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East Palatka, Florida, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana


Walt

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Have you acquired any recent photos of your friend's Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana in Palatka?  It must be getting quite tall by now --- or may be dead since Palatka is so far north in Florida. 

Attached are two photos of what is likely the largest of my six Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana growing in Gainesville, way up in northern Florida not far from Georgia.  In the first photo, the eleven year old child illustrates the size of the tree.  The same child in the second photo shows how tall the woody trunk is becoming after about three years in the ground.  (Click photos to enlarge)

I will be surprised if my Bangalow palms survive another five or six years in my climate because we have two or three nights ever winter that are killer cold.

 

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I haven't been up to see my friend since I last posted here. However, I'm all but sure his A. cunninghamina is doing fine. I say this as it survived the horrid January and again in December 2010 cold. In fact, he told me the palm wasn't even hurt!  I'm inclined to believe it because the palm is planted beneath heavy live oak canopy and is within 50 feet of the St. John River (east side).

I'm surprised the A. cunninghamiana in Gainsville has survived. However, from the pics it's in heavy tree canopy. This canopy surely helps protect it, especially from frost. A palm like that may be able to take near 25 degree F without frost (little or no foliage damage). But the same palm out in the open may get frost burned at 30 degrees.

I've got more A. cunninghamiana and A. alexandria than you can shake a stick at. By far the ones that do best from frost are under high tree canopy.

 

 

 

Mad about palms

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  • 2 months later...

How much cold can the archontophoenix-cunninghamiana take without protection.  Mine is under live oak canopy.  Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30 degrees for a short time here in St. Augustine, FL.   This will be our first freeze.  It was 71 yesterday here but it is going to struggle to hit 47 today.  Looks like we may have three to four hours here at between 32-30.  Shouldn't have any frost since the winds are supposed to be quite strong.  Any advice??

Lou St. Aug, FL

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14 minutes ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

How much cold can the archontophoenix-cunninghamiana take without protection.  Mine is under live oak canopy.  Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30 degrees for a short time here in St. Augustine, FL.   This will be our first freeze.  It was 71 yesterday here but it is going to struggle to hit 47 today.  Looks like we may have three to four hours here at between 32-30.  Shouldn't have any frost since the winds are supposed to be quite strong.  Any advice??

It should be able to handle that temp without major issues. The oak canopy will not help much with the wind but will help tomorrow night when the winds die down.

Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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6 minutes ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

How much cold can the archontophoenix-cunninghamiana take without protection.  Mine is under live oak canopy.  Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30 degrees for a short time here in St. Augustine, FL.   This will be our first freeze.  It was 71 yesterday here but it is going to struggle to hit 47 today.  Looks like we may have three to four hours here at between 32-30.  Shouldn't have any frost since the winds are supposed to be quite strong.  Any advice??

30 degrees should be no problem at all (unless it's a seedling or very small), at least from my experience with the species, and I have about 30 of them growing on my property, and about that many more, if not more, of A. alexandrae. Canopy should help keep frost off the leaves. All mine under canopy survived the December 2010 radiational freeze when I recorded 20.8 degrees in the open yard (under canopy was warmer, how much warmer I don't recall). They got some foliage damage, but they survived. I did, however, lose some in more open locations. My larger A. cunninghamiana and alexandrae, as well as Ravenea rivularis, Dypsis lutescens and others also got mostly defoliated.

The below YouTube video I uploaded back in May of 2015 showing just some of my Archontophoenix palms. The larger ones survived the December of 2010 cold spell. They others were planted since then.

 

 

  • Upvote 2

Mad about palms

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Thanks Walt we'll see how cold it gets.  Here is a look at it this evening.  Hope it looks the same in two days after all the cold retreats.  I really like the look of it.  You can tell the size based on the standard size screen door on my screenroom.  It has been in the ground for two winters so far here in St. Augustine near the Intracoastal Waterway.

IMG_6384.jpg

Lou St. Aug, FL

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14 minutes ago, Lou-StAugFL said:

Thanks Walt we'll see how cold it gets.  Here is a look at it this evening.  Hope it looks the same in two days after all the cold retreats.  I really like the look of it.  You can tell the size based on the standard size screen door on my screenroom.  It has been in the ground for two winters so far here in St. Augustine near the Intracoastal Waterway.

