Texas Palms

[Chester B]

A few nice mexicana at a licks garden center called Enchanted Forest. If you look to the left you’ll see a person in there for scale.  She was a little further back so appears a bit smaller.  But these were big chunky palms. 

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

A few nice mexicana at a licks garden center called Enchanted Forest. If you look to the left you’ll see a person in there for scale.  She was a little further back so appears a bit smaller.  But these were big chunky palms. 

 

I only see a Bismarckia 😆

[Xenon]

Absolutely glorious forecast. This is shaping up to be best growing season since spring/summer 2021.....🤩 Almost reminds me of the 2000s, plentiful rain and normal to mild winters. Fingers crossed 🤞

Looks like central and south-central Texas are going to get much needed rain too

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

I only see a Bismarckia 😆

I was in a rush as I had to meet someone in Sugarland, so ended up only having ten minutes to quickly run through the place.  I didn't even realize that was a bismarckia!

[Ben G.]

I was down at the San Antonio Riverwalk tonight with some visiting family members, when I spotted this nice B. armata. It would probably look better in the sun, but I thought it was worth posting:

 

[Ben G.]

The only other pic I took this time was the tallest Livistona on the Riverwalk (at least that I have found)

 

[jwitt]

@Ben G. Any Brahea Armata is post worthy, sunny or not!

[Chester B]

I saw another good sized Bismarckia last weekend in Bacliff.  At one time it was surrounded by queens.  I guess they all died and it made it.  Kind of rough looking house so I don't think it would've been protected.  I can see it dating back to 2008 on google maps.  Bing maps has the most recent photo. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/aCqUJpx4CvRmu1tQ8

 

[MarcusH]

Woodlawn Ave near Monte Vista District in San Antonio.  

[Ben G.]

5 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Woodlawn Ave near Monte Vista District in San Antonio.  

 

Looks like a nice street. I am always surprised at how you can drive around some parts town and see few to no palms at all. Then, a block or two away there's a street like Woodlawn Ave.

[MarcusH]

7 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Looks like a nice street. I am always surprised at how you can drive around some parts town and see few to no palms at all. Then, a block or two away there's a street like Woodlawn Ave.

I recently became a local driver here in SA. After living here for almost 3 years I have realized how spread out SA is . I thought I've seen a lot before but I was so wrong.  I also encountered a lot more palms and to my surprise I have found a good amount of CDIPs in the area, more than I assumed before. Most of them had a trunk length of around 4 to 5 ft with very few reaching 20 to 25ft.  I have also seen some Phoenix Dactylifera and Silvestrii ( am I spelling it right ?) which survived Feb 2021. Filiferas are dominating SA hands down . Most palm density you'll see inside loop 410 especially the Woodlawn area. Some areas are very palmy in SA. Southside , Monte Vista District,  King William District,  downtown . Other than Washies , Sabals, Pindos , CIDP, Phoenix Date , Mules,  med fan I haven't seen any exotic palms but I'm sure there're some.  Some newly planted Queens here and there .  But the winner are Sabals and Wash. Filiferas.  They grow as far as Austin or Kerrville.  Seems to be no issue for them . 

[jwitt]

@MarcusHWe expect more pics with your travels!

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, jwitt said:

@MarcusHWe expect more pics with your travels!

I will provide more pictures.  Like Ben mentioned earlier SA is kind of weird when it comes to palms . Some areas you see them all over and at some others you barely find any. One theory I have is that a lot of older houses were sold and rented out or HOA is in the way. Don't really know why we don't see palms all over.  Maybe someone from here has a better explanation.  

[Robert Cade Ross]

On 6/16/2024 at 12:43 PM, Chester B said:

I was in a rush as I had to meet someone in Sugarland, so ended up only having ten minutes to quickly run through the place.  I didn't even realize that was a bismarckia!

It survived 2021 and is here to stay  

[Ben G.]

I decided to get a little more organized, so I moved my newly sprouted Phoenix dactylifera seedlings into little pots. I know now they need something deeper, but this will do for now. 

