Florida Christmas Freeze 2022

[JLM]

This freeze impacted areas north of a line from Roseland, FL to Arcadia, FL to St Petersburg, FL. Temperatures dropped into the 20's as far south as Lakeland, FL, and temperatures dropped into the teens for areas in the Panhandle. There were several nights of cold, spanning from the 22nd to the 26th. In central FL, not all of these nights dipped below freezing, but temperatures in the 30's did occur.

My official low was 19F in my back yard, although i suspect that the front yard may have been 17F or 18F based on the degree of damage to my Queen.

I will be posting pictures of my palms in my yard here, and i encourage anyone else with any damage to post them here as well.

[JLM]

First and foremost, here's my Queen in the front yard. The trunk and growth point was protected with heat. Picture taken today, 12/27

Here is a picture of the same palm on 11/3. And yes, it has lost several fronds from rachis blight.

[JLM]

Bottle, Majesties, and Pygmy Dates all likely dead. Low was 19F.

[JLM]

Backyard Queen is slowly showing damage. It got the same protection as the front yard Queen.

[JLM]

Dancy tangerine after 19F, it got pretty scorched. I forgot to take the rest of the fruit off before the freeze, that will need to come off very soon before it starts rotting.

[kinzyjr]

Don't have a full report on the area to share yet.  Initially, here is a compare between what NWS currently has posted vs. what was recorded each day here in the garden.  Some of the current NWS records look like they are a bit spurious, but may be amended at some point.

Here are a few indicator palms. 

City Hall - Areca catechu - damage to oldest leaf

Common Ground - Areca catechu - No Damage

[ChristianStAug]

Location: Near St. Augustine, FL Lighthouse

Lows: 28.2, 27.5,  and 34.9

For the first night, the temperature did not drop below freezing until after 2 AM with about 6 freeze hours. The second night was quite brutal with temperatures below freezing for 8-9 hours.  Notable was the lack of frost on any of the nights due to the blustery arctic winds.  We managed to hit 45 degrees for about an hour between the two nights in the 20s. This report is over a week since temperatures moderated so most damage should be apparent. So far, no spear pull and no deaths imminent. 

NO PROTECTION / NO DAMAGE

• Acoelorrhaphe wrightii
• Arenga engleri
• Bismarckia nobilis
• Chamaedorea microspadix
• Chamaedorea seifrizii
• Chamaerops humilis
• Livistona chinensis
• Phoenix roebelenii
• Rhapis excelsa
• Syagrus romanzoffiana
• Thrinax radiata
• Washingtonian robusta

Most of these as expected, but Thrinax was a pleasant surprise for me. It was sited under Acoelorrhaphe and Sea Grapes along a retaining wall.  Various large Phoenix roebelenii clumps around the yard were also a pleasant surprise - Most are sited close to the home or have some overhead protection. In the neighborhood, some exposed specimens are bronzed. Lack of frost also helped.

Archontophoenix alexandrae

Various specimens with moderate overhead protection. 30-40% burned. Some had crownshafts protected with frost cloth and C9 lights.

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

My largest one has a pretty clear view to the sky, so I opted to do full frost cloth and C9 lights. No damage.

I have a smaller grouping of plants about 9 feet tall overall. They had 50% damage on top leaves (mainly above porch roofline). Frost cloth was used.

Archontophoenix purpurea

Seedling-sized with a card board box over it. No Damage.

 

Chambeyronia (Kentiopsis) oliviformis

About 6 feet overall. Wrapped in sheets. Less than 10% burn on the top frond (which may have started to stick out over course of event).

Chambeyronia macrocarpa

Less than 3 feet tall. Wrapped in sheet with cardboard box over it. No damge.

Dypsis cabadae

No protection. Pretty big clump with some fronds over 9 feet tall. About 90% burned but spears are firm and green leaves exist inside the canopy. Treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Dypsis decaryi

No protection. At first glance it looks 100% fine, however I feel like the leaves are a couple shades darker (more of teal than a sea foam). I am not sure if it will continue to darken. It does not look bad. Spear is firm.

Dypsis lutescens

No protection. Pretty large clump in the corner of my front yard is about 90% burned. Lots of green leaves inside the clump.  I have another in very heavy shade and it is only 10% burned. 

Gaussia princeps

Wrapped in sheet. Small specimen about 3 feet tall. Leaves are not yet brown but they do appear quite mottled/darker. Similar to Decaryi above. Treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Howea forsteriana

Small plant with cardboard box over it. No damage.

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis

Received full treatment of C9 lights and multiple layers of frost cloth. Looks fabulous and makes me smile!

Roystonea regia

7 feet gray wood specimen with crownshaft and trunk wrapped with full C9 light treatment. Full brownout of leaflets however the rachis are all still green. I think I can already tell it is pushing the spear. 

Smaller specimen (about 10 inches gray wood) had fronds bundled up and sheet (with quite a bit sticking out above the sheet). About 80% burned. Some overhead protecton.

