Beccariophoenix alfredii

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, Foxpalms said:

Sounds like it would be fine here then if they can take cool winters and they just go dormant.

They take a ton of cool/cold weather in Northern California where a good number of us have them in our yards. No big ones yet, they grow a lot slower here than in Florida or other subtropical climates.

[BayAndroid]

So I bought one of these, understanding that they take dry cold really well, but didn't realize that they don't do well with frost. Mine is currently a 15 gallon, so a decent size... We got a lot of frost last winter with the lowest temperature being 27... But regardless of the temperature, we had lots of frosty mornings.. Based on what you've seen, do larger specimens do ok with frost, or is it something they never grow out of? 

[ExperimentalGrower]

5 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

So I bought one of these, understanding that they take dry cold really well, but didn't realize that they don't do well with frost. Mine is currently a 15 gallon, so a decent size... We got a lot of frost last winter with the lowest temperature being 27... But regardless of the temperature, we had lots of frosty mornings.. Based on what you've seen, do larger specimens do ok with frost, or is it something they never grow out of? 

They get hardier with age. A little touchy when young. Best to just cover while you can during frosts.

[BayAndroid]

How did yours do this last winter? Felt like a very cold winter, as far as our typical winters would be. 

[ExperimentalGrower]

13 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

How did yours do this last winter? Felt like a very cold winter, as far as our typical winters would be. 

This was a very cold wet winter and spring in Vallejo. Frost maybe 6-7 times, ultimate low of 28F. I had a beach umbrella over mine for all the frosts and the palm was fine. Some spotting on some leaves. That was its first winter. It’s nearly 6ft tall.

[BayAndroid]

29 minutes ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

This was a very cold wet winter and spring in Vallejo. Frost maybe 6-7 times, ultimate low of 28F. I had a beach umbrella over mine for all the frosts and the palm was fine. Some spotting on some leaves. That was its first winter. It’s nearly 6ft tall.

If I might ask, what was your best and worst performers this winter? 

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, BayAndroid said:

If I might ask, what was your best and worst performers this winter? 

I’ve got a lot of palms but not a lot of time to write about them all. A couple that are rock solid- Livistona decora, Parajubaea sunhka, Butia x S. weddellianum. Some burn this year- Archontophoenix ‘teracarpa’, Chambeyronia hookeri, C. ambositrae, C. oliviformis.

[BayAndroid]

1 hour ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

I’ve got a lot of palms but not a lot of time to write about them all. A couple that are rock solid- Livistona decora, Parajubaea sunhka, Butia x S. weddellianum. Some burn this year- Archontophoenix ‘teracarpa’, Chambeyronia hookeri, C. ambositrae, C. oliviformis.

I have all of those burn trees you mentioned... lol
My Teracarpa got wrecked, despite having me cover it pretty much all winter. It was the first year in the ground though, so I have higher hopes for year 2 and even better, year 3. Hookeri was living in the garage, unaware of the terrors that await outside... I just received an Ambositrae this spring... and Oliviformis also was sheltered in the garage; still in the nursery pot. 

[Foxpalms]

On 7/3/2023 at 8:22 PM, ExperimentalGrower said:

I’ve got a lot of palms but not a lot of time to write about them all. A couple that are rock solid- Livistona decora, Parajubaea sunhka, Butia x S. weddellianum. Some burn this year- Archontophoenix ‘teracarpa’, Chambeyronia hookeri, C. ambositrae, C. oliviformis.

Was the Oliviformis under canopy or exposed to the open sky?

[ExperimentalGrower]

19 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

Was the Oliviformis under canopy or exposed to the open sky?

It’s under a very young Queen. It’s only a few feet tall so I also protected it with a frost cover. But this past winter was particularly rough. Since then it’s half opened a leaf and remained in a suspended limbo since. I suspect it’s on a long decline towards death. I’m going to try systemic fungicide to see if that can kill off any insidious infection I don’t have the ability to see. If no luck I’ll be pulling it. It was a gamble for my yard for sure. 

[BayAndroid]

On 7/12/2023 at 2:46 PM, ExperimentalGrower said:

It’s under a very young Queen. It’s only a few feet tall so I also protected it with a frost cover. But this past winter was particularly rough. Since then it’s half opened a leaf and remained in a suspended limbo since. I suspect it’s on a long decline towards death. I’m going to try systemic fungicide to see if that can kill off any insidious infection I don’t have the ability to see. If no luck I’ll be pulling it. It was a gamble for my yard for sure. 

Any update on this Oliviformis? 

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, BayAndroid said:

Any update on this Oliviformis? 

Dead and removed. Replaced with a Chrysalidocarpus ‘lafazamanga’. We’ll see how this next experiment pans out.

[BayAndroid]

10 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Dead and removed. Replaced with a Chrysalidocarpus ‘lafazamanga’. We’ll see how this next experiment pans out.

Sounds like I may have a dead tree walking. I may plant it somewhere other than my home... too cold.