Palms in Virginia Beach?

[DoomsDave]

This is quite the picture from VA Beach VA, looks almost like here . . . .

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Didn't used to be like that back 40-50 years ago. Sabals give it a true tropical vibe in July, if not in January. I'm glad to see it.

[Alex High]

On 7/3/2023 at 3:31 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

Didn't used to be like that back 40-50 years ago. Sabals give it a true tropical vibe in July, if not in January. I'm glad to see it.

I totally agree, it's definitely close to or on par with some parts of North Florida (maybe inland North Florida) in terms of palminess. I was last there this past February, it was a beautiful day and the palms really create quite a tropical atmosphere. I got lots of palmy videos while there. I know it got down to the teens there during the deep freeze, the water surrounding the city definitely helps to moderate temps a bit though. There are some incredibly palmy parts of the city and overall palms are very common in the private and public landscape, it's really awesome to see just a little over 3 hours from me in the D.C. area.

 

Additionally, there are lots of cool native subtropical plants that are at or near the northern ends of their ranges. These include Southern live oak, Spanish moss, and (debatably) Sabal minor, which is officially native almost up to VA Beach in coastal NC, but was likely once native, and there may still be undiscovered wild groves out there. Loblolly pines and bald cypresses are also dominant.

 

Palms are pretty common throughout the Hampton Roads area, up to Williamsburg. They are somewhat common up to Richmond and the D.C. area where I live.

 

[mnorell]

Really interesting to see the breadth and quality of palms in Virginia Beach and D.C. I am really surprised to see those apparently thriving Butia in Virginia Beach. I hope people take a look at your video of the Rhapidophyllum at the National Arboretum in D.C., because that is how one can see the beauty of this amazingly cold-tolerant palm when grown properly...i.e., planted in the right place and with no pruning. They definitely look their best in dappled/shifting shade on down to full shade. I used these to line the driveway/boundary-line with our neighbors at our old house in Natchez, Mississippi years ago, and was able to give them the room they needed to spread out, under the canopy of a line of Prunus caroliniana. They grew rather quickly from small container palms to about six feet high and wide, kept a deep green color and high gloss, through thick and thin, with zero attention. Since that project I have been their champion, especially when they are treated as the cast-off hardy ugly ducklings of the palm family...because for years I had seen photos or seen with my own eyes plants in landscapes butchered through trimming/"legging up" leaving a horrible, ugly shadow of the beautiful plant it could be. People also seem to always want to plant them in full sun...a mistake when contrasted with their luxurious appearance (as in nature) shaded by the forest canopy above.

[Almisa]

Amazing reporting on these palms in parts of VA and DC. Lived in those areas for years and am extremely impressed and surprised by the breadth of your finds.  Good Job!!!

[Alex High]

On 7/5/2023 at 4:45 PM, mnorell said:

Really interesting to see the breadth and quality of palms in Virginia Beach and D.C. I am really surprised to see those apparently thriving Butia in Virginia Beach. I hope people take a look at your video of the Rhapidophyllum at the National Arboretum in D.C., because that is how one can see the beauty of this amazingly cold-tolerant palm when grown properly...i.e., planted in the right place and with no pruning. They definitely look their best in dappled/shifting shade on down to full shade. I used these to line the driveway/boundary-line with our neighbors at our old house in Natchez, Mississippi years ago, and was able to give them the room they needed to spread out, under the canopy of a line of Prunus caroliniana. They grew rather quickly from small container palms to about six feet high and wide, kept a deep green color and high gloss, through thick and thin, with zero attention. Since that project I have been their champion, especially when they are treated as the cast-off hardy ugly ducklings of the palm family...because for years I had seen photos or seen with my own eyes plants in landscapes butchered through trimming/"legging up" leaving a horrible, ugly shadow of the beautiful plant it could be. People also seem to always want to plant them in full sun...a mistake when contrasted with their luxurious appearance (as in nature) shaded by the forest canopy above.

Yes Butia are somewhat marginal in Virginia Beach but seem pretty hardy in the good microclimates there. I totally agree, great points. Needle palms aren't just amazing for their hardiness, they're gorgeous palms in their own right, as the one at the Arboretum shows. They can become absolutely massive and really quite a sight to behold. Thanks!

8 hours ago, Almisa said:

Amazing reporting on these palms in parts of VA and DC. Lived in those areas for years and am extremely impressed and surprised by the breadth of your finds.  Good Job!!!

Thank you very much! Yes it's amazing how much more common palms have become here in recent years. I have many more videos of local palms on my YouTube channel Palm Planet.

[DoomsDave]

Might be worth trying some butiagrus mules. 

[BigBilly]

Just came back from Virginia Beach tons of palms there

[Virginia Palmetto]

Here are a few of mine in Chesapeake. So far, all have survived snow and temps at least as low as 10F. The oldest Washingtonias and Sabals in the front yard I planted in 2017 just barely out of the strap-leaf stage. Here are some photos of the yard and individual palms. All photos are from fall 2023.

