Palmageddon Aftermath Photo Thread

[MesquiteRetreat]

Thanks so much for the info on Sylvesters. My hubby is researching the date palm lethal decline on the TX A&M site as I write this!!!

[oliver]

For some reason, the upper Valley and north are not affected as much by the Phoenix disease. There (were) very old P. Canariensis in Kingsville up until the freeze, but there has not been any surviving in Brownsville. I personally had 2 canaries and 3 silvestris, all of which died. The roebelenii seem to do fine.

[oliver]

If you are interested in Phoenix, I would suggest trying to find rupicola. I have had 3 at my house for 20+ years and in my opinion are the most beautiful of the genus. Looks like mine got a little brown at 26 degrees but I am confident they will survive.

[Austinpalm]

Am waiting to see how the Sylvestris here on the island do with Phoenix disease.  Sylvestris have been planted all over the island and look good.  Only a few poorly cared for Sylvestris show any signs of the February cold.  There are however, many fewer P. canariensis and dactylifera here that I expected.  Saw a decent size canariensis slowly die this summer.  I assumed it just was not being watered well.  Not sure now.  Am hopeful that the salty sand keeps the Phoenix disease under control as I have a great big (knock on wood) canariensis in my backyard.  Would hate to loose it.

Am starting to see new growth on royals on the island.  Nothing new to report on coconuts or foxtails yet, still many with erect burnt fronds, with green crownshafts and/or petiols, but not growth yet.  May need a few more days of warm weather.  I am hopeful that the veitchia in my neighbors backyard is starting to recover, as it has shed 2 fronds. The latest exposed a very yellow crownshaft which appears (fingers crossed) to slowly be turning green.  Anyways, weather is beautiful again and am starting to get over the funk that the arctic cold put me in. 

[Reyes Vargas]

Does anyone in the RGV know of a good nursery that sell royal and Foxtails at decent prices.  I was at Lowe's the other day and the prices for their Foxtails were crazy.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Reyes Vargas

[MesquiteRetreat]

Have you been to the Tree of Life in Pharr?

[Reyes Vargas]

I have not.  I'll check them out thanks.

[MesquiteRetreat]

Let me know what you think. We've always been pleased with Tree of Life in San Benito. Ruben owns the one in San Benito, one of his brothers owns the one in Pharr, and yet another brother, who lives in Florida, either grows or gets a lot of the stock and trucks it up weekly.

[Xerarch]

1 hour ago, oliver said:

If you are interested in Phoenix, I would suggest trying to find rupicola. I have had 3 at my house for 20+ years and in my opinion are the most beautiful of the genus. Looks like mine got a little brown at 26 degrees but I am confident they will survive.

Is this one 20+ years old? P rupicola are indeed beautiful but such slow growers?

[oliver]

Maybe 15 yrs in the ground. Got it as a 3g from Jeff Marcus

[oliver]

But they are extremely slow!

[MesquiteRetreat]

Hoping someone will offer some input about the video “Best Mind Set When Disaster Strikes” and his pruning of the Phoenix roebelenii. In the video, it appears there is still quite a bit of green on the leaflets and petioles. Yet he cuts off every frond and then states “...they are gonna die...I just wasted a lot of time”. Our Pygmys look much worse...all leaflets are brown, many petioles are only partially green. When we tugged on the center, none came loose. We sprayed them with a little copper fungicide, just to be on the safe side. But we don’t want to take the time of pruning them first, if they, too, are “goners”. So how do we tell...should we prune ours down the way he did, and if so, will they come back? Or should we just cut them to the ground?

[Collectorpalms]

10 minutes ago, MesquiteRetreat said:

Hoping someone will offer some input about the video “Best Mind Set When Disaster Strikes” and his pruning of the Phoenix roebelenii. In the video, it appears there is still quite a bit of green on the leaflets and petioles. Yet he cuts off every frond and then states “...they are gonna die...I just wasted a lot of time”. Our Pygmys look much worse...all leaflets are brown, many petioles are only partially green. When we tugged on the center, none came loose. We sprayed them with a little copper fungicide, just to be on the safe side. But we don’t want to take the time of pruning them first, if they, too, are “goners”. So how do we tell...should we prune ours down the way he did, and if so, will they come back? Or should we just cut them to the ground?

