About Cold Damage and Northern Gulf Coast

[_Keith]

If you are on the northern Gulf Coast you got stung hard this year,   From Houston to the Florida Panhandle it was brutal.  Coldest temps here in Louisiana in the last 28 years, not once but in 2 separate cold fronts just 2-3 weeks apart.   The first one was dry, so I held out hope, but the 2nd came in colder and wetter at 17 degrees.  By midsummer I expect total foliage loss on all Phoenix, Livistona, Washingtonia, Syagrus species.  Mules will be 90% foliage loss by midsummer.  Deaths will be numerous, hurts to even think about it.  Sabals, Butia, Chamaerops, Chamaedorea remain untouched.

Why do I say "by midsummer"?   Because only when the heat arrives and the crown begin to recover do you know.  I have had palms flush new leaves and appear to be on the road to recovery later suddenly die because the trunk was too damages to support the nutrients needed for a full crown.   Sometimes they just slowly wither away through the summer.  Others fall prone to disease.  And this freeze was much colder than theirs.  Only in the heat of summer will you know what even has a chance to make it. 

Still holding out hope for my big cold hardy queen to recover.  Why?  Its 3 seedlings growing underneath, unprotected but with natural cover appear undamaged.  That blew me away, but lets wait till the heat gets here to know for sure.

Good luck all.

Keith

[kinzyjr]

You managed to find a bright spot in the midst of all of it @_Keith.  The second cold front gave us in Central Florida a small reality check after a few years of mild winters.  I'm surprised that the seedlings you mentioned didn't perish outright, let alone suffer no damage.

[Tropicdoc]

I just took a stroll around my yard and I’ve noticed around town that it’s not just palms. Plants in general are decimated. Really sad. You can actually smell dead and dying flora in my yard. Azaleas creeping fig ginger Aztec grass amaryllis the lawn all brown and crispy

[Matthew92]

I remember with the second freeze, I was seeing temps as low as 16 at about my latitude in Louisiana. The freeze seemed to lose its punch just slightly as it moved east to me. The lowest I got was 18, and the damage has been a lot less than I thought it would (of course I know it could show up more as time goes on). Washingtonias and non-dactylifera Phoenix (which show the most obvious damage when we have 8b temps and I expected to at least see 75% defoliation or more) only have minor to moderate (very few) burn, the rest I am squinting at as I drive down the road because I can't really see much any damage! Even Livistona chinensis (mature ones) are about the same. Cycas revoluta has some brown, but probably not enough to cut all the leaves off this year. Anything more tender than 9a, Dionella grass, queens palms, P. robelenni, most oleander, Philodendron selloum, Aztec grass, Strelitzia nicolai.... are zapped.

I kind of forgot how much worse things are with frozen precipitation. I think that cut the edge in 2014 and caused defoliation on most of the zone 9a hardy palms.

Areas out on the barrier islands only saw about 22-23 degrees (little jealous...) and there is barely any damage on anything zone 9a hardy (maybe only a little on some Phoenix sylvestris) Their microclimate was effective this year. That isn't always the case though. 2010 whacked everything out there pretty solid, and in 2014, some Washingtonias 100% defoliated right at the ocean, some P. dactylifera lost (a lot due due to rot that summer), P. canariensis mostly defoliated- I remember this big, glitzy mansion on the bay side has many tall Washingtonias in the backyard. I thought some of them were going to die, looked awful for awhile.

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Opal92

[Tropicdoc]

There’s a reason why native is native. This kind of devastation is inevitable as we plant things that are alien to the climate. But, it will continue, because it’s fun and interesting and planting just native would be boring 

[Estlander]

Sorry to hear about all the damage so many experienced this winter. After having learned so much the past few months reading this forum, thought I'd finally chime in as well. 

I'm in Santa Rosa Beach FL on the Florida panhandle - 9A. All the palms on my lot were planted 4 months ago or less. 

Some planted even as recently as December 2017. Nothing larger than 7 gallon was planted(most were 3 gallon). 

It's a newly built home so just starting out experimenting what i can get away with in my area.

 

 

Considering the temperatures experienced in other zone 9A areas on the Gulf Coast, I think my area of Destin - Santa Rosa Beach, got off relatively easy this winter. Have two thermometers, one of which records min/max. temperatures as well. 

