Palm That Can Handle Cold to 20-25 Range

[_Keith]

First., this list is getting big, which is cool.  It is a not a "safe" list.  This is a list for folks who get cold fronts in the mid to low 20s that are looking for a single comprehensive list of plams to try.  Some may go fast, some may last a few years, some may last longer than you.   Where did the list come from?  They were either listed on Palmtalk as someone growing them in a climate similar to above or found on some website's cold hardy palm list.  I will keep adding and updating the list, but to be one it, the palm should be planted in the ground favorable microclimates OK, and not given undue protection except maybe when young.  And of course, no potted palms.  So here goes that latest version.

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii

Acrcomia media

Acrocomia aculeata v mexicana

Acrocomia totai

Allagoptera arenais

Allagopteria campestris

Allagopteria leucocalyx

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

Arenga caudata

Arenga engleri

Arenga micrantha

Attalea cohune

Attalea dubia (the hardiest and most agreeable size)

Bactris setosa

Beccariophoenix alfredii

Bismarckia noblis

Brahea aculeata

Brahea armata

Brahea berlandieri aka B. bella

Brahea brandeegei

Brahea clara

Brahea decumbens

Brahea dulcis

Brahea dulcis 'Blue'

Brahea edulis

Brahea moorei

Brahea nitida

Brahea sarukhanii

Brahea 'Super Silver'

Butia archeri

Butia arenicola

Butia capitata

Butia capitata odorata

Butia capitata x Jubea

Butia capitata x S. coronata 'Butiagrus houstonii'

Butia capitata x S. picophylla 'Butia x picophylla'

Butia capitata x Syagrus

Butia eriospatha

Butia microspadix

Butia new subterranean species detailed in Palms Journal

Butia odorata

Butia paraguayensis*

Butia purpurascens*

Butia yatay*

Caryota 'Black(Trunk)'

Caryota maxima "Himalaya "

Caryota mitus

Caryota 'Mystery Cluster'

Caryota obtusa (India Form)

Caryota ochlandra

Caryota urens

Ceroxylon parvifrons (with attention to heat)

Ceroxylon quindiuense

Ceroxylon vogelianum

Chamaedorea cataractarum

Chamaedorea metalica

Chamaedorea microspadix

Chamaedorea plumosa

Chamaedorea pochutlensis

Chamaedorea radicalis

Chamaerops humilis

Chamaerops humilis cerifera

Chuniophoenix hainansis

Coccothrinax argentata (provinence important)

Coccothrinax crinata

Copernecia alba

Copernicia prunifera (inexplainably hardy)

Corypha elata

Dypsis decaryi

Dypsis decipiens

Euterpe edulis

Euterpe edulis

Guihaia argyrata

Guihaia grossefibrosa

Howea belmoreana

Howea forsteriana

Hyphaene coriacea

Hyphaene dichotoma

Juania australis

Jubaea chilensis

Jubaeopsis caffra

Livistona australis

Livistona benthamii

Livistona boninensis( Syn. L. chin. ssp. subglossa)

Livistona carinensis

Livistona chinensis

Livistona decipiens

Livistona drudei

Livistona fulva

Livistona muelleri

Livistona nitida

Livistona rigidus

Livistona saribus

Lytocaryum weddellianum

Nannorhops  ritchiana 'Iran Silver' and 'Kashmir'

Nannorrhops ritchiana

Nannorrhops ritchiana 'Silver'

Parajubaea cocoides

Parajubaea sunkha

Parajubaea torallyi

Phoenix acaulis

Phoenix canariensis

Phoenix dactylifera

Phoenix loureiroi humilis

Phoenix loureiroi pedunculata

Phoenix reclinata

Phoenix roebelenii FP

Phoenix rupicola

Phoenix sylvestris

Phoenix theophrasti

Plectocomia himilayana

Ravenea glauca

Ravenea rivularis

Ravenea xerophila

Ravennea robustior

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Rhapis excela

Rhapis humilis

Rhapis multifidia

Rhapis subtitlus

Rhopalostylis sapida

Roystonea regia (this would be a long shot)

Sabal "riverside"

Sabal bermeudana

Sabal 'Birmingham'

