Though Florence has a sub-Mediterranean
climate, it should be mentioned that
during the cold winter of 1984–85, several
palms died inside the garden, including
Phoenix sylvestris (L.) Roxb., Butia
capitata (Mart.) Becc., Washingtonia robusta
H. Wendl. and Brahea armata S.
Watson. That winter was exceptionally
cold with a lot of snow, with temperatures
down to –23°C. Interestingly, some
Trachycarpus fortunei died, whereas T.
takil survived. The same observation was
made in the urban area of Florence,
where the author could identify only one
specimen of T. fortunei that exceeds an
age of 20 years.