Both are located on the North side of the house about 4 feet away from the wall.

 

The ultimate low i recorded on my property this winter was 23.9F, -4.5C, while some of the surrounding areas further away from the Gulf went down to 19F.

The first cold wave in early January wasn't so bad. The lowest temp i recorded was 26F (-3.3C). 

 

My two planted cat palms and two Majesty palms with just towels wrapped around the trunks and uncovered fronds came through with almost no damage whatsoever. Majesties had some spotting on leaves but Cats were totally fine. 

The second cold wave a week later was totally different, however.

Between 4am-6am we had a wave of icy rain come through with 27F temperatures. The next night was when i recorded to low 23.9F. Didn't get above freezing until 11am or so the next morning.

Had ice on all my uncovered palms listed below.

 

Covered up my Cat palms and Majesties with blankets and plastic. But as can be expected with these two palms all the foliage burned to the ground. The plants otherwise seem to be fine and should come back.

The rest of my palms all came through with no damage.

Phoenix Sylvestris - uncovered, No damage

3 Washingtonia Robusta - uncovered, no damage

3 Chinese Fan Palms - uncovered, no damage

3 Yucca Cane(Spineless Yucca) - uncovered, surprisingly no damage

Mule palm - uncovered, no damage. 

European Fan Palm - uncovered, as expected no damage

2 Windmill Palms - uncovered, as expected no damage.

Pindo palm - uncovered, and also as expected no damage.

Philodendron Selloum - Had it covered up with a blanket whenever temps. went below freezing and it was doing well till the night of 23.9F. The blanket simply was no match for such a low temp. Leaves drooping/dying. Plant will live.

Everywhere around town Philodendron foliage 100% burnt as well but otherwise doing ok.

 

What surprised me the most, however, was my 3 gallon Queen (6ft. tall) planted in ground in September 2017. Had the trunk wrapped with towels only. Absolutely no visible damage anywhere despite the fact that the fronds were completely uncovered through both Arctic blasts with so many hours below freezing and with ice on them that one night. It's somewhat surrounded by 8ft. tall Saw Palmettos and pines. Maybe that helped a bit too.

Around town Queens seem to be fine as well with browning just on older fronds despite some of them being located in very open areas. So overall not too bad for the very coastal areas here on the panhandle.

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Estlander

[Estlander]

A few more pics of some of the stuff i have planted. All pics taken today. Love the forest of Saw Palmettos growing on the property. Tried to keep as many as i could when clearing the lot for construction. They're 5-8ft tall.

[Matthew92]

51 minutes ago, Estlander said:

Sorry to hear about all the damage so many experienced this winter. After having learned so much the past few months reading this forum, thought I'd finally chime in as well. 

I'm in Santa Rosa Beach FL on the Florida panhandle - 9A. All the palms on my lot were planted 4 months ago or less. 

Some planted even as recently as December 2017. Nothing larger than 7 gallon was planted(most were 3 gallon). 

It's a newly built home so just starting out experimenting what i can get away with in my area.

 

 

Considering the temperatures experienced in other zone 9A areas on the Gulf Coast, I think my area of Destin - Santa Rosa Beach, got off relatively easy this winter. Have two thermometers, one of which records min/max. temperatures as well. 

Both are located on the North side of the house about 4 feet away from the wall.

 

The ultimate low i recorded on my property this winter was 23.9F, -4.5C, while some of the surrounding areas further away from the Gulf went down to 19F.

The first cold wave in early January wasn't so bad. The lowest temp i recorded was 26F (-3.3C). 

 

My two planted cat palms and two Majesty palms with just towels wrapped around the trunks and uncovered fronds came through with almost no damage whatsoever. Majesties had some spotting on leaves but Cats were totally fine. 

The second cold wave a week later was totally different, however.

Between 4am-6am we had a wave of icy rain come through with 27F temperatures. The next night was when i recorded to low 23.9F. Didn't get above freezing until 11am or so the next morning.

Had ice on all my uncovered palms listed below.

 

Covered up my Cat palms and Majesties with blankets and plastic. But as can be expected with these two palms all the foliage burned to the ground. The plants otherwise seem to be fine and should come back.

The rest of my palms all came through with no damage.

