Polar Vortex

[Las Palmas Norte]

9 hours ago, southpacific73 said:

Day 2 of polar vortex in metro Vancouver. We hit a low of -13c or 8.6F. Winds have died down considerably now. Temperatures slowly creeping up as the vortex is starting to slide southward. This was a real bad cold spell as it’s being called generational breaking records from the late 60s! Wishing everyone in Texas all the best!

We had this exact same thing, albeit a month earlier in Dec. 2008. The winter of '08/'09 was brutal and lingered to varying degrees well into Jan/Feb '09.

 

It was slightly colder here last night. 19.8°F / -7°C. Next up is the transition period and the snow before a return to normal temperatures.

[Xenon]

Check out the 80 degree temperature spread in Texas at noon! really puts into perspective how big Texas is and how much the weather varies 

[teddytn]

1 hour ago, westfork said:

We chose a great year to experiment with in-ground palms. 🥶
Mostly hardiest locations of Sabal minor and their kin and a couple Needles.
The winter started really nice and we didn't bring in the potted palms and agaves until after Christmas.  But winter decided to stop by so we covered the palms on January 7:

and the snow finished the job for us:

At least the snow is giving us a bit of protection:

Holy crap! I did a triple take, kept wanting those negatives to be in celcius and not Fahrenheit….🥶😳

[Sabal King]

Day one update.... quiet... cold... ugh.

 

[Paradise Found]

1 hour ago, matthedlund said:

The Tree Fern is all bundled up!

Right on Matt!

I was wondering how you were going to wrap it up for the vortex. That baby is going to make it. 
Monday’s high will be 37f so almost over. Log range forecast issued a warming trend into the 50’s.  
Hope all the palms are doing well too.  
I am now growing Blechnum Gibbum tree fern makes a great indoor/out tree fern &only grows 3’ to 4’ high.  

Edited January 14, 2024 by Paradise Found

[Paradise Found]

Sorry another hummer up dates six at once and no snow.  

[teddytn]

Forecast keeps changing. Looks like snow rolling in for the upper southeast. Just read there’s a really good chance for a bunch of ice farther south, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama. 

[UK_Palms]

Here comes the vortex. Temperatures managed to reach 7C / 44F this afternoon and are still holding up at 6C / 41F as I type this.

However cold arctic air is flooding down through the UK. We will be under a major cold snap from Monday - Friday here. The worst of the season by far. I am expecting lows of about -6C / 20F here on Wednesday night in my rural inland location, and I suspect central London will drop down to -1C / 30F probably. Time to batten down the hatches. 

 

Friday morning looks very cold now.

 

I wouldn't consider this a proper freeze though for the southeast of England unless St James Park in London records an air frost (0C / 32F). That is a fairly exposed station out in the open in the park, so it will be interesting to see just how cold it goes down to next week...?

 

The Battersea Heliport station is right next to the Thames in central London and heavily protected. I wouldn't be surprised if it does not register an air frost during this polar event.

 

Snow inbound for France and Germany. @Hortulanus may get a big dumping if this materialises.

 

Unlike London and the coastal areas, I will do well to escape an air frost here tonight under clear skies. A -5C airmass (850 hPa) is now overhead and it will be going down to -10C hPa's by Tuesday at 1,500 meters altitude. That is pretty cold, but thankfully it will be moderated heavily by the surrounding seas.

 

The ECMWF has Europe in the freezer still on the 23rd, while mild Atlantic air surges across the UK. A big cold letup for the lower 48 of the USA too.

[Arecaceus]

36 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Here comes the vortex. Temperatures managed to reach 7C / 44F this afternoon and are still holding up at 6C / 41F as I type this.

However cold arctic air is flooding down through the UK. We will be under a major cold snap from Monday - Friday here. The worst of the season by far. I am expecting lows of about -6C / 20F here on Wednesday night in my rural inland location, and I suspect central London will drop down to -1C / 30F probably. Time to batten down the hatches. 

 

Friday morning looks very cold now.

 

I wouldn't consider this a proper freeze though for the southeast of England unless St James Park in London records an air frost (0C / 32F). That is a fairly exposed station out in the open in the park, so it will be interesting to see just how cold it goes down to next week...?