Wodyetia bifurcata

Received full treatment of C9 lights and multiple layers of frost cloth.  A-Ok!

 

Notable non-palm mentions:

 

Aechmea blanchetiana (Giant Sun Bromeliad)

This did quite well in various corners of the garden. The water in the centers was frozen on the second morning. Waiting to see.

Coccoloba uvifera (Sea Grape)

Full defoliation incoming.

 

Ficus lyrata (Fiddle leaf)

Top 5 leaves of each stem are full browned out but still a lot of green. Perhaps only a bit of tip dieback if that.

Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella Tree)

Full defoliation incoming but growth points seem firm.

Strelitzia nicolai (Giant/White Bird of Paradise)

Depending on siting, some are nearly perfect, while others have 50% bronzed leaves. Leaves that were very tattered from the hurricanes seemed to freeze first (I image from all the cold, dry air entering at each break in the leaf).

 

Ravenala madagascariensis (Traveler's Palm)

Pushed up against some Sabals, it looks pretty good considering the temps and supposed cold tolerance difference to GBOP above. About 50% burned but little rhyme or reason to which section of which leaf is now yellow and papery.  I had a heat lamp near the bottom and some frost cloth around the center.

Various Crotons

90% of them look great. All are close to home or tucked into corners. Exposed plants in the neighborhood are completely melted but will likely return. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by ChristianStAug
Photos

[chinandega81]

Damage is starting to show, nearly 2 weeks after the cold snap in South Florida. 

 

My Breadfruit trees are dropping their leaves, most of them were burned with temps in the 40s for several days. Just too long of a duration for them. It looks like there will be die back on the tips of the branches. Probably won't resume growth until February or March.

Bananas also had edges of their leaves burned. Healthy growth has resumed.

Travelers Palm had a new leaf unfurling and that was the only one that was burned.

Milk Way Tree dropped almost all of it's leaves.

Hibiscus also dropped most leaves. Flowering and leafing out again.

Spot burning on Cecropia leaves. Healthy growth has resumed.

Noni dropped about half of it's leaves and is resuming growth.

Variegated Sea Mahoe is more tender than the green variety, it dropped several white colored leaves and damage is showing wherever a leaf has white coloration. Growth has resumed.

Clerodendrum Starburst even dropped some leaves, but it looks fine overall and is about to go into full bloom.

Bilimbi tree had die back at the tip and seemingly dormant, probably won't resume growth until March.

Soursop dropped all of it's leaves, buds are swelling up so I assume it will leaf out shortly.

Ixora bushes dropped some leaves and flowers, but overall look fine.

Geiger tree had burnt leaves.

Diffenbachia has sad looking leaves, but that could be due to the Tropical Almond that shades it was defoliated and now it's getting direct sun.

Nance Tree had slight burn on tender, new leaves.

 

 

No damage at all to: Croton, Dypsis lutescens, Ylang Ylang, Plumerias, Coconuts, Royal Poincianas, Dypsis cabadae, Ti plants, Aralias, Angel's Trumpet Tree, African Tulip Tree, Licuala palm, Fiji Fan Palm (Pritchardia pacifica).

 

Hopefully we don't have another major cold outbreak the rest of the winter....

[JLM]

First off, both Queens are progressively showing their damage. The damage is becoming a lot more apparent on the back yard Queen over the past few days. The fronds are browning, and im actually concerned about the state that its in. The newest fronds are light brown, almost a tan color while the rest of the fronds are turning a darker green/brown color. The spear appears to be leaning, but i cant really tell. Im fully expecting to find the spear on the ground next to the palm at some point within the next few months. Im just hoping that the palm doesnt develop crown rot, which would be devastating.

The front yard Queen has not changed much. The spears however do appear to be turning darker in color, and ill do a check on that at some point over the next few days. 

My washy is suffering from something. I dont know whether its cold or if its just casually declining. The fronds have died/collapsed and the spear is a mix of green and brown. It is not pulling though.

My "Super Dwarf" Cavendish banana is still living, i havent checked it out much so i dont know how much growth, if any has occurred since uncovering. The main plant and its suckers all remain alive!

The Foxtail continues to push out a new spear. The spots on the fronds after uncovering have not changed, which makes me think it was christmas light related.

My Bizzy and Mule seedlings are both alive and well! Butia is unfazed.

Non Palms: Dancy Tangerine continues to show browning of leaves. I expect complete defoliation before Spring. It probably wont produce fruit this summer.


Majesties are likely dead (>95% chance).

Pygmy Dates are likely dead (~75% chance).

Bottle is dead, no doubt about it. Will be removed soon.

[Brian M]

Lows of 25.2, 25.5, 28.8. All palms left to fend for themselves. Here are results from my yard as well as around the neighborhood.

wodyetia bifurcata - 100% burnt, probably almost dead but nothing is limp yet. My favorite palm... I'll be sad.

Ptychosperma elegans - 100% burnt, fronds collapsing. Never fully recovered from last winter.