Phoenix Sylvestris - uncovered, No damage

3 Washingtonia Robusta - uncovered, no damage

3 Chinese Fan Palms - uncovered, no damage

3 Yucca Cane(Spineless Yucca) - uncovered, surprisingly no damage

Mule palm - uncovered, no damage. 

European Fan Palm - uncovered, as expected no damage

2 Windmill Palms - uncovered, as expected no damage.

Pindo palm - uncovered, and also as expected no damage.

Philodendron Selloum - Had it covered up with a blanket whenever temps. went below freezing and it was doing well till the night of 23.9F. The blanket simply was no match for such a low temp. Leaves drooping/dying. Plant will live.

Everywhere around town Philodendron foliage 100% burnt as well but otherwise doing ok.

 

What surprised me the most, however, was my 3 gallon Queen (6ft. tall) planted in ground in September 2017. Had the trunk wrapped with towels only. Absolutely no visible damage anywhere despite the fact that the fronds were completely uncovered through both Arctic blasts with so many hours below freezing and with ice on them that one night. It's somewhat surrounded by 8ft. tall Saw Palmettos and pines. Maybe that helped a bit too.

Around town Queens seem to be fine as well with browning just on older fronds despite some of them being located in very open areas. So overall not too bad for the very coastal areas here on the panhandle.

Cool! Another person in my neck of the woods. I'm just across the Mid-Bay bridge. Your observations are about the same as mine. Actually, besides on the "mainland," I haven't taken note of queen palms out here in Destin (I work near the Commons, and there are not really any around there). There are so few left in the area after 2014, even very close to the beach. There are some out in front of The Track that I need to go look at. These were planted as 10 footers in 2014 (after winter ended). That next winter was like this one with 18 degrees on the mainland which meant low 20's at the coast. The queens at The Track still got very severely damaged, but managed to barely pull through and have done well since.

 And then, the only queen palm I saw survive the 2014 winter without mortal damage is in front of Joe's Crab Shack (I think it's that restaurant- not too far from the track to the East). The building is to it's north, and protected it. It still had about total defoliation, but has had good growth in subsequent years.

And as for the Phoenix sylvestris, there are quite a few large (25-30ft) ones planted in a few spots along the road if you drive East from where the Mid Bay Bridge intersects Destin. They have done well since being transplanted there, although some may not be fully established yet. Just recently, I may be noticing a little browning.

Welcome to the forum!

Matt,

Edited February 2, 2018 by Opal92

[Estlander]

Hey Opal,

You must be in Niceville/Bluewater then.  It’s quite a contrast as to what can be grown and is growing right on the beaches and in your neck of the woods across the bay. Amazing what a difference a couple of degrees makes. 

Yes, Queens are pretty rare here. There’s 8eight big ones growing at the entrance of Terra Mar Apts. right by Santa Rosa Beach Walmart  on Hwy 98. 

They have been there ever since the complex opened three or four years ago.

I’m gonna drive by there in a little bit, take pics and post them here later.  

 

 

 

[Estlander]

Here are the Queens i was talking about. There’s actually six, not eight. Sorry about that. 

They seems to have done some heavy pruning on these since i last saw them.  

[Estlander]

There’s another one close to my house that i have keeping an eye on for the past 6 years. It has always come through our winters well. Although it may be a Mule. Not sure exactly.

It’s been there for much longer than 6 years though. It shows up on the very first  Google  streetview images as a young palm. 

[GregVirginia7]

Visiting my son at LSU, I'm always struck by the variety of palms there, especially in the landscapes of surrounding homes...hope the damage will not be too great...here in Northern Virginia my surprise damage has hit my needle...5-years in ground or so...no protection at all...went through 2014 hard winter no problem but this winter 3 newest fronds on main trunk are dead...no spear pull yet...suckers are fine...maybe too wet but I thought needles didn't mind moisture but doubtful that anyway because we are in a bit of a dry spell...

[Matthew92]

11 hours ago, Estlander said:

Hey Opal,

You must be in Niceville/Bluewater then.  It’s quite a contrast as to what can be grown and is growing right on the beaches and in your neck of the woods across the bay. Amazing what a difference a couple of degrees makes. 

Yes, Queens are pretty rare here. There’s 8eight big ones growing at the entrance of Terra Mar Apts. right by Santa Rosa Beach Walmart  on Hwy 98. 

They have been there ever since the complex opened three or four years ago.