He is not an expert, do not cut them down until you know for sure. He was pruning them to make the landscape less unsightly. Yes, if he wanted them to comeback stronger, he should not have touched them. If they are all brown, it would not make a difference. You only need to wait another month or so to see if they push new growth, so I would be patient before cutting anything down. If I started cutting down palms that were brown, I would have almost nothing left.

[MesquiteRetreat]

Thank you so much for the info! As I sit in my office, they are right out my window. To make it a tad prettier, I'll cut off ONLY the ones that are totally brown...leaflets and petioles.

Earlier today we inspected our Areca (Dypsis lutescens). We were hoping because it was so dense, that perhaps the center had been insulated. But every center pulled right out. It WAS so pretty...loved this palm...soooo sad. The only green left was there by my shoe.

 

[Collectorpalms]

7 minutes ago, MesquiteRetreat said:

Thank you so much for the info! As I sit in my office, they are right out my window. To make it a tad prettier, I'll cut off ONLY the ones that are totally brown...leaflets and petioles.

Earlier today we inspected our Areca (Dypsis lutescens). We were hoping because it was so dense, that perhaps the center had been insulated. But every center pulled right out. It WAS so pretty...loved this palm...soooo sad. The only green left was there by my shoe.

 

Dypsis Lutescens is a naturally multi-stemmed palm, I wouldn't be surprised if it came back pretty strong since it was well rooted. I have most multi-stemmed palms come back from the roots.

[MesquiteRetreat]

That is what I'm hoping it will do. Fingers crossed.

[eevans]

Some before and after pictures from my central Austin yard.

Backyard in summer 2020 (last year), followed by its current state.

Palm notes:

• Sabal mexicana (the tree) : Leaves badly damaged.  The browning is due to the cold, but the bent and broken petioles were caused by heavy ice accumulation from freezing rain.  We had more than 1/4 inch of it sticking to everything in my yard.  You can't tell from this picture but the new leaf is pushing out the top with green at the base, so I'm hopeful.  I grew this tree from a seed I picked up off the ground 29 years ago at a nearby park (Mayfield) that has many mature specimens.  Most of the others I see around Austin have the browned leaves, but I think they will all pull through.
• Sabal minor cluster (in the back against the wall):  No protection, and completely unaffected, of course. I have 4 plantings of these around my yard in the same shape.  All of these I see around town are also perfectly fine as well.
• Chamaedorea radicalis (just right of the Sabal minor):  Grouping of 3 short specimens.  I covered these (and the other low-growing plants in this bed) with old bedsheets, which were then covered by ice, then 4 - 5 inches of snow, then even heavier ice.  The mature leaves are still green (!), except for those that were snapped by the weight.  All three palms are still alive and pushing new their new leaves (2 - 3 inches so far), though the new parts show browning. I'm hoping for the best with these, but I'm mostly astonished they survived at all.  Tough little critters.
• Rhapis excelsa (just right of the Sabal minor, behind the Cham) - All parts above ground dead.  This was not really protected at all, since the sheet I attempted to cover it with blew off in the wind. No sign of buds emerging from the bases yet.  This is actually a single plant that spread bamboo-like to form a little thicket.  It has been almost aggressive in that spot, so something might come back. 
• Arenga engleri (small one in back, against the wall):  All dead above ground., spear pulled.  This also had a sheet sort-of covering it, but I didn't wrap it.  There are two buds at the base below the mulch that still feel hard, but these guys are so slow growing in the best of times that I'm not sure I'll bother keeping it. in the ground.  We'll see...
• Arenga engleri (large clump):  This is the only thing in my yard that I made a big effort to protect beyond laying down sheets.  We wrapped it up with old quilts and blankets held by cinch-straps, and I put a 100-watt light bulb at ground level inside all that.  The 9-foot leaves were too long to be completely wrapped, so the ends stuck out the top and got zapped.  The green parts all look solid and healthy so far.  Frankly I'm surprised this worked as well as it did given the scale of this disaster.  It's the one species in my yard that really has no business growing here.

