Texas Palms

[Xenon]

Bunch of new sylvestris at the Galveston cruise terminal

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

Bunch of new sylvestris at the Galveston cruise terminal

Nice. This should be a great choice for the Galveston area.

[Xenon]

Galveston 

Very lush reclinata/hybrid

 

Hobby

 

[ahosey01]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Bunch of new sylvestris at the Galveston cruise terminal

I adore this species and hope that eventually LB will go the way of LY and its worst years in Texas will pass by us.

[Ben G.]

I snapped photos of a couple of P. dactylifera at the San Antonio zoo recently:

[Xenon]

My little corner of delusion today. 'tis the season for new leaves...biggest Euterpe edulis to date! And my Archontophoenix cunninghamiana seedling is looking less and less cunninghamiana 🙃 (but look at that salmon new leaf!)

[Matt N- Dallas]

On 9/2/2024 at 1:11 PM, Chester B said:

I’m surprised PalmBuddha says they’re hit and miss. Considering how far up the east coast they go into much colder growing zones I would’ve said totally hardy. So like you have all suggested maybe some other factor at play?

What I can say from experience is that how palms react to very cold weather seems almost unpredictable.  X palm survives say 10F and then 5 years later 20F kills it and the conditions of the cold appeared to be the same. 

Butias are hit and miss in the SA area and Central TX due to the alkaline soils.  Butia detest alkaline & caliche type soils. 

[Robert Cade Ross]

December 2022 @Xenon the same Bismarck’s they looked so much better then vs now :v . Doesn’t help that the owner is sick and not living there anymore….

[Xenon]

Found this in Rice Military (central Houston)...yes it's sheltered by the building but hey a win is a win right? 😄 Anyone wanna check it out in person? @RedRabbit @Robert Cade Ross

 

[Meangreen94z]

On 11/12/2024 at 7:39 AM, Robert Cade Ross said:

December 2022 @Xenon the same Bismarck’s they looked so much better then vs now :v . Doesn’t help that the owner is sick and not living there anymore….

Well it dropped to 21°F right after those pictures on December 23rd 2022, and 24°F last January 16.  3 brutal winters in a row will take its toll.

[PA-TX2024]

Nice tall Robusta in Universal City

[RedRabbit]

10 hours ago, Xenon said:

Found this in Rice Military (central Houston)...yes it's sheltered by the building but hey a win is a win right? 😄 Anyone wanna check it out in person? @RedRabbit @Robert Cade Ross

 

I’ll check it out when I’m in the area next.

It really seems like most areas inside the loop and south of I-10 would be well insulated from any cold. I’m looking forward to seeing how different microclimates hold up this winter. 

[MarcusH]

10 hours ago, PA-TX2024 said:

Nice tall Robusta in Universal City

You see tall Robustas here and there on the Northeast side of SA, that's where I live . People didn't plant many palm trees on this side of town for some reason I guess not many palm lovers around.  There's "one " on Kitty Hawk I always pass by near the small Walmart shopping center on the other side downhill towards Windcrest. 

[SeanK]

Galveston folks should try A.engleri and C.alba next.

[Dwarf Fan]

50 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Galveston folks should try A.engleri and C.alba next.

I have an A. engleri, I am finding out that I should have not planted it in a full sun position, it was a small band size and it seems to be taking forever and struggling. I think it would benefit from a slightly mounded planting and some looser or aerated soil. My soil compacted and that thing is taking forever to throw out and open each new frond. If I would have known it would have been this much of a PITA I would have just bought a 5 Gal from the start, oh well live and learn.

[Robert Cade Ross]

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

Galveston folks should try A.engleri and C.alba next.

Moody gardens has 2 I’ve never seen any other ones on the island 

[thyerr01]

@Dwarf Fan I don't think your soil or position are the cause. Arenga are just slow when small. I only get a couple of leaves a year out of mine which are a similar size. 

[SeanK]

4 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Moody gardens has 2 I’ve never seen any other ones on the island 

I don't know that I've seen any that big 

[Xenon]

7 hours ago, SeanK said:

Galveston folks should try A.engleri and C.alba next.

Galveston already had giant 25 year old 40 foot royals, Archontophoenix taller than two story homes, foxtails and decade old flowering Carpentaria at one point. Start trying Arenga engleri? Ridiculous lol

Houston itself had 20 years old Copernicia alba

Anyways here is the Arenga in Galveston before the freeze, pic taken early February 2021 

 

[Ben G.]