IMG_6384.jpg

Well, your palm is of adequate size, IMO, to come through 30 degrees (under canopy) unscathed. I believe they can take down (for short duration) at least 26F degrees without frost before the leaves would start to damage. In any event, and I'm talking from many years of experience, if you ever get a catastrophic cold (say below 25 degrees), you can at least protect the palm's meristem and trunk using string lights and heavy insulation. I used to use string lights or heating cables (still do on my coconut palm when needed). As long as the trunk and meristem isn't cold damaged -- the fronds can get fried -- and the palm will regrow new fronds come spring. I generally get 6-7 fronds a year on my A. cunninghamiana and maybe 7-8 on my A. Alexandrea palms. It doesn't take much heat as long as you have a good insulation blanket wrapped around it. If you ever use string lights or heating cables, it's best to first wrap over the crownshaft with a terry cloth towel (or equivalent) so that there is no direct contact with the lights or cable, as after many hours the crownshaft tissue can damage. I've never had this happen on Archontophoenix crownshafts, but have on royal palms and adonidia palms. I think their crown shafts are more tender. But never any burning problems with direct lights or heating cables on the trunks of any of the above species of palms.

Mad about palms

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Hello Lou in St. Augustine --

I don't think you have anything to worry about, and you are in a warmer spot than I am.  Our forecast was just downgraded from a low of 30 to a low of 27 tonight. Wow, that's cold! (coldest night of the winter, in fact, and is also our first freeze)  However, I am not the least bit worried about my archontophoenix cunninghamiana. One of my archies is weaker than the others and is always more cold-damaged (and a slower grower too), but the other five vigorous ones will be fine.  I have six of them in total.  I don't get worried until the forecast says 24 F or lower. 

 

Mine are not planted out in the open, thank goodness. Only two of them have no overhead canopy, so those are the only two that are at risk on a 24-25 degree night.

Also, the Cunningham palm seems not to show damage until a good month later, even if it does experience severe cold.  Some palms just seem to be like this, which has its pluses and its minuses. The pluses:  Your landscaping still looks nice for a while after a cold snap.  The minuses: You don't know whether your palm has been damaged by cold until much later.  Yet I prefer this to a palm that is praised for being bud-hardy, but will look like crap from January until April, e.g. ravenea rivularis.

 

I refuse to protect my landscaping any more, even if the forecast is 20 degrees.  My attitude now is that whatever survives will survive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Walt said:

30 degrees should be no problem at all (unless it's a seedling or very small), at least from my experience with the species, and I have about 30 of them growing on my property, and about that many more, if not more, of A. alexandrae. Canopy should help keep frost off the leaves. All mine under canopy survived the December 2010 radiational freeze when I recorded 20.8 degrees in the open yard (under canopy was warmer, how much warmer I don't recall). They got some foliage damage, but they survived. I did, however, lose some in more open locations. My larger A. cunninghamiana and alexandrae, as well as Ravenea rivularis, Dypsis lutescens and others also got mostly defoliated.

The below YouTube video I uploaded back in May of 2015 showing just some of my Archontophoenix palms. The larger ones survived the December of 2010 cold spell. They others were planted since then.

 

 

Great Video Walt.. Had to watch some of the others as well :greenthumb::greenthumb:

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I plan on giving one a try on my property in Tampa. From what I'm reading in this thread it sounds like it should be okay, but I have zero canopy to plant under so I'm a little nervous. 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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RedRabbit, these trees should do absolutely fine anywhere in Tampa, except perhaps in the "country" suburbs way northeast/outside of town, e.g. Wesley Chapel (colder than the city or coastal areas).  After four years, mine are still fine in Gainesville, FL, which is significantly colder than Tampa.

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2016‎ ‎10‎:‎35‎:‎03‎, Silas_Sancona said:

Great Video Walt.. Had to watch some of the others as well :greenthumb::greenthumb:

Once I get a video editor program I plan on making some far better YouTube videos. I've just been procrastinating.

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Mad about palms

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5 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I plan on giving one a try on my property in Tampa. From what I'm reading in this thread it sounds like it should be okay, but I have zero canopy to plant under so I'm a little nervous. 

