Mazari Palm the most cold hardy palm

[Banana Belt]

The Mazari Palm (Nannorrhops Ritchiana) is reported to be the most cold hardy off all palms, able to withstand temperatures from -5F to over 100F.  It is reported to be blue in color, can anyone give information if they have one.

[Allen]

Zone 8 at least.    Maybe hardy but ranks behind many other cold hardy palms

[Fusca]

28 minutes ago, Allen said:

Zone 8 at least.    Maybe hardy but ranks behind many other cold hardy palms

Depends on the variety.  The silver form (arabica) is probably what you are referring to which is the least cold hardy variety.  I've seen 2 mature specimens here in the RGV doing well in spite of the high humidity.  Unusual since silver forms of Bismarckia, Sabal uresana and Chamaerops humilis are more cold hardy than the green form.  From what I understand all varieties dislike wet cold conditions.

 

[SeanK]

May be reliable in a place like ABQ and vicinity where rainfall is low. Not sure for the PNW.

[Patrick]

4 hours ago, Banana Belt said:

The Mazari Palm (Nannorrhops Ritchiana) is reported to be the most cold hardy off all palms, able to withstand temperatures from -5F to over 100F.  It is reported to be blue in color, can anyone give information if they have one.

There used to be a couple monsters at the home of Dick Douglas in Walnut Creek. They went through the historic 89 freeze; so that was down in the teens- probably low teens you would have to look it up. I was only 9 but I certainly remember that year being very cold! I think it was the year we got a good layer of snow all the way out in Brentwoood, CA- it doesn't snow here. 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, SeanK said:

May be reliable in a place like ABQ and vicinity where rainfall is low. Not sure for the PNW.

Agree w/ this .. Sadly a rare sight in the valley but there are at least a couple specimens around.. One, in a botanical garden 45mins / hour east of me can be covered by light snow cover /experience a handful of nights in the low 20s ...maybe a night or two bottoming out just below 20F, and decent rainfall some winters, weeks of 100 / 100+ heat and heavy rains during the summer w/ out issue.

Fairly sure there are specimens scattered around S. Cal also.

[Banana Belt]

10 hours ago, Fusca said:

From what I understand all varieties dislike wet cold conditions.

Thanks.  Not a good palm for the Oregon Coast in wet cold conditions is mostly what we have.

[Chester B]

These things are snowflakes, any bit of moisture in winter and they melt.  I think the claims that they are mega cold hardy in a dry climate might be slightly exaggerated.  I still stand by Sabal minor as the most cold hardy palm.

 

2 hours ago, Banana Belt said:

Thanks.  Not a good palm for the Oregon Coast in wet cold conditions is mostly what we have.

It would start dying the moment you planted it, even if it were growing in pure gravel.  

If I were in your location the species I would be trying are Juania australis, Rhopalostylis sapida, Dypsis decipiens and Howea forsteriana and belmoreana.

[Darold Petty]

I visited Afghanistan in 1972.  I would describe the geography and climate as harsh, hot, and dry.  It would seldom be wet and cold at the same time.  It was obvious how the sere, high elevation desert has shaped the culture of the people as well The psychological vibe in Kandahar was so hostile that I wanted to stay on the bus.  

Truly, this is a palm only for hot, full sun applications.

[Swolte]

In my experience, they are one of the high performing palms. I guess they do need their sun and heat to grow (& build resistance) but I have found them quite hardy once established. Mine survived single digits. A large specimen at JFGardens went through 7F unprotected. We do have these wet cold days too!

Definitely not the most cold hardy (I'll bite... 😛)

[Chester B]

37 minutes ago, Swolte said:

In my experience, they are one of the high performing palms. I guess they do need their sun and heat to grow (& build resistance) but I have found them quite hardy once established. Mine survived single digits. A large specimen at JFGardens went through 7F unprotected. We do have these wet cold days too!

Definitely not the most cold hardy (I'll bite... 😛)

In Oregon the best place to grow these would be Medford.