Saw a nice tall San Antonio robusta today:

I also came across a good use of super-hardy palms in a shady area here:

And for all of those zone pushers on here, the San Antonio zoo has a bold landscaper who decided to plant a coconut in this little planter in the water:

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, Ben G. said:

Saw a nice tall San Antonio robusta today:

I also came across a good use of super-hardy palms in a shady area here:

And for all of those zone pushers on here, the San Antonio zoo has a bold landscaper who decided to plant a coconut in this little planter in the water:

There're tons of pure Robustas on the Westside. You'll find a great cluster of Robustas on Zazarmora near Culebra.  Impressive how many Robustas survived around San Antonio.  I see them every day all over San Antonio when I do my routes.  Since I work as a local truck driver I'm fortunate to explore areas from San Antonio,  Austin , all the way to Kerrville/Bandera/Fredericksburg and Seguin/Gonzales and Yoakum .  I see good looking CIDPs in Kerrville,  a place quite colder than SA , never I would imagine palms growing in areas like the deep Hill Country.  I also see some older Phoenix Dactylifera planted here and there .

[Ben G.]

Sabals, cycads, and cypress is another good look for shady areas:

[Dwarf Fan]

11 hours ago, thyerr01 said:

@Dwarf Fan I don't think your soil or position are the cause. Arenga are just slow when small. I only get a couple of leaves a year out of mine which are a similar size. 

Okay it is reassuring to know that they are supposed to be slow at this stage, I was starting to get a bit miffed with the lil’ guy. 

[RedRabbit]

I spotted a small coconut in Memorial today. 

Nice to see one but the poor thing doesn’t have long. 🫤

[Xerarch]

On 11/16/2024 at 7:01 AM, Dwarf Fan said:

I have an A. engleri, I am finding out that I should have not planted it in a full sun position, it was a small band size and it seems to be taking forever and struggling. I think it would benefit from a slightly mounded planting and some looser or aerated soil. My soil compacted and that thing is taking forever to throw out and open each new frond. If I would have known it would have been this much of a PITA I would have just bought a 5 Gal from the start, oh well live and learn.

Nice to see someone local with A engleri! I think they should be used more, wish they were more available. I don’t know that I’ve seen any in town. Hopefully it’ll just keep chugging along until it speeds up for you 

[Robert Cade Ross]

22 hours ago, Xenon said:

Galveston already had giant 25 year old 40 foot royals, Archontophoenix taller than two story homes, foxtails and decade old flowering Carpentaria at one point. Start trying Arenga engleri? Ridiculous lol

Houston itself had 20 years old Copernicia alba

Anyways here is the Arenga in Galveston before the freeze, pic taken early February 2021 

 

And where are all those palms now ? Dead stumps  lol 

[Xenon]

2 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

And where are all those palms now ? Dead stumps  lol 

Gotta start planting now 😝

[Robert Cade Ross]

 Chamaedorea radicalis “Tall” form picking up 15 on Saturday 🥰 will give the yard a tropical appearance and somewhat hardy haha 

[PA-TX2024]

On 11/16/2024 at 6:51 PM, MarcusH said:

There're tons of pure Robustas on the Westside. You'll find a great cluster of Robustas on Zazarmora near Culebra.  Impressive how many Robustas survived around San Antonio.  I see them every day all over San Antonio when I do my routes.  Since I work as a local truck driver I'm fortunate to explore areas from San Antonio,  Austin , all the way to Kerrville/Bandera/Fredericksburg and Seguin/Gonzales and Yoakum .  I see good looking CIDPs in Kerrville,  a place quite colder than SA , never I would imagine palms growing in areas like the deep Hill Country.  I also see some older Phoenix Dactylifera planted here and there .

Here they are in June 2024.

[fr8train]

 

On 10/23/2024 at 1:21 PM, MarcusH said:

Enjoyed my day off from work, wife put me off the leash so I drove to some locations here in San Antonio including a park called Ladybird on the Westside.  Sad to see gangs and homeless people have no respect for mother nature.  I took a few shots and got out of dodge quickly.  Some other pictures were taking at the zoo and tea garden , some others in and around SA. Some pictures were put up recently from other PT members

 

Do you remember where this was? I've not seen a phoenix that looks like this around San Antonio. 

Very cool, it looks good. 

[MarcusH]

6 hours ago, PA-TX2024 said:

Here they are in June 2024.