You should have no problem growing Archotophoenix species in Tampa, especially once the palm starts developing a trunk. The danger to these palms is mostly when they are very small (no developed trunk) and we get a radiational freeze below 30 degrees, as the air closer to the ground may be much lower in temperature. But with string lights and insulative wrap the small palm is easily protected (growth bud). If the leaves get fried from frost, at least the palm survives and should regrow a respectable canopy of fronds by summer's end.

Mad about palms

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10 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

RedRabbit, these trees should do absolutely fine anywhere in Tampa, except perhaps in the "country" suburbs way northeast/outside of town, e.g. Wesley Chapel (colder than the city or coastal areas).  After four years, mine are still fine in Gainesville, FL, which is significantly colder than Tampa.

5 hours ago, Walt said:

You should have no problem growing Archotophoenix species in Tampa, especially once the palm starts developing a trunk. The danger to these palms is mostly when they are very small (no developed trunk) and we get a radiational freeze below 30 degrees, as the air closer to the ground may be much lower in temperature. But with string lights and insulative wrap the small palm is easily protected (growth bud). If the leaves get fried from frost, at least the palm survives and should regrow a respectable canopy of fronds by summer's end.

Thanks Sandy Loam and Walt, I'm just a little cautious because you don't really see many Archotophoenix's in this area. That's probably just a function of them not being sold at Lowe's and Home Depot... There are a fair number of Royals going further north so I suppose that's a good sign, but they've got to be at the very northern end of where they can survive long term. 

On another note, I was reading about Walt's EasyHeat trick and I'm very tempted to be a little more ambitious with what I plant here. I'd love to plant coconut and hurricane palms. 

Edited by RedRabbit

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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The consensus seems to be that Cunningham Palms are more cold hardy than royal palms. 

I don't know why Cunningham palms are so rare in Florida when there are dozens of other crownshaft palms around. It remains a mystery to me.

 

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1 hour ago, Sandy Loam said:

The consensus seems to be that Cunningham Palms are more cold hardy than royal palms. 

I don't know why Cunningham palms are so rare in Florida when there are dozens of other crownshaft palms around. It remains a mystery to me.

 

Do you know if there is a significant difference between alexandrae, cunninghamiana, and myolensis in terms of hardiness?  

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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I've lived in Highlands County, Florida, since 1997. Only once have I seen any species of Archontophoenix sold at nurseries or big box stores. The one and only one I did see was a 7 gallon size A. cunninghamia at the Sebring Home Depot. I have a feeling this palm just got mixed in with some majesty palms and others. The palm was priced at $49 dollars. There was a time I would have gladly paid that (when I didn't have any and was desperate to get one or more). But no way would I pay that today, mainly because I have so many in the ground and in pots, plus my oldest palms give me all the seed I want.

As far as cold hardiness, the books rate A. alex. as USDA zone 10B and A. cunn. as USDA zone 10a. From my experience, at most, there is a three degree difference in leaf hardiness between the two species, with A. cunn. being slightly more frost hardy. Last winter my lowest low was 30 degrees and none of my A. alex. palms were leaf damaged. So I believe A. alex is more hardy than 10B.

As far as Roystonea regia verses A. alex and A. cunn., I believe a mature royal to be slightly hardier, mainly due to the larger size and the meristem being more insulated. But I can't be totally sure. I've lost small royals the same as small Archontophoenix. To compare the species, all factors must be the same.

 

Mad about palms

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2 hours ago, Walt said:

I've lived in Highlands County, Florida, since 1997. Only once have I seen any species of Archontophoenix sold at nurseries or big box stores. The one and only one I did see was a 7 gallon size A. cunninghamia at the Sebring Home Depot. I have a feeling this palm just got mixed in with some majesty palms and others. The palm was priced at $49 dollars. There was a time I would have gladly paid that (when I didn't have any and was desperate to get one or more). But no way would I pay that today, mainly because I have so many in the ground and in pots, plus my oldest palms give me all the seed I want.

As far as cold hardiness, the books rate A. alex. as USDA zone 10B and A. cunn. as USDA zone 10a. From my experience, at most, there is a three degree difference in leaf hardiness between the two species, with A. cunn. being slightly more frost hardy. Last winter my lowest low was 30 degrees and none of my A. alex. palms were leaf damaged. So I believe A. alex is more hardy than 10B.