And that one at JF is really nice.  Totally different winter here though.

[ahosey01]

There are some giant non-silver ones at a growers here in the RGV.  Massive things.  Don’t know just how hardy cause we don’t get that cold but they’re tough palms.  Unless it’s wet, then they’re not.

[Dwarf Fan]

There is a silver one a few blocks away from my house. It is the only one I am aware of in Corpus Christi.

The color can range from Blue to Silvery. I heard there is a ‘green’ variety as well.

The ones at John Fairey Garden took 14F in 2022 and 7F in 2021 this is a single digit Cold Hardy Palm. Definitely a long term Palm for most of Texas.

[Dwarf Fan]

7 hours ago, Swolte said:

 A large specimen at JFGardens went through 7F unprotected.
 

6 hours ago, Chester B said:

And that one at JF is really nice. 

John Fairey Garden:

[Banana Belt]

12 hours ago, Chester B said:

These things are snowflakes, any bit of moisture in winter and they melt.  I think the claims that they are mega cold hardy in a dry climate might be slightly exaggerated.  I still stand by Sabal minor as the most cold hardy palm.

 

It would start dying the moment you planted it, even if it were growing in pure gravel.  

If I were in your location the species I would be trying are Juania australis, Rhopalostylis sapida, Dypsis decipiens and Howea forsteriana and belmoreana.

Thanks very much for the ideas and suggestions. 

Just recently I removed 6 very large Leyland Cypress, 3 of which blew down luckily away from our house last March during a big lightning Storm that produced waterspouts on ocean and tornadoes on land.  I removed all 6 because they made a mess, too much shade and because I hated them even though I planted them 42 years ago.  Now they are gone and our citrus trees are loving the full hot sun.  We now have new space of about 40 foot wide by 100 foot long that gets full sun morning to evening, also is in warmer part of the property south of house and big Apple tree.  I am looking to put Palm trees in this space and your ideas and suggestions above are very intriguing and interesting.  The site is protected from the strong winter storms but does on occasion get the strong and Hot Chetco winds from the east several times a year.  The soil consists of about 3 feet of organic rich clayey loam on a well drained very gentle slope.

The Rhopalostylis sapida I have seen in the Northland forests of New Zealand and from what I remember they seem to have preferred partial shade under bigger trees.  The Juania Australis, Dypsis decipiens, Howea forsteriana and belmoreana all sound wonderful, where would I get these palms, larger specimens if possible?

[SeanK]

4 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

There is a silver one a few blocks away from my house. It is the only one I am aware of in Corpus Christi.

The color can range from Blue to Silvery. I heard there is a ‘green’ variety as well.

The ones at John Fairey Garden took 14F in 2022 and 7F in 2021 this is a single digit Cold Hardy Palm. Definitely a long term Palm for most of Texas.

Perhaps the Texas heat helps them survive the oddball cold winter.

[MarcusH]

On 6/9/2024 at 9:35 AM, Chester B said:

These things are snowflakes, any bit of moisture in winter and they melt.  I think the claims that they are mega cold hardy in a dry climate might be slightly exaggerated.  I still stand by Sabal minor as the most cold hardy palm.

 

It would start dying the moment you planted it, even if it were growing in pure gravel.  

If I were in your location the species I would be trying are Juania australis, Rhopalostylis sapida, Dypsis decipiens and Howea forsteriana and belmoreana.

I see a lot of Mazari palms planted in the downtown area of SA and they survived Feb 2021.  

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

I see a lot of Mazari palms planted in the downtown area of SA and they survived Feb 2021.  

I believe you're seeing silver Serenoa repens not Nannorrhops.  There is a huge Nannorrhops at the SA Botanical Garden next to a big clump of silver Serenoa.

[MarcusH]

39 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I believe you're seeing silver Serenoa repens not Nannorrhops.  There is a huge Nannorrhops at the SA Botanical Garden next to a big clump of silver Serenoa.

