Photos of English Bay Palms After Brutal Winter

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Anyone in the Vancouver area have any photos of their palms or the famous English Bay clump after this long and brutal winter? Thanks!

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Duncan here are some pics I`ve posted before the winter 2008,2009 . I have talked to some friends and relatives in Vancouver and for the most part the palms have come through this winter with minimal damage. I`ll take some more pics when I`m there next month.
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photo ... t15th_2008

John

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Thanks John! I've been thinking about those plants this winter, thinking: how could any palm be that hardy? Glad to hear they came through though. Amazing really (I know they're hardy, but wow!)

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Duncan my T fortunei have survived -15.3c 3f while under a cold frame with minimal heating my coldest outside temps are -21c -4f in Kelowna . Leathal freeze damage occurs for T. fortunei at around -18c 0f "in most winters". The Trachy`s on English bay and in Vancouver area have seen many winters in the last 20 years or so with "close" to these leathal freeze temps counting the wind chill for short durations. One of the toughest palms for sure.

John

[Barrie]

"Vancouver area have seen many winters in the last 20 years or so with "close" to these leathal freeze temps counting the wind chill for short durations"

Close to -18°C ? Along English Bay, "many times" ? I don't think so. Not even for a minute.
It's unusual for temps to drop anywhere near or below -7°C even for brief periods during the last 20 years.

Cheers, Barrie.

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barrie with the wind chill factor! Read my post. And yes English bay has gotten below - 10c in the last 20 years.

John

[Barrie]

I did read your post John.
Wind chill - a pseudo temperature which lets people know what the cooling effect of the wind would feel like.
Plants / palms don't relate to wind chill like people do. If it's -5°C and the wind is blowing at 25 knots, it's still only -5°C. Wind excellerates heat loss in the human body, not plants. There are other factors such as humidity that would dehydrate plant material in a windy situation, winter or summer.

Cheers. Barrie.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

I know YVR hit an official low of -15 C during the December snap (I realize YVR isn't English Bay, but still).

[hilashes]

Hi All! Saw this thread and thought I'd post some before and after pics of my overwintered Trachys. I haven't written anything on here since last fall, so hope all is well with everyone and glad to see/hear the poor palms have survived this incredibly bazaar winter this country has seen - including here in Vancouver. Our overnight temps did hit -17C here in The Greater Vanvouver Area for a couple of weeks in Dec./Jan. Here are my pics when I planted my little guys last July and what they look like now. All I did was cover them with blankets, supported by wire mesh underneath. No light bulbs to heat. They suffered a lot of leaf damage as I'd cover and uncover them in our up and down temps. They don't look all that great right now so it's just a wait and see. I'd like to know what everyone thinks from these pics. I've been babying these guys everyday, keeping an eye on the weather and covering them each time it dips below 0. Do I leave the dead fronds alone or cut them back?

Heidi

[Alchris]

It looks like they will survive. It sucks to see the damage to them.

Allen

[hilashes]

Thanks Allen, I know - poor things. I thought I did everything I could for them. Yesterday I just put a good layer of mushroom manure on them for a boost.

Heidi

[PhilMusa]

Hi Heidi,

It was a bit of shocker when I saw the aftermath. We usually don't expect to see that type of damage coming from the Vancouver area. I'm sure it will bounce back as good as ever by the end of the summer.

[Barrie]

Heidi ... These are relatively new palm plantings aren't they. If not they're quite young and as such are suseptable to cold to a much greater degree than larger more established palms.
I have about 20 planted in the ground and another 500 or so in pots. Happy to report no winter damage from our worst one off night of -11°C (12°F) on Dec.19 2008. This late winter early spring continues to be a mixed array of weather even in short distances here on Vancouver Island.
Best wishes to you and your palms

Cheers, Barrie.

[hilashes]

Hi Phil - thanks for your reassurance...yes the weather this winter was just unreal! I am hopeful for T. #2 but the other is iffy.

