I saw majesty palms take a freeze in bluffton this year in ground they did better then most of the pygmy’s here why do you think?

[vbandz]

i’m clueless because the pygmy date is classified as hardier then majesty palms

[SeanK]

Maybe siting? It surprises me. Try to grab a couple photos.

[jwf1983]

I had a majesty survive the winter in the downtown/Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, DC this year.  I had no hope for it, and kept it without any cold/weather mitigation throughout.  The mid/late January 2024 cold spell did a number on it, but after pruning the brown/dead fronds, there was some still living.  I've added a picture of it when we first got it last year, in April 2023.  Two other photos from a short time ago, beginning of May, 2024.   Looks like the spear is ready to start sending out new growth.  Long term, I still don't have high hopes, but it was impressive nonetheless.  Minimum winter temp was one night at 20F.  15 nights total went to or below freezing.  Only a handful of those nights went below 25F, but our winters are consistently well below what this palm should ever tolerate.  It took a significant beating, but somehow made it through--barely.  I have a Pygmy Date Palm as well, that took some minor leave burn on the tips, but once January ended, there wasn't anymore significant cold.

[JLM]

Majesties can be bud hardy as low as 22F, anything below that is outright dead.

[jwf1983]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:18 AM, vbandz said:

i’m clueless because the pygmy date is classified as hardier then majesty palms

I'm interested in this as well, as I have both palms.  I know that both prefer more humid/moist conditions, if I'm not mistaken.  For whatever it's worth, some of the information I've seen on various palm hardiness is wildly inconsistent.  I've read various posts on here of people being surprised how much leaf burn and cold damage their Pygmy Date Palms received during winter, at temps that were a bit warmer than they anticipated.  I haven't noticed anything standout from these posts that indicate why it appears less cold tolerant, but I do think that some of the "classifications" should be taken with a grain of salt.  

 

I'd love to get anyone else's thoughts on this.