PalmsNorth.com

I have not started a new thread for a while as I am not sure what to post. March is unpredictable. In brief, some plants I thought were dead are not, while others which I thought had pulled through our all-time record "colder than the south pole" last month are dead. I'll give updates in a couple of weeks when I know more.

W's hobby is breeding horses. Not just any horses, but Andalusian horses. Which to you and I mean horses from where C. humilis is native: southern Spain. Horses breeding is more tightly regulated than palm breeding. To sell shipped semen (think, pony pollen) as "pura raza espanol" (PRE) we need a certified equine veterinarian from Spain to determine based on DNA and morphology that our stud is really PRE. Not easy as we live a long way from Spain. We had the chance to drive our stud to a large farm in Texas, north of Tyler, where they had paid a Spanish vet. to perform a "revision" on PRE horses in the area.

So, down we went. It was not a palm trip so I mostly have windshield data and a few snap-shots from places where we stopped to report on what I saw. For reference, Tyler, Texas, saw lows last month to -9 C (+16 F). Must be nice, huh?

Report on palms:
all Washingtonia robusta I saw were dead. The one W. filifera I saw was alive and recovering after near-complete defoliation. All Trachycarpus fortunei looked good, with some foliar damage but nothing I think of as bad. The two Butia I saw looked amazingly good--enough to make me consider them again. As near as I can tell, no one down there protects palms. Wild Sabal minor I saw out the window looked fantastic, as I would expect.

Photos:
#1 stallion being inspected by Spanish veterinarian. Imagine having to have a Chinese botanist inspect your Trachy before you sell pollen!

#2 Trachy in a friend's front yard that will do just fine.

#3 Washy in same yard that will not survive.

#4 Sago by the motel we stayed at--any guesses?

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... GP0088.JPG" height="600" width="800" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm ... ">Chistoso Revision March 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Z ... site"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0625.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/terdalfarm ... ite">March 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_ ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0627.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/terdalfarm ... ite">March 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/l ... site"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0622.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/terdalfarm ... ite">March 2011</a></td></tr></table>

Those cold shots may help people find the 'hardy' palm forms. Hopefully someone will find a Washy R. which did survive........then we can collect seeds. How many horses do you & your wife have?

Tim,
we have four horses now: this stallion, a gelding, a filly born here two years ago and a broodmare in foal.
The mini who was my model for photos like, "pindo palm taller than a horse" was dropped off at her home in Texas as part of the trip. She'll foal in April.

Back to palms. As we were driving down Thursday, we got lost and ended up on a rural road. Imagine my surprise in driving past a tiny nursery (poly tunnels--no building) in the middle of nowhere and seeing six Trachy in 30 gallon pots with 6' (2 m) trunks! It was late and they were closed, but it sure got me thinking that maybe the cold (for them) in Texas has led to renewed interest in Trachy vs. W. robusta. We'll be back in Texas with the horse trailer in June so maybe I can bring home a trunked Trachy then.
--Erik

there's gonna be a lot of work cleaning up all the dead palms down in Texas.

I am back in Tyler, for work this time: speaking about my wildlife research in Belize.

To save gas, I hitched a ride with a friend who has a hybrid car. This keeps me from visiting nurseries, thus saving money two ways.

Basically, as I reported last month, Trachycarpus, Butia and Sabal look great. Washy looks bad. I saw some big, old and tall (~30' trunk) that might survive--there is a little green left.

There was a Lowe's near the hotel. I walked there to see what was for sale. Answer: "blue pot" Chammie, needle palms and Sabal minor (photo 1).

I then walked to a new Mexican restaurant under construction. They recently planted a couple large Butia and a half dozen tall Sabal palmetto (remaining photos).

These seem sensible choices after their record cold of 16 F in February. (Yes, +16 F was a record for the date!)
Tyler set a record high of 90 F today, with a record high of 93 F forecast for tomorrow.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2 ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0651.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/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Y ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0652.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/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9 ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0653.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/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</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/_r-Mv ... AG0654.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0656.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/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5 ... site"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0655.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/terdalfarm ... ite">April 2011</a></td></tr></table>

Very cool thanks for sharing.

Just as well you didn't have your truck for the Lowe's visit

Hope they untie those palms soon...
Barb

Barb,
I'm guessing they will leave the 2x4 support boards up for a while. Supposedly Sabal roots in a transplanted field-dug palmettoi aren't strong enough to support the palm for a while, hence the (near) "hurricane cuts" they get. --Erik

Oh yes, the 2x4s should remain.
Hate seeing fronds tied up like that.

Barb

Thanks for sharing Erik. AMazing the weather they have had there. Spring is HERE! Finally....Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you are all as excitred about summer and warmer temps as I am!

Happy Holidays to you too Mike.

Glad we're all finally seeing some spring weather.
We sure deserve it...so do our plants.

Happy jogging!
Barb

lucky1 wrote:Happy Holidays to you too Mike.

Glad we're all finally seeing some spring weather.
We sure deserve it...so do our plants.

Happy jogging!
Barb

Thanks Barb. Right! It has been really wet here too, so things are really popping!