Why are the palm trees so tall in L.A.? How do they not fall over with being so tall and skinny?

I have been to several "palm tree" places and I have never seen palm trees as high as they are here. are they are certain type of palm tree?

Why are the palm trees so tall in L.A.? How do they not fall over with being so tall and skinny?
Palms are not actually a tree. They are a grass. That is why you see all the life at the top and nothing on the sides. When you cut down a palm, the outside is dead and the inside is alive, just the opposite of a tree. The inside is made up of thousands of continuous straws of fiber that carry the water to the top for use by the living part. They are very flexible due to this fibrous straw system. They also have a very extensive root system that extends up to twice the height of the tree outward in all directions as far the ground will allow. Palm tree roots are the same as the straws inside, thousands of small roots like you see in you grassy lawn. They only go down about 3 to 4 feet but spread way out to collect water. This is why you see pictures of hurricanes and everything is blowing away but the palm trees. The average growth for the California variety is about 6" to 1' per year. The Washingtonian variety can grow 1 to 4 feet per year but do not have the big diameter trunk that the Californians do. Hope this helps


Palmtree MD
Reply:They are skinny because they are Washingtonians, and the reason they are so tall, is because they were planted long ago...





Sometimes they do fall over, so be careful!

elaine