Palms in snow

[Marius]

Hi Everyone. 
It snowed in Bloemfontein a week or two ago!   I haven’t gotten round to posting due to a busy spell which has now slowed down. 
It snows very rarely over here. The only other time I can remember was one year when I was in university. 
The snow melted quickly and caused no damage in my garden. 
Here are some pics. 
 

[Leelanau Palms]

What is the elevation there? What was the air temperature during the event?

[Marius]

Elevation is 1403m 

I got up at 6:00 AM and it was never below 1 deg C

[Las Palmas Norte]

That's the type of snow event I can handle. No shovel required and gone after breakfast. Fabulous garden !!!

[Marius]

48 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

That's the type of snow event I can handle. No shovel required and gone after breakfast. Fabulous garden !!!

Thanks

[happypalms]

I dunno how you cold climate growers do it I would pack up and go home if it was me well done I say good growing.

[Harry’s Palms]

It can happen sometimes in areas that seemingly never get snow . I was riding my bike on a rural road that leads through the citrus orchards and came upon an area no larger than a quarter mile that was dusted with snow . It had rained the night before and really not that cold , maybe 40f . This was at near sea level and about 15 miles from the ocean in Southern California . Harry

[njpalmguy]

i live in New Jersey, USDA zone 7a (where it reached 1F last year in February) and here is some advice: if you have any palms that can’t withstand 32F, then be more careful and check your weather forecasts if there is  a freeze. here’s a picture the forecast there and the lows are in the lower 30s-lower 40s. be especially careful with the days with lows in the 30s because frost can occur, and a freeze has the possibility to occur, but i don’t know. if you could tell me the species you have in your garden, please let me know.

[ahosey01]

4 minutes ago, njpalmguy said:

i live in New Jersey, USDA zone 7a (where it reached 1F last year in February) and here is some advice: if you have any palms that can’t withstand 32F, then be more careful and check your weather forecasts if there is  a freeze. here’s a picture the forecast there and the lows are in the lower 30s-lower 40s. be especially careful with the days with lows in the 30s because frost can occur, and a freeze has the possibility to occur, but i don’t know. if you could tell me the species you have in your garden, please let me know.

@Marius is a pro I think hes got this covered lol

Marius I would like desparately to visit your part of the world.  The idea of snow in Africa just sounds crazy when I say it out loud... lol

[Las Palmas Norte]

Some nice rebound temps for this area. This factor is certainly beneficial in expanding and refining the plant palette there.

[njpalmguy]

17 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

@Marius is a pro I think hes got this covered lol

Marius I would like desparately to visit your part of the world.  The idea of snow in Africa just sounds crazy when I say it out loud... lol

i know haha, but yeah i wanted to give him some advice as someone that commonly experiences winters with highs in the low-mid 30s in the winter with lows in the upper teens.

[Silas_Sancona]

8 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

It can happen sometimes in areas that seemingly never get snow . I was riding my bike on a rural road that leads through the citrus orchards and came upon an area no larger than a quarter mile that was dusted with snow . It had rained the night before and really not that cold , maybe 40f . This was at near sea level and about 15 miles from the ocean in Southern California . Harry

Yep, Snowed in  San Jose when i was a kid ..Then tried to a couple times again in the late 80s..

Snows in Tucson every so often, ..and has in Phoenix ...loonngg in the past ( Thankfully,  lol )

Did get some ice pellets one night this past winter and a few areas just outside the valley core get dusted once or twice every few years too.

Interesting to see in S.A., ..But, it happens..  I'm sure the Aloes were thinking " What the heck is this chilly white stuff "

..Then again, they occasionally get dusted by the white stuff in Tucson,  and at a garden about an hour to my east too.

 

[Marius]

8 hours ago, njpalmguy said:

i live in New Jersey, USDA zone 7a (where it reached 1F last year in February) and here is some advice: if you have any palms that can’t withstand 32F, then be more careful and check your weather forecasts if there is  a freeze. here’s a picture the forecast there and the lows are in the lower 30s-lower 40s. be especially careful with the days with lows in the 30s because frost can occur, and a freeze has the possibility to occur, but i don’t know. if you could tell me the species you have in your garden, please let me know.

Hi njpalmguy. Thanks for the advice. I have just over 85 species of palms in my garden. All planted in the ground and stay in the same spot year round. When I was much younger I had heaps of plants that needed to move indoors in winter. Now they need to be able to grow outdoors year round. The genera that make up a large part of my collection are Brahea, Phoenix, Butia, Livistona, Trachycarpus, Trithrinax, Chamaedorea and Washingtonia. I furthermore have Chuniophoenix nana, Jubaeopsis caffra, Raphidophyllum hystrix, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, Arenga engleri, Arenga pinnata, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana & alexandrae, Rhaphis, Wallichia disticha and oblongifolia, Aiphanes horrida, Parajubaea sunkha, Jubaea chiliensis, Nannorhops, 5 Syagrus species, Becarriophoenix alfredii, 4-6 Sabal species, Rhaphia australis, Hypheane coreacea, Busmarckia etc….