Non-palm notes:

• 28-year old Satsuma mandarin tree at left looking dead-ish.   I have two of these, and they have never had the slightest freeze damage in any winter (though they were both partly defoliated in the 2011 Summer heat wave).   They both scratch green down on the trunk, so they might survive.  However I was already considering replacing these anyway, since they have grown scraggly and mis-shapen over the years.
• 4-year old loquat in back bed: Leaves all scorched, like most I see around town.  I've also never noticed loquat leaves being lost to freezes here, though the fruit is often zapped (because they flower and fruit in the winter).
• 4 or 5-year old kumquat in the big blue ceramic pot defoliated. Never had any freeze damage on this either.  Some parts scratch green and there are buds forming low on the trunk, so at least some of it will grow back (though maybe not in an attractive way).
• Sago - Same story everyone else has already noted. Leaves dead. Bud status unknown. Wait and see...

[eevans]

An up close view of the same bed from last summer.  Now it's hard to believe it ever looked that nice.

 

[eevans]

More before-and-after, from a different part of the yard.  The 2nd picture is the same bed, but viewed from my 2nd story window.

Palm notes:

• Needle palm:  No protection given.  Completely unaffected.  Even the currently emerging leaves don't appear to have any damage.

Non-palm notes:

• Satsuma mandarin (looming above the sago):  Same status as the other satsuma in my yard, though this one took the added hit of being laid down to the ground sideways, by the weight of all the ice.  These things are so flexible that the trunk did not appear to break anywhere, so I hoisted it up off the sago with cinch straps for now.  I was already considering whether to remove this old fellow anyway because it is in poor location for a fruit tree (though it has been there for about 26 years) and was not very attractive anymore.  Decision made per force majeure!
• Sago:  Same state ss everybody else's Cycas revolutas.  The bud still feels "hard" to me, though I don't know if that means anything at this point.  I'm hoping it pulls through since it has been in that spot for about 28 years and has 4 feet of clear trunk.
• Bananas:  This is just the standard heirloom "horse" or "Orinoco" banana that everyone has.  That clump is old and huge, and the underground corm is probably bigger than that tank in front of it.  So it will leave back out.  I just think the before-and-after contrast is pretty striking.  Most years I just cut the stalks back below the withered tops.  In 2019 I had 50 lbs of fruit.

[eevans]

Last before-and-after comparison for now.  Note that the "before" picture is from 2019, but it looked about the same before this storm except that the Chams on the left were about a foot or more taller.

Palms:

• Sabal minor cluster (other side of front porch):  No protection, no damage, 'nuff said.
• Chamaedorea radicalis cluster (right side): Protected with a sheet, covered by ice, then snow, then more ice.  Several mature leaves were broken by the weight; I "splinted" some of them (with sticks and twist ties) but some of those have died or half-died anyway.  All 3 of these plants appear to be alive, and all 3 are pushing a new leaf, each about 2-3 inches since the freeze.  The newly-exposed parts of those new leaves are brown, but they are still moving out.  These have been in place for about 3 years and have shown no winter damage until now.
• Chamaedorea microspadix clusters (left front, and another by the porch):  Three clumps in front were protected only by a beach umbrella (not much protection in this case, but it did keep the ice off of them).  All of the stalks are of course defoliated, and none of those stalks is pushing the spears at all.  I presume those stalks are goners.  However, all of these plants already have new green leaves emerging from buds at their bases.  They have never had any freeze damage since being planted here (3 years). I think they will all recover.  They seem to grow pretty fast when conditions are good.
• Windmill palm: Leaves partly browned.  New leaves are emerging pretty fast, though they look damaged. Time will tell.  This is the first time I have ever seen a windmill around here have any kind of freeze damage, but even old tall ones around Austin are showing browned leaves this time.

