tropical line in florida (Miami, Tampa: how much, houses, live in)

[SEFLANATIVE]

there have been alot of chatter in recent years about just how far into southern florida the tropical line goes....in my humblest opinion i would say from Fort Lauderdale to Naples and points south is all truly tropical and north of that line is transitional to about stuart thru punta gorda. with everything else humid subtropical.

[Corrie22]

Depends on how you define ”tropical”...

The USDA takes and ”average” of cold temps...that average does not show spikes of below tropical cold weather
...using that metric...they define tropical as zone 10b and 11a

10b is the sweep from West Palm down to Everglades City.....
...11a is the Keys

I live in the Keys....have shadehouses..and grow tropical plants

....I don't consider the Keys tropical...there's several times each year when I have to cover and heat...because it is way below tropical temperatures

Tonight just happens to be one of those nights

our forecast is for a low of 62...I have ”tropical” plants that I can't let go below 60...one tweak from this front...and we can go below 60

We're zone 11a down here....a few years ago we woke up to a thin film of ice on all the water lily pots
...and a few years before that....it was so cold for so long...it lowered the ocean temperature to below 50
...that did a major number on the corals out on the reef

then there was the time it snowed in Miami....froze so hard....it killed some of my coconuts

[MOforthewin]

All depends. IMO TRUE tropical in FL I would consider that the Keys like Key West.

I go by layers in FL. Notice on the other side of Tampa Bay, closer to the coast it starts to take on a more southern FL look. You see more coconut trees in Bradenton and somewhat more tropicalish. Around Venice it gets a bit more tropical. See more Coconut palm trees and taller ones too closer to the coast.

Lee County you really notice how much more tropical looking it is. More tropical plants, taller palm and coconut trees all over.

Collier County is where you really notice this. Naples really looks a lot more tropical.

The beaches around me for example in Englewood and venice have the coconut palm trees and such, but Naples beach looks so much more tropical, more like the Caribbean.

Like here in Punta Gorda we have coconut palms, tropical plants and such. But when I drive over to Englewood beach it looks much more tropical due to the warmer temps at night in the winter allows more tropical plants. When I visit family in Naples just that 55 miles distance the looks is totally more tropical than here.

Amazing how Sarasota for example has a much more tropical look that St. Pete for just such a short distance. It's almost like Tampa Bay is a buffer.

[FL_Expert]

As other posters have said, there’s tropical and then there’s a transition zone where a lot of tropical plants live but maybe don’t thrive or are killed occasionally in the winter.

I would define the tropical part of Florida as Stuart south on the east coast and Boca Grande south on the west coast. Away from the coast the tropical part is mainly south of Alligator Alley.

The transition zone on the east coast clearly extends from Stuart north to at least Cape Canaveral and arguably New Smyrna Beach. Some tropical plants, like mangroves, go further still to around St. Augustine. On the west coast the transition zone extends to around Tarpon Springs.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

As other posters have said, there’s tropical and then there’s a transition zone where a lot of tropical plants live but maybe don’t thrive or are killed occasionally in the winter.

I would define the tropical part of Florida as Stuart south on the east coast and Boca Grande south on the west coast. Away from the coast the tropical part is mainly south of Alligator Alley.

The transition zone on the east coast clearly extends from Stuart north to at least Cape Canaveral and arguably New Smyrna Beach. Some tropical plants, like mangroves, go further still to around St. Augustine. On the west coast the transition zone extends to around Tarpon Springs.

I don't always use mangrove to define how tropical a place is. The northern Gulf coast like Louisiana for example has mangroves and gets colder.

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

All depends. IMO TRUE tropical in FL I would consider that the Keys like Key West.

Several times....every year...we go down to around 40....or even below.....that's normal....plants that are truly tropical can't take that

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

I don't always use mangrove to define how tropical a place is. The northern Gulf coast like Louisiana for example has mangroves and gets colder.

I’m just pointing out there are still some tropical characteristics as far north as St. Augustine, but you’re right that mangroves are pretty cold tolerant for being a “tropical” plant. Other native tropical trees like ficus, gumbo limbo, mahogany, etc are all much further south.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Corrie22

Several times....every year...we go down to around 40....or even below.....that's normal....plants that are truly tropical can't take that

Well we have coconut trees here in Punta Gorda and it gets below 40 every winter at the airport multiple nights. Sarasota and Bradenton also has coconut Palms.


However, our coconut trees don't get super tall like the ones do in Naples and not as many of them.


Even the coconut trees at Englewood and Venice are taller and more of them due to being warmer near the Gulf.


Unless it's below freezing Coconut palms seem to be able to survive in sub tropical climates bordering tropical. Even near Daytona Beach there are a few despite the winter nights being colder than South FL.


But the HUGE quantities of tall Coconut Palms you don't see until you cross into Lee County.

[Corrie22]

coconuts can go below freezing for short periods....as long as the bud doesn't freeze solid

[OptimusPrime69]

I consider true tropical climate, places like puerto Rico, Virgin islands, low-lying places along the equator obviously. South FL, IMO is close to being true tropical, but I feel there are too many "cold snaps" that prevent it being truly truly tropical. It's close tho. However, I can recall several winters in south FL where temps have dipped into the 40s and even high 30s. That doesn't happen in truly tropical climates. However, FL does a great job at appearing tropical with all the palm trees planted and by and large, they do well here, but I hate when they try and force a topical plant to grow in a non-tropical area. For example, when I see coconut palms in Pinellas county, they always like like they're riding the struggle bus. Like, they don't belong there. Yes, perhaps for 7 months out of the year it's ideal for them, but it gets pretty chilly there on a consistent basis (for coconut palms), so don't bother planting them. There are more cold-hearty palms that will thrive there (washingtonia, queen palms, cabbage palms, etc), but dont be throwin around coconut palms anywhere north of Lee county/martin county on the east coast. It ain't tropical. Sorry

Also, if your palm tree has dead fronds just dangling there, get them pruned, please. The only palms dead fronds like look a vibe are washingtonia palms, otherwise no. A true tropical climate will have tropical plants that are thriving, not just "surviving" and looking all stunted with like weird, small fronds that are all mingy looking. They need to be robust. Planting truly tropical plants in a borderline non-tropical zone is palm tree abuse IMO and should be punished severely.