Washingtonia filifera after 15F (-9C)

[SailorBold]

Here is damage from 15F (~-9C) on my largest W. filifera... Several snow events less than 2 inches each AND several nights below 20F. The emerging fronds that haven't opened yet appear ok.. but if there is any damage there it might show up later.

[Alicehunter2000]

Maybe some damaged fronds....should grow out of it quickly in the spring.....should be able to survive those conditions at that size.

[SailorBold]

it has seen worse for sure.. its becoming enormous. The petioles (rachis?) are extremely long they must be over 4 foot. The palm gets a good amount of shade in the afternoons so I figure that is why. Not much vertical growth either but the trunk gets thicker every year.

Maybe itwill seed soon?

Another shot..

Edited January 16, 2015 by SailorBold

[Palm crazy]

Hey it doesn’t look to bad to me either. My robusta died last winter at 16F but you being in a dry climate yours should be just fine. Lucky you! LOL!

[Brad Mondel]

Not too bad considering the temperatures it's seen.

[Xerarch]

I've said it before but W. filifera's in a desert climate are tanks, they are darn near invincible. I've seen mature ones survive 0 degrees F. It's a shame to have some cosmetic damage but at least they grow fast as soon as it warms up.

[GA Palm Guy]

I have tried filifera before and they didn't take the Georgia humidity very well. Once they get more mature will they be able to grow out of it? I'm doing well to protect my robusta from our winter cold, how can I create a desert environment that would make a filifera happy? I just now started some filibusta seeds and from what I read they are a little hardier than robusta but only by a little. Does anyone have some filifera seeds that I could experiment with? Pm me.

Thanks!

[Xerarch]

Sometimes W. filifera can take more humidity than people might think, here is a photo of some of the Texas gulf coast, this is Fulton mansion, the photo came from visitfultonmansion.com

I think you might lose some of the cold tolerance in humid areas though, no way they are as tough as they are in the deserts.

Perhaps they may perform better in humid areas with lower rainfall than higher rainfall?

[smithgn]

Their cold hardiness is astounding. I'm a bit excited to put a small one in the ground this coming Spring... I know it will hate the humidity, but I too hope it will "grow out of it", if that's possible.

[SailorBold]

Well I hope it will set seed soon.. if it does I will gladly give them to anyone who would like them. We have monsoonal moisture I am not sure how this effects plants; but everything I read is they DO NOT tolerate anything less than full sun from sunrise to sunset...so in relation to buildings or canopy.. that may be a factor... and then there is the 'underground water' deal..

Im happy with them.. they are a nice choice for my area considering their ability to withstand snow/ cold. It has been a mild winter so far. Recovery is quick.. so they are great into December.. Just depends. The cold is cold... so with those periods of about a month when that temperature plummets right when the sun goes down. It might be a 50F day.. and by 8pm its 20F... so there is a duration involved with the bronzing.

[Axel Amsterdam]

Are you sure it's a pure filifera? The fronds are not deeply cut and the petioles are pretty heavily armed. Also the hastula seems a bit short. Do you have a picture of the whole palm, perhaps im wrong.

[Alicehunter2000]

Filibusta's are a great choice for the Southeast. ...you can get some that are darn near filifera but have just enough robusta to make them humidity tolorant. We have a few pure looking filifera....they never look real happy. We have pure robusta that look really good. Every hybrid between the two look great also.

[SailorBold]

Are you sure it's a pure filifera? The fronds are not deeply cut and the petioles are pretty heavily armed. Also the hastula seems a bit short. Do you have a picture of the whole palm, perhaps im wrong.

I'm not entirely sure... the trunk looks like filifera... eeg now I am wondering.. The palm is once again under snow at the moment.. otherwise I would snap a photo.. We got another 2 inches last night.

Filibusta's are a great choice for the Southeast. ...you can get some that are darn near filifera but have just enough robusta to make them humidity tolorant. We have a few pure looking filifera....they never look real happy. We have pure robusta that look really good. Every hybrid between the two look great also.