As far as Roystonea regia verses A. alex and A. cunn., I believe a mature royal to be slightly hardier, mainly due to the larger size and the meristem being more insulated. But I can't be totally sure. I've lost small royals the same as small Archontophoenix. To compare the species, all factors must be the same.

 

You're right, you just can't buy archontophoenix's anywhere. It is a little weird Lowe's and Home Depot sell adonidias and coconuts, neither of which should be expected to do well here, but I've never once seen an achontophoenix. I'm sure there's a market for them if they were just a little more widely available here.  

That's good to know alexandrae's are more along the lines of 10a, but I think I'll probably wind up buying cunninghamia's to play it extra safe. I know someone who sells (or used to sell) myolensis in St. Petersburg so I was thinking of going that route. I used to have a couple at my old home, but it never froze while I lived there so it doesn't tell me much about their hardiness. lol

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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30 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

You're right, you just can't buy archontophoenix's anywhere. It is a little weird Lowe's and Home Depot sell adonidias and coconuts, neither of which should be expected to do well here, but I've never once seen an achontophoenix. I'm sure there's a market for them if they were just a little more widely available here.  

That's good to know alexandrae's are more along the lines of 10a, but I think I'll probably wind up buying cunninghamia's to play it extra safe. I know someone who sells (or used to sell) myolensis in St. Petersburg so I was thinking of going that route. I used to have a couple at my old home, but it never froze while I lived there so it doesn't tell me much about their hardiness. lol

Well, many years ago I developed some what of a rapport with the Sebring Home Depot Garden Center manager. I used to get her to special order me palms and plants they typically didn't stock. Or, I would order a larger size than they stocked. I ordered my first Dypsis leptocheilos from HD. It's survived 12-13 years now, although it's been defoliated many times. Also, when it was younger I wrapped a heat cable around the trunk and up past the meristem, then triple wrapped a flannel sheet over the cables to hold in the heat. But the manager told me they only get stock palms and plants, etc., based on the USDA zone the store is in. Therefore, the Sebring HD doesn't get the same palm stock that a HD in S.E. Florida would get. She had books that I could look at that showed all that could be special ordered from many vendors. That is, I could special order many palms that otherwise wouldn't be stocked (like the Dypsis leptocheilos).

When I first got into the palm hobby (and it accelerated when I first joined this forum, getting advice from several posters that still post here) I was buying as many species of palms I could. Over the years I've probably lost 50 species to freeze and fungal disease. I now will not buy, obtain, etc., any palm species more than one full USDA zone higher than my own -- and preferably only 1/2 USDA zone above mine. Of course, planting under high tree canopy gives some of the more cold/frost tender species a little more leeway.

I used to grow A. myolensis, A. tuckeri, and A. maxima. I had all three of these species growing in the same general area. I lost all of them to a severe radiational freeze. They weren't immediately killed, but died over a period of months (never recovered from the cold trauma). I also was growing Veitchia arecina (special ordered from HD). Both had five feet of trunk, but both were killed from the severe cold of December 2010. Even tree canopy couldn't save these palms (I had them planted back in my wooded area).

Mad about palms

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11 minutes ago, Walt said:

Over the years I've probably lost 50 species to freeze and fungal disease. I now will not buy, obtain, etc., any palm species more than one full USDA zone higher than my own -- and preferably only 1/2 USDA zone above mine. 

I used to grow A. myolensis, A. tuckeri, and A. maxima. I had all three of these species growing in the same general area. I lost all of them to a severe radiational freeze. They weren't immediately killed, but died over a period of months (never recovered from the cold trauma). I also was growing Veitchia arecina (special ordered from HD). Both had five feet of trunk, but both were killed from the severe cold of December 2010. Even tree canopy couldn't save these palms (I had them planted back in my wooded area).

I'm with you on not getting too crazy about tropical palms. If we're in 9b there's not a lot of hope with planting something that is 11 barring you take extreme measures to protect it. The way I see it, you'll wind up killing off something that should have never been there in the first place and when you do that you lose x number of years that you could have had something a little more hardy growing in the same spot. As much as I'd love to plant a coconut I'm very hesitant to do it because when it dies in 3 years those are 3 years wasted that could have had an archontophoenix growing... It is really tragic in Florida you can live in 9b or 10a and be fine for 5 or more years and then a freak freeze comes along and wipes out everything.  I'm thinking about heat cables like you suggested but I tend to vacation in the winter so heat cables won't do much good if I'm out of town.