I saw quite a few Nannorrhops not Serenoa repens in the downtown area.  There are many groups of Nannorrhops ritchiana planted at the Santa Rosa Children's hospital also in the King Williams area.  They look a lot a like though.  

[Chester B]

19 hours ago, Banana Belt said:

The Juania Australis, Dypsis decipiens, Howea forsteriana and belmoreana all sound wonderful, where would I get these palms, larger specimens if possible?

I would try Jungle Music Palms and Cycads or maybe Floribunda.  The Juania will likely be impossible to find.

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

I saw quite a few Nannorrhops not Serenoa repens in the downtown area.  There are many groups of Nannorrhops ritchiana planted at the Santa Rosa Children's hospital also in the King Williams area.  They look a lot a like though.  

Photos?  I lived in San Antonio for 5 years and never saw any Nannorrhops other than at SABG or Oblate.  I do recall seeing several Serenoa around downtown.  Not that there aren't any but photos would confirm.  They do look alike but the fruits are quite different.  Serenoa have large black fruits like prunes while Nannorrhops are smaller round fruits that are orange when ripe.

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Photos?  I lived in San Antonio for 5 years and never saw any Nannorrhops other than at SABG or Oblate.  I do recall seeing several Serenoa around downtown.  Not that there aren't any but photos would confirm.  They do look alike but the fruits are quite different.  Serenoa have large black fruits like prunes while Nannorrhops are smaller round fruits that are orange when ripe.

Located at the Santa Rosa Children's hospital.  

[MarcusH]

Just now, MarcusH said:

Located at the Santa Rosa Children's hospital.  

I also asked for identification one time when I released these pictures the first time on here and everyone was saying Nannorrhops ritchiana.  

[Banana Belt]

@Chester B  Thanks for the palm suggestions and places that might stock them.  The Juania seems rare and difficult to find, but our location might be good place for the palm.  I was planning to get three different plams, Howea and a Butia are on the list so the third palm is not yet decided.  By the way our weather here in Brookings has been absolutely perfect since end of April, sun every day with 60's and 70's.  Very little fog.

[Fusca]

27 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Located at the Santa Rosa Children's hospital.  

Nice find, thanks for posting.  I haven't seen them for sale except maybe at Palm Buddha and one nursery here.  I'm planning on buying one this week.  Where are the others located?

[ahosey01]

1 minute ago, Fusca said:

Nice find, thanks for posting.  I haven't seen them for sale except maybe at Palm Buddha and one nursery here.  I'm planning on buying one this week.

I wish I had your yard.  I'd have a giant clump of these.  Or 10.

[MarcusH]

7 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Nice find, thanks for posting.  I haven't seen them for sale except maybe at Palm Buddha and one nursery here.  I'm planning on buying one this week.  Where are the others located?

I didn't take pictures of the others but I think I saw a couple others in the King William District.  San Antonio is large I'm sure there are quite a few more Mazari palms across Bexar County.  Long story short they grow and survive here.

[Fusca]

56 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

I didn't take pictures of the others but I think I saw a couple others in the King William District.  San Antonio is large I'm sure there are quite a few more Mazari palms across Bexar County.  Long story short they grow and survive here.

Absolutely they survive there.  It's surprising to me to see one only because they aren't readily available and they should be.  Maybe in private gardens you'll find some.  I know @GoatLockerGuns has one at his place.

 

[Dwarf Fan]

6 hours ago, Fusca said:

I believe you're seeing silver Serenoa repens not Nannorrhops.  There is a huge Nannorrhops at the SA Botanical Garden next to a big clump of silver Serenoa.

Serenoa repens ‘silver’ does look VERY similar to Nannorrhops ritchiana ‘silver’ but the tips of the fronds are not as elongated and pointy.

