Albuquerque Palm Pics!!

[RFun]

4 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

We have a dry desert climate here vs a wet humid climate that keeps them dormant in the winter. Well drained soil and dry air are key to help them survive.

Plus the types of species that are best selected for our area. Washingtonia Filifera do best here. Then Filibusta. Trachycarpus Fortunei do good if you keep them irrigated during the summer months (they do and look best in the Pacific NW). A lot of people used to plant Washingtonia Robustas here about 15 years ago (including me) because big box stores used to sell them. They just aren't as hardy as the other Washingtonia species. 

Yes, Filifera doesn't mind the dry cold at all.  Trachy would be ok with the irrigation like you said.  Robustas would be a no-go without protective methods.  If it rained more there, Sabal minors would work well as well.  I imagine they are high maintenance in that climate.

[RFun]

5 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

Yeah. You can't see the trunk in this pic but it's very thick! Plus the fronds are pretty Filiferish in size and color. 

I think I might have just came up with a new word "Filiferish". Lol

This is the kind of Filifera you don't normally see in many areas of the country.  Usually you see them with the larger trunks/less bushy appearance.

[ABQPalms]

5 hours ago, Palmerr said:

Ok that makes sense yeah i remember hearing about that i guess i just forgot lol well thats cool! Yeah it makes sense California Fans are a zone hardier than robusta and a little hardier than filabusta.

Filiferas or filifera dominant filibusta is the best choices here.

3 hours ago, RFun said:

Yes, Filifera doesn't mind the dry cold at all.  Trachy would be ok with the irrigation like you said.  Robustas would be a no-go without protective methods.  If it rained more there, Sabal minors would work well as well.  I imagine they are high maintenance in that climate.

There are a couple Sabal Minors here in town. You really can't notice them because they are so small. San Angelo, TX is probably the eastern most city with Sabal Palmettos. There are some Sabal Mexicanas at the zoo here that are growing really nice. 

[SailorBold]

10 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

Yeah. You can't see the trunk in this pic but it's very thick! Plus the fronds are pretty Filiferish in size and color. 

I think I might have just came up with a new word "Filiferish". Lol

Lol.. with how confusing the hybrids are i started using the term... robustifera...to try and distinguish if they're robusta x filifera.. or filifera x robusta (filibusta).. .. just guessing for sake of discussion..

Pic 1. Filifera

Pic 2. ?

Pic 3.  Filibusta

Pic 4. Robustifera

[ABQPalms]

13 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

Lol.. with how confusing the hybrids are i started using the term... robustifera...to try and distinguish if they're robusta x filifera.. or filifera x robusta (filibusta).. .. just guessing for sake of discussion..

Pic 1. Filifera

Pic 2. ?

Pic 3.  Filibusta

Pic 4. Robustifera

Lol. Nice (Robustifera). I'm thinking pic #2 is Filifera. 

[jwitt]

1 hour ago, SailorBold said:

Lol.. with how confusing the hybrids are i started using the term... robustifera...to try and distinguish if they're robusta x filifera.. or filifera x robusta (filibusta).. .. just guessing for sake of discussion..

Pic 1. Filifera

Pic 2. ?

Pic 3.  Filibusta

Pic 4. Robustifera

Isn't pic 4 the San Mateo? And looks to be seeding.  Another first, from seed to seed! Possibly from the earlier burning!

[ABQPalms]

1 hour ago, jwitt said:

Isn't pic 4 the San Mateo? And looks to be seeding.  Another first, from seed to seed! Possibly from the earlier burning!

I believe it seeded last year if I'm not mistaken. I remember when I went to check it out in March of 2022 and it was burnt to a crisp. I was kind of devastated to see it. But then it came back like a champ! It goes to show that they really are fire retardant as the tribe used to burn them in their native habitat. I truly believe it promoted it to put out seed. Would I suggest it? No Way, but this palm is a living example of what it is capable of and how intelligent the people were to figure out ways to survive!

[ABQPalms]

1 minute ago, ABQPalms said:

I believe it seeded last year if I'm not mistaken. I remember when I went to check it out in March of 2022 and it was burnt to a crisp. I was kind of devastated to see it. But then it came back like a champ! It goes to show that they really are fire retardant as the tribe used to burn them in their native habitat. I truly believe it promoted it to put out seed. Would I suggest it? No Way, but this palm is a living example of what it is capable of and how intelligent the people were to figure out ways to survive!

@jwitt Here it is in Feb 2022.

[SeanK]

I wish we could grow them here. Unfortunately the winters are too wet and cold spells too prolonged. 

