Washingtonia Palms Information

[MarcusH]

A few months after the freeze I can say all my Washies (1 Robusta, 2 Filifera ) survived and recovering well. All of them growing healthy thick fronds now.  I'd like to focus on my Filiferas today.  Both Filiferas took minor damage and now I see most old fronds that grew last year start to yellowing. Water shouldn't be an issue. The soil is moist though but I haven't watered them in a while.  Could it be that they're just dying and making room for the new fronds ? I know this is a normal thing but I see the difference between my Filiferas and Robusta.  I've planted those in November 2022 and February 2023.  What are your thoughts? 

[Allen]

  On 4/1/2024 at 3:03 PM, MarcusH said:

A few months after the freeze I can say all my Washies (1 Robusta, 2 Filifera ) survived and recovering well. All of them growing healthy thick fronds now.  I'd like to focus on my Filiferas today.  Both Filiferas took minor damage and now I see most old fronds that grew last year start to yellowing. Water shouldn't be an issue. The soil is moist though but I haven't watered them in a while.  Could it be that they're just dying and making room for the new fronds ? I know this is a normal thing but I see the difference between my Filiferas and Robusta.  I've planted those in November 2022 and February 2023.  What are your thoughts? 

Expand  

Probably some cold damage/rot since they are not the oldest fronds.  

[MarcusH]

  On 4/1/2024 at 5:03 PM, Allen said:

Probably some cold damage/rot since they are not the oldest fronds.  

Expand  

Yes that could be. The older fronds all had minor damage before I guess they're just going to die because new growths is kicking in. 

[Harry’s Palms]

How cold did it get? Around here , I  don’t think it gets cold enough to damage our Washingtonia’s.  I would imagine it would be rewarding to see these young palms coming out of winter and pushing through. Harry

[MarcusH]

  On 4/2/2024 at 9:03 AM, Harry’s Palms said:

How cold did it get? Around here , I  don’t think it gets cold enough to damage our Washingtonia’s.  I would imagine it would be rewarding to see these young palms coming out of winter and pushing through. Harry

Expand  

It got down to 19F with a mix of freezing rain.  My Robusta got completely defoliated but my two other Filiferas only got minor damage.  There are 3 scenarios going through my mind.  I started fertilizing too early in mid February when temperatures reached 70s and 80s during the day but night temperatures were mainly in the low mid 40s with a few dips in the upper 30s . We had a couple more cold fronds but all above Hi 50s Lo upper 30s to 40s . All the fronds had very minor damage before.  The new fronds look healthy so far .  I don't know about over watering. The soil is wet about 6 inches deep , I didn't water in about 10 days but we received a few days of rain in-between. I remember almost the same thing happening last year but since my Filiferas grew more fronds I'm just more aware of it. Could be cold damage that's growing out.  Maybe the trees are focusing on the new growths putting all its energy into it. The coloration started a few days ago.

[SM458]

I wish these were mine. But at local hotel property- Embassy Suites-Palmdale, CA . 

[MarcusH]

  On 5/11/2024 at 3:59 AM, SM458 said:

I wish these were mine. But at local hotel property- Embassy Suites-Palmdale, CA . 

Expand  

I never get tired of looking at California fan palms I have 4 planted in the ground but much smaller #for now " . 

[PA-TX2024]

  On 5/12/2024 at 12:10 AM, MarcusH said:

I never get tired of looking at California fan palms I have 4 planted in the ground but much smaller #for now " . 

Expand  

I'm glad that I moved to NB. There's so many of them here. I was even surprised that there's still some Robusta survivors too. Does that mean those specific Robustas have more cold hardy genes or were they just lucky survivors?

[MarcusH]

  On 5/12/2024 at 3:35 AM, PA-TX2024 said:

I'm glad that I moved to NB. There's so many of them here. I was even surprised that there's still some Robusta survivors too. Does that mean those specific Robustas have more cold hardy genes or were they just lucky survivors?

Expand  

Overall I would say they were more cold hardy with little bit of luck of course.  Robustas are not bulletproof in the San Antonio metro even we still have some of them around but the fatalities were high back in 2021 plus they also Iike to defoliate in the upper teens low 20s which is very common in this area. Filiferas stay evergreen all the time and are much more cold hardy.  

[PA-TX2024]

  On 5/12/2024 at 3:50 PM, MarcusH said:

Overall I would say they were more cold hardy with little bit of luck of course.  Robustas are not bulletproof in the San Antonio metro even we still have some of them around but the fatalities were high back in 2021 plus they also Iike to defoliate in the upper teens low 20s which is very common in this area. Filiferas stay evergreen all the time and are much more cold hardy.  

Expand  

Defoliation is fine as long as they survive right? I personally don't mind them having freeze damage as long as the center or crown doesn't collapse. They'll just grow out new fronds over time. In 2021 it hit single digits.  After 2021, I don't think it's dropped any lower than 16F through any winter. So any newer planted Robustas from what I've seen so far are still standing and still growing.