[Marius]

9 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

Marius I would like desparately to visit your part of the world.  The idea of snow in Africa just sounds crazy when I say it out loud... lol

@ahosey01 you should come and visit then. I have room. Bloemfontein is not a very exciting tourist attraction place though.  I suppose it depends on what interests you. Most people visit the Cape, Durban and the Kruger Park. 

There are actually highland and mountainous areas in SA and Lesotho that gets snow every winter. 
 

[njpalmguy]

12 hours ago, Marius said:

Hi njpalmguy. Thanks for the advice. I have just over 85 species of palms in my garden. All planted in the ground and stay in the same spot year round. When I was much younger I had heaps of plants that needed to move indoors in winter. Now they need to be able to grow outdoors year round. The genera that make up a large part of my collection are Brahea, Phoenix, Butia, Livistona, Trachycarpus, Trithrinax, Chamaedorea and Washingtonia. I furthermore have Chuniophoenix nana, Jubaeopsis caffra, Raphidophyllum hystrix, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, Arenga engleri, Arenga pinnata, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana & alexandrae, Rhaphis, Wallichia disticha and oblongifolia, Aiphanes horrida, Parajubaea sunkha, Jubaea chiliensis, Nannorhops, 5 Syagrus species, Becarriophoenix alfredii, 4-6 Sabal species, Rhaphia australis, Hypheane coreacea, Busmarckia etc….

you’re welcome! i would protect the sabals and Washingtonias and also the Pheonix. (protect all the sabals unless you have Sabal minors and saw palmettos)

[DoomsDave]

@Marius welcome to the club! It's nice to know I'm not the only one to have had snow in my palmy paradise.

Dramatic as it looks, it's nowhere near as bad as a hard freeze, like in 2007.

[Marius]

10 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

@Marius welcome to the club! It's nice to know I'm not the only one to have had snow in my palmy paradise.

Dramatic as it looks, it's nowhere near as bad as a hard freeze, like in 2007.

It definitely isn’t as bad. I had no damage in my garden at all after the light dusting of snow. 

[ahosey01]

On 6/18/2024 at 1:05 AM, Marius said:

@ahosey01 you should come and visit then. I have room. Bloemfontein is not a very exciting tourist attraction place though.  I suppose it depends on what interests you. Most people visit the Cape, Durban and the Kruger Park. 

There are actually highland and mountainous areas in SA and Lesotho that gets snow every winter. 
 

One of these days I really would take you up on that.  We'll stay in touch about it.  I'll message you.

16 hours ago, njpalmguy said:

you’re welcome! i would protect the sabals and Washingtonias and also the Pheonix. (protect all the sabals unless you have Sabal minors and saw palmettos)

The man says he has Archontophoenix and Jubaeopsis and Wallichia PJs and he should protect the Sabals and Washingtonias?  I don't mean to be a jerk, but if you are new to this - now is the time to soak up information rather than to dish it out.  You'll get there, and the knowledge comes quickly.  But maybe get a little growing and practice under your belt and broaden your depth of knowledge before handing out tips.

[bubba]

Marius,

A great Palm Talker on this board resided near Port Elizabeth, SA and claimed that Coconut palms had been successfully grown there to maturity. This would be the furthest Coconut from the equator in the Southern hemisphere at approximately 33/57 S. Can you confirm or deny this claim? 

According to the poster, Port Elizabeth had a very warm climate year round resulting from the confluence of the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. This was magnified by a warm river near a port. It has been duly noted as legitimate but you are relatively close by and may be able to give your honest opinion. No photos were ever provided as the poster moved out of the area. Thank you.
 

[njpalmguy]

On 6/19/2024 at 7:22 AM, ahosey01 said:

One of these days I really would take you up on that.  We'll stay in touch about it.  I'll message you.

The man says he has Archontophoenix and Jubaeopsis and Wallichia PJs and he should protect the Sabals and Washingtonias?  I don't mean to be a jerk, but if you are new to this - now is the time to soak up information rather than to dish it out.  You'll get there, and the knowledge comes quickly.  But maybe get a little growing and practice under your belt and broaden your depth of knowledge before handing out tips.

sorry about that 😅 I do have a windmill that I will plant soon though. you aren’t coming off as a jerk though so don’t worry

[njpalmguy]

On 6/19/2024 at 7:22 AM, ahosey01 said:

One of these days I really would take you up on that.  We'll stay in touch about it.  I'll message you.

The man says he has Archontophoenix and Jubaeopsis and Wallichia PJs and he should protect the Sabals and Washingtonias?  I don't mean to be a jerk, but if you are new to this - now is the time to soak up information rather than to dish it out.  You'll get there, and the knowledge comes quickly.  But maybe get a little growing and practice under your belt and broaden your depth of knowledge before handing out tips.

I only do my homework about sabals, trachys, and other cold hardy palms like mules and pindos 😭 just giving some advice about colder climates because nj winters are brutal