Only ones I ever saw were at a hotel down in Tifton (GA - long gone now), and at Joe LeVert's high school garden. I don't know what he has out there these days.

[SailorBold]

10 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

Lol. Nice (Robustifera). I'm thinking pic #2 is Filifera. 

Actually.. got em mixed up...

1. Filifera

2.filifera

3. Robustifera

4 filibusta

[ABQPalms]

9 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Actually.. got em mixed up...

1. Filifera

2.filifera

3. Robustifera

4 filibusta

I didn't even snap about those two being flipped.  Yes, the one on La Veta is definitely a filifera with a nice thick trunk. Picture #3 is on Princess Jeanne Ave NE and has a slightly thinner trunk and a Robusta style crown in my opinion. 

[ABQPalms]

This Washy right here was planted as a yearling a couple of years ago.

[Highdesertdave]

Hi! New here and wanted to introduce myself and share with everyone some of the palms that I’ve be growing here on my property in northern Rio Rancho (upper Enchanted Hills), New Mexico. Any advice or input would be appreciated!

This is a before and after photo of one of my three Robustas growing on the west side of my home. Purchased and planted in early spring of 2023 it has tripled its trunk width within that time span. For winter of 2023 I had wrapped a heating coil around its trunk and covered the entirety of the palm in green large bubble  wrap. I used this method for all of my yard palms for winter of 2023, but would like to try a more efficient way this year.

Another before and after with almost a 2 year span. This Robusta is in my east facing backyard and was put in a 2 months after my north facing palm, yet has outgrown the front palm. Possibly due to my pond’s  run-off and receiving all day sun. The front only receives full sun at about 13:00 during the summer.

This is the newest Robusta planted this summer. Also placed in my north-facing backyard. This one is steadily growing, just not as fast because it doesn’t gallons of daily pond runoff.

 

 

This Mediterranean/European is one of two that I have. It’s planted on the south facing side of my house against the stucco and was planted in the spring of 2023. It also made it through the winter of 2023 just wrapped. No heat wire.

My other newest Mediterranean planted this summer. East facing. Nothing special lol

My Butia Capitata. Purchased and planted this past spring next to my west facing driveway. I don’t know too much about these jelly/pinto palms besides them being a cold hardy specimen. This will be its first winter and am researching whether to wrap it up or not.

I have 3 of these needle palms in pots purchased this past March, but thinking about finding a good spot for them in-ground. They grow to be bush-like and as of right now I have to make room for them by removing a couple rose bushes from the previous homeowners. But I’m confident these will do fine through the winter unprotected. They came from Ohio growing year round outdoors.

Those are my palms. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Maybe I’m overdoing the protection. I do know that when March came around and I removed all the protection every palm turned yellow. They were bright green upon unwrapping. I think maybe due to the shock of temperature change. I monitor the inside of the wrap with temp sensors and all winter the palms stayed a toasty 80° during the day and 60° at night. April was stayed above freezing for the most part so I figured it’d be safe to unwrap. They were bright green and healthy for a day or two then the fronds started to yellow. I ended up having to snip off all the fronds. The Mediterranean that flowered also did the same. Turned yellow and had to snip the fronds off, but it was happy I guess because it flowered within a month.

 

IMG_2480.dng

[SeanK]

14 hours ago, Highdesertdave said:

Hi! New here and wanted to introduce myself and share with everyone some of the palms that I’ve be growing here on my property in northern Rio Rancho (upper Enchanted Hills), New Mexico. Any advice or input would be appreciated!

This is a before and after photo of one of my three Robustas growing on the west side of my home. Purchased and planted in early spring of 2023 it has tripled its trunk width within that time span. For winter of 2023 I had wrapped a heating coil around its trunk and covered the entirety of the palm in green large bubble  wrap. I used this method for all of my yard palms for winter of 2023, but would like to try a more efficient way this year.

Another before and after with almost a 2 year span. This Robusta is in my east facing backyard and was put in a 2 months after my north facing palm, yet has outgrown the front palm. Possibly due to my pond’s  run-off and receiving all day sun. The front only receives full sun at about 13:00 during the summer.

This is the newest Robusta planted this summer. Also placed in my north-facing backyard. This one is steadily growing, just not as fast because it doesn’t gallons of daily pond runoff.

 

IMG_2484.mov 24.48 MB · 0 downloads  

 

This Mediterranean/European is one of two that I have. It’s planted on the south facing side of my house against the stucco and was planted in the spring of 2023. It also made it through the winter of 2023 just wrapped. No heat wire.