Adonidia merrillii - 100% burnt

Archontophoenix alexandrae - 100% burnt although 2 of the 3 recovered quickly last spring from 28. Will be interesting to see if they come back again.

phoenix roebelenii - 10% burn. Some in neighborhood had up to 75% burn but all should survive. 

Bismarckia nobilis - no damage

Rhapis excelsa - no damage

livistona decipiens - no damage

Chamaerops humilis - no damage

Syagrus romanzoffiana - no damage

Phoenix reclinata - no damage 

Arenga engleri - no damage as far as I could see from across the pond

Phoenix Sylvestris - no damage

There are plenty others that I'm too lazy to list since they are much hardier.

[RedRabbit]

My lows were 29.7f and 30.0f.   

No Damage

Archontophoenix myolensis, Adonidia, Beccariophoenix alfredii, Lytocarium h, Dypsis lutescens, Ravenea rivularis, Thrinax radiata. 

The neighbors bananas had mostly fried leaves and the lower leaves on the papaya were fried. My Hong Kong orchid, tipuana tipu, and the neighbor’s mangos had no damage. 

Overall, I was surprised to come home from vacation to almost no damage whatsoever. The Archontophoenix was 60% fried from last year’s freeze and this year was slightly colder. The b alfredii even had a little damage last year too. It really just doesn’t look like it got very cold here and now I think last years damage was a product of frost (which may or may not have happened this year.)

[JLM]

Dancy tangerine is defoliating at a rapid pace. I will be sad to see it with no leaves, because ive never seen it that way before. I guess its just a waiting game to see what limbs are dead whenever spring arrives.

[RedRabbit]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:54 PM, kinzyjr said:

Don't have a full report on the area to share yet.  Initially, here is a compare between what NWS currently has posted vs. what was recorded each day here in the garden.  Some of the current NWS records look like they are a bit spurious, but may be amended at some point.

Here are a few indicator palms. 

City Hall - Areca catechu - damage to oldest leaf

Common Ground - Areca catechu - No Damage

No damage to an Areca catechu? Are these hardier than I think? 

[Jimbean]

After my lows in South Brevard of 34.5 and 32.5, I see zero freeze damage on anything, including the coconut palm and my banana trees. 

[kinzyjr]

6 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

No damage to an Areca catechu? Are these hardier than I think? 

I have heard that the dwarf variant is more hardy than the standard variety.  The dwarf variant would stay under canopy easily, so perhaps a decent addition to the garden.

A lot of my bananas had fried leaves.

We had a lot less clouds than anticipated overnight (see NWS reports below).  Hopefully I'll be able to get all of the remaining photos this weekend for comparison.  The personal weather stations in the area are very close together in regard to temperature as expected.

For easy comparison:

Below are excerpts from the airport records I collected, zipped, and posted in the N. America Winter 2022-2023 Temperature Screenshots thread.  You'll notice the discrepancy between these records and the NOAA official record compare I did above. 

Christmas Eve: A lot of clear skies or scattered clouds?  It is certainly possible it hit 29F in the time between the posted records with open skies and was logged by the min/max function on the weather station.

Christmas Morning: Where did the 28F at 06:50 go in the NOAA data?

Looking at the records for USW00012883, it looks like they are trying to fix them.  Station USC00084802 still has the long string of 29s for lows at the current time.

[kinzyjr]

Home Cold Damage Report

Official Weather (best effort correction): The weather records in the NOAA data are corrupted as noted above and not fully corrected.  My download program preserved the weather records at each of the airports for 12/23/2022 through 12/26/2022.  The records I was able to dig up for 12/27/2022 showed the recordings I had matching the airport exactly.  Weather was recorded using electronic min/max thermometers and red liquid thermometers.  Both matched each time I checked them.  The records I amended using the archived data are in blue.

• 12/23/2022: The high was recorded shortly after 10AM and dropped the rest of the day.  It was forecast to be overcast, but cloud cover wasn't as dense as predicted.  Lows were recorded near midnight at both my house and the airport.
• 12/24/2022: The NWS records were incomplete, with missing data between 12:15AM and 5:50AM.  I did not amend the NWS low, but the lowest temperature on record was 30F.  My assumption is that the less than predicted cloud cover did allow the minimum temperature of 29F to be recorded sometime during the window of time where there were no records.
• 12/25/2022: There are missing records on this date again between midnight and 6:50 AM.  The records that were present had 28F at 6:50AM as posted earlier.  My min/max sensors all had 30F.
• 12/26/2022: My sensors recorded a low of 35F vs. the airport at 37F.  Glad to sacrifice the degrees on a night where it was 37F over there vs. the night where it was 28F.
• 12/27/2022: Temperatures start to moderate with a high near 70F.  Both locations show congruent readings.

Damage to Coconuts:

Jamaican Tall/Atlantic Tall coconut palms (40%) [2] - outperformed the Maypan in this one.

