To Water or Not to Water.....That is the Question?

[Alicehunter2000]

SailorBold brought up a good topic of discussion in another thread. Is it a good idea to water after a freezing weather event? How long after, how much, avoid the crown....ect....thoughts anyone?

[Zeeth]

I water once the front has passed and the temps increase into the mid 70's again.

[Rafael]

I have been wondering about this too and i do water after freezes, mainly after long dryness periods.

Off course not every palm, some need to be kept on the dry side during cold weather.

[Moose]

David - What is the soil temperature ? How dry is the soil ? I assume you are talking about in ground palms.

[Brad Mondel]

To be honest, every time I added supplemental water to my palms during the cold weather they crown rotted. I wouldn't risk it because palms don't need as much water during the cold anyway because their intake is slower. Unless of course it's life of death.

[Alicehunter2000]

Soil temps probably in the 60's...just a guess. Air temps 60's day....40's night

[Moose]

Soil temps probably in the 60's...just a guess. Air temps 60's day....40's night

If soil temps are that warm - its fine to water. I would water from beneath the leaves, If there is any damage to the leaf spears - you don't want that area moist. Hydrated palms do better against the cold - this was not our last frontal episode.

[SailorBold]

I am trying to be better about hydrating my palms.. with the winter dryness locally they say to water 3X a month for 20 minutes Dec-February. So I have been watering once a week for 20. Im trying to be good about this.. because I don't think I am watering enough.

Water tables come into play I suppose..but my tap water is generally 'warm' at ~60F coldest parts of the year. So freeze or not.. arctic blast or not.. Im not scrambling turning my dripper system off and just let it go around 4pm in the afternoon.

I would guess it keeps the plant warmer.. but perhaps the keys are palms that continue to grow basically year-round.. I don't understand crown fungus problems as those in the SE.. or winter rainfall areas.. Some place in the SE get 6-8 times the amount of rain we get each year.

[Pip]

I don't usually worry about watering during winter since it is the rainy season.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

I do not water at all in the winter even my container stuff.