My other newest Mediterranean planted this summer. East facing. Nothing special lol

My Butia Capitata. Purchased and planted this past spring next to my west facing driveway. I don’t know too much about these jelly/pinto palms besides them being a cold hardy specimen. This will be its first winter and am researching whether to wrap it up or not.

I have 3 of these needle palms in pots purchased this past March, but thinking about finding a good spot for them in-ground. They grow to be bush-like and as of right now I have to make room for them by removing a couple rose bushes from the previous homeowners. But I’m confident these will do fine through the winter unprotected. They came from Ohio growing year round outdoors.

Those are my palms. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Maybe I’m overdoing the protection. I do know that when March came around and I removed all the protection every palm turned yellow. They were bright green upon unwrapping. I think maybe due to the shock of temperature change. I monitor the inside of the wrap with temp sensors and all winter the palms stayed a toasty 80° during the day and 60° at night. April was stayed above freezing for the most part so I figured it’d be safe to unwrap. They were bright green and healthy for a day or two then the fronds started to yellow. I ended up having to snip off all the fronds. The Mediterranean that flowered also did the same. Turned yellow and had to snip the fronds off, but it was happy I guess because it flowered within a month.

 

IMG_2480.dng 15.29 MB · 5 downloads

Everything looks good. I will warn you though, the robustas will get hard to protect as they grow. Time to search for W.filifera or seeds to germinate off-season.

[ABQPalms]

16 hours ago, Highdesertdave said:

Hi! New here and wanted to introduce myself and share with everyone some of the palms that I’ve be growing here on my property in northern Rio Rancho (upper Enchanted Hills), New Mexico. Any advice or input would be appreciated!

This is a before and after photo of one of my three Robustas growing on the west side of my home. Purchased and planted in early spring of 2023 it has tripled its trunk width within that time span. For winter of 2023 I had wrapped a heating coil around its trunk and covered the entirety of the palm in green large bubble  wrap. I used this method for all of my yard palms for winter of 2023, but would like to try a more efficient way this year.

Another before and after with almost a 2 year span. This Robusta is in my east facing backyard and was put in a 2 months after my north facing palm, yet has outgrown the front palm. Possibly due to my pond’s  run-off and receiving all day sun. The front only receives full sun at about 13:00 during the summer.

This is the newest Robusta planted this summer. Also placed in my north-facing backyard. This one is steadily growing, just not as fast because it doesn’t gallons of daily pond runoff.

 

IMG_2484.mov 24.48 MB · 0 downloads  

 

This Mediterranean/European is one of two that I have. It’s planted on the south facing side of my house against the stucco and was planted in the spring of 2023. It also made it through the winter of 2023 just wrapped. No heat wire.

My other newest Mediterranean planted this summer. East facing. Nothing special lol

My Butia Capitata. Purchased and planted this past spring next to my west facing driveway. I don’t know too much about these jelly/pinto palms besides them being a cold hardy specimen. This will be its first winter and am researching whether to wrap it up or not.

I have 3 of these needle palms in pots purchased this past March, but thinking about finding a good spot for them in-ground. They grow to be bush-like and as of right now I have to make room for them by removing a couple rose bushes from the previous homeowners. But I’m confident these will do fine through the winter unprotected. They came from Ohio growing year round outdoors.

Those are my palms. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Maybe I’m overdoing the protection. I do know that when March came around and I removed all the protection every palm turned yellow. They were bright green upon unwrapping. I think maybe due to the shock of temperature change. I monitor the inside of the wrap with temp sensors and all winter the palms stayed a toasty 80° during the day and 60° at night. April was stayed above freezing for the most part so I figured it’d be safe to unwrap. They were bright green and healthy for a day or two then the fronds started to yellow. I ended up having to snip off all the fronds. The Mediterranean that flowered also did the same. Turned yellow and had to snip the fronds off, but it was happy I guess because it flowered within a month.

 

IMG_2480.dng 15.29 MB · 5 downloads

Very nice specimens Dave! They are really taking off already. Especially being up in Enchanted Hills. I see you probably purchased them from Lowe's? Big box stores here used to sell them as pure Robustas (or Robusta dominant) in the 2000's to early '10's. I don't see really any red on the petioles of yours which is a good thing. But the fronds look more Robusta in color and not really hairy. You might have a near 50-50 percent hybrids. 

As for winter protection, I'm not a huge fan of wrapping them up because it causes condensation. But if I were you (and there is a possibility that they are more Robusta), I would use burlap as opposed to bubble wrap. It might reduce the yellowing of the fronds come spring. Also a good method is to wrap them with incandescent Christmas lights. 

