January palm update

macario · Post by **macario** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:22 pm

Hello well today everything melted and thawed out and its around 48f outside. I cleaned the yard and desided to inspect the palms and there enclosures. I am glad to report no DEAD palms lol!! I looked at the 2 trachys and the butia in the middle of the yard. They looked like they could use some water but other than that were in perfect condition. The I walked over to the yucca and agave. The oldest leaves are brown but all in all look good! Next was the sabal palmetto. The only thing I notice bad about it was the immature flowers it started to put out are still there yellowish green like they were when they first appeared. Also the tips of the leaves were light brown but the whole thing was still very green and firm. Then I checked my sabal minors they had no damage at all only discolored leaves. My T wagnerianus had very dry leaves on it and I think its from lack of water but only spring will tell. Last was my W. filifera. I was so shocked to see green near the center and the whole trunk. The oldest leaves are burned about 50% and the center leaves are still green but are outlined with a bronze color.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:31 pm

Was it sunburn through a clear plastic cover? or too cold for it despite being covered?
If green in center, that's certainly better than the other way around.

Can you post a pic for the experienced folks to see?
Glad the rest have made it unscathed.
Barb

macario · Post by **macario** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:48 pm

You know what barb im not sure it might be sunburn. Its supposed to be in the 50's the next few days so I will try my best to get some pics. I hope its sunny out. I do have a new camera so I hope the pics turn out ok.

Alchris · Post by **Alchris** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:49 pm

I'm glad that they all came through with only a little damage.

Allen

macario · Post by **macario** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:53 pm

Its not over yet!! lol far from it. We still have to see what jan and feb bring. The 1st of march I will be willing to say they made it.

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:41 pm

Well, MY night of sleeplessness down here in "north" Alabama came last week. Actually it was about 3 nights of lower teens in some areas and I don't think it got up to 32F for at least two days. Having lost my first Trachycarpus Fortunei to some type of fungus late in its first season last year you can imagine how I felt when I heard that we could drop to the danger point. The owner of the nursery had replaced my little four-foot casualty with a beautiful, healthy seven-foot Trachy in November. Although I would have preferred a spring planting I opted to put it in the ground hoping for another mild winter. I know they're very cold hardy but I was mainly concerned about the fact that it hadn't had time to blink since transplanting. It has been four days and now we're in the 60's with lots of cloud cover. I haven't seen any evidence of damage or even color change at the tips. We don't get too many nights this cold but when they come, they're usually tough. I can only recall one time seeing the temperature fall to zero(F). I don't think it got above freezing for about a week. There were two huge palms growing in front of a nearby house which, according to neighbors, had been there for over 20 years. I don't know what kind they were but they had survived some rough times for sure. I remember how sad I was when I drove by a few weeks later and they were totally yellow. The home owners replaced them the following spring with crepe myrtles.

Randy

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:37 am

Randy you probably know that plants can generally withstand more severe conditions as they get older.
While it was super the nursery replaced your sick four-footer Trachy with a seven-footer, it didn't have much time to get settled into its new spot. A sheltered porch or garage might have given it enough protection until spring planting time.

Can you take a pic, say every day, for a week to see if its condition is deteriorating?
Just for insurance, maybe tie a blanket loosely over the fronds and trunk for a while.
I wouldn't rule out that it'll bounce back.

If it's near the microclimate of a building, it may have experienced less cold than you think.
Good luck.
Barb

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:28 am

Last was my W. filifera. I was so shocked to see green near the center and the whole trunk. The oldest leaves are burned about 50% and the center leaves are still green but are outlined with a bronze color.

Mike, did your enclosure get below freezing? Sounds like the freeze damage I got on mine.

macario · Post by **macario** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:19 am

Oh yeah the trachys and butias and washingtonias got down to the teen's on some nights

chumleycycads.com · Post by **chumleycycads.com** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:43 pm

Mike , how did your big cycad do? Bob

chumleycycads.com · Post by **chumleycycads.com** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:48 pm

My Ae Ae bananas and my Siam Ruby was covered with a sheet.......and did wonderful with 2 nights of 24 degrees. I've picked up a lot more varieties of bananas
and they did well with no covers. All is well here.

macario · Post by **macario** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:59 pm

The one I got from you is recovering from the transplant very well. Its indoors I wont ever leave them out during the winter time. I still wanted to pick up another cydad from you I have to email you. I am very glad things didnt get damaged by the cold. Right now here its 63F a beautiful night out

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