 

The Battersea Heliport station is right next to the Thames in central London and heavily protected. I wouldn't be surprised if it does not register an air frost during this polar event.

 

Snow inbound for France and Germany. @Hortulanus may get a big dumping if this materialises.

 

Unlike London and the coastal areas, I will do well to escape an air frost here tonight under clear skies. A -5C airmass (850 hPa) is now overhead and it will be going down to -10C hPa's by Tuesday at 1,500 meters altitude. That is pretty cold, but thankfully it will be moderated heavily by the surrounding seas.

 

The ECMWF has Europe in the freezer still on the 23rd, while mild Atlantic air surges across the UK. A big cold letup for the lower 48 of the USA too.

I wouldn't mind some snow for insulation if it's supposed to get down to -4°C but I think the outcome is still very unclear. The forecast is constantly changeing and for now it doesn't show the worst case. I think that's because of the border of airmasses which is either just below or above me the upcoming days. But what looks pretty steady is that after this week normal low pressure weather comes back for us. Today it even showed snow on the radar but it came down as rain and some graupel in the morning.

[L.A.M.]

Where I live in Tennessee, we're expected to get lows as low as 4 degrees Fahrenheit in a marginal 7b area, 4 to 7 inches of snow and four days of highs below freezing. As soon as it gets above freezing, though, it'll still stay below 40 and give us another round of snow followed by two days below freezing.

I'm pretty convinced that my needle palm and dwarf palmetto will be fine. Even with the terrible microclimates they were planted in, my needle palm sailed through December 2022 with zero damage, and my dwarf palmetto was only mildly damaged. Although I'll definitely be planting my Birmingham, Brazoria and Louisiana palmettos down in the valley once I get them so they don't get quite as cold but still above the actual floodplain so a temperature inversion won't freeze them. Cabbage palmettos are pretty much a non-starter anywhere in this state outside of Chattanooga, especially with there being three more cold-hardy trunking types of palmettos to work with anyways.

[GEnglish]

This is my first year with in ground palms here in Mountain Home, AR. I put two Washintonia robustas, a Butia, 4 trachycarpus, and an Agave americana that are all getting special treatment. We got as low as 1 F this morning according to my weather station. The next three days are lows of 4F, 3F, 8F - and then finally above freezing Wednesday afternoon. Thanks to lots of reading and questions being answered by you fine folks here I’m resting easy knowing my palms are pretty comfy in their huts. Any new cold zone palm growers really need to watch Allen’s (TN Tropics on youtube) series on winter protection and best practices.
 

The picture of temperature sensors show 8 sensors for 8 heated plants all while 1F outside. Super simple tech involved - frost cloth over mini Christmas lights on a thermocube and the extra outer shell for wind/moisture avoidance.

Don’t let anyone tell you “you can’t grow that here!” I never thought I’d be able to grow papayas to ripening in zone 7 as we had them when I grew up in the South Pacific but you sure can…along with a lot of other fruits. The Papayas are safe and warm in the garage, trunk cut back for a reset this spring.

[Leelanau Palms]

Very impressive set up! What's on sensor channel #4?

[GEnglish]

1 minute ago, Leelanau Palms said:

Very impressive set up! What's on sensor channel #4?

Thank you, just testing what I’ve learned from others here. Channel 4 is a trachycarpus, actually the one to the right of the photo…it’s just at the bottom of a heat OFF cycle. So the thermocube is on until 45F and in reality the palm sensor shows that it will climb to mid 50s or so as the thermocube is a bit slow to shut off since it’s mechanical…once OFF the temps ride down to around 35F, and sometimes a little below that since again the thermocube is a bit slow to turn ON.

[Xenon]

It's brutal out there in Dallas-Ft. Worth

 

Even Austin and San Antonio/I-35 corridor already well below or near freezing at 3pm 

 

Houston sitting in the balmy 50s

And the Valley flirting with 80 degrees 🤣

[Foxpalms]

4 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Robustas might defoliate but come back pretty fast . You would see a decent looking crown in April because here in Texas it warms up fast after February.  Get used to telephone poles because Texans love the look of dead palms.  This isn't beautiful Florida where you move to ,this is Texas lol where dead palms , litter and other environmental problems are common lol. 