Other then that, you are really doing a great job! 

[jwitt]

On 10/25/2024 at 5:26 PM, Highdesertdave said:

Hi! New here and wanted to introduce myself and share with everyone some of the palms that I’ve be growing here on my property in northern Rio Rancho (upper Enchanted Hills), New Mexico. Any advice or input would be appreciated!

This is a before and after photo of one of my three Robustas growing on the west side of my home. Purchased and planted in early spring of 2023 it has tripled its trunk width within that time span. For winter of 2023 I had wrapped a heating coil around its trunk and covered the entirety of the palm in green large bubble  wrap. I used this method for all of my yard palms for winter of 2023, but would like to try a more efficient way this year.

Another before and after with almost a 2 year span. This Robusta is in my east facing backyard and was put in a 2 months after my north facing palm, yet has outgrown the front palm. Possibly due to my pond’s  run-off and receiving all day sun. The front only receives full sun at about 13:00 during the summer.

This is the newest Robusta planted this summer. Also placed in my north-facing backyard. This one is steadily growing, just not as fast because it doesn’t gallons of daily pond runoff.

 

IMG_2484.mov 24.48 MB · 0 downloads  

 

This Mediterranean/European is one of two that I have. It’s planted on the south facing side of my house against the stucco and was planted in the spring of 2023. It also made it through the winter of 2023 just wrapped. No heat wire.

My other newest Mediterranean planted this summer. East facing. Nothing special lol

My Butia Capitata. Purchased and planted this past spring next to my west facing driveway. I don’t know too much about these jelly/pinto palms besides them being a cold hardy specimen. This will be its first winter and am researching whether to wrap it up or not.

I have 3 of these needle palms in pots purchased this past March, but thinking about finding a good spot for them in-ground. They grow to be bush-like and as of right now I have to make room for them by removing a couple rose bushes from the previous homeowners. But I’m confident these will do fine through the winter unprotected. They came from Ohio growing year round outdoors.

Those are my palms. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Maybe I’m overdoing the protection. I do know that when March came around and I removed all the protection every palm turned yellow. They were bright green upon unwrapping. I think maybe due to the shock of temperature change. I monitor the inside of the wrap with temp sensors and all winter the palms stayed a toasty 80° during the day and 60° at night. April was stayed above freezing for the most part so I figured it’d be safe to unwrap. They were bright green and healthy for a day or two then the fronds started to yellow. I ended up having to snip off all the fronds. The Mediterranean that flowered also did the same. Turned yellow and had to snip the fronds off, but it was happy I guess because it flowered within a month.

 

IMG_2480.dng 15.29 MB · 5 downloads

Welcome neighbor and welcome to palmtalk!

I cannot speak to butia and or needle palms as I have never grown them.  My observations cover nearly 50 years in the ABQ metro.  My hunch on butia and needles are they prefer a bit less alkaline conditions found here.  I do recommend butia hybrids and hopefully a fellow poster may respond. 

I do not protect my palms. Something about wanting to sleep at night.  What I have observed is that robusta are at best a 3-5 year palm here.  Even protected, they are short lived. 

That said, I can speak to filifera, Trachy, and med palms.  I highly recommend all three with caveats. 

Trachy- they will do just fine here in full sun(not reflected). They need a consistent supply moisture, like a lawn(which I see you have).  A slight knock on the alkaline, I use coffee grounds sporadically.  Leaf hardy to upper single digits 8-10f. 

A quick window shot(unprotected -10f survivor)

Med palm- Another -10f survivor,  unprotected.  I suggest against a south wall,east, west wall.  North wall recovery is too slow(mine and it -10f was on a north wall and followed the next winter at zero.  Leaf hardy to 10f.  Varying damage below. 

Filifera- My "specialty". This palm is all about roots.  Unless planting as a young seedlings(1-2 years), the plant will be set back 2-3 years. You will get better results planting directly from seed, if possible.  Also stop watering from balloon fiesta to daffodil blooming season. Ensure you are getting pure or nearly so.  I kind of discuss this and my passive protection used for this very purpose in this ongoing thread. Long read, highly recommend if interested in this palm.  Leaf hardy to about 12f. 

 

All that said, Enchanted hills is on the fringes of what I call the palm zone in the metro. East winds do start to come into play as the Sandias end just to the ne and some blocking is lost.  Our palm killing Arctic cold comes from the east.  This is somewhat a  key understanding for long-term growth. 