There you go. This shows that pure Robustas can be much more cold hardy than rated .  My Robusta got beating up every winter since it was planted and each time I lost all fronds,  even most of a new spear that left a big hole . I'm going to put them to sleep soon which by cutting down watering them . What amazes me is the fast growth . Planted in March 2021 and now it's taller than me.  

[MarcusH]

2 minutes ago, fr8train said:

 

Do you remember where this was? I've not seen a phoenix that looks like this around San Antonio. 

Very cool, it looks good. 

Yes it's on Commerce on the Westside . The park is called Lady Bird park. Don't be afraid to go there I know it's a poor side of town and you might see gang members but they won’t bother you.  

[fr8train]

1 minute ago, MarcusH said:

Yes it's on Commerce on the Westside . The park is called Lady Bird park. Don't be afraid to go there I know it's a poor side of town and you might see gang members but they won’t bother you.  

I'll have to check it out. I got an e-bike earlier this year and I've been trying to make it to every part of the city. I feel like I've biked through that area, I think on the Salado Creek Greenway, but I didn't know there were palms like that right off that trail in that park. Thanks. 

[fr8train]

Found it: 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/H5XtDEZ4kjY9peS88

Is this a silver date palm? It's impressive to find palms like these that made it through all the freezes, outside of the riverwalk. 

Here it is right before the big freeze: 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/1NiXT62CBJzhWEaA7

Man it looked great.

And a few years earlier there were a bunch of phoenix in that spot. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QeQJa2wZsXnnUS3P8

[Robert Cade Ross]

The canaries are dropping like flies all over Galveston currently…. It’s so depressing they survived all these crazy freezes just to die a stupid death 

[Xenon]

I wonder why it takes so long for the CIDP to die fully in Galveston or New Orleans. The bronzing seems to be a lot more sporadic. In Houston, it seems like the vast majority of them died in one big wave within a decade or so. 

[_nevi]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

I wonder why it takes so long for the CIDP to die fully in Galveston or New Orleans. The bronzing seems to be a lot more sporadic. In Houston, it seems like the vast majority of them died in one big wave within a decade or so. 

Didn't the disease originate in the RGV/Mexico? If so, then it's likely that the larger population of Houston with more service workers(including from RGV/Mexico), played a role — the disease vector was able to spread from the original source, and more rapidly take over the larger/denser city, compared to the smaller populations seen in Galveston and New Orleans.

I've seen streetviews in Beaumont/Port Arthur which show that they do have good CIDP specimen. So it's probable that landscaping practices are to blame for vector distribution — although even in New Orleans, there are quite some dramatic impacts from the disease in certain areas.

[Robert Cade Ross]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

I wonder why it takes so long for the CIDP to die fully in Galveston or New Orleans. The bronzing seems to be a lot more sporadic. In Houston, it seems like the vast majority of them died in one big wave within a decade or so. 

The younger ones seem to be more “resilient “ perhaps ? I’ve noticed all the volunteers around Galveston and costal areas look as happy as could be lol . The largest one in the east end is still recovering after looking like it was dying so who knows 😹😹🤷‍♂️

[_nevi]

Honestly, I'd say that both Houston and San Antonio should go crazy planting queens. They seem to be cheaper than washingtonia as from what I see — and even with death, the slender/smaller trunks are easier to remove than the towering washingtonia trunks

[MarcusH]

16 minutes ago, _nevi said:

Honestly, I'd say that both Houston and San Antonio should go crazy planting queens. They seem to be cheaper than washingtonia as from what I see — and even with death, the slender/smaller trunks are easier to remove than the towering washingtonia 

I wish I could share your thoughts on this one but planting Queen palms , especially in San Antonio isn't a good idea . History shows. Let's bring up the 2020s so far we had one year where Queen palms had no chance of survival.  The other 2 winters weren't looking much better unless they were older and planted in microclimates.  Robustas take colder temperatures without a problem. I also want to bring up the recovery process.  While Queen palms take about 2 years to grow back a full crown,  Washies on the other hand can grow a full crown in as little as 6 months.  Speaks volume.  Robustas are more long term( not 100% ) in San Antonio,  where your enjoyment of growing Queen palms in your yard is just short term and my question is how many years out of maybe 10 to 15 years do they look good ? The southern part of Houston has a better chance of keeping them alive longer and better looking for the most part but not San Antonio.  Our winters since the 2020 are 7b and 8b.  Not a good outlook for growing Queens.