The Growth of a Queen Palm in Zone 8b

[Pee Dee Palms]

This is definitely a bit overdue, but here it is. The growth of my Queen Palm. I want to mention, I planted this palm on the south-facing side of my house, which I think contributes greatly to it's success (so far). The first picture was taken the day it was planted, April 16th, 2022. That winter, Myrtle Beach got a pretty bad cold snap. My area got down to about 18 degrees (8b), but other parts of the Myrtle Beach area got as cold as 13 degrees (8a). I must say, I did protect this palm with a frost cloth, and a heating lamp strapped to the trunk. To be fair, I was really surprised at how good it looked after the cold. 

 

The palm the day it was planted:

The palm a few months after the cold snap:

The palm now:

Edited August 26, 2023 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[DAVEinMB]

@General Sylvester D. Palm glad to see it made it through 🤙.

I lost 3 queens, 2 big box bought and 1 from a nursery outside of Charleston. Both of the Uruguay queens sourced from Georgia are alive, the abre ojos is alive, and a Charleston sourced seedling is still kicking and putting on size

[Pee Dee Palms]

9 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

@General Sylvester D. Palm glad to see it made it through 🤙.

I lost 3 queens, 2 big box bought and 1 from a nursery outside of Charleston. Both of the Uruguay queens sourced from Georgia are alive, the abre ojos is alive, and a Charleston sourced seedling is still kicking and putting on size

Thanks! I definitely think that it comes down to mainly genetics and where you plant it. This one came from Lowes so hopefully I got lucky with the genetics. I'm going to have to get myself one of those Uruguay Queens. All I've ever heard of them has been good. I'm just having a hard time sourcing one. 

[DAVEinMB]

16 minutes ago, General Sylvester D. Palm said:

Thanks! I definitely think that it comes down to mainly genetics and where you plant it. This one came from Lowes so hopefully I got lucky with the genetics. I'm going to have to get myself one of those Uruguay Queens. All I've ever heard of them has been good. I'm just having a hard time sourcing one. 

Woodlanders should have seedlings available for next season. Prolly wouldn't hurt to reach out to them. With any luck they may let you reserve some

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, DAVEinMB said:

Woodlanders should have seedlings available for next season. Prolly wouldn't hurt to reach out to them. With any luck they may let you reserve some

This one completely defoliated in December last year.  Surivived temperatures of 16,21,24,28 with minimal protection planted on the NE side .  Growing its 4th and 5th frond at the same time which is about to open . Queens are hardier than labeled if you take care of them (regular water and fertilizer ). Bought it as strap leaf at Lowes last year.  

[DAVEinMB]

@MarcusH 13F, 13F, 14F consecutive nights were the dagger for mine that died.  Surprisingly the abreojos made it through with no supplementary heat. I did have to trunk cut it pretty extensively for its size but it recovered really well. The Uruguay that is going pinnate spear pulled and I figured there was no hope for it but to my surprise it hasn't given up. 

Here's how they all look now:

Abreojos

Charleston

Uruguay

[MarcusH]

17 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

@MarcusH 13F, 13F, 14F consecutive nights were the dagger for mine that died.  Surprisingly the abreojos made it through with no supplementary heat. I did have to trunk cut it pretty extensively for its size but it recovered really well. The Uruguay that is going pinnate spear pulled and I figured there was no hope for it but to my surprise it hasn't given up. 

Here's how they all look now:

Abreojos

Charleston

Uruguay

Your palms look very nice and healthy . The humidity over there certainly helps .  I'm surprised your Abreojos pulled through those harsh temps. 

[MarcusH]

24 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

@MarcusH 13F, 13F, 14F consecutive nights were the dagger for mine that died.  Surprisingly the abreojos made it through with no supplementary heat. I did have to trunk cut it pretty extensively for its size but it recovered really well. The Uruguay that is going pinnate spear pulled and I figured there was no hope for it but to my surprise it hasn't given up. 

Here's how they all look now:

Abreojos

Charleston

Uruguay

Can you also give me more information about the Abreojos because from what I read it's a Queen palm var. but crossed with what ? So this one is more cold hardier ? What's the low it can handle with no problems also where can I buy this beautiful palm ? Sorry for the many questions but you Sir got me curious.  

[DAVEinMB]

10 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Can you also give me more information about the Abreojos because from what I read it's a Queen palm var. but crossed with what ? So this one is more cold hardier ? What's the low it can handle with no problems also where can I buy this beautiful palm ? Sorry for the many questions but you Sir got me curious.  

My knowledge is extremely limited and didn't know this variant existed until last year when I was offered this one. If you type in "the legend of syagrus abreojos" into Google a fair amount of palmtalk links will pop up.  I can say that mine has seen 13F and has lived to tell the tale, not without some life support of choose

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, DAVEinMB said:

My knowledge is extremely limited and didn't know this variant existed until last year when I was offered this one. If you type in "the legend of syagrus abreojos" into Google a fair amount of palmtalk links will pop up.  I can say that mine has seen 13F and has lived to tell the tale, not without some life support of choose

Thanks Dave definitely going to look it up . It's a beautiful Queen palm that's for sure.  

[Pee Dee Palms]

Decided I would give an early January update on this guy. Its definitely got some bronzing going on, but overall it's staying green. Hoping we don't have any severe cold that comes our way.

Edited January 8 by Pee Dee Palms

[NC_Palms]

Wow this thread makes me miss my queen palm that survived several winters unprotected (with mild cold damage) that i planted in NC. 

It wasn’t any special variety, just a basic queen palm i bought at a home depot in St Augustine 

[Pee Dee Palms]

End of January update for this one. We got down to about 20° Fahrenheit a week or so ago. Wrapped it in a frost cloth and clamped a heat lamp to the trunk. Overall looks really good, this Queen seems to do pretty well in the climate here (with a little bit of a help from a frost cloth and a lamp of course).

[Harry’s Palms]

Here where I live , we take Queen palms for granted . Other than the mess they create when they flower , they are a beautiful palm and seem to come back from trauma quickly. I have bought some pretty sad ones from a big box store that had gotten swept away in a brutal wind storm and scooped up , laid on a palet , and heading for the dumpster. They were about 6-8' tall . I paid $2 each for them , bringing home 8 palms . The pots were long gone and very little soil left on the roots. I planted them at my old house , watered them , and they ALL survived like nothing happened! 

[Little Tex]

17 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Here where I live , we take Queen palms for granted . Other than the mess they create when they flower , they are a beautiful palm and seem to come back from trauma quickly. I have bought some pretty sad ones from a big box store that had gotten swept away in a brutal wind storm and scooped up , laid on a palet , and heading for the dumpster. They were about 6-8' tall . I paid $2 each for them , bringing home 8 palms . The pots were long gone and very little soil left on the roots. I planted them at my old house , watered them , and they ALL survived like nothing happened! 

I've got to see those!

[Harry’s Palms]

If I ever drive by my old house , I will take a photo! They are sky scrapers now , that was almost 30 years ago. I did move a couple to my new house for an instant canopy.