Palmageddon Royal Survivor- Rio Grande City Texas

[Little Tex]

I drove by here recently and saw this so I collected some history from google, 

Do you think seed from this plant might survive in Houston? considiring it didnt defoliate at 19-20

[Las Palmas Norte]

Looks like the one next to it 12' away, bit the dust.

[Phoenix_Canariensis]

thats pretty impressive

[Xenon]

The meristem is protected by the east facing buidling and surrounded by concrete. Daytime heating is also much stronger that far south (Rio Grande City averages a high of 75F in February, that's 10 degrees higher than Houston) and the area is also drier and thus less favorable to secondary infection that often kills cold damaged palms in humid climates. I'm leaning more towards a well sited royal than some kind of genetic freak. 

In a similar vein, survival rate of queen palms in Laredo is miles ahead of Corpus Chrisiti despite CC being at the same latitude on the coast. I would guess daytime heating and drier conditions were key factors as well. 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Xenon

[Little Tex]

39 minutes ago, Xenon said:

I'm leaning more towards a well sited royal than some kind of genetic freak. 

I think i'll still try just because I've obseved royals with more favorable conditions and larger size in Mcallen die with including 3-4 extra degrees

[Fusca]

56 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

I think i'll still try just because I've obseved royals with more favorable conditions and larger size in Mcallen die with including 3-4 extra degrees

Go for it!  But I would be prepared to keep it in a container for several years before planting out when it's too big to protect.  You might get a decade of enjoyment from it.  They love water and lots of it.

Jonathan's point is supported by my observations here locally.  I have neighbors with similar sized royals that bit the dust at 22° F out in the open but just a mile away there's a survivor next to a few buildings downtown.  The extra heat from the surrounding concrete certainly helped the survivor.

[N8ALLRIGHT]

5 hours ago, Little Tex said:

I think i'll still try just because I've obseved royals with more favorable conditions and larger size in Mcallen die with including 3-4 extra degrees

Do it  

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

 

[Xenon]

As far as Houston royals go, there have been several plantings within the last 20 years or so. I believe some of the palms survived nearly a decade or more. Being close to town or Galveston Bay helps a lot. People were WAY more daring with zone pushing towards the end of the 2000s following a decade long warm spell. You could cherrypick some pics from 2009 of inner or coastal Houston and make a convincing argument for "Houston zone 10". 

On 10/25/2009 at 7:52 PM, Big Tex said:

I took these pictures today when I went to work. They were actually taken in Pasadena, Texas.

Close to the last picture I found 3 Royal Cuban Palm (Roystonea regia)

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk61/tropical-paradise1/october09/DSCF3349.jpg

 

On 7/15/2006 at 12:06 PM, KatyTX said:

I was driving to work the other morning and stumbled upon this curious occuance.  Growing along the parking lot of the Best Western hotel (Hempstead Hwy @ Highway 6 - Cypress, TX - maybe zone 9a) were these royals.  I don't know how long they have been here, but they obviously have seen at least one winter.  

 

There was about 8-10 of them planted - they looked pretty good (all things considered)...