets a lot of nutrients to grow super tall. Since there is pretty much always sun, the palm tree is always able to get enough nutrients to grow.
Over time, the palm tree grows closer and closer to the sun and gets very tall.
Palm Trees Have Big Leaves
With the palm tree getting a ton of sun every day, the palm tree can absorb as much sun as they do because of the size of its leaves.
The leaves on a palm tree can get big. For the big palm trees, their leaves could work as blankets, that’s how big they are.
With large leaves, there is plenty of space for the sun’s rays to be absorbed so the palm tree can go through photosynthesis.
With more leaf space, more nutrients are absorbed and the tree can grow to very tall heights. That’s why trees will have flat leaves when they want to absorb more sun.
There is Less Competition
When you get into the south, you will see that palm trees are the majority. There aren’t a ton of other varieties of trees that will grow in very hot and sunny climates. At least, not many other kinds of trees can compete with the size of palm trees.
As the palm tree reaches taller heights, there aren’t going to be many other plants that will be covering their leaves. That means that their leaves will absorb more of the sun and get more nutrients.
When a tree is partially covered by other trees, the leaves aren’t able to absorb as much sun.
This causes the tree to be unable to get as many nutrients as possible which will stunt its growth. The palm tree doesn’t have to worry about this because they are the tallest tree around.
The 200 ft palm trees have no competition, allowing them to have all the sunlight they want which allows them to get taller.
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Will My Palm Trees Grow Super Tall?
With the variety of palm trees that are out there, not many people are going and planting the Quindío wax palm trees in their backyard.
If you live in an area that has plenty of space without much coverage, you might find that your palm tree will get taller than your own house.
Before planting any palm trees, research the variety of palm trees that you have and see how tall they can get.
Keep in mind that depending on where you live, there might be specific rules for how tall you can have the palm trees in your yard.
With things such as electric wires and birds, you probably won’t be allowed to have a palm tree over 100 feet tall in your yard.
If you already have palm trees in your yard and are wondering how tall they will grow, do research and identify what kind of palm tree you have.
There are several ways to do this. You can download an app that will tell you what kind of plant you are looking at, you can look at a tree-identifying book, or you can bring a professional over to check what tree you have.
Being Tall is How Palm Trees Thrive
Again, palm trees don’t grow in width. Instead, they favor growing in height. We have covered how they do this, but why do palm trees grow tall instead of why?
The main reason why palm trees prefer to grow tall is that they don’t have a ton of leaves. They have a collection of very large leaves, but they don’t have the advantage that an oak tree does with having a wide collection of leaves.
To get enough nutrients, the palm tree has to be tall enough to be above anything that could be covering sunlight. These trees prioritize getting enough sunlight for them to survive and to do that, they need to be tall.
If you want to learn about some of the tallest palm trees, get a good perspective of how tall they can be with this video.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Palm Trees Fall Over?
With how tall palm trees get, they seem like they could be knocked over with any event. Palm trees can be sturdy, but they can still fall over due to various reasons.
If the roots of a palm tree get weakened by disease or an environmental problem, the foundation of the tree is unsteady.
This makes the tree a lot more likely to be knocked over from something the tree could normally withstand.
A palm tree can also fall over if there is a bad storm that comes through the area. High winds and hurricanes can be so powerful that it pushes a palm tree over and causes it to fall.
If the base of the tree has already been weakened for whatever reason, the chances of it falling over from a storm are incredibly high.
Do Palm Trees Grow Back if They’ve Been Cut?
Not many trees will grow back once they’ve been cut down. Palm trees are no exception. If for some reason the top of a palm tree has been cut, it won’t be able to get any taller or even sprout leaves again.
The only thing that will grow if a palm tree has been cut is a crown shaft at the top of the cut area. However, there isn’t much point to this growth that a palm tree will have.
Do Palm Trees Have Deep Roots?
Palm trees don’t have deep roots. Instead, palm trees have shallow roots that are wider. It’s the only wide thing about them. The roots of a palm tree will only go down around 3 feet into the topsoil and will spread out wider.
Having wider roots instead of deep roots helps with the stability of the palm tree. Since palm trees are super tall, they need width at the bottom to keep them stable. If these trees had deep roots that didn’t spread out, it would be much easier for these trees to fall over.
If the palm tree has been planted in shallow soil, you can sometimes see the roots pop through the surface of the ground.
Are Palm Trees Hollow Inside?
Palm trees aren’t necessarily hollow inside, but they aren’t filled with the inner bark that we know from other trees. Instead, a palm tree is full of spongy tissue inside of the trunk.
Palm trees aren’t really made out of wood. The only wooden part of them is their very outer bark. You would not be able to build a wooden structure from a palm tree.
Final Thoughts
We never pay that much attention to palm trees even though they are very interesting plants. They can be insanely tall and compete with the height of our skyscrapers.
If you have palm trees in your yard, what kind are they and how tall are they? Are they already taller than their house or do they still have a ways to go?