Sabal blackburuca

Sabal 'Brazoria

Sabal causerium

Sabal domingensis

Sabal etonia

Sabal maritima

Sabal mauritiaformis

Sabal mexicana

Sabal minor

Sabal minor louisiana

Sabal palmetto

Sabal pumos

Sabal 'Riverside'

Sabal rosei*

Sabal Tamaulipas

Sabal uresana

Sabal uresana x mexicana

Sabal Xtexensis

Sabal yapa

Serenoa repens

Serenoa repens ‘Azul'

Syagrus  Youngasensis  

Syagrus campicola

Syagrus comosa

Syagrus duartei

Syagrus flexuosa

Syagrus glaucescens

Syagrus harleyi

Syagrus pleioclada

Syagrus romanzoffiana

Syagrus schizophylla

Thrinax morrisii

Trachycarpus "Naga Hills"

Trachycarpus 'Bulgaria'

Trachycarpus campestris

Trachycarpus fortunei

Trachycarpus geminisectus

Trachycarpus latisectus

Trachycarpus 'manipur'

Trachycarpus martianus

Trachycarpus 'Naga Hills'

Trachycarpus nanus

Trachycarpus oreophilus

Trachycarpus princeps

Trachycarpus schizophylla

Trachycarpus sikkimensis

Trachycarpus takagii

Trachycarpus takil

Trachycarpus wagnerianus

Trithrinax acanthocoma

Trithrinax brasiliensis

Trithrinax campestris

Trithrinax schizophylla

Wallichia caryotoides

Wallichia densiflora

Wallichia disticha

Washingtonia filifera

Washingtonia filifera x robusta

Washingtonia robusta

Wodyetia bifurcata (this would be a long shot)

[Pivi]

I tnink "NO" fot these:

...

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

Coccothrinax argentata

Coccothrinax crinata

Euterpe edulis

Howea forsteriana

Phoenix loureirii var. humilis

Phoenix roebelenii

Phoenix rupicola

Ravenea rivularis

Rhopalostylis sapida

Roystonea regia

Wodyetia bifurcata

...

i think your list is way too streched for that climate  ::

[edbrown_3]

We are probably going to see a divergence of opinion here between folks with a Mediterrean climate (Spain, France, Calif, etc)  and folks with a the hot southern climate.

Many palms (for some reason) survive lower low's in North Florida but come back due to the return of heat in the spring. They are either a bit stronger to begin with or just respond better to the climate after a freeze. Some of the Phonex ,Accoeloraphe, Sabals just repond better.

Bismarkia for some reason survives lower temps in CA than it does in Florida. Who can figure?

Best regards,

Ed

[sonoranfans]

I think exposure is not just about temps, but temps and duration as well as wind, humidity.  Windchill effects plants, not just people.  I have had bismarckias survive 20 degrees, but there was no frost(very dry), no wind at all, and it was just for a short duration(it was 36F by mid morning and rose to 55F that day.  I could be that repeated exposure at 25F would be worse than a single over night event as the palm may be shocked, weakened by the initital exposures.  I saw a cuban royal that survived 20F as well, abeit for a short time period.  I am pretty sure 25F would kill it for an extended time period. If you want to stretch your zone, tinker with the idea of setting up microclimates in your yard.  I have about 4-5F of variation in my yard at around freezing temps.  Interestingly here in the desert, overhead canopy is more important(to warmth) than proximity to the house, and windblock is also more important than proximity to the house.

[_Keith]

Guess I am going to find out about a few of the palms on this list.  Lows here are projected somewhere between 26 and 20, depending on who you believe.

[sonoranfans]

(keiththibodeaux @ Jan. 02 2008,16:28)

QUOTE

Guess I am going to find out about a few of the palms on this list.  Lows here are projected somewhere between 26 and 20, depending on who you believe.

you may want to get your self a weather station to verify the temps.  In my own backyard I registered an overnight low 2 degrees cooler last week than the weatherstation 1 1/2 miles away.  Also overhead canopy can be used to keep the more sensitive palms warmer.  I also recorded a 4F warmer overnight low temp under a bunch or queen palms than out in the open, 25 feet away.  I have some shrubs around the yard -15 of the same species- that burn at about 29F.  We recently saw as low as 27.4 F indicated in the yard.  Some shrubs burned, many didnt, but all of the burn was above the concrete block fence(yards have block fences here), meaning that wind was also a culprit in the burn.  Wind breaks can help to stretch your zone as well.  If you get a weather station with multiple remote probes, you can study your yard and its cold spots.  this may allow you to choose the site that is best for your most cold sensitive palms.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Howea will fry below 25f but if you planted them under the canopy of those live oaks Keith they would be ok .

