24 replies to this topic

[kylecawazafla]

I just got permission to replace the palms that were killed by the freeze this winter. This winter was exceptionally cold, and the temperatures reached the teens in parts of the city, but the courtyard managed to stay in the mid 20s! (like - 4/5 C?). Everyone told me that this winter was the coldest they have seen since the 80s. I was unpleasantly surprised by how many palms died from the cold.

Dead: (most were very small!)
Caryota 'himalayana'
Prestoea acuminata
Chamaedorea plumosa
Chamaedorea metallica
Dypsis lutescens (1 of 3 died of cold)
Archontophoenix tuckeri
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana "illawara"
Hyophorbe verschaffeltia
Arenga pinnata
Cocos nucifera

Survived but with damage:
Wallichia densiflora
Arenga micrantha
Epipremnum aureum (not a palm XP)
Dypsis decipiens
Bismarckia nobilis
Dypsis lutescens
Ravenea rivularis
Rhapis "singapore dwarf"
Acrocomia totai
Sabal uresana


Survived without problems:
Sabal causiarum
Lytocaryum wendlandianum (but it died because of a weedwacker!!!)
Sabal (unknown type, but I think it's Rosei)
Livistona decipiens
Livistona australis
Livistona mariae
Washingtonia robusta
Chamaedorea radicalis
Chamaedorea cataractum
Livistona saribus
Butyagrus
Arenga engleri


I may be missing some.


Anyways, if anyone has some palms in the Florida area they are willing to donate this summer, send me a PM or comment here. I am probably going to go to South Florida within the next month or so. Seedlings are not a good idea to plant, since the maintenance department is very "trigger happy" when it comes to thinks like lawn mowers, weedwackers, trucks(?!?!), and I'm sure other things. I would post pictures of it, and still can on request, but it is not much to look at now. The existing palms are growing though!

[tikitiki]

Try licuala peltata var sumawongii

[Ken Johnson]

Let me know if I can help. You are welcome to come by and see if there are any goodies here.

[mjff]

I was at UF in 1983 for the big freeze that year. Made me wonder why I had left CO to go to school in FL.

Surprised the Sabal uresana was damaged. I have one here that was unscathed by 12F and 12 hours below 15F.

[John in Andalucia]

Good luck Kyle. Replacement palms will no doubt inspire the maintenance dept. to treat them with a little more reverence!

[merrill]

Our Best Wishes to you Kyle; I think Alumni, Student body and Faculty all appreciate your efforts!
Best Wishes,
Merrill,
Professor Emeritus, U. F.

Edited by merrill, 26 May 2010 - 11:30 AM.

[kylecawazafla]

Hey! Thank you Ken! I'll send you a message the next time I head down there! It would also be cool to see your place too, since I have only seen it in pictures.

I really hope that the palms are treated with more reverence once some are replaced. It was very frustrating to always see them being damaged. Right now they are doing construction in the area, so I am always nervous the trucks are going to go over them. The palms aren't in the way, but it's just if someone backs out without looking and goes into a bed, the palms would be the first thing to go.

I was also surprised by the Sabal uresana getting damaged! Maybe it was mislabeled when I received it? There is a large Sabal causiarum right next to the baby S. uresana that was also damaged. The seedling S. causiarum was fine this winter.

Thank you very much Merrill!

Edited by kylecawazafla, 28 May 2010 - 06:28 AM.

[mjff]

the baby S. uresana that was also damaged. The seedling S. causiarum was fine this winter.

Sounds like maybe the Sabal uresana is really a Sabal causiarum, and the Sabal causiarum is a Sabal uresana.

[merrill]

Hi, Kyle:
mjff has offered a insightful explanation for relative damage to S. causiarum vs. S. uresana, which is in considerable agreement with my own experience.
Best Wishes,
merrill

Edited by merrill, 28 May 2010 - 07:19 AM.

[tank]

Kyle,
Bummer the Caryota died, that thing was starting to take off. You can have another if you want to try again. Hopefully we'll go another 10 years or so before we see temps like that again.

If the Caryota hasn't been removed, I would cut about 4 inched off of the top to see if you can find any green. I had one at the house that I forgot about and left outside the greenhouse that saw well below 20f and completely defoliated. Its pushing up a new spear as of this week and hopefully will make it.

The offer for some replacement plants still stands. I will give you a call.

[ErikSJI]

I just got permission to replace the palms that were killed by the freeze this winter. This winter was exceptionally cold, and the temperatures reached the teens in parts of the city, but the courtyard managed to stay in the mid 20s! (like - 4/5 C?). Everyone told me that this winter was the coldest they have seen since the 80s. I was unpleasantly surprised by how many palms died from the cold.

Dead: (most were very small!)
Caryota 'himalayana'
Prestoea acuminata
Chamaedorea plumosa
Chamaedorea metallica
Dypsis lutescens (1 of 3 died of cold)
Archontophoenix tuckeri
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana "illawara"
Hyophorbe verschaffeltia
Arenga pinnata
Cocos nucifera

Survived but with damage:
Wallichia densiflora
Arenga micrantha
Epipremnum aureum (not a palm XP)
Dypsis decipiens
Bismarckia nobilis
Dypsis lutescens
Ravenea rivularis
Rhapis "singapore dwarf"
Acrocomia totai
Sabal uresana


Survived without problems:
Sabal causiarum
Lytocaryum wendlandianum (but it died because of a weedwacker!!!)
Sabal (unknown type, but I think it's Rosei)
Livistona decipiens
Livistona australis
Livistona mariae
Washingtonia robusta
Chamaedorea radicalis
Chamaedorea cataractum
Livistona saribus
Butyagrus
Arenga engleri


I may be missing some.