Since last winter parts of London had their coldest temps since the 1980s. There is a what looks like a pure Washingtonia robusta just outside of the Londons urban heat island in north west London that got pretty damaged by the last winter. The spear looked in tact but the majority of the leaves were very burnt. By June 2023 the old burnt fronds were completely replaced. So I can imagine how fast they would be able to replace the fronds in Texas.

[westfork]

3 hours ago, teddytn said:

Holy crap! I did a triple take, kept wanting those negatives to be in celcius and not Fahrenheit….🥶😳

We did get warmer than the forecast - It briefly made it up to -10 (-23C) for a daytime high today.  Here is the arid berm in the front yard a few minutes ago showing the rose cones over some "tender" agaves and such:

Here is when we tossed on those rose cones six days ago:

Now it is hard to believe we only took the potted palms inside just over two weeks ago.

[MarcusH]

40 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

Since last winter parts of London had their coldest temps since the 1980s. There is a what looks like a pure Washingtonia robusta just outside of the Londons urban heat island in north west London that got pretty damaged by the last winter. The spear looked in tact but the majority of the leaves were very burnt. By June 2023 the old burnt fronds were completely replaced. So I can imagine how fast they would be able to replace the fronds in Texas.

Robustas are tougher than labeled. It's going to get down to 19F for 2 hrs around 5am  then go back up to the highs of 46F on Wednesday.  So basically Wednesday morning is the coldest part of the cold front.  Monday and Tuesday we'll see highs of 32/35  and lows of 24/20F .  40% chance of freezing rain on Monday night or morning . I did not protect my Robusta and Filiferas . I expect them to handle the temps without a problem even after the fronds most likely burn completely but just like you eyewitnessed they grow back super fast that's why I like Washies so much over here.  They look crappy for 2 months only .  One thing I have to admit that palms here in Texas and New Mexico go through a lot of temperature extremes from freezes to scorching temperatures . Imagine to grow our Washies over there in your area they would laugh at your cold even though you really don't have to worry about those artic freezes like we get there anywhere.  I hope I don't overestimate myself by saying Robustas are tough because mine is planted on the NE side of the house and is less than two years in the ground but I "think" they should handle brief temperatures in the low teens without protection just fine.  Palmageddon 2021 was unique though.  

[matthedlund]

3 hours ago, Paradise Found said:

Right on Matt!

I was wondering how you were going to wrap it up for the vortex. That baby is going to make it. 
Monday’s high will be 37f so almost over. Log range forecast issued a warming trend into the 50’s.  
Hope all the palms are doing well too.  
I am now growing Blechnum Gibbum tree fern makes a great indoor/out tree fern &only grows 3’ to 4’ high.  

All of the "irreplaceable" palms are protected using the same trusty method. I pound three sticks of rebar (cheap and narrow to avoid root damage close to the trunk). Then I wrap once with fleece, one 18 foot length of gutter de-icing cable, another layer of fleece, contractor plastic bags, and cling wrap. Here's my Butia odorata X Parajubaea torralyi.

[jwitt]

19 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Robustas are tougher than labeled. It's going to get down to 19F for 2 hrs around 5am  then go back up to the highs of 46F on Wednesday.  So basically Wednesday morning is the coldest part of the cold front.  Monday and Tuesday we'll see highs of 32/35  and lows of 24/20F .  40% chance of freezing rain on Monday night or morning . I did not protect my Robusta and Filiferas . I expect them to handle the temps without a problem even after the fronds most likely burn completely but just like you eyewitnessed they grow back super fast that's why I like Washies so much over here.  They look crappy for 2 months only .  One thing I have to admit that palms here in Texas and New Mexico go through a lot of temperature extremes from freezes to scorching temperatures . Imagine to grow our Washies over there in your area they would laugh at your cold even though you really don't have to worry about those artic freezes like we get there anywhere.  I hope I don't overestimate myself by saying Robustas are tough because mine is planted on the NE side of the house and is less than two years in the ground but I "think" they should handle brief temperatures in the low teens without protection just fine.  Palmageddon 2021 was unique though.  

Filifera seem fine after multiple teens. And even lower. Weather station 23 houses away from today's pic. 

