Digging up Sabal "Louisiana" today

[TerdalFarm]

Regulars here on PN know that W and I had to give up our farm due to health problems. We dug up the smaller palms and they live in pots on the patio of our city apartment.

Most plants, and a few palms, were left to their fate in August. It was astonishingly hot, with highs above 40 C often and on a few occasions to 43 C! The poor plants got no water, even as the drought lasted into Autumn.

You would think they would all be dead now, after winter, but for one thing: we had the 9th mildest winter (=December, January, February) since records have been kept in Tulsa (1905). Lowest was -9 C; highest high 24 C (!!!), average overall +6 C.

Pygmy Date Palm and Mexican Fan Palm dead. No surprise.

Needle palms? Perfect!

Mediterranean Fan Pam? Perfect!

Chinese windmill palm? Perfect! So good, we dug it up. It is now in a pot on the apartment patio.

Sabal minor "Louisiana" and "North Texas"? Perfect! Dug those up together. They are now in the gardne of our own KrisK, who did the back-breaking (or would have been for me) work of digging them up and carrying them, with some help from my son.

Here are some cell-phone photos, and then a short cell-phone video:

Needle palm that survived last winter's -30 C with cover but no heat:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/P ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ttJk ... AG1019.jpg" height="640" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

Chammie (my oldest in the ground palm); KrisK in orange in the background digging the "Lou":
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1 ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kVPB ... AG1018.jpg" height="800" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

Trachy that survived -30 C (with cover but no heat) when two others died in Feb. 2011:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/F ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nTwz ... AG1017.jpg" height="640" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

Sabal "Lou" as KrisK digs:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rkoq ... AG1023.jpg" height="800" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

Video of KrisK lifting it out of the ground:
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OYXvnffHZxA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

KrisK carrying it to his car:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K6oo ... AG1027.jpg" height="640" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

[TimMAz6]

I bet that S. louisiana had a long tap root! Thanks for the update.

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Erik, it's great that you were able to make sure that these very hardy palms are going to a good home!

[KrisK]

Yes it did have quite the tap root on it. Way heavier than I expected. Unfortunately it's rained all week and today was no exception, so I plan to get it in the ground tomorrow when we get our forecasted break. I have the perfect spot : protected on the north my by shop and afternoon shade by the west privacy fence. It will get its own water drip emitter. I'll baby it like the others! Erik thanks again!

[lucky1]

I'm glad you two went back there to dig.
Drove me crazy thinking no-one might be there to look after them for quite a while.

Did you get the Chammie too?

please edit for UPDATE accuracy:
palms that survived -30C winter (minimum cover) and +43C summer with no rain/irrigation: Needle, one Trachy, Sabal Lou, big Chammie,

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Erik good to see you were able to save those Palms. They will reward you with super growth in there new home.


John

[JackLord]

Glad to hear they were in good shape. It's a metaphore Bro. It means everything is going to work out fine.

[TerdalFarm]

Kris, it was great to have you and your family over. Looking forward to photos of the Lou in place. And maybe invite us over in, say, October, to see how it has done? My guess is that this first summer will be dedicated to re-growing damaged roots and so maybe very little foliage growth. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Tim, yes, huge tap root. This "Lou" had been grown by Bryan at Amazing Gardens in OKC in a 30 gallon trash can. It was root-bound at the bottom: I had to cut it out. So, yes, Kris had to sacrifice most of the roots. Very tough on Sabal.

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
thanks for asking. I don't want someone to find this thread by a Bing or Google search and conclude that needle palms can take -30 C with minimal protection. They can't.

Let's take that needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) in the first photo, one of three planted a year ago (blue pot specials from Lowes).

Late January, 2011, was unusually warm, with the leading edge of an arctic low pulling warm, moist air up from the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, the soil was not frozen when the cold air hit in early Feb. I laid 2 litre soda bottles of water around the base of palms and buried them with loose hay. I then covered that needle with fibreglass insulation (6" 15 cm), then a cardboard box and then plastic. The cold air hit the moist air and we got record snow. This insulated the soil and my crude shelter.

So, no way did any of that palm see actual -30 C air.