Panama Tall (~20%) [1]

Maypan (40%) [2]

Fiji Dwarf (70%)[4] - Note that the only Fiji Dwarf is in the middle.  The other coconuts were a free gift and are of unknown origin.  They did worse than the Fiji, whatever they are.

Damage to Veitchia species:

Veitchia subdisticha (None) [0]

Veitchia joannis (None) [0]

Veitchia arecina (up to 40%) [2] - note the small seedling in the third photo => offspring from Winter Haven survivors.

Damage to Royals:

Roystonea regia (up to 20%)[1]

Damage to Adonidia, Carpentaria, and Wodyetia:

Carpentaria acuminata (None) [0]

Adonidia merrillii (None) [0]

Wodyetia bifurcata (None) [0] - there are tons of these around the yard popping up from over 300 seeds I collected and tossed in the bone pile

Damage to Spindle and Bottle:

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (~20%) [1]

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii (~20%)[1]

Indicator Plants:

Bananas - a LOT of burned leaves - was there frost?

Crotons and Cordylines - No damage but under canopy

Phoenix roebellenii - No damage in an area with no canopy and exposure to north and west wind

Sugarcane - No damage with no canopy

[D. Morrowii]

Excellent damage report @kinzyjrI’ll try and copy what you did with pics tomorrow. 

I drove through Cocoa Beach a couple days ago and saw a significant amount of damage to a lot of the stuff on A1A. Royals Veitchia, Adonidia, Hyophorbe etc. Probably a combination of wind damage from the hurricanes, neglect, and the cold front but I was surprised about how rough it looked. 

[kinzyjr]

Thank you, @D. Morrowii.  You've been here, so you know roughly how everything is sited.   Looking forward to seeing photos.  It's hard for me to imagine A1A having more damage than us hill country folks away from the coast.

Part II - Semi-hardy Palms - These are palms that are typically hardy to these kinds of events. They tolerate chill well, but a 1989 Christmas Freeze would probably get them.

Chrysalidocarpus (Former Dypsis):

Chrysalidocarpus decaryi - Triangle Palm - Seed-grown + Cup is to keep critters away (~10% leaf tip burn)[1]

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens - Golden Cane Palm - Seed-grown + Cup is to keep critters away (None)[0]

Chrysalidocarpus prestoniana - Big Curly - (up to 20% leaf tip burn)[1]

Chrysalidocarpus pembana (~None)[0]

Chrysalidocarpus cabadae - (up to 20% leaf burn)[1]

Chrysalidocarpus lanceolata - (None)[0] - This is a surprise since this palm is often regarded as a 10b palm

Archontophoenix (King Palms):

Archontophoenix alexandrae (None) [0]

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (None) [0]

Archontophoenix purpurea (None) [0]

Chambeyronia (including former Kentiopsis):

Chambeyronia macrocarpa 'Houailou' (~10%) [1]

Chambeyronia macrocarpa (None) [0]

Chambeyronia oliviformis (None) [0]

Euterpe:

Euterpe edulis - the leaf damage was from being partially uprooted by Hurricane Ian.  It looks better now than before the cold snap. (None) [0]

Euterpe edulis 'Orange Crownshaft' - Also seemed to like the cold.  Oddball palms. - (None) [0]

Other Local Favorites:

Beccariophoenix alfredii (None) [0]

Beccariophoenix fenestralis (None) [1] - The damage on the lower fronds was from my pole saw falling and hitting them.

Carpoxylon macrospermum - Note the little brown spot on the stem.  If you see this on a young one, treat it with peroxide immediately.  Once they trunk, they are less susceptible to this type of damage. - (~10%)[1]

Cryosophila warscewiczii - (None) [0]

Howea forsteriana (None) [0] - Another palm that loves a cool off period.

Licuala grandis - (None) [0] - this and the Chamaedorea tepejilote from @redant seem happy in their spots.

Pseudophoenix sargentii (~10%) [1] - This one from @Hferrell87 has handled cold pretty well.

Ptychosperma macarthurii - (up to 20%) [1]

Satakentia liukiuensis - (~10%) [1]

Thrinax radiata - (None) [0] - frond on lower right was already starting to brown before cold.

Rounding out the Palms - these shouldn't get damage ... :

Allagoptera arenaria (None) [0]

Hyphaene coriacea (None) [0]

Chamaedorea cataractarum (None) [0] - Note the young Thrinax radiata beside it with no damage as well

Chamaedorea microspadix (None) [0]

Chamaedorea radicalis (None) [0]

Chamaedorea tepejilote (None) [0]

Copernecia alba (None) [0]

[kinzyjr]

Part III - Tropical/Subtropical Hardwoods - My interest in these species shows the influence of @Jimbean, @RedRabbit, and @palmsOrl

Bursera simaruba - Gumbo Limbo - (None) [0] - note the torched bananas in the background

Delonix regia - Royal Poinciana - Leaf drop/defoliation

Ficus aurea - Florida Strangler Fig - Some minor yellowing on one, none on the other

Coccoluba uvifera - Sea Grape - None

 

There are other palms on the lot, but they are not subject to cold damage unless we have a 1980s freeze.  The usual stuff like Butia, Syagrus, Sabal, Washingtonia, Phoenix, etc.  This concludes the report from the yard.  I'll have some other information from other microclimates around town later.