 

You are in somewhat of a thermal belt, and even Bernalillo is the same when comparing  What am I saying with all this east wind stuff? I will give you two charts. I lived this event and saw trachies survive in the valley just south of Bernalillo. 

While Bernalillo had much colder lows than the sunport, the high temperatures are vastly different. Incredibly so! That is the key!

 

 

[jwitt]

Lessen those east winds, even with lows approaching -30f,  Bernalillo shows it's thermal properties with no single digits highs.  Same cannot be said with the Sunport.  NWS has a time grasping this and really do not understand the west mesa true thermals!  I believe they have continuously moved stations in the past for this very reason, they thought they were unbelievable. 

From the NWS:

"To complicate matters, there is often what is called a 'thermal belt' above the cold pool of air in the valley. This is a layer of air that is considerably warmer than farther below in the valley. This thermal belt is usually located near the mid slope of a mountain or more gently sloping terrain. A good example exists around Albuquerque. At the valley floor, temperatures can be ten or more degrees colder than at the Albuquerque Sunport, while the Sunport will generally be several degrees warmer than the foothills."

 

https://www.weather.gov/abq/clifeaturefallfreeze

Sunport

Bernalillo 

 

 

[RFun]

5 hours ago, jwitt said:

Lessen those east winds, even with lows approaching -30f,  Bernalillo shows it's thermal properties with no single digits highs.  Same cannot be said with the Sunport.  NWS has a time grasping this and really do not understand the west mesa true thermals!  I believe they have continuously moved stations in the past for this very reason, they thought they were unbelievable. 

From the NWS:

"To complicate matters, there is often what is called a 'thermal belt' above the cold pool of air in the valley. This is a layer of air that is considerably warmer than farther below in the valley. This thermal belt is usually located near the mid slope of a mountain or more gently sloping terrain. A good example exists around Albuquerque. At the valley floor, temperatures can be ten or more degrees colder than at the Albuquerque Sunport, while the Sunport will generally be several degrees warmer than the foothills."

 

https://www.weather.gov/abq/clifeaturefallfreeze

Sunport

Bernalillo 

 

 

Yes, good observations.  These thermal belts are definitely real.  Some famous ones in California are known to produce farmers.

[SailorBold]

Heres my filifera triplet..

[jwitt]

1 hour ago, SailorBold said:

Heres my filifera triplet..

Again, another bad pic.  

Nothing for scale showing they are nearly 20' tall, and only 2 are really visible.  

I feel you have failed us and should attempt another shot......

Or three!

[jwitt]

@SailorBold What is this hidden palm treasure? 

 

[ABQPalms]

7 hours ago, jwitt said:

Lessen those east winds, even with lows approaching -30f,  Bernalillo shows it's thermal properties with no single digits highs.  Same cannot be said with the Sunport.  NWS has a time grasping this and really do not understand the west mesa true thermals!  I believe they have continuously moved stations in the past for this very reason, they thought they were unbelievable. 

From the NWS:

"To complicate matters, there is often what is called a 'thermal belt' above the cold pool of air in the valley. This is a layer of air that is considerably warmer than farther below in the valley. This thermal belt is usually located near the mid slope of a mountain or more gently sloping terrain. A good example exists around Albuquerque. At the valley floor, temperatures can be ten or more degrees colder than at the Albuquerque Sunport, while the Sunport will generally be several degrees warmer than the foothills."

 

https://www.weather.gov/abq/clifeaturefallfreeze

Sunport

Bernalillo 

 

 

Daytime temperatures are always higher in other parts of the metro than what the Sunport reads. I always try to explain to people the the airport weather station is out in the middle of nowhere, out in the open with no urban development surrounding it. The temperature can read 97* at the Sunport and will be at 100* or more in other areas of town. The night temperatures are in line of what is mentioned about being in the thermal belt. If the Mesa del Sol area was all development I can imagine it would be reading at a higher temperature and possibly be a true 8a possibly 8b spot. Maybe something like the UNM area or maybe San Mateo and Montgomery warm spots. But it is in the nasty spot to get those canyon winds though.

Albuquerque is an anomaly city when it comes to the valley. Yes cold air sinks to the valley floor naturally for one. The other aspect to consider it that much of the valley is rural/semi-rulal right in the middle of town. You don't get that urban heat island effect that you would in most city cores. Except you see that more in the near northeast heights and the west mesa.

These are my thoughts about that topic without going into to too much detail. 

[ABQPalms]

1 hour ago, SailorBold said:

Heres my filifera triplet..

On my top list for one of the best front yards in the Albuquerque Metro Area!

