Chamaerops deserves more respect

[TerdalFarm]

This is a joint thread by Kris and Erik; I'm starting.

We both grow Chamaerops humilis and have been pleasantly surprised by their hardiness despite being relatively inexpensive and readily available locally.

Photo 1 is a cell-phone snapshot of a few specimens planted outside a road-side motel in Wagoner, Oklahoma. It is on US highway 69 and caters to truckers who wanted to make it to Texas by sundown and didn't make it. So they pull in to the motel with palms out front.
I took photo 1 Thursday afternoon (12 May). I was astonished to see green growth on a couple of these. I estimate they saw air temps of -15 F (-26 C) on the morning of Feb. 10, 2011, based on records kept by a nearby gov't weather station (Porter OK; mesonet.org).
They presumably had some snow cover, but these are under overhead cover up high so probably not much snow.

Photo 2 is a cell phone snapshot Kris took yesterday (May 13), coincident to mine (we have never met in person). He lives much closer and drives by these palms weekly and so Kris can attest that they got no protection all winter.

While severely damaged, they are alive.

My cheap Home Depot "med fan palm" has been in the ground five years now and looks great. I always protect it, but I think it deserves a higher place in the list of cold hardy palms.

Can anyone else corroborate this? Or offer counter examples?

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... AG0678.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/terdalfarm ... bsite">May 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r-Mv ... 02011.jpeg" height="598" 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 ... bsite">May 2011</a></td></tr></table>

[KrisK]

Pretty impressive. Our overall winter was fair, but the last two snowstorms we received and the subzero nights just couldn't do them in. Not only are the main trunks pushing leaves but also the lil sucker trunks as well. I protected mine heavily and they came thru great. I think the med fan palm may be a good long term survivor if offered minimal winter protection. I'm not sure how many winters these guys can escape the icy hand of death unprotected, but so far they look good. I'll watch them and see if the other two move any next time I go thru.

[canadianplant]

The good thing about chammies is that they regularly see cold temps in their natural habitat. If i remember right, their range is from the isreal /palestine area, south to nothern africa, west to southern spain and france.

Theres some types that live all the way up in the atlas mountains. The desert up there gets below freezing at night in the winter. Most of its range is in the zone 8 or 9 area, and people have brought them into zone 7.

I guerentee that the concrete that surrounds it kept them alive. The sun heating up the concrete, in the bed, and the parking lot probably gave em a few degrees warmer then a few feet further into the paring lot.

You can create the same sort of effect by placing the chammies near a wall, or even infront of a wind break of trees ( evergreens tend to create microclimates underneeth their boughs).

I know you arent a mediterranian climate down there, but you are close. Just think of how hardy some of those seedlings might be if it goes to seed! ( mabey the suckers too?)

Nice to see some palms surviving the harsh winter. Especialy some that really werent thought to have made it

[hardyjim]

Chamaerops are rumored to have recovered from sub zero temps
in the past,hard to tell by the pics but it looked like only the side shoots are
recovering...also hard to tell if these are the green(humilus)or blue(cerifera)
variety as they appear at least now to be the mostly brown variety.

They can be pretty tough though,I have only tried smaller
plants and one larger(green)Chammy,this year they both(cerifera) made it-
one lost it's top the other is still complete.

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Erik and Kris. It`s hard to tell from the pics if it is regrowing from the center or suckers on the side? In any event nice to see recovery from those brutal Feb temps. I have a new found respect for these palms as well.

John

[JackLord]

I guess it depends. It always depends...

I have three in the ground. 2 were protected during the winter and look a bit ragged, although nothing like those in the picture, which I might point out are very brown. The other has done two winters unprotected at the the most southern part of my yard. Its "alive" in the way someone in a coma is alive. I am going to move it next to the other two and protect the clump.

We have very wet winters here and are summers are very humid. As this is a basically a desert palm, its probably not a good one for my region.

You guys in Oklahoma and Texas would probably have it better as its dryer there. They are great palms- rival almost any other shrub palm. I will keep at it, but imho, the are the toughest of the standard hardy palm set for my neck of the woods.

[TerdalFarm]

The middle of the five has new growth from the trunk--none of the others did. All other growth is from suckers.

Definitely the regular green C. humilis. This is a cheap roadside motel so I assume they were inexpensive box-store palms vs. anything from a speciality palm breeder.

Yes, they look terrible, but given the extreme cold anything green out of these is impressive.

--Erik

[TerdalFarm]

We're still impressed by Chamearops humilis in areas with cold winters and hot, dry summers.

Here are photos from this week (Monday) of the same motel Chammies in Wagoner, OK. In brief, two of the four recovered and did well despite the hottest summer OK has ever had; July was the hottest month any US state has ever had. These parking-lot plants surely saw 115+oF many times, combined with hot dry winds.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8 ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Owkp ... AG0885.jpg" height="478" 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 ... e">October 2011</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/c ... site"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sk8p ... AG0886.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 ... e">October 2011</a></td></tr></table>

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Those are some very tough palms! In the winter they must benefit from the radiating heat (from the parking lot pavement). You should try to collect seed in the coming years.

[hardyjim]

I was talking with Bill about this the other day.

I had 3 palms that did not spear-pull from last winter....
one is a "larger" Waggie and 2 other palms were Bulgarian Trachy
and the smaller slower Nainital-the Bulgarian and Nainital were particularly
impressive in that both are very small palms!

There were 2 other palms that did well and one of these did not pull....
These 2 palms are C.Cerifera,both saw at least single digits (F).
One of them lost the whole top but has 4 side shoots,the other did not
pull....this puts this Cerifera in there as one of the most cold hardy palms I am growing!!!

In the mix this year and in 3 different locations will be T. Takil.


EDIT

Just remembered I also have a T.Nanus planted out,this
one MAY be close to Takil in hardiness-probably owed to it's slow growth.

[TerdalFarm]

Say "hi" to Bill. I miss him.
I don't mean to knock Trachy, but Chammie are close in winter cold, and tolerate summer heat much better.
I'd put them behind needles and dwarf palmettos over all for cold winter/hot summer climates.

[lucky1]

While the first set of pics shows them as butt-ugly, it's encouraging that 4 of the 5 survived (and owners cleaned up the dead fronds).

I also like Chammies, and didn't realize they could survive (if barely) at THOSE winter temps.
Wonder what 3 feet of snow over them for 3 months would have resulted in.

despite the hottest summer OK has ever had; July was the hottest month any US state has ever had. These parking-lot plants surely saw 115+oF many times, combined with hot dry winds.

Heat and dry winds wouldn't faze them.

Apparently too much rain and high humidity can be lethal...oh, and -26 C cold.

Hey...seeds....hmmm...

Thanks for taking those photos, Kris and Erik.
Barb

[hardyjim]

Chammy is probably a better choice where you live Erik.

[TerdalFarm]

Better than Trachy, yes; not sure about better than needles and S minor, if that is what you meant. Those two seem to be THE two to trust around here.

[TimMAz6]

thanks for the update....those palms sure went through some up/down temps. Glad they are still alive.