[D. Morrowii]

Oh you weren’t done yet! lol

[D. Morrowii]

Lows over the 3 nights were - 34, 31.8 and 40.8

Details

The temps went below 50F around 9:30 pm on the Dec. 23rd and didn't get back to 50F until 11:30 am on the 26th. So 62 hours below 50.

Temps went below 35F at around 5:30 am on the 24th and stayed there until 8:30 am. The low was 34 and there were 3 hours of that.

It never got above 46 on the 24th and again went below 35F at 3:00 am on the 25th and stayed below that until 9:30 am the Christmas morning. Ultimate low on the 24th/25th was 31.8. No frost but we did have some sleet on Christmas morning. The low on the 26th was 40.8. 

1 Gal. Syagrus amara planted in the middle of August and had 15 gal container over it. Looks a little rough but I think very little cold damage if any. 
 

Juvenille Royal no protection and no damage. None expected I guess. 
 

Satakentia - 5% damage? Definitely a little leaf burn on the newest leaves

 

Dwarf cavendish - leaf burn and new leaves coming out are breaking off.

Archontophoenix tuckeri no protection - 15% burn on the new leaves but old ones are ok. 

 

[D. Morrowii]

Buccaneer 1 - no protection no damage. 

Carlsmithii - 15 gal container as cover no damage. 

African oil palm - potted no protection 25% damage to new leaf but the rest of the palm looks good.

Bottle palm - potted no protection but brought in to the patio old leaves are 30% burned.

Veitchia Arecina tucked in with red leaf no protection no damage

[D. Morrowii]

Buccaneer 2 no protection no damage.  Pineapples also seem good

Flamethrower no protection no damage. 

Dypsis pembana in a 1 gal pot no protection no damage, I was surprised by this one.

Gaussia gomez-pompae no protection no damage.

Caryota gigas - no protection no cold damage. 

I have a bunch of other stuff that was protected to varying degrees with covers and lights but that doesn't really tell us anything. 

[Matthew92]

I know it's been a little while since I've been on here but will post my photos and further observations from this freeze shortly. 

It's funny as it's been long enough since our last big freeze (Jan 2018) that I kind of forgot how long it takes certain plants and palms to show full damage. In the few days after the freeze, palms like Livistona, Phoenix, and Queens looked like they hardly had any damage. Now they are really showing it. Pretty much all queens I've seen in my area are 100% brown. Livistona chinensis still don't have as much damage as I thought they might (only seem to have about 50% browning so far at the most: but maybe still taking time to show), and most Phoenix (sans dactylifera) having varying degrees of browning.

What has surprised me with this freeze is the damage to broadleaf evergreens that are supposed to be zone 8 or even more cold hardy. I've seen foliar dieback on Gardenia (one cultivar in my yard, "Miami Supreme", which from all information says should be zone 8 hardy and survived mid-to low 20's last year with just a few tinges of brown on some leaves is 100% defoliated), Indian Hawthorne, Confederate Jasmine, Ligustrum!? (especially the cultivar 'Jack Frost'), some Azaleas, and even Fatsia japonica to name several. Some of this I think is windburn as this seemed more prevalent out near the ocean. Also on other shrubs like Cleyera, Viburnum, and Lorapetulum: some twigs on the tips have been killed due to it being new growth.

The usual borderline zone 8/9 broadleaf evergreens such as Oleander, Citrus, Bottlebrush, and Awabuki Viburnum (the very large glossy-leaved, more tender variant) have taken it REALLY HARD. While the citrus in my yard have survived upper teen events in years past with some twig dieback, I'm worried about how much is going to dieback this year. For the first time all 5 of them (12-13 year old trees) are currently dropping all of their leaves and I can already tell that some twigs are dead. Despite Jan 2018 getting to 18 degrees as well, only 2 out of the 5 completely defoliated (Meyer Lemon and Ponkan Tangerine), with the Ruby Red Grapefruit and Glen Navel Orange having partial defoliation, and the Parson Brown Orange holding on to pretty much all its leaves. I think it was less duration of hard freezing temps with that one (and not as much wind). Additionally, that winter, we had more of a gradual easing into harder freezing temps. This year, while we did have more than one previous night all the way back into November with frost or temps near freezing, there have been some extended very warm periods mixed in as well and I don't think the trees were quite as dormant.

And as far as I can see: if it wasn't the standard non-weeping, red-flowered variety of Callistemon viminalis (even some of these have damage), all other Bottlebrush that I have seen are 100% defoliated. I really hope some of these come back, especially the cultivar "Bottle Pop Neon Pink" ones I have in my yard.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Matthew92

[Estlander]

Took a pic of this clump of Acoelorrhaphe wrightii in Gulf Breeze yesterday. Doesn’t seem to have any damage having experienced near 20F. Tough palms. We need more of these in our area. 
 