[NBTX11]

  On 5/12/2024 at 3:35 AM, PA-TX2024 said:

I'm glad that I moved to NB. There's so many of them here. I was even surprised that there's still some Robusta survivors too. Does that mean those specific Robustas have more cold hardy genes or were they just lucky survivors?

Expand  

There were Robusta everywhere in New Braunfels prior to 2021. Some neighborhoods absolutely loaded with them. Some of them huge (50 feet plus, up to 60-70 feet). I knew of a grouping along the Guadalupe River that looked like they belonged in the Rio Grande Valley. Among the biggest I saw in the San Antonio area. Virtually all died in 2021. There were some Robusta survivors but most are thin hybrids. I know where they are at. There’s still a handful of 50 foot Robusta like hybrids left. Two off Solms road, one on the road behind bluebonnet ford, one on the road between Walmart and valmark (you can see from i35) and one in front of motel 6 by McDonald’s, and one a couple miles south of town in someone’s yard.  There’s some others, but those are the ones that come to mind. There’s a lot of big 50/50 hybrids left. Virtually all Filifera survived 2021. Check out the 100 year old ones near the Faust St bridge. One of them died but that was the only big one I saw die in 2021. 

[NBTX11]

  On 5/12/2024 at 5:27 PM, PA-TX2024 said:

Defoliation is fine as long as they survive right? I personally don't mind them having freeze damage as long as the center or crown doesn't collapse. They'll just grow out new fronds over time. In 2021 it hit single digits.  After 2021, I don't think it's dropped any lower than 16F through any winter. So any newer planted Robustas from what I've seen so far are still standing and still growing.

Expand  

Defoliation is fine. Filifera, once big, virtually never defoliate. Small plants will on occasion. Robusta will defoliate fairly often but recover. The last 3 or 4 winters they’ve defoliated every winter but prior to that only two or 3 times in 15 years at least. We had a long string of winters that only saw 20s and in some cases near 30 for a winter low. 

[PA-TX2024]

  On 5/12/2024 at 6:50 PM, NBTX11 said:

There were Robusta everywhere in New Braunfels prior to 2021. Some neighborhoods absolutely loaded with them. Some of them huge (50 feet plus, up to 60-70 feet). I knew of a grouping along the Guadalupe River that looked like they belonged in the Rio Grande Valley. Among the biggest I saw in the San Antonio area. Virtually all died in 2021. There were some Robusta survivors but most are thin hybrids. I know where they are at. There’s still a handful of 50 foot Robusta like hybrids left. Two off Solms road, one on the road behind bluebonnet ford, one on the road between Walmart and valmark (you can see from i35) and one in front of motel 6 by McDonald’s, and one a couple miles south of town in someone’s yard.  There’s some others, but those are the ones that come to mind. There’s a lot of big 50/50 hybrids left. Virtually all Filifera survived 2021. Check out the 100 year old ones near the Faust St bridge. One of them died but that was the only big one I saw die in 2021. 

Expand  

Here's some pure Robustas that are still standing.

[NBTX11]

Oh and there were Robusta recovering after 2021 that people cut down without giving them a chance to recover. I saw quite a few Robusta that did not push fronds until July after the 2021 freeze and the home owners cut them down even though they had started to push a few fronds 

[NBTX11]

  On 5/12/2024 at 7:15 PM, PA-TX2024 said:

Here's some pure Robustas that are still standing.

Expand  

Yes there are some but not a lot. There were hundreds of tall Robusta prior to 2021 that make these look like midgets. 

[PA-TX2024]

  On 5/12/2024 at 7:18 PM, NBTX11 said:

Yes there are some but not a lot. There were hundreds of tall Robusta prior to 2021 that make these look like midgets. 

Expand  

These Robustas make seeds too. There's a lot of volunteers growing in this area too. Maybe once they continue making seeds, I could collect some and maybe spread their influence around town like you did with the Filiferas.

[SM458]

  On 5/12/2024 at 7:26 PM, PA-TX2024 said:

These Robustas make seeds too. There's a lot of volunteers growing in this area too. Maybe once they continue making seeds, I could collect some and maybe spread their influence around town like you did with the Filiferas.

Expand  

I would have dug them out and keep them myself! 😄

[NBTX11]

Yeah dig them up and keep for yourself. No one will care 

[Ltapia]

  On 2/14/2024 at 3:19 PM, SailorBold said:

That's a nice one!  

Expand  

Thanks there growing good!

[SM458]

This hybrid is really interesting. I bought it with original fronds having small or lack of spines along its stems of the fronds. The new growth is forming with hot temperatures are coming which is promising. All new fronds have more pronounce spines than the original fronds bough.

 

It going to interesting to see which Robusta and Filifera traits will become more predominant as it grows. 
 

I can’t tell about my other Washingtonia hybrid twins. My mom yank the second palm out and replanted that at her boyfriend place. LOL

I guess saving down payment for a house is my long term goal for this year. 😂

[jwitt]

@SM458Any concerns for the wall?

 

[MarcusH]

Partial spear pull in January.  Now 6 1/2 half months later this Robusta fully recovered from a partial spear pull.  At one point I assumped it wouldn't make it but surprisingly these Robustas are very bud hardy .