I’m gonna drive by there in a little bit, take pics and post them here later.  

Yes, except for a year like 2014, that microclimate does make a difference.

[Matthew92]

9 hours ago, Estlander said:

Here are the Queens i was talking about. There’s actually six, not eight. Sorry about that. 

They seems to have done some heavy pruning on these since i last saw them.  

UGHHH!!!!!!  That is absolutely despicable pruning. If I remember right, they planted these right after the 2014 winter. I thought it was ironic since all around there were dead queens in the area and they still had the gall to plants those (I hate that complex already cause it is just the beginning of mass destruction of the natural areas over there, and planting things like queen palms is just a sign that they are trying to stereotype our area with the commercialized "Florida image").

They picked the worst possible time to prune them, in time for hard freezes!!! And also, the soil is so poor out there, they need all the TLC they can get (i.e. leave the crown full of leaves).

Yes, surprisingly it does look like it didn't get cold enough to even get 50% cold damage on them.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Opal92

[Matthew92]

9 hours ago, Estlander said:

There’s another one close to my house that i have keeping an eye on for the past 6 years. It has always come through our winters well. Although it may be a Mule. Not sure exactly.

It’s been there for much longer than 6 years though. It shows up on the very first  Google  streetview images as a young palm. 

Ahh. I've always been interested to drive around that area near Santa Rosa Beach. I've wondered what kind of botanical gems might be hidden back there. And that queen palm may signify possibly an even greater microclimate in that area. Either that and/or that tree has much more cold hardy genetics. Well, that makes only 2 queen palms I know of personally in our entire area that survived 2014 without mortal damage (I'm sure there may be a few more though).

And what I mean by mortal damage is this:

^This neighborhood is just right behind the toll area for the Mid Bay Bridge. From what I observed it has a very slight microclimate- enough to keep this queen and another one of identical size alive up until 2014 (I think they were planted around 2004 or 2005). Even though the crown survived, the trunk was obviously compromised and is now rotting out. The other queen had the same thing happen to the trunk and has already been taken out.

Additionally, there used to be a full sized queen palm that was large enough to be visible behind houses south of 98 driving toward San Destin. It disappeared right after that 2014 winter.

[Estlander]

8 hours ago, Opal92 said:

And that queen palm may signify possibly an even greater microclimate in that area. Either that and/or that tree has much more cold hardy genetics. 

Sure am hoping there’s a microclimate here. We are pretty surrounded by water as can be seen on an image below.  

I’ll definitely keep the forum updated on future winter temps. around me here and how my Queen and others in the area are doing for winters to come. 

[Matthew92]

8 minutes ago, Estlander said:

Sure am hoping there’s a microclimate here. We are pretty surrounded by water as can be seen on an image below.  

I’ll definitely keep the forum updated on future winter temps. around me here and how my Queen and others in the area are doing for winters to come. 

Sounds good. Hoping for the best for your palms! (: You've got a good start.

[Estlander]

Remembered i took pics of the same Queens  after the first cold front in early January with the lowest temp of 26F and before pruning.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Estlander

[Estlander]

Can anyone identify a palm for me. It's growing in a small nursery in Santa Rosa Beach. It's super exotic for this area and, of course, won't have a long future here. The people there said it's a Royal, but it doesn't look like a Royal to me. This pic was also taken right after the first cold wave in early January with temps between 26-27F.  A Royal would look a lot worse after seeing such low temps for such a duration of time and windchill so it must be something hardier.

The second cold front with all that icy rain and low of 24F of course fried all the fronds, including the center spear. There's some green on it at the crown though, so maybe it'll survive. Will be keeping an eye on it and see how it does.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Estlander

[Tropicdoc]

Looks maybe like archontophienix purpura 

[Sandy Loam]

17 degrees!!! I had no idea that Louisiana had gotten so cold.  Surely New Orleans didn't get that cold, did it?  The back-to-back effect was a killer and we experienced that here as well, over in northern Florida (not panhandle).  January 2018 was certainly the worst winter here since 2010, but it sounds as though it was the worst in Louisiana in 28 years. 

Was Louisiana the worst hit of all? 

[Matthew92]

7 hours ago, Estlander said:

Remembered i took pics of the same Queens  after the first cold front in early January with the lowest temp of 26F and before pruning.