Non-palms:

• Molineria (the thing in the middle that looks like a palm with entire leaves):  Killed to the ground.  These typically get some leaf browning most winters.  They are tougher than they look though, so I think they will grow back from their roots and stolons (both of which are extensive).

[necturus]

6 minutes ago, eevans said:

Last before-and-after comparison for now.  Note that the "before" picture is from 2019, but it looked about the same before this storm except that the Chams on the left were about a foot or more taller.

Palms:

• Sabal minor cluster (other side of front porch):  No protection, no damage, 'nuff said.
• Chamaedorea radicalis cluster (right side): Protected with a sheet, covered by ice, then snow, then more ice.  Several mature leaves were broken by the weight; I "splinted" some of them (with sticks and twist ties) but some of those have died or half-died anyway.  All 3 of these plants appear to be alive, and all 3 are pushing a new leaf, each about 2-3 inches since the freeze.  The newly-exposed parts of those new leaves are brown, but they are still moving out.  These have been in place for about 3 years and have shown no winter damage until now.
• Chamaedorea microspadix clusters (left front, and another by the porch):  Three clumps in front were protected only by a beach umbrella (not much protection in this case, but it did keep the ice off of them).  All of the stalks are of course defoliated, and none of those stalks is pushing the spears at all.  I presume those stalks are goners.  However, all of these plants already have new green leaves emerging from buds at their bases.  They have never had any freeze damage since being planted here (3 years). I think they will all recover.  They seem to grow pretty fast when conditions are good.
• Windmill palm: Leaves partly browned.  New leaves are emerging pretty fast, though they look damaged. Time will tell.  This is the first time I have ever seen a windmill around here have any kind of freeze damage, but even old tall ones around Austin are showing browned leaves this time.

Non-palms:

• Molineria (the thing in the middle that looks like a palm with entire leaves):  Killed to the ground.  These typically get some leaf browning most winters.  They are tougher than they look though, so I think they will grow back from their roots and stolons (both of which are extensive).

Damn man, great looking garden! Looks like a lot of your stuff will come back from the ground. Best of luck.

[Xenon]

Seeing a fair amount of green leaves pushing on many Washingtonia hybrids, even young ones that "self seeded" themselves in freeway medians. 

[Collectorpalms]

5 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Seeing a fair amount of green leaves pushing on many Washingtonia hybrids, even young ones that "self seeded" themselves in freeway medians. 

? I assume not here. I have a couple that self seeded that were about 4-6FT if trunk. Their Spears pulled yesterday. 

[Xenon]

Just now, Collectorpalms said:

? I assume not here. I have a couple that self seeded that were about 4-6FT if trunk. Their Spears pulled yesterday. 

Oh definitely not CS. This is near I-10 in west Houston/Katy 

[Collectorpalms]

3 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Oh definitely not CS. This is near I-10 in west Houston/Katy 

Yeah. I think the Canadian border was relocated somewhere between Houston and College Station. 

[PricklyPearSATC]

 

We're gonna have a weedocalypse with all the vegetation missing.  My shrubs all survived, but they're all thinned out and too much light is getting in...argh!!

[Keys6505]

6 hours ago, eevans said:

Molineria (the thing in the middle that looks like a palm with entire leaves):  Killed to the ground.  These typically get some leaf browning most winters.  They are tougher than they look though, so I think they will grow back from their roots and stolons (both of which are extensive).

These are great.  Super tropical looking and tough as nails.  We got 15 degrees here and I had just flipped a wheelbarrow over my clump.  The leaves all burned about halfway down but the bottom halves all still bright green.  Any fully exposed ones I had floating around got fried to the ground but are already showing new growth.

[Swolte]

How do the Molineria deal with drought?

[eevans]

48 minutes ago, Swolte said:

How do the Molineria deal with drought?

In my yard (black clay with some amendments) they do fine with some moisture, but are not nearly as thirsty as look like they should be. They are growing along with things like sagos, holly ferns, crinums, and such.  They multiply and I occasionally pull up and transplant pups, which don't dry out very quickly.

They certainly do not like much direct summer sun here, though. Leaves can scorch a bit. Shady to part shade is best.

