Washingtonia spotted in zone 8b Evans,GA

[palmofmyhand]

Saw a very nice one today in the colder than typically permitted zone of 8b. Very impressive.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Proof once again, it's not so much the "zone" but the climate.

[tarnado]

That's a nice hefty specimen!

[palmofmyhand]

2 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Proof once again, it's not so much the "zone" but the climate.

indeed and it seems like it survived snow throughout the years as well since we have had some snowy occurances in the past 15 years

[SeanK]

3 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

indeed and it seems like it survived snow throughout the years as well since we have had some snowy occurrences in the past 15 years

Has it? I don't recall snow down on the fall line for a long time.

[palmofmyhand]

10 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Has it? I don't recall snow down on the fall line for a long time.

it snowed a very tiny bit where it was minorly visible on surfaces two years ago but there was a big snowfall where everyone lost their power for a day or two with like 6 inches of snow here in 2013 or 2014 I can’t remember exactly and and another stow storm in 2011. I suppose this one could’ve been planted after that but I really have no idea.

[palmofmyhand]

24 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Has it? I don't recall snow down on the fall line for a long time.

also just found this photo online from somewhere else

[palmofmyhand]

7 minutes ago, palmofmyhand said:

also just found this photo online from somewhere else

this is actually pictured in Houston

[palmofmyhand]

4 years ago on Reddit

[CascadiaPalms]

 Very cool!

[SeanK]

14 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

also just found this photo online from somewhere else

Surreal 

[mnorell]

W. x filibusta can, with the right genetics, be quite resilient apparently. W. robusta, on the other hand, is quite predictable. About 50% of tall W. robusta were wiped out in Natchez, Mississippi in the 13F cold-snap in February, 2018. They had survived the three-day-below-freezing (to 18F) episode of 2010. The true species defoliates at just about 23F but recovers quickly in spring/summer. 11F is generally considered the lethal temperature, virtually all were fully killed in New Orleans in 1989 and in 1962 at that temperature. True 8b climates should as a rule of thumb experience teens roughly 2/3 of the years, and you should expect a 7a or so every 20+ years. I would think that would be pretty tough on even a filibusta, such as the one you picture, in the wet freezes of the southeast, though this specimen may not have been around that many years as they tend to be very fast growers. And is it possible this specimen you found is in a slightly warmer area of Augusta?

[Emman]

Filibusta is pretty solidly hardy here in Augusta, I have not seen them damaged much here even in the coldest winters, like December 2022.

[Emman]

16 hours ago, mnorell said:

W. x filibusta can, with the right genetics, be quite resilient apparently. W. robusta, on the other hand, is quite predictable. About 50% of tall W. robusta were wiped out in Natchez, Mississippi in the 13F cold-snap in February, 2018. They had survived the three-day-below-freezing (to 18F) episode of 2010. The true species defoliates at just about 23F but recovers quickly in spring/summer. 11F is generally considered the lethal temperature, virtually all were fully killed in New Orleans in 1989 and in 1962 at that temperature. True 8b climates should as a rule of thumb experience teens roughly 2/3 of the years, and you should expect a 7a or so every 20+ years. I would think that would be pretty tough on even a filibusta, such as the one you picture, in the wet freezes of the southeast, though this specimen may not have been around that many years as they tend to be very fast growers. And is it possible this specimen you found is in a slightly warmer area of Augusta?

Augusta hasn't recorded single digit temps since the 1980s, but it was zone 8a back then,  the coldest mininums since then has been 8a,  but there is big temperature differences because of the topography,  Bush Field is officially zone 8b but Daniel Field is zone 9a with a mean min of 21F.

[palmofmyhand]

3 minutes ago, Emman said:

Augusta hasn't recorded single digit temps since the 1980s, but it was zone 8a back then,  the coldest mininums since then has been 8a,  but there is big temperature differences because of the topography,  Bush Field is officially zone 8b but Daniel Field is zone 9a with a mean min of 21F.

I find that quite interesting as I have been told that lower elevation areas are supposed to be warmer but that seems to be the opposite in the Bush vs. Daniel Field difference. My house appears to be at similar elevation as daniel field although west of it and not in the exact area so hopefully that means I can grow with zone 9a guidelines also haha. Do you have an idea of why they have such temp differences in such a close vicinity? 

[Darold Petty]

On 11/20/2024 at 10:19 AM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Proof once again, it's not so much the "zone" but the climate.

USDA zones are a crude tool.  San Francisco is 10a, the same as many places in Florida.  Once, I was asked why I don't grow coconuts! 

[Las Palmas Norte]

 

15 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

USDA zones are a crude tool.  San Francisco is 10a, the same as many places in Florida.  Once, I was asked why I don't grow coconuts! 

I recall being introduced to the "climate zones" used in Sunset's - New Western Garden Book back in  the early 80's. These seemed to be far more practical.

 

[Darold Petty]

Yes, the first several years when I began gardening this book was always my primary reference.

[SeanK]

On 11/24/2024 at 11:39 AM, Las Palmas Norte said:

 

I recall being introduced to the "climate zones" used in Sunset's - New Western Garden Book back in  the early 80's. These seemed to be far more practical.

 

They're very detailed out west. East of the Mississippi, they're pretty useless.

[Robert Cade Ross]

On 11/20/2024 at 6:25 PM, palmofmyhand said:

also just found this photo online from somewhere else

Yeah and that catastrophic freeze of 15° killed about half of the Washingtonia around Houston …. 🫣

Edited November 26, 2024 by Robert Cade Ross
Typo

[jwitt]

On 11/24/2024 at 9:39 AM, Las Palmas Norte said:

 

I recall being introduced to the "climate zones" used in Sunset's - New Western Garden Book back in  the early 80's. These seemed to be far more practical.

 

Got excited when Sunset used a term like "warmer part of zone 10"!

[SeanK]

7 hours ago, jwitt said:

Got excited when Sunset used a term like "warmer part of zone 10"!

For flatlanders, Sunset-10 is a lot different than USDA-10

[Las Palmas Norte]

15 hours ago, SeanK said:

... Sunset-10 is a lot different than USDA-10

Much like Fahrenheit and Celsius.