Port Aransas, TX:

[MarcusH]

9 hours ago, Fusca said:

Absolutely they survive there.  It's surprising to me to see one only because they aren't readily available and they should be.  Maybe in private gardens you'll find some.  I know @GoatLockerGuns has one at his place.

 

That's what I thought.  There are many planted at the Children's hospital . So whoever was in charge of the landscape design gets my respect.  Usually you don't see much exotic palms in the SA area. 

[ahosey01]

10 hours ago, Banana Belt said:

@Chester B  Thanks for the palm suggestions and places that might stock them.  The Juania seems rare and difficult to find, but our location might be good place for the palm.  I was planning to get three different plams, Howea and a Butia are on the list so the third palm is not yet decided.  By the way our weather here in Brookings has been absolutely perfect since end of April, sun every day with 60's and 70's.  Very little fog.

I think you guys get those weird heat waves every few years though, right?

I think Juania up and die in that.  Could be wrong.  I think I remember reading that @Darold Petty had some experience with that palm.

[Banana Belt]

1 hour ago, ahosey01 said:

I think you guys get those weird heat waves every few years though, right?

Yes we do.  It happens when a low pressure system moves into Northern California creating winds that come down from the Mtns. and high elevation to our east.  The air compresses aa it drops in elevation, both heating up and gaining speed with temps between 95 and 117F with 60 to 70 mph winds.  Lasts a day or two at most and can happen any time of year.

[Darold Petty]

4 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

I t  I think I remember reading that @Darold Petty had some experience with that palm.

I was gifted five seedling Juania palms many years ago.  I don't remember the source.  I grew them up to fat 5-gallon size and installed them as a grove in the Lakeside Palmetum in Oakland, CA.  They grew well at first and almost achieved true trunks.  One was killed by a vandal joyriding in a golf cart overnight, one was killed by manual destruction, being twisted off the roots. and three died from what I call the "Juania Sudden Death Syndrome".  This unfortunate tendency is sudden death with no real advance warning after years of normal growth.

  There is one large plant in the San Francisco Botanic Garden, it looks very poorly, and always seems to be Potassium deficient.  I have seen online images of a healthy one in Ireland.  This palm is almost impossible to obtain, being dioecious, and I believe that there is only one gendered pair outside of habitat, somewhere in a private garden in South America.

Do yourself a favor and forget about this palm.  It is too difficult to obtain, and too temperamental to grow reliably. 

Any Ceroxylon species has a similar look, and is much easier to obtain and to grow.   

[Southwesternsol]

On 6/9/2024 at 8:35 AM, Chester B said:

I still stand by Sabal minor as the most cold hardy palm.

I can personally vouch having a Sabal Minor that's recovering from below zero temps. I'm not sure any other palm would have survived that, besides maybe Needle Palm.

[Fusca]

Here's the silver form I bought on Thursday.  First time I have seen them for sale other than online.  It's as silver as my Bismarckia.

@Swolte, is yours green or silver?

 

[Leelanau Palms]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Here's the silver form I bought on Thursday.  First time I have seen them for sale other than online.  It's as silver as my Bismarckia.

@Swolte, is yours green or silver?

 

Sorry, silver of which palm? Where did you purchase this? 

[Fusca]

58 minutes ago, Leelanau Palms said:

Sorry, silver of which palm? Where did you purchase this? 

Mazari palm, Nannorrhops richiana.  Purchased at South Texas Palms in Donna, TX.

[Swolte]

Silver.

Its been in the ground for a 2 years but weather hasn't been kind and I've always found them hard to get established (I do tend to remove a lot of the potting soil so I am not kind to roots). Re-established hasn't been better for me either, though. I had a larger green one that I moved but it did not survive. Let me know if you know a good local source for the green one.

Your silver one looks amazing. Great find! 

[Leelanau Palms]

10 hours ago, Fusca said:

Mazari palm, Nannorrhops richiana.  Purchased at South Texas Palms in Donna, TX.

Thanks! It's beautiful. Keep us updated on its progress and your cultural observations.