[Matthew92]

8 hours ago, Estlander said:

Took a pic of this clump of Acoelorrhaphe wrightii in Gulf Breeze yesterday. Doesn’t seem to have any damage having experienced near 20F. Tough palms. We need more of these in our area. 
 

Yes! I think these have a lot of unrealized potential in North FL. Even a small non-trunking clump in Niceville I’ve observed over the years looks to be retaining its leaves so far with only some yellowing (amazing since it is in a non-coastal microclimate and got the full brunt of this cold wave). I’m surprised because this one and another in the city were originally planted as large trunking clumps (stems 6-10 ft tall) but lost all those tall stems (and most leaves) in the 2014 or 2015 winter. I thought I remembered them starting to lose leaves in the low 20’s deg F so I’m surprised to see how well they (and even the one you posted) are holding  up so far.

One thing though is that they don’t like well drained, acid, dry sandy soil. They are much deeper/healthy green in more wet, mucky, limestone/alkaline based soil like their natural habitat in the Everglades.

From my observations (especially when I lived in Orlando and saw many there planted in varying situations) they can occasionally be somewhat decent in those less preferred situations though they will grow extremely slow. Actually that picture you posted is the first one I’ve seen in the Panhandle that is fully healthy and tall as all the others I’ve seen up here are in those more unfavorable soil conditions.
 

It could be that Gulf Breeze might have a higher water table/richer soil that could be helping that specimen.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Matthew92

[Estlander]

17 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Yes! I think these have a lot of unrealized potential in North FL. Even a small non-trunking clump in Niceville I’ve observed over the years looks to be retaining its leaves so far with only some yellowing (amazing since it is in a non-coastal microclimate and got the full brunt of this cold wave). I’m surprised because this one and another in the city were originally planted as large trunking clumps (stems 6-10 ft tall) but lost all those tall stems (and most leaves) in the 2014 or 2015 winter. I thought I remembered them starting to lose leaves in the low 20’s deg F so I’m surprised to see how well they (and even the one you posted) are holding  up so far.

One thing though is that they don’t like well drained, acid, dry sandy soil. They are much deeper/healthy green in more wet, mucky, limestone/alkaline based soil like their natural habitat in the Everglades.

From my observations (especially when I lived in Orlando and saw many there planted in varying situations) they can occasionally be somewhat decent in those less preferred situations though they will grow extremely slow. Actually that picture you posted is the first one I’ve seen in the Panhandle that is fully healthy and tall as all the others I’ve seen up here are in those more unfavorable soil conditions.
 

It could be that Gulf Breeze might have a higher water table/richer soil that could be helping that specimen.

There are two more that I know of - one in Panama City Beach and another one in Gulf Breeze. They're both in coastal sand and look really good. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Estlander

[kinzyjr]

Lakeland - Cold Damage Report - Part I

@RedRabbit mentioned lower leaf damage on papayas in the Westchase area.  We had similar damage to papayas here.

Recall: My first post in the January 2022 Florida Freeze Report presented a stark contrast over small distances.  One of the benchmark palms used was Wodyetia bifurcata, the Foxtail Palm.  The specimens used were from Lake Miriam Publix and west of the airport on Medulla Rd.  These are the results, with one addition from an "average" in town microclimate like Lake Wire:

Lake Miriam Publix (no discernible damage)

Lake Wire - no damage as well

Medulla Rd. - all took damage, some never recovered from January and are nearly dead.  A few may have been removed already.

My Royals had some leaf tip damage.  Some in the area are larger and had no damage.  This example is at ~240 ft. above sea level.  The uneven canopy is from someone getting too happy with the pole saw.

Coconuts in various areas had varying levels of damage.

This had ~75% damage and was probably the most damaged one I saw.

In the Clubhouse area, they had 20%-40% damage.

The coconuts near the Glendale area took ~30% damage, but are now producing coconuts.  If you zoom in, you can see a small coconut on the first palm in the photo.

The coconuts on Main St. took ~10% damage, mostly out by the ends of the fronds.

The coconuts in the Combee area took ~30%-40% damage but are holding the most coconuts.

Another indicator palm, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens.

Lake Morton - no damage and tallest trunks over 20 ft.

Lake Wire - ~20% frond damage.  There were some that were defoliated outside of town. Yes, there is a fall season here... sometimes

Archontophoenix - the new street tree genus

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana - this species has really caught fire, with plantings at Mass Market, near Winner's Circle, and on the west shore of Lake Parker.  No damage in all but a few exposed areas, likely from wind.

Main St.

Lake Hollingsworth area

Lake Hollingsworth Boat Area - was told it was a Piccabean, but it has blue/silver undersides.

Archontophoenix alexandrae - No damage in most places where it was planted.