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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13 hours ago, Walt said:

Once I get a video editor program I plan on making some far better YouTube videos. I've just been procrastinating.

Regardless of any editing, videos are enjoyable. Will be on the hunt sometime this year for good editing software myself. While pictures are great, videos add a different dimension. Fun to tour a garden even if not in person.. Really like seeing the King groves among the Pines..

On a side note, Curious if you have,  or ..are growing this one below.. Kopsick had it labeled as a King/ Alex cross but, there is a smaller cross..or, suggested cross in a different area that looks completely different. There was a thread awhile back about this cross but i haven't seen any updated info. What ever it is, it is quite a beauty and seems to have endured cold exposure well. Pretty sure i have pictures of the same specimen from back in '10 somewhere. Have several seedlings and a couple new batches of seed down atm.

56aeb6bf9cef2_SAM_3832(547x750).jpg.ab2e

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On 23/01/2016, 17:55:56, Walt said:

30 degrees should be no problem at all (unless it's a seedling or very small), at least from my experience with the species, and I have about 30 of them growing on my property, and about that many more, if not more, of A. alexandrae. Canopy should help keep frost off the leaves. All mine under canopy survived the December 2010 radiational freeze when I recorded 20.8 degrees in the open yard (under canopy was warmer, how much warmer I don't recall). They got some foliage damage, but they survived. I did, however, lose some in more open locations. My larger A. cunninghamiana and alexandrae, as well as Ravenea rivularis, Dypsis lutescens and others also got mostly defoliated.

The below YouTube video I uploaded back in May of 2015 showing just some of my Archontophoenix palms. The larger ones survived the December of 2010 cold spell. They others were planted since then.

 

 

Loved the video! Walt, you have quite a space and your voice is perfect for presentations ;)

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1 hour ago, Rafael said:

Loved the video! Walt, you have quite a space and your voice is perfect for presentations ;)

Thanks, Rafael. My voice leaves much to be desired -- I would never delude myself to think otherwise! LOL!. Check my YouTube channel for the rest of my palm videos.

  • Upvote 1

Mad about palms

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10 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Regardless of any editing, videos are enjoyable. Will be on the hunt sometime this year for good editing software myself. While pictures are great, videos add a different dimension. Fun to tour a garden even if not in person.. Really like seeing the King groves among the Pines..

On a side note, Curious if you have,  or ..are growing this one below.. Kopsick had it labeled as a King/ Alex cross but, there is a smaller cross..or, suggested cross in a different area that looks completely different. There was a thread awhile back about this cross but i haven't seen any updated info. What ever it is, it is quite a beauty and seems to have endured cold exposure well. Pretty sure i have pictures of the same specimen from back in '10 somewhere. Have several seedlings and a couple new batches of seed down atm.

56aeb6bf9cef2_SAM_3832(547x750).jpg.ab2e

No, I'm not growing that cross. In fact, I am unaware of such a cross. Further, it never occurred to me of hybrid crosses amongst the Archontophoenix genus. But thinking about it now, it sounds very interesting!

Mad about palms

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11 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I'm with you on not getting too crazy about tropical palms. If we're in 9b there's not a lot of hope with planting something that is 11 barring you take extreme measures to protect it. The way I see it, you'll wind up killing off something that should have never been there in the first place and when you do that you lose x number of years that you could have had something a little more hardy growing in the same spot. As much as I'd love to plant a coconut I'm very hesitant to do it because when it dies in 3 years those are 3 years wasted that could have had an archontophoenix growing... It is really tragic in Florida you can live in 9b or 10a and be fine for 5 or more years and then a freak freeze comes along and wipes out everything.  I'm thinking about heat cables like you suggested but I tend to vacation in the winter so heat cables won't do much good if I'm out of town.

Yes, freak freezes in Florida can wipe out years of growing. Been there, done that. In my area (on low ground and away from water bodies) radiational freezes are the worst. In my 18+ years here, I've never had an advective (windy) freeze where temperatures were lower than my worst radiational (no wind) freezes. On January 5, 2001 central Florida had a severe radiational freeze. At that time my garden was relatively young, and what I had got wiped out by 22 degree temperatures and frost. Just eight miles down the road from me at Archbold Biological Station, they tied their all-time low temperature record at 13 degrees!