[ABQPalms]

19 minutes ago, jwitt said:

Again, another bad pic.  

Nothing for scale showing they are nearly 20' tall, and only 2 are really visible.  

I feel you have failed us and should attempt another shot......

Or three!

Yes they are much more impressive in person! Pictures don't do them justice!

[ABQPalms]

This was about a month ago. @SailorBold trimmed them up since then. then. The trunks are about roof height. They are truly incredible!

His Jubae x Butia is a nice centerpiece to his yard too and it's becoming a monster!

[jwitt]

15 minutes ago, ABQPalms said:

Daytime temperatures are always higher in other parts of the metro than what the Sunport reads. I always try to explain to people the the airport weather station is out in the middle of nowhere, out in the open with no urban development surrounding it.

Kind of like Rio Rancho 2 and Corrales. Out in the open. But....

Official 2024 high temperatures 

Sunport 104

Rio Rancho2 106

Corrales 109

[jwitt]

5 minutes ago, ABQPalms said:

This was about a month ago. @SailorBold trimmed them up since then. then. The trunks are about roof height. They are truly incredible!

His Jubae x Butia is a nice centerpiece to his yard too and it's becoming a monster!

They have really taken off! I live very close. Blocks

[RFun]

4 hours ago, jwitt said:

Kind of like Rio Rancho 2 and Corrales. Out in the open. But....

Official 2024 high temperatures 

Sunport 104

Rio Rancho2 106

Corrales 109

You might get some good hints of the warmer spots in the Winter by going on wunderground and looking at area weather stations.

[Highdesertdave]

On 10/26/2024 at 7:51 AM, SeanK said:

Everything looks good. I will warn you though, the robustas will get hard to protect as they grow. Time to search for W.filifera or seeds to germinate off-season.

When I first began planting these, I had thought that Mexican/California palms were one and the same, like Mediterranean/European. I will just have to do my best and put in some work to keep these alive, but yes I will plan on them not making it and start germinating Filifera and Trachi seeds to replace one day.

[Highdesertdave]

On 10/26/2024 at 10:54 AM, ABQPalms said:

Very nice specimens Dave! They are really taking off already. Especially being up in Enchanted Hills. I see you probably purchased them from Lowe's? Big box stores here used to sell them as pure Robustas (or Robusta dominant) in the 2000's to early '10's. I don't see really any red on the petioles of yours which is a good thing. But the fronds look more Robusta in color and not really hairy. You might have a near 50-50 percent hybrids. 

As for winter protection, I'm not a huge fan of wrapping them up because it causes condensation. But if I were you (and there is a possibility that they are more Robusta), I would use burlap as opposed to bubble wrap. It might reduce the yellowing of the fronds come spring. Also a good method is to wrap them with incandescent Christmas lights. 

Other than that, you are really doing a great job! 

Thanks for the compliment. My parents live in Henderson, Nevada and I visit once a month and always bring back palms or other cacti and plants you can’t find around town. If you do find them at Osuna they’ll be overpriced. And I really wished I knew the difference between California and Mexican palms. I see why scientific names are used. I thought they were the same just as Mediterranean/European are the same. But yes I think you are correct. I monitored the humidity and temp inside the bubble wrap and it was a toasty 80° during the winter days with a humidity of 80-90%. I think that the fronds yellowed and died once the wraps were taken off because of temperature and humidity shock. They look so green and healthy when I removed the wraps in late April. A week later yellow. I thought I might wrap them with the same material and leave the top open this year. 

[Highdesertdave]

On 10/27/2024 at 1:40 PM, jwitt said:

Welcome neighbor and welcome to palmtalk!

I cannot speak to butia and or needle palms as I have never grown them.  My observations cover nearly 50 years in the ABQ metro.  My hunch on butia and needles are they prefer a bit less alkaline conditions found here.  I do recommend butia hybrids and hopefully a fellow poster may respond. 

I do not protect my palms. Something about wanting to sleep at night.  What I have observed is that robusta are at best a 3-5 year palm here.  Even protected, they are short lived. 

That said, I can speak to filifera, Trachy, and med palms.  I highly recommend all three with caveats. 

Trachy- they will do just fine here in full sun(not reflected). They need a consistent supply moisture, like a lawn(which I see you have).  A slight knock on the alkaline, I use coffee grounds sporadically.  Leaf hardy to upper single digits 8-10f. 

A quick window shot(unprotected -10f survivor)

Med palm- Another -10f survivor,  unprotected.  I suggest against a south wall,east, west wall.  North wall recovery is too slow(mine and it -10f was on a north wall and followed the next winter at zero.  Leaf hardy to 10f.  Varying damage below. 