[_Keith]

(Tassie_Troy1971 @ Jan. 02 2008,17:14)

QUOTE

Howea will fry below 25f but if you planted them under the canopy of those live oaks Keith they would be ok .

The front of my house is south facing and has a nook, which is where the Howea is planted.  It is probably my best microclimate that gets full sun.  The Howea is the only plant I will protect.  It is wrapped with a thermostatically controlled heating element.  I am not able to protect the whole plant, but I have the growing bud and up to about 5 feet.  Hopefully it will recover from there.  If not I have a nice large potted Archontophoenix cunninghamia waiting to take the spot.

[mnorell]

Keith--

One problem with Howea is that it's a very slow-growing palm and therefore probably will not recover easily from damaging freezes, and there are many testimonials from people in (warmer than Louisiana) areas of Florida regarding this species' inability to take our shocking freezes. Lord Howe Island is relatively cool but is of course moderated by its oceanic climate and just doesn't see real extremes of temperature. Archontophoenix is also a real disappointment according to all accounts in the southeast. I wish that weren't the case, I'm from coastal SoCal where these grow beautifully, but they just can't deal with the extremes here (and for Howea the theory is they can't handle the humid heat and/or warm nights, either).

If you want a good-sized feather palm with drooping, dark green leaflets I would suggest perhaps trying the Euterpe hybrid I've seen available (I think it's oleracea x edulis) which is clustering and may come back after a severe freeze due to this fact and also perhaps F1 hybrid vigor...this one needs testing and I'm considering ordering some to test myself. Euterpes are known for being fast-growing and adaptable, and they love heat and humidity. Most accounts give edulis a few degrees of cold tolerance on Howea as well as Archontophoenix. I'm currently testing Syagrus ruschiana, which is a clustering palm with that drooping look. But for my money the best Howea mimic (and one that is pretty reliably hardy) here is one of the hardiest of them all: Chamaedorea radicalis. It's like a perfect miniature, and certainly won't grow up over the eaves of your house to a certain death in a killer freeze. For a really large plant all I can think of would be one of the more drooping Butyagrus hybrids.

[_Keith]

(mnorell @ Jan. 02 2008,19:41)

QUOTE

Keith--

One problem with Howea is that it's a very slow-growing palm and therefore probably will not recover easily from damaging freezes, and there are many testimonials from people in (warmer than Louisiana) areas of Florida regarding this species' inability to take our shocking freezes. Lord Howe Island is relatively cool but is of course moderated by its oceanic climate and just doesn't see real extremes of temperature. Archontophoenix is also a real disappointment according to all accounts in the southeast. I wish that weren't the case, I'm from coastal SoCal where these grow beautifully, but they just can't deal with the extremes here (and for Howea the theory is they can't handle the humid heat and/or warm nights, either).

If you want a good-sized feather palm with drooping, dark green leaflets I would suggest perhaps trying the Euterpe hybrid I've seen available (I think it's oleracea x edulis) which is clustering and may come back after a severe freeze due to this fact and also perhaps F1 hybrid vigor...this one needs testing and I'm considering ordering some to test myself. Euterpes are known for being fast-growing and adaptable, and they love heat and humidity. Most accounts give edulis a few degrees of cold tolerance on Howea as well as Archontophoenix. I'm currently testing Syagrus ruschiana, which is a clustering palm with that drooping look. But for my money the best Howea mimic (and one that is pretty reliably hardy) here is one of the hardiest of them all: Chamaedorea radicalis. It's like a perfect miniature, and certainly won't grow up over the eaves of your house to a certain death in a killer freeze. For a really large plant all I can think of would be one of the more drooping Butyagrus hybrids.

In the end, I'll put a mule palm in there, but I have to kill a few more experimental things first.