[Xenon]

27 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Robustas are tougher than labeled. It's going to get down to 19F for 2 hrs around 5am  then go back up to the highs of 46F on Wednesday.  So basically Wednesday morning is the coldest part of the cold front.  Monday and Tuesday we'll see highs of 32/35  and lows of 24/20F .  40% chance of freezing rain on Monday night or morning . I did not protect my Robusta and Filiferas . I expect them to handle the temps without a problem even after the fronds most likely burn completely but just like you eyewitnessed they grow back super fast that's why I like Washies so much over here.  They look crappy for 2 months only .  One thing I have to admit that palms here in Texas and New Mexico go through a lot of temperature extremes from freezes to scorching temperatures . Imagine to grow our Washies over there in your area they would laugh at your cold even though you really don't have to worry about those artic freezes like we get there anywhere.  I hope I don't overestimate myself by saying Robustas are tough because mine is planted on the NE side of the house and is less than two years in the ground but I "think" they should handle brief temperatures in the low teens without protection just fine.  Palmageddon 2021 was unique though.  

Odds are you don't have real 110% robusta like these which will completely defoliate around 20F. The mixed blood makes all of the difference, and even a very robusta looking mutt gets 5+ degrees of bud hardiness just from being mixed. 

On 1/12/2024 at 1:00 PM, Cade said:

Downtown Houston Robustas swaying around before 22/24° @Xenon here are updated daytime pictures:) 

F

 

IMG_7743.mov 16.92 MB · 1 download

 

[teddytn]

Ryan Hall y’all

[Meangreen94z]

I headed into Pearland, Texas to wrap the palms in my parents yard. Some of it is overkill but the less damage, the quicker they can recover with new growth.

Copernicia albaButia unprotected:Sabal uresana, mulch around rootsHyphaene Petersiana :Phoenix sylvestris and Livistona decora unprotected:Beccariophoenix alfredii:Medemia argunBismarckia #1Bismarckia #2:Queen:Majesty:Copernicia alba #2:

[Paradise Found]

50 minutes ago, matthedlund said:

All of the "irreplaceable" palms are protected using the same trusty method. I pound three sticks of rebar (cheap and narrow to avoid root damage close to the trunk). Then I wrap once with fleece, one 18 foot length of gutter de-icing cable, another layer of fleece, contractor plastic bags, and cling wrap. Here's my Butia odorata X Parajubaea torralyi.

Nice! The palms look very good condition considering what this cold spell has done.  You protected them better than I would have. 
BO x P T is looking good also.  
Thank you for posting!

Heres a photo of the tree fern Blechnum Gibbum looks like.  Not my photo.

 

[Las Palmas Norte]

2 hours ago, GEnglish said:

... Any new cold zone palm growers really need to watch Allen’s (TN Tropics on youtube) series on winter protection and best practices. ...

No kidding man! Those shelters look awesome. Neat & tidy lookin'. I hate a messy look in my yard.

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

Odds are you don't have real 110% robusta like these which will completely defoliate around 20F. The mixed blood makes all of the difference, and even a very robusta looking mutt gets 5+ degrees of bud hardiness just from being mixed. 

 

Just asking out of curiosity Jonathan but how can you determine that this palm in this photo isn't a pure Robusta?  Any signs of a mix in there ?

[matthedlund]

1 hour ago, Paradise Found said:

Nice! The palms look very good condition considering what this cold spell has done.  You protected them better than I would have. 
BO x P T is looking good also.  
Thank you for posting!

Heres a photo of the tree fern Blechnum Gibbum looks like.  Not my photo.

 

That's a nice looking species, you'll have to let me know how it does for you. The Cyathea atrox is doing just fine too. 

[MarcusH]

6 hours ago, Xenon said:

Check out the 80 degree temperature spread in Texas at noon! really puts into perspective how big Texas is and how much the weather varies 

Literally two times they size of the country where I came from GERMANY.  That's how big Texas is lol. 

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, jwitt said:

Filifera seem fine after multiple teens. And even lower. Weather station 23 houses away from today's pic. 

For the lows you got over there Jim I think your Filifera went through the cold like a Champ.  

[ChicagoPalma]

Hoping the cannas survive this year's zone 4 winter🤣! Thankfully elephant ears are inside my box and all that heat escapes somewhere. Somehow northern michigan pennisula is warmer than Chicago! I'm currently in Colorado skiing in the rockies and its warmer here than Chicago! God help my tropicals!