Filifera- My "specialty". This palm is all about roots.  Unless planting as a young seedlings(1-2 years), the plant will be set back 2-3 years. You will get better results planting directly from seed, if possible.  Also stop watering from balloon fiesta to daffodil blooming season. Ensure you are getting pure or nearly so.  I kind of discuss this and my passive protection used for this very purpose in this ongoing thread. Long read, highly recommend if interested in this palm.  Leaf hardy to about 12f. 

 

All that said, Enchanted hills is on the fringes of what I call the palm zone in the metro. East winds do start to come into play as the Sandias end just to the ne and some blocking is lost.  Our palm killing Arctic cold comes from the east.  This is somewhat a  key understanding for long-term growth. 

 

You are in somewhat of a thermal belt, and even Bernalillo is the same when comparing  What am I saying with all this east wind stuff? I will give you two charts. I lived this event and saw trachies survive in the valley just south of Bernalillo. 

While Bernalillo had much colder lows than the sunport, the high temperatures are vastly different. Incredibly so! That is the key!

 

 

Thank you so much for the info and the photos. That helps a lot. And your filifera shot with the balloons in the background is just beautiful. I guess my Butia’s first winter will be an experiment. I hope it makes it. It makes me happy to see all the dog walkers stop and touch the fronds and look at it. Neighbors keep asking me where I got my “yucca” from haha

I am so glad you posted a photo of your med. I think I may not wrap it this winter unless I see temps drop to 10F. Your med looks healthier than my parents and they live in Henderson where it thrives. Beautiful tree.

I will have to start looking into at Trachy’s and filiferas. They seem like a safer choice but in my defense when I purchase these at Lowe’s in Henderson NV and brought them back, I had know idea that they were two different plants. I just purchased them to compete with my mom’s robusta in Nevada. I told her I would get mine to grow just as well in Rio Rancho. Now that I know that there is a difference between the two I think I may have a lot of work cut out for me if I want to keep them alive. 

As for Enchanted Hills being in the thermal belt, you’re probably right about that also. I like to grow things outdoors that do not belong in our hardiness zone and so far I’ve had a lot of luck with them. Golden barrel cacti, Variegated American Agave,  Arizona Rainbow cactus, and San Pedro Cacti just to name a few. 

Thanks so much for the welcome and all the pics and info. It beats walking up to a stranger‘a door and asking them how they keep their palms during the winter.  

[SeanK]

11 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

This was about a month ago. @SailorBold trimmed them up since then. then. The trunks are about roof height. They are truly incredible!

His Jubae x Butia is a nice centerpiece to his yard too and it's becoming a monster!

Amazing. They've seen quite a few winters w/o leaf loss.

[jwitt]

@Highdesertdave

Since you got the LV connection, you could get some seeds from the native Moapa groves. Tis the season for seed collection! Out by Overton up to warm springs. 

 

[RFun]

15 hours ago, Highdesertdave said:

Thank you so much for the info and the photos. That helps a lot. And your filifera shot with the balloons in the background is just beautiful. I guess my Butia’s first winter will be an experiment. I hope it makes it. It makes me happy to see all the dog walkers stop and touch the fronds and look at it. Neighbors keep asking me where I got my “yucca” from haha

I am so glad you posted a photo of your med. I think I may not wrap it this winter unless I see temps drop to 10F. Your med looks healthier than my parents and they live in Henderson where it thrives. Beautiful tree.

I will have to start looking into at Trachy’s and filiferas. They seem like a safer choice but in my defense when I purchase these at Lowe’s in Henderson NV and brought them back, I had know idea that they were two different plants. I just purchased them to compete with my mom’s robusta in Nevada. I told her I would get mine to grow just as well in Rio Rancho. Now that I know that there is a difference between the two I think I may have a lot of work cut out for me if I want to keep them alive. 

As for Enchanted Hills being in the thermal belt, you’re probably right about that also. I like to grow things outdoors that do not belong in our hardiness zone and so far I’ve had a lot of luck with them. Golden barrel cacti, Variegated American Agave,  Arizona Rainbow cactus, and San Pedro Cacti just to name a few. 

Thanks so much for the welcome and all the pics and info. It beats walking up to a stranger‘a door and asking them how they keep their palms during the winter.  

I would think those Trachy's will need some irrigation to look their best in that climate.  Filiferas should do best there.  Might want to add temporary protection if things get out of hand a fews days in the Winter.  Having said that, there are documented Filiferas that survived a short period of around -5F at Las Cruces without protection.  New Mexico State's youtube channel showed one of those survivors several years ago.  So yeah, these are very tough palms in the dry cold, no doubt.