Anyways, if anyone has some palms in the Florida area they are willing to donate this summer, send me a PM or comment here. I am probably going to go to South Florida within the next month or so. Seedlings are not a good idea to plant, since the maintenance department is very "trigger happy" when it comes to thinks like lawn mowers, weedwackers, trucks(?!?!), and I'm sure other things. I would post pictures of it, and still can on request, but it is not much to look at now. The existing palms are growing though!

I can donate a couple 5 foot xbutyagrus if you find a good spot for them. Email Erik at sales@mulepalm.com

[Jeff Searle]

Kyle,

Shoot me a PM when your down this way next. I'm in western Broward County. I have a Chamaedorea microspadix that I know will laugh at any cold you get, one or two species of Butia, and others I'm sure. This is a hell of a project that you've taken on and it needs to continue on. Thanks for all your time and effort.


Jeff

[kylecawazafla]

Hey! I'm actually in Miami right now. I decided to come here this morning. I will PM you guys my phone number and you can call or text me anytime to organize something. I am leaving on memorial day, so this is a very quick visit!

[AggiePalms]

I agree with what Tank was saying about the Caryota "himalayana". Mine totally defoliated too, but now has a tall spear opening. The trunk is at least 13 feet tall and survived 20F or below several nights. You might try it again; it is a lot hardier than some people think, and grows quite quickly.

[Moose]

Now that Kyle has graduated and left the University, just curious what the facility maintenance "keystone cops" have done to keep Kyle's plantings alive?

[edbrown_III]

Kyle,
Bummer the Caryota died, that thing was starting to take off. You can have another if you want to try again. Hopefully we'll go another 10 years or so before we see temps like that again.

If the Caryota hasn't been removed, I would cut about 4 inched off of the top to see if you can find any green. I had one at the house that I forgot about and left outside the greenhouse that saw well below 20f and completely defoliated. Its pushing up a new spear as of this week and hopefully will make it.

The offer for some replacement plants still stands. I will give you a call.

Kyle,

I had the exact same experience with a Caryota ochlandra ? here in Jax--- it survived then it broke off mid trunk about 10 feet up--- real bummer --- I had a large C. himalaya that survived --- totally defoliated and it only put up one frond over the summer ---- very slow growing over 10 years old and only 4 foot of trunk but none the less alive.

Kyle The S. yungagenis survived here in Jax (out side in a pot ) during the bad 2 winters. If I had more I would give you but you are welcome to as many L. saribus, chinensis and australis that you care to help me dig up.


also I would nt expect much more than indifference from the maintenance staff --- we wne thru the same thin at FCCj South here in Jax--- the effort really boiled down to 3 persons (once you subtracted out the folks that had other vested interests) ; Mat Encinosa , Walter Rogers, and my self yet after 23 years we have a permanent garden that will live on for perpetuity. The gardens at Oakland Ca boil down to the efforts of a single person , so dont get discouraged by the results 23 years from now it will be a testiment to the ages.

Best


Ed Brown

[tank]

Snapped some pics of the Kyles UF campus plantings. He tucked some stuff away so I'm sure I missed some plants.

Wallichia disticha (I think, as I remember there being two species of Wallichia)



Kerriodoxa elgans



Ravenea rivularis (I think?) w/ Wallichia densiflora (I think) in the back



Wallichia densiflora

[tank]

Flattened Caryota maxima.
Not sure how this happened but it still seems to be doing ok so I might drive by with a shovel this week and straighten it out.



Livistona saribus



Unknown palms w/closeup, assuming they are Chamaedorea radicalis





Mule



Ravenea rivularus?



Arenga, I knew he had both engleri and micranthra but I only saw one. looks like engleri



Unknown palm, new spear had red fuzz on it, assuming its Dypsis decipiens. If it is this, it looks really good, with only minor leaf tip burn on one of the older leaves.

[BigFrond]

The las pix looks like a triangle palm.

[tank]

Last pics,
Livistona decora and a nitida or australis



Copernicia alba is growing very fast



Overview of the Sabal, Livistona, Copernicia area



Big mule



Big Brahea armata across the plaza at the school of Journalism. Probably one of the biggest B. armatas in Florida.

[tank]

The Wallichias are more cold hardy than I thought (and they are probably planted in an optimum microclimate). Both looked completely unscathed.

Only plants that I couldn't find:

Rhapis "singapore dwarf"
Acrocomia totai
Arenga micrantha

[DoomsDave]

Wow, great pictures. The "Ravenea rivularis" in post 18, pic no. 6 appears to be a Lytocaryum (soon to be Syagrus) weddellianum.

It's a bit startling how hardy some of the Arengas are!

[kylecawazafla]

Hello Jason! Thank you so much for the photo updates of the palms! You covered most of them! It is so cool to see how they are doing, and thank you for the pics. I can't believe the Kerriodoxa is looking so good! Thank you for that one, Jason! The Wallichia disticha is actually the Arenga micrantha. I can't believe it's still alive. It normally only holds onto one leaf. I put it "in the bushes" because I was afraid that it would get too much cold exposure, but instead it looks like all it wants is sun exposure! It was very cool to see these!

[tank]

Kyle,
Thanks for the correction. For some reason I thought there were two species of wallichia in the plants you were keeping at my house. Also, I'll try and get the Caryota straightened up this week.

[Moose]

Jason - your a good man taking care of Kyle's babies! Thanks for the photo update, I thought surely they were goners after Kyle moved.