They also do very well in pots, indoors and outdoors.

[necturus]

Where did you guys find the Molineria? I rarely even seen Setaria, a close look alike, for sale.

[Keys6505]

1 hour ago, necturus said:

Where did you guys find the Molineria? I rarely even seen Setaria, a close look alike, for sale.

I found ONE pot buried in a bunch of grasses at Maas last spring.  I had been searching for it for a long time.  I think I've seen it at Jimbo's since.

 

10 hours ago, Swolte said:

How do the Molineria deal with drought?

I think if drought was a possibility they'd have to be in full shade.  I doubt it would kill them but I'm sure they'd look ragged.  Mine get morning sun but I notice that when they're too dry the leaves crease in the middle and collapse/fold in half and once they do there's no undoing it, just have to wait for some new leaves.

[MesquiteRetreat]

Sorry to hear about CollectorPalms' spears pulling out...

[AnTonY]

On a positive note, spring is in the air! I'm seeing signs of life in many of the typical landscaping bushes of the Houston area that were totally lifeless weeks ago.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

13 hours ago, necturus said:

Where did you guys find the Molineria? I rarely even seen Setaria, a close look alike, for sale.

Jimbos in Santa Fe had a bunch of Molineria for sale,  not sure why I didn't buy any. If I had it would all be burnt anyways haha 

[Collectorpalms]

Went to Post Oak Mall...Many amazing things!

Green Mediterranean fan palms on south side up against building are mostly alive! None on north side of building side, just a matter of a few feet look alive, Those that I could reach had spear pull. So only difference was they were out of most of the wind, and had some sun on the day airport only went to 20F for a high. 

At Chewy’s Sabal Mexicana are mostly brown but alive, while 1 palmetto further out from building, is likely dead! I checked for old seeds. They were small. 
Two Mexicana that were trunk mates, one was worse than the other. The one that leaned over the parking lot was better!
 

Many Butia there at Chewy’s, Some had spear pull, while some have green Spears. It looks like it came down to size. Bigger ones further off the ground look to live.

Chewy’s, also had smaller meds, those out of the wind had green too.

Low of 5, longest period below/at 32F since 1895. (7 days)

Edited March 16, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[eevans]

15 hours ago, necturus said:

Where did you guys find the Molineria? I rarely even seen Setaria, a close look alike, for sale.

Many years ago I was visiting the Houston zoo when they were thinning out a bed of it. I just asked if I could take one of the tiny uprooted pups. I think they going to be composted anyway.  No idea why they aren't sold in nurseries, given how easy they are and nice they look. Basically the same sort of habit and usage as Aspidistra, though not as cold hardy.

[eevans]

Signs of life. 

New leaves emerging at the base of a Chamaedorea microspadix whose tall stems were all killed by the freeze.  I applied no protection at all on this plant.  There was already a layer of oak and other leaf mulch about 4 or 5 inches thick, though, which might have helped these buds make it through.

[Collectorpalms]

17 minutes ago, eevans said:

Signs of life. 

New leaves emerging at the base of a Chamaedorea microspadix whose tall stems were all killed by the freeze.  I applied no protection at all on this plant.  There was already a layer of oak and other leaf mulch about 4 or 5 inches thick, though, which might have helped these buds make it through.

chamaedorea seifrizii, the rather tender bamboo palm, is also alive for me. It didn’t have leaves on top of it, but had something I tossed on it right before freeze. It always comes back. 

It tolerates my water while Microspadix always looked wretched, with burn.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Fusca]

On 3/1/2021 at 12:14 PM, Fusca said:

Here is the first of 2 surgeries performed in an attempt to save some palms.  This was result of my smallest mule - 6-7' overall height.  Treated with Daconil fungicide and covered to keep dry as we got rain last night.  Did the same to a 3-4' Copernicia prunifera.  Now we wait...

 

Here we are two weeks later.  Looks like some progress with the mule!  Hope it keeps it up...  unfortunately the Copernicia has not moved.

 

[Teegurr]

I think this is new growth on a canariensis! Correct me if I'm wrong.