W

I gifted this Washingtonia to my neighbor. I harvested the seed from a Washingtonia filifera, but as with all my Washingtonias, it is probably a hybrid. This one is especially remarkable to me, because during a freeze last year (December 2022) this palm had absolutely no mulch around it, zero protection, was over-pruned, and many of the roots were exposed. After two nights around 12F and one night around 10F, I was certain it was a gonner. Sure enough, it resumed growth in February.

F

The Sabal/Washingtonia combo.

I pulled theses Sabal palmettos as seedlings from a resort in Orlando, Florida after asking permission from maintenance. To them, the Sabal seedlings were weeds, so they told me to take as many as I could. For two years, I kept them in pots and accidentally let them freeze into solid blocks of ice one winter. I lost a few, but more than 90% of the palmettos just shrugged it off. For the 10% that didn't make it, I'm convinced it wasn't the cold that killed them. I believe they simply became dehydrated since all their water was locked up in ice for too long. Of those many palmettos that I have since gifted to friends and planted throughout the backyard, I planted these two in the front yard at the strap-leaf stage in 2018. I can tell they have started to form wide trunks underground.

This Sabal palmetto (also from Orlando) was transplanted just after the other two, but went into shock because I didn't include enough roots. It has since recovered nicely.

T

This Washingtonia is from the same seedling batch as the one I gifted my neighbor. I collected the seed from a Washingtonia filifera, but it's probably a hybrid. The is one of the Washingtonias that sometimes stays green all year depending on the winter. It's hard to see from the photo, but there are 3 small sago palms underneath its fronds that I grew from seeds collected in South Carolina.

 

First frost of the year (shortly after Halloween). The Sago in the foreground was a "rescue" from a nearby homeowner that tried to kill it 3 times. First, she cut the main trunk to the ground which resulted in many basal sprouts. The following winter, she intentionally cut off all the leaves hoping that would kill it, and the third time, she drenched it in vinegar. By the time I came across it, it was essentially the same size as it is now. It was likely planted by another homeowner in the late 90s. I moved it to its new home in the front yard in 2019. This sago is about as bulletproof as they come.

 

This Rhapidophyllum hystrix has thrived under the branches of a loblolly pine since 2017, when I planted it in the fall before a massive freeze. As expected, it was unscathed despite over a foot of snow and temperatures that may have dipped into the single digits. I received this palm from a neighbor who was re-landscaping his yard and did not want it.

 

This Washingtonia and the one barely visible behind it are among the few palms I have purchased since I normally collect palms as seeds or "adopt" them from people trying to get rid of their palms. They were sold as Washingtonia robusta, but I picked these two specifically because they looked like hybrids. Also planted in 2017, I once constructed makeshift greenhouses for them using garden stakes and trash bags stuffed with pine straw to protect them from single digit temperatures and a blizzard their first winter. Since then, they have seen temperatures as low as 13 degrees with absolutely no protection and 10 degrees while covered in pine straw. I am not sure if the pine straw helped though, because even the petioles fully exposed to the freeze stayed  green, and my neighbor's more exposed Washingtonia survived that same freeze under less ideal conditions. So far, these two Washingtonias seem to be the most sensitive to cold since they get leaf damage in the mid to upper teens. My other more filifera-looking hyrbids seem to keep their leaves at least into the lower teens. None of my other palms have defoliated yet.

These are Sabal minors I collected as seeds from Williamsburg, Virginia. They are essentially native here so I never worry about them.

This Butia odorata was gifted to me for helping a neighbor out with their palms. It has been in the ground 3 years, and has seen 10F while covered in a heap of pine straw. I left a few fronds exposed, but none of them were damaged.

Not a palm or a cycad, but I love these soap aloes. They get slightly damaged every year, but recover quickly in the spring.

This philodendron surprises me every year. I originally planted it as an experimental annual in 2019, but it comes back every spring. In fact, it stays green throughout the first few frosts of the season and only seems to be damaged in the 20s. It also comes back in the spring quicker than the more commonly planted colocasias (sometimes as early as March).

Another photo of this year's first frost, I have more palms I forgot to include in the back and sideyard, but they're all Washingtonias and Sabals like the ones out front. The oldest palms I have are 5 sabals that I planted in 2013. They are in full shade, and so are still not trunking, but they have remained undamaged by single digit temperatures and a few heavy snows.

[Las Palmas Norte]

I'd bet there's a good chance there's some palms on that skinny peninsula to the north and outlying islands.

 

[BigBilly]

On 10/1/2023 at 3:32 PM, BigBilly said:

Just came back from Virginia Beach tons of palms there

I've been meaning to update this for a while and post the images that are black for some reason ...? 

I've never really been a fan of it but these are very pretty, The trunks have some scarring to them sadly. I probably should've grabbed seeds from the area sabals but i wasn't thinking. 

[Alex High]

On 11/29/2023 at 1:24 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

I'd bet there's a good chance there's some palms on that skinny peninsula to the north and outlying islands.

 

That's the Eastern Shore of Virginia, there's lots of palms there in Cape Charles and elsewhere:

North of there up to coastal Delaware there are quite a few hardy palms planted around the beach towns:

 

[Cindy Adair]

I lived in Virginia Beach for 32 years during which I noticed the gradual temperature rise. 