[SailorBold]

On 10/25/2024 at 5:26 PM, Highdesertdave said:

Hi! New here and wanted to introduce myself and share with everyone some of the palms that I’ve be growing here on my property in northern Rio Rancho (upper Enchanted Hills), New Mexico. Any advice or input would be appreciated!

This is a before and after photo of one of my three Robustas growing on the west side of my home. Purchased and planted in early spring of 2023 it has tripled its trunk width within that time span. For winter of 2023 I had wrapped a heating coil around its trunk and covered the entirety of the palm in green large bubble  wrap. I used this method for all of my yard palms for winter of 2023, but would like to try a more efficient way this year.

Another before and after with almost a 2 year span. This Robusta is in my east facing backyard and was put in a 2 months after my north facing palm, yet has outgrown the front palm. Possibly due to my pond’s  run-off and receiving all day sun. The front only receives full sun at about 13:00 during the summer.

This is the newest Robusta planted this summer. Also placed in my north-facing backyard. This one is steadily growing, just not as fast because it doesn’t gallons of daily pond runoff.

 

IMG_2484.mov 24.48 MB · 0 downloads  

 

This Mediterranean/European is one of two that I have. It’s planted on the south facing side of my house against the stucco and was planted in the spring of 2023. It also made it through the winter of 2023 just wrapped. No heat wire.

My other newest Mediterranean planted this summer. East facing. Nothing special lol

My Butia Capitata. Purchased and planted this past spring next to my west facing driveway. I don’t know too much about these jelly/pinto palms besides them being a cold hardy specimen. This will be its first winter and am researching whether to wrap it up or not.

I have 3 of these needle palms in pots purchased this past March, but thinking about finding a good spot for them in-ground. They grow to be bush-like and as of right now I have to make room for them by removing a couple rose bushes from the previous homeowners. But I’m confident these will do fine through the winter unprotected. They came from Ohio growing year round outdoors.

Those are my palms. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Maybe I’m overdoing the protection. I do know that when March came around and I removed all the protection every palm turned yellow. They were bright green upon unwrapping. I think maybe due to the shock of temperature change. I monitor the inside of the wrap with temp sensors and all winter the palms stayed a toasty 80° during the day and 60° at night. April was stayed above freezing for the most part so I figured it’d be safe to unwrap. They were bright green and healthy for a day or two then the fronds started to yellow. I ended up having to snip off all the fronds. The Mediterranean that flowered also did the same. Turned yellow and had to snip the fronds off, but it was happy I guess because it flowered within a month.

 

IMG_2480.dng 15.29 MB · 5 downloads

Nice job.. ty for joining palm talk.. I think you'll have luck with the robusta with protection.. I've seen people from those up to about 15 feet or so with protection..should be a fun project. The pindo looks good.. they are very leaf hardy too.. you might want to just cover with a bucket during cold and snow spells.. should be ok. I'd suggest an acid fertilizer and some ironite for that one.. they become chlorotic here..

Looking forward to updates!

[SailorBold]

22 hours ago, jwitt said:

Again, another bad pic.  

Nothing for scale showing they are nearly 20' tall, and only 2 are really visible.  

I feel you have failed us and should attempt another shot......

Or three!

Lol.. ty ..I'll work on that.. I know it's a bit late but I might shave em up...

[SailorBold]

21 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

On my top list for one of the best front yards in the Albuquerque Metro Area!

Ty for your kind comments!!  I don't know about that..but a work in progress..experimental at that!

[SailorBold]

22 hours ago, ABQPalms said:

Yes they are much more impressive in person! Pictures don't do them justice!

Too kind!!

[SailorBold]

22 hours ago, jwitt said:

@SailorBold What is this hidden palm treasure? 

 

This is a Mediterranean.. purchased as a Sabal Tamaulipas..

[jwitt]

54 minutes ago, RFun said:

I would think those Trachy's will need some irrigation to look their best in that climate.  Filiferas should do best there.  Might want to add temporary protection if things get out of hand a fews days in the Winter.  Having said that, there are documented Filiferas that survived a short period of around -5F at Las Cruces without protection.  New Mexico State's youtube channel showed one of those survivors several years ago.  So yeah, these are very tough palms in the dry cold, no doubt.

The poster @Highdesertdaveactually has multiple filifera  within miles of of his house that survived double digit below zero(some, two nights in a row, followed by another zero event within ten months unprotected. 

Reread!