Tulsa Zoo palms January 2013

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 7:53 pm

I was at the Tulsa Zoo this week. The plants looks great--we are in a 2nd mild winter. Drought, but the zoo waters.

Usually the zoo pot plants tender plants and brings them into heated greenhouses for the winter. This trio of little Washy palms must have been deemed too inexpensive to be worth the trouble, but I'm not sure why they were allowed to stay. Maybe it was hoped they would survive? If so, should have been mulched at least. Oh, well. Not looking good:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/drterdal/8401123546/" title="7-Washy palms turning yellow in winter chill by drterdal, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8401 ... 9de477.jpg" width="500" height="418" alt="7-Washy palms turning yellow in winter chill"></a>

The Sabal minor of course look super. Seeing the dozens of mature dwarf palmettos looking to be among the most vigorous BLEs make my heart warm. Recall these have had no protection at all in >20 years and are naturalizing!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/drterdal/8401123488/" title="8-Sabal minor Tulsa Zoo Jan 2013 by drterdal, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8377/8401 ... f6472b.jpg" width="500" height="402" alt="8-Sabal minor Tulsa Zoo Jan 2013"></a>

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:16 pm

Those sabals look great!

marceli · Post by **marceli** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:25 am

Washys look fried but sabals - just great

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:48 am

Yes, they do look great, but the cold is coming up, isn't? Poor Washies....

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:57 am

Erik,

The sabals are impressive.
Washies were nice, what a shame.

Barb

Jubaea · Post by **Jubaea** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:51 am

The Sabals are looking good. It must be a decent area for them if they are reproducing. The other day I saw a P. canariensis in an area closed off for ecological study. The Washies on the other hand don't look so good. I wonder if they thought they might live?

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:42 am

I know the Tulsa Zoo horticulturist and will ask him when I have a chance. I know he is busy and budget cuts have greatly reduced his staff. So, I'm assuming the Washies were left out by oversight (it is a big zoo).

The Sabal minor look awesome. I keep bringing up Oklahoma's native palm to raise their profile in the cold hardy palm world. They are the real deal.

Now, if you look closely at the one in my photo you'll see a mini-trunk with cut leaf bases. The Tulsa Zoo got to -12oF in 2011. There was a nice snow layer, but basically, Sabal tissue above the snow was dead. What you see in this photo is all new growth over the past two years. And the past two years have been the warmest 2 years in state history (since 1895).

That said, is you live in a warm-summer area, and want a cold-hardy palm, Sabal minor is the real deal.
Tulsa Zoo has one needle palm. I forgot to take a photo, but suffice to say it looks even better. They are truly cold hardy, again in warm summer areas.

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:15 pm

Igor, no, mild weather continues. -6oC forecast for tonight, and that is the worst in the 10-day forecast. Looks to me to be another mild winter. I think -10 C might be the worst of it!

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:03 pm

yes............poor Washys and great looking Sabal!

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:48 pm

Great shots, Erik. I always enjoy seeing those super-hardy Sabals!

Henoh_Croatia · Post by **Henoh_Croatia** » Tue Jan 22, 2013 1:49 am

Erik,

great Sabals! I remember the pictures that you took at Tulsa ZOO from last year. Sabal minors were brown to the ground but full recovered .