I put a few in some deep planting bags, I just don't have enough room for everything to go in the deeper bags.

Next up... My Washingtonia filifera seedlings you can see in those paper cups. Hopefully I will get those potted up this week too.

[NBTX11]

San Antonio could look like the Rio Grande Valley if Washingtonia Hybrid, Filifera, and Mexicana were as commonly planted as they plant Robusta. San Antonio has the capability of being one of the palmiest cities in the US, if they were just more commonly planted. There are still a lot of Robusta like hybrids all over downtown, south side, and other warm areas of town. 
 

The RGV has made the decision to be palmy, so they plant Robusta every 10 feet. San Antonio could do the same, but doesn’t. Only in pockets like Marcus showed. 

[Ben G.]

16 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

San Antonio could look like the Rio Grande Valley if Washingtonia Hybrid, Filifera, and Mexicana were as commonly planted as they plant Robusta. San Antonio has the capability of being one of the palmiest cities in the US, if they were just more commonly planted. There are still a lot of Robusta like hybrids all over downtown, south side, and other warm areas of town. 
 

The RGV has made the decision to be palmy, so they plant Robusta every 10 feet. San Antonio could do the same, but doesn’t. Only in pockets like Marcus showed. 

You aren't wrong. I think people did plant quite a lot of palms...they just never expected to see extended freezes with lows around the 10F range.

Maybe we can learn from the recent cold, and make better choices moving forward. I was happy that multiple local nursery operators have told me that sabals are the way to go around here. They definitely aren't trying to sell people on palms like robustas anymore.

I still plan to zone push a little, but I have been happy to plant S. mexicanas, Butia, filifera, and Chamaerops. Having come from Oklahoma, it feels nice to have even that many options.

[NBTX11]

1 hour ago, Ben G. said:

You aren't wrong. I think people did plant quite a lot of palms...they just never expected to see extended freezes with lows around the 10F range.

Maybe we can learn from the recent cold, and make better choices moving forward. I was happy that multiple local nursery operators have told me that sabals are the way to go around here. They definitely aren't trying to sell people on palms like robustas anymore.

I still plan to zone push a little, but I have been happy to plant S. mexicanas, Butia, filifera, and Chamaerops. Having come from Oklahoma, it feels nice to have even that many options.

Robusta are fine to grow. I just wouldn’t plant all Robusta. They get to 50 feet plus fast between freezes and in some cases survive the biggest freezes. There are groves of very tall Robusta still remaining in San Antonio. 
 

I personally made the decision to plant heavy on Filifera. I wanted bulletproof. I got tired of worrying about freezes. I lost a 40 foot Robusta in 2021. I had to hire someone to cut it down in sections. But it was worth growing. It was a skyduster over my house. 
 

This place is a tropical paradise compared to Oklahoma. Several completely hardy palms to grow to maturity. 

[RedRabbit]

I visited a Lowe’s today for the first time in Texas. I was surprised to see almost the same selection we had in Tampa, including foxtails and bottle palms… I’ve yet to see an older queen palm in Texas, what on earth are they doing keeping those in stock! 

[Xenon]

43 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I visited a Lowe’s today for the first time in Texas. I was surprised to see almost the same selection we had in Tampa, including foxtails and bottle palms… I’ve yet to see an older queen palm in Texas, what on earth are they doing keeping those in stock! 
 

I've seen bottle palms survive for many years in Galveston. As you know the current landscape doesn't reflect what grew here for decades just a few years ago. Its pretty much been the 1980s here lately, with only far southern TX escaping (still crownshaft land down there). Growing up in Houston I always took queens for granted as just being part of the landscape, never thought they'd disappear one day lol.

Even royal palms grew in Houston's heat island at one point, this one (circa 2009) got to that height starting from below fence level. I'm still the eternal optimist, what could be is way more interesting than what currently is...always possiblities 🙂

 

[Foxpalms]

6 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I visited a Lowe’s today for the first time in Texas. I was surprised to see almost the same selection we had in Tampa, including foxtails and bottle palms… I’ve yet to see an older queen palm in Texas, what on earth are they doing keeping those in stock! 