 

They actually looked pretty good before. Ughhh...Why.... oh why do people feel there is a need to get rid of those beautiful fronds?!!!

[Estlander]

17 hours ago, Opal92 said:

They actually looked pretty good before. Ughhh...Why.... oh why do people feel there is a need to get rid of those beautiful fronds?!!!

Yeah, never understood it either. Hate it when they completely overdo it with Sabals. They look so good with a full round crown. 

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

New Orleans low temperature was 19F officially on Jan 17th.  Louisiana and Texas got the worst of the winter this year. 

[Tropicdoc]

2 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

17 degrees!!! I had no idea that Louisiana had gotten so cold.  Surely New Orleans didn't get that cold, did it?  The back-to-back effect was a killer and we experienced that here as well, over in northern Florida (not panhandle).  January 2018 was certainly the worst winter here since 2010, but it sounds as though it was the worst in Louisiana in 28 years. 

Was Louisiana the worst hit of all? 

So yeah 17 here probably 16 for Keith over in new Iberia 19 in New Orleans (south of giant lake plus urban heat island) supposedly coldest since 1989 but in 89 it was 10 degrees in Houma on Christmas if I remember correctly 

[Ed in Houston]

On 2/1/2018, 4:26:43, _Keith said:

If you are on the northern Gulf Coast you got stung hard this year,   From Houston to the Florida Panhandle it was brutal........

My question is: "Does this cold spell indicate a shift from the warm winters we experienced from 1990-2017 or back to the previous climate experienced from 1947- 2017?

It is a like the tale of two cities relative to climate with the earlier years being a 9a climate with a large standard deviation from one winter to the next and a 9b city with a small standard deviation from one winter to the next.

Houston Hobby airport 9a 1947- 1989: Average annual low of 22.4F and a S.D. of 5.5F.

Houston Hobby airport 9b 1991- 2017: Average annual low of 28.5F and a S.D. of 3.4F.

I imagine that analysis of New Orleans temperatures would show the same thing along with other cities of the northern Gulf Coast. The 6.1F average low difference between the two groups of years has enormous implications as to how tropical landscapes can be.

I don't have a crystal ball to answer the question of what the climate of the future will be so as usual there will be uncertainty so make you best guess.

Ed in Houston

 

 

[mdsonofthesouth]

On 2/2/2018, 3:52:55, Estlander said:

more pics of some of the stuff i have planted. All pics taken today. Love the forest of Saw Palmettos growing on the property. Tried to keep as many as i could when clearing the lot for construction. They're 5-8ft tall.

 

 

Looks like a yucca of some sort or maybe even a cordyline, do you by chance know exactly what it is? Just trying to build up my garden and it looks cool!

[Estlander]

49 minutes ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

Looks like a yucca of some sort or maybe even a cordyline, do you by chance know exactly what it is? Just trying to build up my garden and it looks cool!

It's a regular Spineless Yucca Cane that they sell at any Lowes or HD. Had it growing in a pot for a few years. From what i understand It's actually one of the least hardiest of Yuccas. The tag on these plants at the store says 'Never below 50F'. But decided to plant it in ground as there are some very large tree size ones growing in this area. But all three i have planted came through this winter just fine despite the ice rain and low of 24F.

[Estlander]

Some of the larger Yucca Canes around Destin i took pictures of today. 

 

[Estlander]

Here’s another mystery palm I’d like to know the name of. Maybe somebody here knows what it is. It’s the only one I’ve seen in this area. 

Kind of looks like a Phoenix species but there’s no trunk, just offshoots. 

Very hardy too. Never seen it damaged after a winter. 

[mdsonofthesouth]

2 hours ago, Estlander said:

It's a regular Spineless Yucca Cane that they sell at any Lowes or HD. Had it growing in a pot for a few years. From what i understand It's actually one of the least hardiest of Yuccas. The tag on these plants at the store says 'Never below 50F'. But decided to plant it in ground as there are some very large tree size ones growing in this area. But all three i have planted came through this winter just fine despite the ice rain and low of 24F.

Haha yeah thats what I figured it was, we can grow all but a few yuccas here and thats definitely one of them. Pretty plants though!

 

As for the tag, I got 2 shipments of trachycarpus. The first in black pots that said hardy to 10f on the tag and then same plants in blue pots that had "tropical" temps. Both were the same exact plants from the same source that have faired all faired the same.