The coldest windy freeze I've had was in January of 2003 when my low was 29.5. That wasn't bad because there was no frost. Other than that one time, I've never had a windy cold where the low temperatures were lower than the high 30s. 95% of my cold/frost damage is on radiational cooling nights.

Mad about palms

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5 hours ago, Walt said:

Thanks, Rafael. My voice leaves much to be desired -- I would never delude myself to think otherwise! LOL!. Check my YouTube channel for the rest of my palm videos.

Your voice sounds like Nicolas Cage's!

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I'll chime in on the freak freeze thing. Though I am colder. We generally have mild winters with a few freezes into the high 20s. So far this winter no freezes. But, record low for my town is 10 F! So I can grow 9b palms for a while, but will eventually be lost. That being said, I have 2 A Cunningham and 3 D. leptocheilosis. All under heavy live oak canopy bordered to the north by my garage west by a brick wall and south by a bayou. Its the best I got. And I will/ have wrapped them with xmas lights and bubble foil if the forecast is below 34.

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Tropicdoc, you probably only need to wrap your cunningham palms if temperatures are projected to dip to 25 F or lower.  Others may disagree with me, but my cunningham palms don't seem to be bothered by 26 F. That's what I consider to be "safe" for them.  Having said this, you might want to cover them at 26 or 27 but only if you want the fronds to look perfect all winter.  At 28 or higher, there is absolutely no frond damage. 

 

I am still trying to figure out whether one night mine sailed through 22 degrees or not.

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One point I wanted to mention further separating the difference between A. alexandrae and A. cunninghamiana, is that A. alexandrae grow a little faster, at least that has been my observation. I get about one additional frond a year with my A. alex. palms. 

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Mad about palms

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6 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Tropicdoc, you probably only need to wrap your cunningham palms if temperatures are projected to dip to 25 F or lower.  Others may disagree with me, but my cunningham palms don't seem to be bothered by 26 F. That's what I consider to be "safe" for them.  Having said this, you might want to cover them at 26 or 27 but only if you want the fronds to look perfect all winter.  At 28 or higher, there is absolutely no frond damage. 

 

I am still trying to figure out whether one night mine sailed through 22 degrees or not.

Are your palms run of the mill or some Inge special cold hardy kings?

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No, they are not the Inge Hoffman type sold by Flora Grubb Gardens, although I have seen those and they look very different from a normal Cunningham Palm.  Allegedly the Inge type will tolerate 22 degrees --- or, at least, did so for Inge Hoffman years ago. Mine were sold to me as "Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana var. Pomelo Drive" by the seller. They are supposed to grow an especially symetrical crown when mature.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm late to the party but I am stoked to see that those of you near me are having success with this beautiful palm. I curate the Australian gardens at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and have long wanted to trial Archontophoenix spp., particularly A. cunninghamiana, in the rainforest section of the Australian area. The "rainforest" part is actually most of the area because of the large live oaks forming a high, open canopy over much of the area and it only makes sense to replicate the Australian rainforest making use of the oaks in this humid climate. I have a small section of the area that's in the open and is relatively dry where I am establishing an Australian rockery garden featuring plants synonymous with the Outback. Sandy Loam has PM'd me contact info for the supplier of her cunninghamianas. Any one of you know of reputable sellers who you can recommend?

Edited by JMBreland
additional details

Jeremy Breland
Norfolk, Va: USDA hardiness zone 8a, AHS heat zone 5, Sunset climate zone 31
Hot and humid summers; cool and moist winters.
Jacksonville FL: USDA hardiness zone 9a/9b, AHS heat zone 9, Sunset climate zone 28
Hot and humid summers; warm and moist winters punctuated by cold spells.

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On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2013‎ ‎7‎:‎27‎:‎59‎, KrisKupsch said:

A.purpurea is quite cold tolerant as much as A.cunninghamiana possibly if not more.

Can anyone corroborate this claim?

Jeremy Breland
Norfolk, Va: USDA hardiness zone 8a, AHS heat zone 5, Sunset climate zone 31
Hot and humid summers; cool and moist winters.
Jacksonville FL: USDA hardiness zone 9a/9b, AHS heat zone 9, Sunset climate zone 28
Hot and humid summers; warm and moist winters punctuated by cold spells.