[Xenon]

8 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Just asking out of curiosity Jonathan but how can you determine that this palm in this photo isn't a pure Robusta?  Any signs of a mix in there ?

 

It becomes much more obvious when they are older but pretty much anything from the store is mixed. As they get older, 110% robusta have very skinny and often twisted/"dancing trunks" (filifera and many of its hybrids are very columnar) and the crowns are very rounded and small unlike hybrids which are more ovular and large. Usually when you see 110% robusta around here they are mass commercial plantings, every single palm very uniform like in the post I quoted. 

[Robert Cade Ross]

Quick stop on the island this afternoon. Seems damage will be very minimal here expecting 29°? 

[UK_Palms]

Down to 1C / 34F here at 3am. Temperatures are tanking under the clear skies and -7C hPa air mass at 1,500 meters.

Down to 2C / 36F at London City airport and 1.4C / 35F at Battersea Heliport. The lowest readings there in about 6 weeks.

 

Coastal Cornwall microclimates will be flexing tonight while the rest of us suffer. 5-6C / 40-43F in those places still. They likely won’t drop much lower tonight right by the coast.

The Isles Of Scilly aren’t even aware there is a freeze coming for the rest of us… +7.3C / 45F at 3am there…

[Paradise Found]

3 hours ago, matthedlund said:

That's a nice looking species, you'll have to let me know how it does for you. The Cyathea atrox is doing just fine too. 

Not hardy at all z10 & z11. You have to bring inside for winter.  Is not drought tolerant and has to be watered a lot to keep the leaves green but it make a good house plant also. During long hot dry heatwaves have to bring inside like temps 65 to 75.  It not for everyone.

 

3 hours ago, matthedlund said:

Edited January 15, 2024 by Paradise Found

[ChicagoPalma]

Everyone above Dallas, I hope those palms survive up there! No kidding how cold its gonna be. I think my cannas are gonna make it this year. I think most people dont mulch these tropicas well enough and Im going to install a ground temperate sensor. Its like -12 F right now but ground temperature is 2F. It's looking good right now.

[ChicagoPalma]

My bad, its 31F right now. Actually makes me curious, how come people in my zone can't grow tropicals that are very root hardy. Why is the air temperature in the negatives but the ground temperature almost above freezing? Why do cannas turn into mush even though ground temp is above freezing?

[Jimhardy]

Could always be worse and here it is....-17F right now.

It was maybe -10F for a high yesterday......30" of snow in 2 storms

is helping insulate from the cold but is also not letting the Arctic air modify.

[UK_Palms]

Dallas is getting absolutely nuked again. It is down to -12C / 10F at 6am there with heavy snow and a -19C / 0F windchill. It may still go lower in the next hour.

 

Edmonton in Canada has fallen to -43C / -40F, which is ridiculous. That is at the same latitude as Norfolk in East Anglia on the east coast of England where the all-time record is only -10C / 14F.

 

For comparison, the all-time record low at Battersea Heliport by the Thames in central London is only -4.8C / 23F in December 2010, but that station has only been in operation since 1992 I believe. The all-time record low at the exposed St James Park station in central London is -7.6C / 18F in January 1987.

Anyway, after a chilly night, daytime recovery is underway here as the freeze grips the UK. +4C / 38F in my location at midday and rising still. Some coastal areas in the southwest are sitting at 7-8C / 45-47F. They obviously didn’t get the memo about the freeze.

Edited January 15, 2024 by UK_Palms

[Meangreen94z]

We were only predicted to see 18-19°F last night but it dropped to 16°F in Leander. Tonight 14°F is predicted, we will see in the morning. Luckily only a light dusting of snow after it was well below freezing.  No rain or ice. 

[Robert Cade Ross]

37 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

We were only predicted to see 18-19°F last night but it dropped to 16°F in Leander. Tonight 14°F is predicted, we will see in the morning. Luckily only a light dusting of snow after it was well below freezing.  No rain or ice. 

Barely above freezing here no rain yet thankfully …

[MarcusH]

This morning at 6am it was 21F with light freezing rain.  See what happens after Wednesday.  My washies are all unprotected.