[Sandy Loam]

Here are my guesses at the last four photos:

1.  Yucca in front of white railing = Yucca Elephantipes (which may have since been renamed Yucca Guatemalensis). 

2.  Yucca in front of the yellow house = Yucca Elephantipes

3.  Yucca in front of the salmon house = either Yucca Elephantipes or Yucca Gloriosa (most likely Yucca Elephantipes)

4.  The highly suckering palm = Phoenix Dactylifera, which actually is also the same species as the tall palm behind it   

___________

You're thinking that the suckering palm can't possibly be Phoenix Dactylifera because P. Dactylifera is a solitaire, non-suckering palm, right?  I used to think so too until I saw a young Phoenix Dactylifera grow into a huge suckering mess.  I was told that they sucker when young and the suckers are removed by the nursery trade to sell single-trunked palms, which the public demands. 

MDSONOFTHESOUTH, in northern Florida and southern Georgia, Yucca Elephantipes is never damaged, even in cold and nasty winters. However, I don't know how whether it would survive or be at least partially damaged through a Maryland winter.  You're up in Maryland, aren't you?  I have seen some yuccas up in Maryland, but not Yucca Elephantipes.  Hardier than Yucca Elephantipes and somewhat a lookalike is Yucca Gloriosa, which is native to this region of northern Florida and can be found growing wild in forests and even on sand dunes sometimes.  It is incredibly cold-tolerant and might do just fine in a Maryland winter, but it is too sharp to have around children or dogs, unlike Yucca Elephantipes.  Yucca Gloriosa ("Spanish Bayonet") is also extremely slow-growing, so you have to buy one huge if you want this species.  By comparison, Yucca Elephantipes is a very fast grower.  It's almost too fast growing. I have to keep cutting off pieces of it to control the size of mine. Chopped off limbs will grow their own roots and become a new tree soon after you place them in the ground.          

 

[Matthew92]

Looks like you can see damage from previous hard winters on the yucca in the first picture. Looks like most of them are Yucca guatamalensis.

I observed trunking Yucca in Niceville lose their stems to cold in 2014 . However, I have seen at least one that did much better and didn't lose stems. Since some of the other plants in those pictures show scars and others don't, could be variation within the species and/or some of them are part hybrid.

[Sandy Loam]

As for the two back-to-back freezes this January (about a week and half apart), I feel as though the first one was worse than the second, even though the second freeze was actually colder over here in northeastern Florida (Gainesville).  The first freeze went on forever.  It was so many hours below freezing.  My lowest temperature in that first freeze was 27 F, but it was nothing like the 27 F I have experienced in years past (previously, a very quick drop from warm weather down to 27 F and then quickly back up above freezing again -- maybe 27 F for a few minutes overnight).  This time, there were two very cold nights in a row and the number of hours below freezing was far more than I normally get.  Of course, it didn't stay freezing in the day time, but wow.

 

The back-to-back effect was brutal.  My plant damage looking worse every day.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Sandy Loam

[Estlander]

36 minutes ago, Opal92 said:

Looks like you can see damage from previous hard winters on the yucca in the first picture. Looks like most of them are Yucca guatamalensis.

Yes, they're all Yucca Guatemalensis (forgot the name) or Spineless Yucca as they're also called.

Not sure what has happened to the largest one in the first picture. Last i saw it was in summer 2017 and it looked  totally fine. Somehow it don't think it was the cold this winter as all the other ones in the same complex look fine.

 

[Estlander]

45 minutes ago, Opal92 said:

Looks like you can see damage from previous hard winters on the yucca in the first picture. Looks like most of them are Yucca guatamalensis.

Yes, they're all Yucca Guatemalensis (forgot the name) or Spineless Yucca as they're also called.

Not sure what has happened to the largest one in the first picture. Last i saw it was in summer 2017 and it looked  totally fine. Somehow I don't think it was the cold this winter as all the other ones in the same complex look fine.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Estlander

[RedRabbit]

On 2/3/2018, 1:35:50, Estlander said:

Can anyone identify a palm for me. It's growing in a small nursery in Santa Rosa Beach. It's super exotic for this area and, of course, won't have a long future here. The people there said it's a Royal, but it doesn't look like a Royal to me. This pic was also taken right after the first cold wave in early January with temps between 26-27F.  A Royal would look a lot worse after seeing such low temps for such a duration of time and windchill so it must be something hardier.