Hollis Gardens

Archontophoenix teracarpa - No damage, whatever it ends up being when it gets tested.  Even the recently planted babies are hardy.

To finish Part I, someone asked about Pandanus hardiness on the forum some time ago.  Here are a few observations:

Pandanus #1: ~20% damage

Pandanus #2: 0% damage

In Part II, which hopefully will be the last one for this winter, I'll have a few more observations of some uncommon palms and hopefully an observation for Eucalyptus deglupta (Rainbow Eucalyptus).

[JLM]

The gusty winds from yesterday has shown the true degree of damage on my back yard Queen.

[kinzyjr]

Start tidying up from one cold front and another one blows in as we're typing - that's Florida for you.

Lakeland - Cold Damage Report - Part II

Foreword: There is another cold front blowing in at the moment. Temperatures are not forecast to fall below 35F here.  Hopefully that means no need to amend anything.

Dictyosperma album 'conjugatum'  (< 10% leaf tip damage) [1]

Beccariophoenix alfredii (No Damage) [0]

Zombia antillarum (No Damage) [0]

Coccothrinax crinita (No damage) [0]

Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos - Teddy Bear - (first one has none, second and third ones had <= 20% damage) [1]

Chambeyronia macrocarpa - (No damage) [0]

  

Carpoxylon macrospermum - (No damage) [0]

Satakentia liukiuensis (No Damage) [0]

Ptychosperma elegans (No Damage) [0] - the Ponytail Palm behind it had more yellow leaves than it did... go figure.

Arenga pinnata - (<=20% damage) [1] - second photo isn't very clear, but it's getting a large trunk and didn't show any damage.

 

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (~20% damage) [1] - these ranged from light damage to near defoliation with no rhyme or reason as to why

Licuala peltata 'sumawongii' (No Damage) [0] - anything brown was already brown

Thrinax radiata (No Damage) [0] - there wasn't one of these in town that had even a frizzled leaf tip.  Native palms are great!

Pseudophoenix sargentii (No Damage) [0] - another gorgeous native palm

Caryota obtusa (~20% damage) [1] - unfortunately, the huge specimens at Lake Wire were damaged by a fire.  One has been removed and the other will likely die soon and be removed as well.

Caryota mitis 'variegata' (No Damage) [0]

Allagoptera caudescens (No damage) [0]

Round out the report with a few tropical/subtropical hardwoods

Mast tree - Polyalthia longifolia (No damage) [0] - There are a lot of these in town and none show any stress thus far.

Rainbow eucalyptus - Eucalyptus deglupta  (Defoliated)  [5] - @Fishinsteeg234 this one lost a lot of branches during Hurricane Ian, but retained its central leader.  There are some green leaves on it, so it will probably bounce back if it doesn't get hit with 2 days with highs below 50F again.

 

Hope everyone does alright for the next three months!

[D. Morrowii]

@kinzyjr Nice to hear on the carpoxylon and dictyosperma. Also I guess I should have gone with the group to see that Satake. That thing is a unit! 

Sad to hear about the gigas…

 

I’m seeing 37-34-37 forecasted. I’ll close up the container palm enclosures and maybe put a couple of the frost cones out on the smaller most warm loving in grounds guys just to keep them as happy as possible while they establish themselves. 

 

[JLM]

Well ill be damned....

Looked outside at the large maple tree in the neighbor's yard this morning, and its beginning to bloom. These warm spells are going to start causing problems. For instance, the forecast for next week is calling for highs in the 70's with lows in the 50's and 60's. This is very not January like, hopefully the polar vortex doesnt decide to do anything funky between now and March. Im looking forward to one of the more beautiful Springs we have had in a little while, especially since the freeze killed off all the leaves from the deciduous trees.

Now lets talk local palm damage. The washingtonia in the area did not really appear to be badly hit, but now a few weeks later, man they look terrible. I saw one that was pretty much defoliated...completely. Looked like something out of Texas in 2021. I can imagine that if the washies got hit this hard, the canaries and sylvestris also took it pretty hard. The ones of i know of are in gated neighborhoods and are not able to be seen unless i decide to go golfing (ew lol). My official low was 19F, but i suspect it was a degree or two lower in some spots.

[JLM]

I was finally able to climb up and get a better look at my back yard Queen. Behind the burlap like material theres green on the spear, its probably the greenest part of the entire palm right now. I now have more confidence on the survival of this palm. I will be monitoring for growth during this warm spell on all of my damaged but probably still living palms.

[Borderzoner]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:49 AM, JLM said:

Well ill be damned....

Looked outside at the large maple tree in the neighbor's yard this morning, and its beginning to bloom. These warm spells are going to start causing problems. For instance, the forecast for next week is calling for highs in the 70's with lows in the 50's and 60's. This is very not January like, hopefully the polar vortex doesnt decide to do anything funky between now and March. Im looking forward to one of the more beautiful Springs we have had in a little while, especially since the freeze killed off all the leaves from the deciduous trees.