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9 hours ago, JMBreland said:

I'm late to the party but I am stoked to see that those of you near me are having success with this beautiful palm. I curate the Australian gardens at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and have long wanted to trial Archontophoenix spp., particularly A. cunninghamiana, in the rainforest section of the Australian area. The "rainforest" part is actually most of the area because of the large live oaks forming a high, open canopy over much of the area and it only makes sense to replicate the Australian rainforest making use of the oaks in this humid climate. I have a small section of the area that's in the open and is relatively dry where I am establishing an Australian rockery garden featuring plants synonymous with the Outback. Sandy Loam has PM'd me contact info for the supplier of her cunninghamianas. Any one of you know of reputable sellers who you can recommend?

I tried to get in touch with the Sandy's contact, but I think they're out of business... MB Palms in Orlando has cunninghamiana var. Illawaras, but I think the general consensus is they're inferior palms in more than one way to regular cunninghamianas. Mike Evans in Seminole has/had some hybrid alexandrae x cunninghamianas. I think Sunscape Nursery in Oldsmar (or  Malabar) has pure cunninghamianas. 

9 hours ago, JMBreland said:

Can anyone corroborate this claim?

My understanding is cunninghamiana is the most cold tolerant, followed by either maxima or alexandrae var. 'Beatrice'.

Edited by RedRabbit

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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Here in FL A. pupurea is the most cold sensitive of the Archontophoenix.

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Yes, it seems the general consensus is that the 'Illawarra' isn't worth growing so I'm rather interested in the pure A. cunninghamiana and the new varieties mentioned earlier in this thread for their alleged increased hardiness. Can you tell me more about A. alexandrae 'Beatrice', redrabbit?  I'll not bother with A. purpurea, then, Eric. :) 

Jeremy Breland
Norfolk, Va: USDA hardiness zone 8a, AHS heat zone 5, Sunset climate zone 31
Hot and humid summers; cool and moist winters.
Jacksonville FL: USDA hardiness zone 9a/9b, AHS heat zone 9, Sunset climate zone 28
Hot and humid summers; warm and moist winters punctuated by cold spells.

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From personal experience, I had my cunninghamiana make it through one particularly cold night, where I bottomed out at 25F. As mentioned above, that seems to be the lowest end of the survival range. It stayed there only for 2-3 hours as well, then warmed to mid 50's during the day.

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10 hours ago, JMBreland said:

Yes, it seems the general consensus is that the 'Illawarra' isn't worth growing so I'm rather interested in the pure A. cunninghamiana and the new varieties mentioned earlier in this thread for their alleged increased hardiness. Can you tell me more about A. alexandrae 'Beatrice', redrabbit?  I'll not bother with A. purpurea, then, Eric. :) 

I can't tell you much more unfortunately. Alexandrae v. 'Beatrice' are pretty rare and there's not a lot of info out there on them. Based on my previous research it looked like they might be on par with cunninghamiana since there have been reports of them surviving low 20s. Sooner or later I'll likely be putting both to the test... Apart from cold tolerance I think Beatrice look considerably nicer than cunninghamiana, truly gorgeous palms.

 

Edited by RedRabbit

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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Walt, who started this thread, was selling the "Beatrice" variety one year ago. If you contact him, he may have some left for sale.

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  • 4 months later...

Here is the same Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana a year later (1st November 2016) in Gainesville, Florida.  It, along with my other A. Cunninghamiana must have been planted around 2011, but I can't be entirely sure.

The child in the photo is a large 7 year old, but he is making the tree look smaller than it is because he is standing well in front of it.  That light sabre is at least a metre long. 

1 November 2016.jpg

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52 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Here is the same Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana a year later (1st November 2016) in Gainesville, Florida.  It, along with my other A. Cunninghamiana must have been planted around 2011, but I can't be entirely sure.

The child in the photo is a large 7 year old, but he is making the tree look smaller than it is because he is standing well in front of it.  That light sabre is at least a metre long. 

1 November 2016.jpg

I can see that it's grown since your last photo. No doubt with all the trees around it, the palm is being provided valuable overhead protection, exactly what is needed to prevent heavy frost.

Mad about palms

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