The second cold front with all that icy rain and low of 24F of course fried all the fronds, including the center spear. There's some green on it at the crown though, so maybe it'll survive. Will be keeping an eye on it and see how it does.

Tropicdoc is right, it is Archontophienix purpura. It looks like it is doing reasonably well, any idea how long it has been there? 

[Estlander]

18 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

Tropicdoc is right, it is Archontophienix purpura. It looks like it is doing reasonably well, any idea how long it has been there? 

I asked them about that but they were't too sure, about a couple of years, they said. That's probably right as the last two winters haven't been too bad up here.

[mdsonofthesouth]

4 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Here are my guesses at the last four photos:

1.  Yucca in front of white railing = Yucca Elephantipes (which may have since been renamed Yucca Guatemalensis). 

2.  Yucca in front of the yellow house = Yucca Elephantipes

3.  Yucca in front of the salmon house = either Yucca Elephantipes or Yucca Gloriosa (most likely Yucca Elephantipes)

4.  The highly suckering palm = Phoenix Dactylifera, which actually is also the same species as the tall palm behind it   

___________

You're thinking that the suckering palm can't possibly be Phoenix Dactylifera because P. Dactylifera is a solitaire, non-suckering palm, right?  I used to think so too until I saw a young Phoenix Dactylifera grow into a huge suckering mess.  I was told that they sucker when young and the suckers are removed by the nursery trade to sell single-trunked palms, which the public demands. 

MDSONOFTHESOUTH, in northern Florida and southern Georgia, Yucca Elephantipes is never damaged, even in cold and nasty winters. However, I don't know how whether it would survive or be at least partially damaged through a Maryland winter.  You're up in Maryland, aren't you?  I have seen some yuccas up in Maryland, but not Yucca Elephantipes.  Hardier than Yucca Elephantipes and somewhat a lookalike is Yucca Gloriosa, which is native to this region of northern Florida and can be found growing wild in forests and even on sand dunes sometimes.  It is incredibly cold-tolerant and might do just fine in a Maryland winter, but it is too sharp to have around children or dogs, unlike Yucca Elephantipes.  Yucca Gloriosa ("Spanish Bayonet") is also extremely slow-growing, so you have to buy one huge if you want this species.  By comparison, Yucca Elephantipes is a very fast grower.  It's almost too fast growing. I have to keep cutting off pieces of it to control the size of mine. Chopped off limbs will grow their own roots and become a new tree soon after you place them in the ground.          

 

 

Yes I am in the western peidmont of Maryland. We usually stay above fatal temps for them, but we sometimes have bouts of prolonged (24+ hours bellow freezing) or even events like January where we are reminded that we are zone 7. But for the most part winter can be described as averaging 39 to 43f highs and 26 to 31f lows. Usually spikes bellow mid 20s is semi rare on average and bellow 15f is very rare, fortunately they are pretty short live most years. But years like this come every 10 years that would probably obliterate those yuccas. 

 

My yucca gloriosa var lone star I put in the ground june 1st 2016 trunked in 8 months to 10 months, trippled in size from the small 1 gallon potted size and I got 3 suckers! The first winter they look a hair stressed when we got to a low of 12f with ice and snow after a week with high teens as lows. But they bounced back quickly in spring. This winter has been been the worst I can remember for low temps(1989 was worse for lows) and prolonged cold and even days with highs in the mid to low teens. Despite all that the gloriosa look as stately as they did in summer at peak. For some reason they love my utisol clay, and even the mystery yucca(thinking a gloriosa hybrid of some kind) on the side suckered in its first year too.

 

Going to snag some other trunking yuccas to match a rhapidophyllum and sabal minor up front to replace palms that dont make it. Aloifolia and maybe a rostrata and definitely a recurvifolia!

Yucca gloriosa var lone star

 

Edited February 5, 2018 by mdsonofthesouth

[RedRabbit]

4 minutes ago, Estlander said:

I asked them about that but they were't too sure, about a couple of years, they said. That's probably right as the last two winters haven't been too bad up here.

It is impressive to see it up there at all. Thanks for sharing, hopefully it'll make a full recovery.