They make good potted plants for a good few years. Though probably less in Texas as it's hotter.

[MarcusH]

Another row of Sabal Palmettos and Mexicana . I also spotted a tall Blue Mexican fan palm but I'm not sure to be honest.  Located on the Southside San Antonio.  

[jwitt]

@MarcusHnice Armata!

And the others too 

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, jwitt said:

@MarcusHnice Armata!

And the others too 

Wow! You are right. That is awesome.

Nice find Marcus!

[Ben G.]

I was checking out a nice sabal today too. I like a nice smooth trunked sabal. This one has a pretty big crown too. I may check it for seed in the fall. 

 

[jwitt]

37 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

Wow! You are right. That is awesome.

Nice find Marcus!

I bet that Armata is awesome in person.  I bet that color pops, hard to portray with a camera sometimes. 

[Dwarf Fan]

8 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Another row of Sabal Palmettos and Mexicana . I also spotted a tall Brahea armata but I'm not sure to be honest.  Located on the Southside San Antonio.  

 

Nice find Marcus, look at you spotting the exotic stuff now, I guess someone has been improving their Palm ID skills!

[MarcusH]

18 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Wow! You are right. That is awesome.

Nice find Marcus!

Thank you Ben. There's one at the Riverwalk too. 

[MarcusH]

19 hours ago, jwitt said:

@MarcusHnice Armata!

And the others too 

I wonder how this one is. I've heard they grow slow. 

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

Nice find Marcus, look at you spotting the exotic stuff now, I guess someone has been improving their Palm ID skills!

Thanks Dan it was about time that I find the unicorn in SA. Lol

[Dwarf Fan]

59 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Thanks Dan it was about time that I find the unicorn in SA. Lol

Congrats Marcus I have never stumbled upon a large one like that in Texas yet… way to score a pic of the “Texas Unicorn”! Well done sir! 👍

[jwitt]

7 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I wonder how this one is. I've heard they grow slow. 

I was wondering the age myself.  

If one were to age this trunk constriction.  My thought was possibly 1980's..........

Planted 1950's or earlier?

Rare find, especially that size.  

 

 

[NBTX11]

There used to be a very large, old one near the Marriott Rivercenter downtown, if I remember correctly. It’s been several years since I checked. 

[NBTX11]

Marcus, if you go south on I35 towards Laredo on the south side, there’s some very tall Robusta to be seen. It’s more common to see old Robusta on that side of town than the north side. 

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, NBTX11 said:

Marcus, if you go south on I35 towards Laredo on the south side, there’s some very tall Robusta to be seen. It’s more common to see old Robusta on that side of town than the north side. 

Yes I see a lot of pencil thin Robustas on the Southside.  Most of them made it over here. So did they also survived the 1980s ? Those are skydusters. 

[MarcusH]

14 hours ago, jwitt said:

I was wondering the age myself.  

If one were to age this trunk constriction.  My thought was possibly 1980's..........

Planted 1950's or earlier?

Rare find, especially that size.  

 

 

If your estimate is true I give that palm a lot of credit surviving the big freezes in the 1980s .  

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, NBTX11 said:

There used to be a very large, old one near the Marriott Rivercenter downtown, if I remember correctly. It’s been several years since I checked. 

That could be.  I know there's a smaller version at the Riverwalk.  By the way here's the address to the big Brahea Armata.  

[Robert Cade Ross]

Galveston Tx z10a 

on Saturday:) I present to you the last pre 2021? Pigmy date survivor 😅.

[FilthyFiveHole]

Tallest CIPD I've found in San Antonio. At least 50 feet tall!

[WisTex]

On 8/12/2024 at 7:09 AM, Foxpalms said:

I’ve yet to see an older queen palm in Texas, what on earth are they doing keeping those in stock! 

To sell more palms every few years.  They are still being planted on North Padre Island by the "a palm is a palm" crowd.  Likely they will grow to a size that will be a danger when they freeze off, be removed, leaving landscaping consisting of rocks and weeds.