Ceroxylon quindiuense and cold

[ExperimentalGrower]

Does anyone actually know with any experience what the cold tolerance of Ceroxylon quindiuense is? There is some wildly conflicting info out there. I know they can take some frost, seems like a sensible evolutionary adaptation growing up to 10k feet elevation in a very wet climate. The texture and feel of the leaves are tough, and they look happiest during winter with a good amount of rain. My little ones (growing very slowly) need to fill out a bit before I’m comfortable attempting to remove them from their pots to plant in ground.

[Darold Petty]

Are those '1-gallon' or '5-gallon' pots ? Do not be in a hurry to move these two palms to a larger pot.    Ceroxylon seedlings have a very small root system relative to the top growth. 

My Ceroxylon quindiuense was ground planted as a small '5-gallon' size in the spring of 1983. The seed collection was 1977 or 1978, so the palm was about 5 years old.

  It survived four nights of 26-28 degrees F during the infamous "Once a Century' freeze" of 1990.   (funny, how the 'once a century' freeze comes around about every 25 years!)  

[Firepalm]

Darold, I always enjoy the photos from your garden.   That Ceroxylon is an absolute stunner.  Down here in San Diego I lost my oldest Ceroxylon Amazonicum this past summer to a freak 104-105 degree heat event.  It had been in the ground for 8 years from a 5 gallon size and had formed its first two rings of trunk (it went from deep green to almost completely brown in a matter of two days).  Needless to say it was tough to watch.  Happy to see them thriving anywhere they will grow.

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

Are those '1-gallon' or '5-gallon' pots ? Do not be in a hurry to move these two palms to a larger pot.    Ceroxylon seedlings have a very small root system relative to the top growth. 

My Ceroxylon quindiuense was ground planted as a small '5-gallon' size in the spring of 1983. The seed collection was 1977 or 1978, so the palm was about 5 years old.

  It survived four nights of 26-28 degrees F during the infamous "Once a Century' freeze" of 1990.   (funny, how the 'once a century' freeze comes around about every 25 years!)  

Hmm my initial reply disappeared. Let me try again...

Yours looks amazing Darold! These are in 5 gallon pots. One I transplanted last summer from a 1 gallon. I have read this about their root systems, and thus, am very hesitant to transplant until they put on some heft. 
 

Did yours experience any damage from the cold events of 1990? 

[ExperimentalGrower]

9 minutes ago, Firepalm said:

Darold, I always enjoy the photos from your garden.   That Ceroxylon is an absolute stunner.  Down here in San Diego I lost my oldest Ceroxylon Amazonicum this past summer to a freak 104-105 degree heat event.  It had been in the ground for 8 years from a 5 gallon size and had formed its first two rings of trunk (it went from deep green to almost completely brown in a matter of two days).  Needless to say it was tough to watch.  Happy to see them thriving anywhere they will grow.

This is a concern of mine as well since here in Vallejo it can definitely get quite hot. I’ve read they are good in Sunset zone 17 but I’m in one of the hottest and coldest areas of zone 17 so not sure if I’ll have success.

[Darold Petty]

Firepalm, sorry for your loss.  I lost a small street tree from the 'Diablo wind', same as Santa Ana wind.  All the foliage dropped off within 48 hours.

   Experimental Grower, I can't say if Vallejo is too temperate for Ceroxylon.  Do you know Dale Motiska ?   Palm Island, along I-80 ?  Dale has been into palms longer than I, and I know he has lots of good advice. 

[DiegoGM]

I Planted mine in the garden last spring from 1 gal pot. It is growing in a halfshade spot and is looks great. Dont be afraid to put it in the garden, if your climate is temperate and moist this is a free trouble palm. 

i have no experience with heavy cold events, but i can confirm that is resistant to 30-32 F.

[ExperimentalGrower]

40 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

Firepalm, sorry for your loss.  I lost a small street tree from the 'Diablo wind', same as Santa Ana wind.  All the foliage dropped off within 48 hours.

   Experimental Grower, I can't say if Vallejo is too temperate for Ceroxylon.  Do you know Dale Motiska ?   Palm Island, along I-80 ?  Dale has been into palms longer than I, and I know he has lots of good advice. 

Hey Darold, 

I haven’t heard his name before now. Where along 80 is he? I’ll keep and eye/ear out. I know growers further out in the very hot areas of the East Bay have not had success with Ceroxylons. I’m wondering if I’ll be different. We have a lot of fog rolling in the evening during the warm months, most nights it seems... and the humidity tends to usually exceed 60%. I have heard anecdotally trunking specimens might tolerate temps into the lower 20’s. But I might very well be more concerned about the very hot occasional summer day we have up here. Either way.. the experiment continues. Thanks for your input!

-Justin 

[ExperimentalGrower]

31 minutes ago, DiegoGM said:

I Planted mine in the garden last spring from 1 gal pot. It is growing in a halfshade spot and is looks great. Dont be afraid to put it in the garden, if your climate is temperate and moist this is a free trouble palm. 

i have no experience with heavy cold events, but i can confirm that is resistant to 30-32 F.

Seems our NorCal climate had a lot of similarities to Galicia. Do temps get very hot there?

[Darold Petty]

1 hour ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Hey Darold, 

I haven’t heard his name before now. Where along 80 is he? I’ll keep and eye/ear out. 

https://www.palmislandnursery.com/

 

[ExperimentalGrower]

20 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

https://www.palmislandnursery.com/

 

Hadn’t even heard of it until now, thanks!

[Meangreen94z]

JungleMusic, which is generally very conservative on their temperature ratings, has them rated at 18*F. Usually when they put a temperature that low it’s from a reliable reference. Maybe contact and ask. 

[Ben in Norcal]

@ExperimentalGrower - your problem isn't going to be the cold, as you say.  It'll be our extreme heat.  I do have one recommendation for you, having said that - get them in the ground ASAP.  With Ceroxylon, summer survival here is MUCH better if you get them in the ground, which helps keep their roots cool.  I lose a very high proportion of this genus in pots come our regular summer temps of 100-110+.

[DiegoGM]

20 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Parece que nuestro clima NorCal tenía muchas similitudes con Galicia. ¿Las temperaturas son muy altas allí?

No, our max temperatures in july are about 75º F . It a very very temperate climate. We can get 85ºF for 3-5 days in the middle summer, but no more.