The tallest needle, that had a trunk, lost the trunk to cold. It has pups that made it, buried under all the hay. The other needle died outright. So, no, needle palms cannot survive -30 C with minimal protection. They need extensive protection, and preferably electric heat. If I learned anything from February, 2011, it was: heat your palms! Easy and cheap. Consider it as essential as watering them in the Summer when it is +40 C and windy. You just have to do it.

The Chammie did have electric heat: heat tape around the little trunk and C9 lights on the foliage, plus everything that needle had (water bottles, hay, fibreglass, plastic).

The Trachycarpus fortunei that lived? A miracle. It had water bottles, trunk wrap of burlap, hay and a plastic "tee pee" but no electric heat. It should have died, as did the other two Trachy with similar protection. (My two waggies had a bit of heat tape, but not much. They are both fine, and living in pots now.) So, the crown of the Trachy that lived without electric heat must have seen at least -20 C as it was above the snow and hay (but under fibreglas and plastic). It was a cheap US$10 buy at Home Depot, nothing special. I guess now it is special!

[lucky1]

Thanks Erik, that comprehensive explanation WAS necessary as people wouldn't be able to find the old posts.
Excellent summary.

That Trachy deserves a medal.

Hope KrisK updates us on the Sabal's recovery.

Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Speaking of which, the Lou had heat tape on the base but no C9 lights. Thus, it was protected like the two waggies, the jelly and the two Sabal mexicana (one of which lived).

My general recommendation for folks expecting super cold weather would be to do what I did for the Chamaerops humilis: heat tape around trunk to keep the bud above freezing, C9 lights for the foliage. Plus all the passive stuff (water bottles, insulation, cover). Then pray for a quick warm up and hot Spring!

[lucky1]

Yup, I'm impressed with your heat tape results too.
Considering it myself for next winter...or maybe tomorrow

Thanks Erik.
Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Kris is in his garden as I type from 100 km away in Tulsa. He is using his handy iPhone to send me photos as he works:

"Red Ferrari. 'If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.' (Ferris Bueller quote lol). I got this baby at a yard sale- best 5$ I ever spent. She was rough but I brought her back." --KrisK

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vZh8 ... 25202.jpeg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9 ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZkXn ... 25203.jpeg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/k ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Aqc5 ... 25204.jpeg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... ite">March 2012</a></td></tr></table>

[lucky1]

Red Ferrari...cute
Nice soil, have never seen soil without ROCKS in it.

Nice to see Lou in her new home.
Tell KrisK it's crooked.
Barb

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Barb, Red Ferrari.... What's about a pair of hands and a spade. The last one is more eco-friendly to me... No rocks you said... I wish I have a chance digging a soil instead of shoveling snow... I like those rainy day pictures Erik posted yesterday. I miss this type of weather - drizzle and green grass. You know what I mean.

[KrisK]

Erik we'd be glad to have you guys over in the fall. Like you, I believe it will sulk for a while due to the root disturbance. Surprisingly we managed to spare most of the roots when we popped it out. So here's to a speedy recovery.

Barb this soil is great here. It is rocky in places but you have to go down deep. Lots of shale down there but rarely do you need to dig that deep. Construction purposes I guess to get below the frost line would be rocky. Crooked huh? It's a sabal they're all kinda crooked aren't they!?!?

Igor the Ferrari comment is a quote from a movie from the 1980s called Ferris Buellers Day Off. The highschoolers "borrow" dad's Ferrari and end up wrecking it. My lil tiller is probably not Eco friendly but I can't work the soil as good as it does. Plus it probably has less than 4 hours of run time total every year, so I'm not too concerned about its environmental impact. Way less than Bubba's 44" tired, 4x4, turbo diesel , smoke belching, ubiquitous here, pickup truck.

[lucky1]

You'll be standing in the rain soon enough, Igor.
I love the smell of soil.
But rocks stink.

Krisk, thanks for the Ferrari explanation...sheesh, I finally got the joke.

Barb

[KrisK]

No problem Barb.
Hope everyone's off to a good start of the season.

[TerdalFarm]

Still looking good, even after wind broke a branch of a tree last week, landing on poor Lou. No damage. Kris says it is pushing the spear out, which I take as a good sign.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8AJ- ... 2%2529.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1166087715 ... site">Drop Box</a></td></tr></table>

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Erik Lookin good. I wish they were just a little cold hardier here. The larger bluer fronds when they get older look better than S. minor IMO. Thanks for the pics.

John