Now lets talk local palm damage. The washingtonia in the area did not really appear to be badly hit, but now a few weeks later, man they look terrible. I saw one that was pretty much defoliated...completely. Looked like something out of Texas in 2021. I can imagine that if the washies got hit this hard, the canaries and sylvestris also took it pretty hard. The ones of i know of are in gated neighborhoods and are not able to be seen unless i decide to go golfing (ew lol). My official low was 19F, but i suspect it was a degree or two lower in some spots.

Yeah you gotta look forward to the random January warming for a couple weeks before the next cold spell hits. Not too stoked about defoliated citrus starting to bud out already.  Even some satsumas defoliated! They will be worse off if it freezes below 27 again and kills the tender growth while it's trying to recover. Got a plum going full bloom too.

There are a couple big rows of canaries down scenic going towards the end of nine mile that are maybe worth checking out. Some on bayou Blvd going toward scenic, a couple right there at the sacred heart, some near the end of palafox on the bay, many in GB and the beach.

I noticed the same with the large Washingtonias around, they looked way worse than I expected! I wonder how the Chinese fans fared..?

Looking forward to seeing a handful of beccariophoenix alf. that got completely defoliated. Maybe they're like some of the queens and will recover from a frying.

There are several 15 ft+ queens I need to check up on, and a reclinata or hybrid.

Also I can't believe you attempted an in ground bottle palm. haha. Foxtail and majesty can't really even make it. Nearly all pygmy dates except the most sheltered are pulling spears. But, this did happen a while back and many recovered with peroxide treatments. I wonder if it'll work this time. Actually, wondering if some of these majesties have a chance too. We'll see. 

Here are my two biggest queens. From their prime to scalded in a matter of hours...

[Borderzoner]

I couldn't get high enough to throw some peroxide on the spears. Might need a ladder

[JLM]

17 hours ago, Borderzoner said:

Yeah you gotta look forward to the random January warming for a couple weeks before the next cold spell hits. Not too stoked about defoliated citrus starting to bud out already.  Even some satsumas defoliated! They will be worse off if it freezes below 27 again and kills the tender growth while it's trying to recover. Got a plum going full bloom too.

There are a couple big rows of canaries down scenic going towards the end of nine mile that are maybe worth checking out. Some on bayou Blvd going toward scenic, a couple right there at the sacred heart, some near the end of palafox on the bay, many in GB and the beach.

I noticed the same with the large Washingtonias around, they looked way worse than I expected! I wonder how the Chinese fans fared..?

Looking forward to seeing a handful of beccariophoenix alf. that got completely defoliated. Maybe they're like some of the queens and will recover from a frying.

There are several 15 ft+ queens I need to check up on, and a reclinata or hybrid.

Also I can't believe you attempted an in ground bottle palm. haha. Foxtail and majesty can't really even make it. Nearly all pygmy dates except the most sheltered are pulling spears. But, this did happen a while back and many recovered with peroxide treatments. I wonder if it'll work this time. Actually, wondering if some of these majesties have a chance too. We'll see. 

Here are my two biggest queens. From their prime to scalded in a matter of hours...

With the Bottle, i needed the pot it was in so i planted it lol

It had survived for a while with light freezes, it looked like garbage but i never expected it to last thru the winter.

You mentioned scenic, you need to check out those pygmy dates on scenic near I-10, i posted many pictures of them from over the years from Google Maps on this thread: 

Hopefully your Queen survives! I see some green under the burlap-like material so theres some hope. My front yard Queen still has a green spear and appears to still be growing, albeit slowly.

I also noticed something interesting the other day, one of my basjoo bananas is still trying to grow. The other one has a rotted stem though.

[Brian M]

Bizzie is starting to show some damage. Looks like 2 fronds that we're emerging/opening during the freeze took a big hit. The one is limp but there are 2 more newer spears pushing up. I hit it with some hydrogen peroxide a few days ago but didn't notice any fizzing. 

[D Palm]

@Brian M the key to saving the Bizzys (if it needs to be saved) is checking that center spear. The damage will continue to spread for whatever reason until March. If there’s play/movement it may come out. Hard to explain, but I can tell after years of working with them (and queens) if it needs removal. I’ll try to get my pics in this week on damage. Figured I would let it all settle in before posting.

[Matthew92]

Currently visiting Tampa right now. Few tinges of brown on stuff like Ti plants (Cordyline) and hibiscus: but one has to look for it to notice. In some of the outer suburbs though: it is more noticeable. I saw a newly trunking coconut palm near Brandon, FL that was about 50% brown.

[Matthew92]

Way overdue to post these. Here are the chronicles of the big Christmas Freeze 2022 from my perspective here in Southeast Okaloosa County, FL.

Evening of Dec 23rd. Temps were already below freezing when the sun was setting. I was wrapping up some yard prep/protection at the time.

Morning of the 24th. 5:34 am. It had been below about 24 deg for hours before this. At around 4am, it was 20 deg outside. The temp stayed at 18 for around an hour.