I have filibusta seeds sprouting currently and will plant a 'double' in spring. While I am not enthused about the yearly defoliation (which is likely)..they grow twice as fast as either AND they are hardy here.. Hmm.. makes me think of what kind of cross each are... if its FXR or RXF...

[Alicehunter2000]

Since filibustas are fertile it wouldn't necessarily have to be either FxR or RxF it could be F2, F3, F4, F5......etc. of all kind of mixing going back and forth. This is what happens here, we got everything in between.

[SailorBold]

I assume they would still resemble each parent? anyhow not too concerned like you said the F2, F3, F4 etc.. I will be happy enough if the seeds I purchased from ebay are ACTUALLY what they were sold as and not robusta.

[Ben in Norcal]

I got and germinated some filifera seeds from RPS. They are staying in pots until I can be sure what they are...

[Sandy Loam]

AliceHunter2000, maybe the Filibusta are better in northern Florida where we get some humidity relief every night in summer. In Orlando, TALA (his name on this forum) had a filibusta which died a few years ago during a particularly rainy summer. It just couldn't handle our rain.

I can grow washingtonia robusta fine in northern Florida (but not w. filifera), but I really have to plant them in the right spot or else they will die too. I have killed several from too much shade, and others were killed from being planted in my wet clay soil but not on a sloping hillside (bottom of hill where water flows will kill them). I also made the mistake of listening to those California posters on PalmTalk who would say, "make sure to water your washingtonia robusta to ensure rapid growth." Watering them was a huge mistake in my climate and soil. But full sun is really key, and I would think that Washingtonia Filifera is similarly sensitive to shade -- just guessing though.

SailorBold, I hope that your filifera starts to get some height in a couple of years. It will look awesome. I am jealous that you can grow filifera. I really can't.

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

Beautiful palm. Winter's been pretty dry in Lubbock, too, with some terrible cold snaps; my trachys and Filifera (which gets covered when temps stay below 32 for a while) are all doing well.

[realarch]

Looking good Jimmy, these palms are tough hombres!

This is one palm I haven't seen here in Hilo considering there are lots of W. robusta thriving in the humidity and rainfall, even a few P. dactylifera looking very good.

Tim

[SailorBold]

Beautiful palm. Winter's been pretty dry in Lubbock, too, with some terrible cold snaps; my trachys and Filifera (which gets covered when temps stay below 32 for a while) are all doing well.

Thank you.. It doesn't get watered enough. I have a dripper line installed but you have to hook a hose onto the end of it and turn it on manually. So it pretty much has been neglected water-wise and Im working on changing that. Lots of nuances to learn of.

Good to hear about your filifera.. that thing is going to take off in the summer heat you watch.. and I suspect spring is arriving there shortly?

Looking good Jimmy, these palms are tough hombres!

This is one palm I haven't seen here in Hilo considering there are lots of W. robusta thriving in the humidity and rainfall, even a few P. dactylifera looking very good.

Tim

Its extremely exposed site with a 3.5 foot wall, and provides no protection from northerly winds.. so yeah no doubt.

Maybe you should try one. Perhaps blazing sunshine might be the key for their successes in wetter climes.

[knikfar]

On 1/29/2015 at 11:52 AM, pennerchris@gmail.com said:

Beautiful palm. Winter's been pretty dry in Lubbock, too, with some terrible cold snaps; my trachys and Filifera (which gets covered when temps stay below 32 for a while) are all doing well.

Did they survive this past crazy winter? 

[DreaminAboutPalms]

15 minutes ago, knikfar said:

Did they survive this past crazy winter? 

They all did in Central Texas pretty much. Here in Austin we had a 7 days in a row where high temp was 32 or less, 5 days in a row with an inch or more of snow on the ground, and consecutive nights of 15,8,5.  Some of the old ones in the city have nearly a full crown, and on the other hand I just saw one today that was just pushing out its first frond.

Check out the Palmagaeddon Aftermath photo thread, there are some in Dallas on pg 32 or 33 of the thread that have nearly a full crown after 3 degrees. 

[NBTX11]

All survived in New Braunfels. 100 percent. Most have put out crowns by now although a small handful have only put out a few fronds. I saw one not put out a frond until June. I thought it was a goner, but it’s now recovering.