Barrie - Yes, these little guys were just newly planted last July. I swear I was on the phone with the nursery once a week from our first snowfall in Dec., through January. I followed their advice and I'm sure I did everything I should have. The damage they suffered could Feb. have been from first frost when I wasn't prepared....or during all of the mixed weather conditions lately. Regardless, damage has been done and it's a learning experience.
Thanks for your input, I'm glad to have found this site for guidence!

Heidi

[hilashes]

I have a question for anyone to answer please! The temperatures have been above 6 C with mostly rain and I've left the Trachys uncovered to give them a good 'drink' for the last week or so. Should I not be doing this and give them some fungicide, then put my roof of plastic above the plant? (I have it there to cover/uncover if needed). I've just read a few posts from other palm sites suggesting to keep them dry. Our freezing temps now are pretty much over, even though I've had their blankets off since Feb. (during that time I still put the blankets back when it did go below 0 C overnight). The first Trachy is green in the stems but the spears in the middle can pull right out!! I've also seen bugs and slugs on it. This one will be toast I'm sure. The second Trachy is way more hopeful, looks like it'll survive as it's all in tact and no bugs that I can see. It's a bit spotted with black in green areas...is that fungus? Check out my pics I took a couple of days ago.

Many thanks from Vancouver!
Heidi

[Barrie]

Give the center spears a tug to see if they pull out. Remove and dead fronds. You can apply a fungicide following the label instructions carefully. An overhead canopy will keep rainwater from collecting in the hole left by the spear pull. Air circulation is essential. Fortunately Trachycarpus grows at fairly low temps and should recover rather quickly. Keep us posted

Cheers, Barrie.

[hilashes]

Barrie that makes me so happy to hear! thanks very much! I'm heading for some fungicide right now. The spear did come out with barely little pull. I've put a heavy plastic cover overhead and there's much air circulation around the tree. do I cut the dead fronds at the stem where the brown meets the green?
will let you know what happens.

Thanks again!
Heidi

[Barrie]

Heidi, any obvious dead plant material (fronds) can be cut back, as it doesn't provide any beneficial purpose. No 100% guarantees, but this is the best chance for this palm to recover. The new fronds may be small or deformed at first but continued growth will bring on a regular form. Remove overhead canopy once the worst has past and new growth has established.

Cheers, Barrie.

[hilashes]

I thank you Barrie for all your help! I've applied the fungicide and covered them (good thing because we got a bit of frost overnight). I checked this morning and the leaves are dry again and we've got a sunny day ahead of us today with 11C. I'll pull some of the mulch back to warm the ground a bit. when I start seeing changes in the plant I'll take another pic for you guys and keep you posted!

I'm learning so much in the past few months, thanks again Barrie!
Heidi

[hardyjim]

Barrie,I have to disagree with you on wind chill not relating to plants,cold wind may not factor in heat loss to plants but it does wick or strip moisture from plant tissue,my Sequoia has been blown dry by the winter wind where other Sequoias that are protected are just fine.

[Barrie]

Barrie,I have to disagree with you on wind chill not relating to plants,cold wind may not factor in heat loss to plants but it does wick or strip moisture from plant tissue,my Sequoia has been blown dry by the winter wind where other Sequoias that are protected are just fine.

Yes hardyjim ... this would likely be the case in Iowa or many interior areas of North America with low winter humidity.
Here in a marine coastal environment, winter humidity is generally quite high (80% or higher) and plants / palms are not subjected to wind blown desication.
So in summary, in your case yes that would be true, in my case, high humidity winds pose no threat.

Cheers, Barrie.

[hardyjim]

True our winds are very dry,they basically whip the moisture out of your skin,freeze dry it to your face and then blow your frozen face off! pretty much the same with palms, plants in general,even yuccas and conifers that are hardy beyond -30F have been damaged this winter,glad to hear your palms etc, get a moisture treatment,not the case(as you mentioned)here.