Flamethrower Palm- Charleston SC

[South Carolina palms]

My Flamethrower spear finally opened today, the first one since I planted it!

429534E8-357F-4436-AC6A-A0E554395F97.heic

[RJ]

8 minutes ago, South Carolina palms said:

My Flamethrower spear finally opened today, the first one since I planted it!

429534E8-357F-4436-AC6A-A0E554395F97.heic 1.96 MB · 2 downloads

Can’t see anything but a paper clip. What format are you uploading ?

[Harry’s Palms]

That’s quite the display. Surprised that they grow so well there. Harry

[South Carolina palms]

1 hour ago, RJ said:

Can’t see anything but a paper clip. What format are you uploading ?

Sorry I was using my computer must have not done it correctly. I’ll attach a photo below 

[SeanK]

Remarkable. Palmpedia says mature plants can take 20°F

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

6 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Remarkable. Palmpedia says mature plants can take 20°F

Wow I would love to hear from actual PT members who have gone thru that. Getting said palm to maturity in areas that see those kinds of lows would seem like a miracle ! 

T J 

[flplantguy]

I have a few opening that have the same deep red, its something special to see and im thrilled you can grow one there!

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Wow I would love to hear from actual PT members who have gone thru that. Getting said palm to maturity in areas that see those kinds of lows would seem like a miracle ! 

T J 

I agree - I think 20°F is a stretch.  Reports here show smaller palms (5-gal size) dying or very near death at 24°F.  These aren't exactly rocketships so a long stretch of mild winters would be required to test this claim.

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

24 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I think 20°F is a stretch.

Absolutely but not calling anyone a liar tho haha I have a bunch of 3 and 4 leaf seedlings now that prolly will go in the ground for sh!ts and giggles haha or science. Rate of growth is the biggest obstacle for these in a zone push area. 

T J 

[Xenon]

32 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Absolutely but not calling anyone a liar tho haha I have a bunch of 3 and 4 leaf seedlings now that prolly will go in the ground for sh!ts and giggles haha or science. Rate of growth is the biggest obstacle for these in a zone push area. 

T J 

LOL definitely not 20F. I don't think anyone is going to claim these are anywhere near as hardy as even royal palms. Solid zone 10, extreme zonepushing for SC (I like it)! California 24F is a different beast, I would bet a lot of money a mature one is dead dead at 24-25F in TX/FL 😆

I had a C. hookeri in the ground for 2 years, it was slow but not glacially slow...3-4 leaves a year. I protected it below 30Fish. Ironically winter never killed it but the hottest summer on record last year did...a 10+ day stretch of highs 105F+ and 85F nights just cooked it. 

[SeanK]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

LOL definitely not 20F. I don't think anyone is going to claim these are anywhere near as hardy as even royal palms. Solid zone 10, extreme zonepushing for SC (I like it)! California 24F is a different beast, I would bet a lot of money a mature one is dead dead at 24-25F in TX/FL 😆

I had a C. hookeri in the ground for 2 years, it was slow but not glacially slow...3-4 leaves a year. I protected it below 30Fish. Ironically winter never killed it but the hottest summer on record last year did...a 10+ day stretch of highs 105F+ and 85F nights just cooked it. 

So a dry 25° where temps rise fast is more accurate?

[Xenon]

14 minutes ago, SeanK said:

So a dry 25° where temps rise fast is more accurate?

That seems to be the consensus and with moderate-heavy foliar damage. Again these palms grow slowww. Like 4-5 leaves/yr in FL and 3-4 in CA in optimal conditions at peak health (not when defoliated or half burned). Not leaf making machines like royals or kings or even foxtails and Adonidia (FL). 

Wish OP the best of luck but I believe OP planted it within the last few months and it has never seen a SC winter. 

[BayAndroid]

24 minutes ago, Xenon said:

That seems to be the consensus and with moderate-heavy foliar damage. Again these palms grow slowww. Like 4-5 leaves/yr in FL and 3-4 in CA in optimal conditions at peak health (not when defoliated or half burned). Not leaf making machines like royals or kings or even foxtails and Adonidia (FL). 

Wish OP the best of luck but I believe OP planted it within the last few months and it has never seen a SC winter. 

That's the issue I've come to understand. It's not about what the palm can survive, as much as how bad it will look for the next year or two after, because it's just a slow grower and once damage is there, it's not going away. If it's considered marginal in your area, you need to consider the most protected option you can and then maybe it can be a rare win for your locale. 

[South Carolina palms]

3 hours ago, Xenon said:

That seems to be the consensus and with moderate-heavy foliar damage. Again these palms grow slowww. Like 4-5 leaves/yr in FL and 3-4 in CA in optimal conditions at peak health (not when defoliated or half burned). Not leaf making machines like royals or kings or even foxtails and Adonidia (FL). 

Wish OP the best of luck but I believe OP planted it within the last few months and it has never seen a SC winter. 

You're correct I planted it in April. But I'm going to take extreme measures to make sure this guy makes it ( its my pride and joy) I like to zone push with things like Bismarcks,Queens Etc I leave those to the wind when it comes to protection and they have survived the past three years. With my Flamethrower I have one of those turbo heaters for outdoor use ready for when the time comes 🤣

[SeanK]

53 minutes ago, South Carolina palms said:

You're correct I planted it in April. But I'm going to take extreme measures to make sure this guy makes it ( its my pride and joy) I like to zone push with things like Bismarcks,Queens Etc I leave those to the wind when it comes to protection and they have survived the past three years. With my Flamethrower I have one of those turbo heaters for outdoor use ready for when the time comes 🤣

Stakes and walls with plastic sheeting. Pile mulch around the construction 

[South Carolina palms]

Second frond of the year for my flamethrower! 

[Harry’s Palms]

Nice ! Keep us posted as winter approaches. Harry

[Merlyn]

I'm glad I wasn't drinking my espresso when I read 20F hardiness.  I'm sure I would have snarfed some of it out my nose.    I've tried them here in Orlando 9B/9A borderline and they are about as hardy as a Bottle/Spindle.  The big weakness seems to be frost, mostly likely due to the long and wide leaflets.  I lost several ~2-3' tall ones to 28F with frost, but they were out in the open.  They were 100% defoliated and then died of crown rot.  I had a big triple survive several heavy freezes down to about 27-28F but only because it was 6' from the house and directly under a flanking pair of 20' tall Queens.  It took about 25% burn, roughly the same as the Bottle palms on either side.  A couple of other smaller ones under a big Chinensis were pretty much fine at those temps.  Overall my assessment is:

• D-E-D dead in the open with any frost in the <30F range.
• Some variable leaf burn under dense canopy in the 27-28F range
• Likely dead under 25F based on kinzyjr's spreadsheet of PT reports

[South Carolina palms]

22 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Nice ! Keep us posted as winter approaches. Harry

Will do!