And as you might guess I was zone pushing wanting to be in the tropics. 

Many surprise successes. 
 

Thanks so much for the videos as I recognized most of the locations. 
 

It was a good place to work and good schools for my children, but too cold for me and my favorite plants! 

[PalmatierMeg]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:42 PM, Virginia Palmetto said:

Here are a few of mine in Chesapeake. So far, all have survived snow and temps at least as low as 10F. The oldest Washingtonias and Sabals in the front yard I planted in 2017 just barely out of the strap-leaf stage. Here are some photos of the yard and individual palms. All photos are from fall 2023.

W

I gifted this Washingtonia to my neighbor. I harvested the seed from a Washingtonia filifera, but as with all my Washingtonias, it is probably a hybrid. This one is especially remarkable to me, because during a freeze last year (December 2022) this palm had absolutely no mulch around it, zero protection, was over-pruned, and many of the roots were exposed. After two nights around 12F and one night around 10F, I was certain it was a gonner. Sure enough, it resumed growth in February.

F

The Sabal/Washingtonia combo.

I pulled theses Sabal palmettos as seedlings from a resort in Orlando, Florida after asking permission from maintenance. To them, the Sabal seedlings were weeds, so they told me to take as many as I could. For two years, I kept them in pots and accidentally let them freeze into solid blocks of ice one winter. I lost a few, but more than 90% of the palmettos just shrugged it off. For the 10% that didn't make it, I'm convinced it wasn't the cold that killed them. I believe they simply became dehydrated since all their water was locked up in ice for too long. Of those many palmettos that I have since gifted to friends and planted throughout the backyard, I planted these two in the front yard at the strap-leaf stage in 2018. I can tell they have started to form wide trunks underground.

This Sabal palmetto (also from Orlando) was transplanted just after the other two, but went into shock because I didn't include enough roots. It has since recovered nicely.

T

This Washingtonia is from the same seedling batch as the one I gifted my neighbor. I collected the seed from a Washingtonia filifera, but it's probably a hybrid. The is one of the Washingtonias that sometimes stays green all year depending on the winter. It's hard to see from the photo, but there are 3 small sago palms underneath its fronds that I grew from seeds collected in South Carolina.

 

First frost of the year (shortly after Halloween). The Sago in the foreground was a "rescue" from a nearby homeowner that tried to kill it 3 times. First, she cut the main trunk to the ground which resulted in many basal sprouts. The following winter, she intentionally cut off all the leaves hoping that would kill it, and the third time, she drenched it in vinegar. By the time I came across it, it was essentially the same size as it is now. It was likely planted by another homeowner in the late 90s. I moved it to its new home in the front yard in 2019. This sago is about as bulletproof as they come.

 

This Rhapidophyllum hystrix has thrived under the branches of a loblolly pine since 2017, when I planted it in the fall before a massive freeze. As expected, it was unscathed despite over a foot of snow and temperatures that may have dipped into the single digits. I received this palm from a neighbor who was re-landscaping his yard and did not want it.

 

This Washingtonia and the one barely visible behind it are among the few palms I have purchased since I normally collect palms as seeds or "adopt" them from people trying to get rid of their palms. They were sold as Washingtonia robusta, but I picked these two specifically because they looked like hybrids. Also planted in 2017, I once constructed makeshift greenhouses for them using garden stakes and trash bags stuffed with pine straw to protect them from single digit temperatures and a blizzard their first winter. Since then, they have seen temperatures as low as 13 degrees with absolutely no protection and 10 degrees while covered in pine straw. I am not sure if the pine straw helped though, because even the petioles fully exposed to the freeze stayed  green, and my neighbor's more exposed Washingtonia survived that same freeze under less ideal conditions. So far, these two Washingtonias seem to be the most sensitive to cold since they get leaf damage in the mid to upper teens. My other more filifera-looking hyrbids seem to keep their leaves at least into the lower teens. None of my other palms have defoliated yet.

These are Sabal minors I collected as seeds from Williamsburg, Virginia. They are essentially native here so I never worry about them.

This Butia odorata was gifted to me for helping a neighbor out with their palms. It has been in the ground 3 years, and has seen 10F while covered in a heap of pine straw. I left a few fronds exposed, but none of them were damaged.

Not a palm or a cycad, but I love these soap aloes. They get slightly damaged every year, but recover quickly in the spring.

This philodendron surprises me every year. I originally planted it as an experimental annual in 2019, but it comes back every spring. In fact, it stays green throughout the first few frosts of the season and only seems to be damaged in the 20s. It also comes back in the spring quicker than the more commonly planted colocasias (sometimes as early as March).

Another photo of this year's first frost, I have more palms I forgot to include in the back and sideyard, but they're all Washingtonias and Sabals like the ones out front. The oldest palms I have are 5 sabals that I planted in 2013. They are in full shade, and so are still not trunking, but they have remained undamaged by single digit temperatures and a few heavy snows.

What great tropical-looking cold hardy gardens! Kudos to you!