Why aren't Filiferas fruiting?

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

Over the last few years, I've been paying close attention to the large Filiferas that I find around the Lubbock area (from Hobbs, NM, to Snyder, TX). Most of the ones I'm tracking get  no winter protection, and they see 10f or below every few years (down to 3f in 2011)-- so I'm pretty sure that they're pure Filiferas. 

I'd love to collect some seeds from these palms and share them with y'all, but I have yet to find a single plant that's fruited.

Does anyone know why a large Filifera wouldn't be fruiting?

[nitsua0895]

Maybe it's because of the extremely cold temperatures? It seems that might affect fruiting since the palm would have to use all of its energy to recover each year. 

[PalmTreeDude]

Maybe give them a few more years?

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Filifera need to be quite old/big to fruit. One down the road from me fruited for the first time ever last month and it is 20+ years old with about 20' of trunk.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

On a related note i was unaware that any sabal or washingtonia made it through 2011 in Carlsbad,  Hobbs and especially lubbock.  I know all of the large sabals in Carlsbad died in 2011 and i remember them being decent size in the late 80's when i was a kid. 

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

I haven't been to Carlsbad in a few years, but back in 2013 I saw several massive Filiferas-- clearly not newly installations. Attached is a recent google pic of some outstanding ones at a motel (I highly doubt these are getting protected). Their ability to survive there is no surprise to me considering how few large, unprotected Filiferas died in Alamogordo in 2011 (-13).

An older buddy of mine brought a tiny Filibusta from Houston to Lubbock, protected it for a few years, and then let it go. It lived for 20 years (even through 2011) and then got tall enough to really suffer from it's poor location: the crown was a few feet from the chimney, and finally got so high that it was getting blasted by hot smoke all winter long. How ironic that it was killed by heat!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Here is a local filifera that fruited for the first time this year.  

[jwitt]

They have to have some age and size.  On a side note many sabals and filifera survived 2011 in Albuquerque. They saw from -7f to -11f.  They grow slower and will take longer to fruit. 

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

Are there any big Texas Sabals in Abq? I expect that's the only trunking Sabal that would survive there...

[Trava]

Is it possible that W.filifera can survived -11f?

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

Trava- it has happened. Not sure if it could happen in other regions, but it did in Alamogordo.

[PalmTreeDude]

I want to try a Filifera is Virginia... Hmmm how will that go? Looks like I know what palm I am planting next spring!

Edited August 31, 2016 by PalmTreeDude

[pennerchris@gmail.com]

The only thing that may be an issue is if you get a lot of precipitation in the winter... They probably wouldn't survive in the colder parts of the SW if the winters weren't so dry.

[SailorBold]

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎45‎:‎48‎, pennerchris@gmail.com said:

The only thing that may be an issue is if you get a lot of precipitation in the winter... They probably wouldn't survive in the colder parts of the SW if the winters weren't so dry.

Agree..  I don't think there are any large Sabals in ABQ even though palmetto is listed to grow here.  The moisture issue is a big deal for the survival if someone plants one need to be diligent in establishing them..and the winter pretty much preserves them in dry ice!  My Tamaulipas Sabals are looking good and I am seeing good growth but when the next blast of cold comes along and kills the fronds the recovery might be a problem. Abq isn't palmy.. but if I go on palm safari I can pretty much find one everytime I drive around.

I bet if large 20 foot Sabals... filibusta etc were brought in and planted theyd be just fine and that goes for Lubbock too maybe moreso for Sabal-

[Xerarch]

On 8/30/2016, 9:50:07, PalmTreeDude said:

I want to try a Filifera is Virginia... Hmmm how will that go? Looks like I know what palm I am planting next spring!

W. filifera are nearly invincible in the arid west. I know for sure that many mature specimens have survived sub zero temps (with complete defoliation of course) in places like Utah and New Mexico. This is far from the case in the humid eastern US. They will not display nearly the cold tolerance in Virginia, I say this not to discourage you from planting some, just letting you know not to get your hopes up too high. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Yes ... St George, Utah has some very nice W. filifera all over the city. Here's a random street view for an example.

Cheers, Barrie.

 

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

St. George is a nice place and is certainly an example of the miracles of a mountain range.

[Desert DAC]

I would like to see some Sabal mexicana here in Las Cruces, but given how green and unscathed they were after Feb. 2011 in Kerrville TX (dead or damaged W. robusta, brown recovering W. filifera nearby), maybe some might do great in parts of ABQ. Maybe.

Carlsbad - I hear they wrap the crowns and put up christmas lights in winter, and I saw that one trip there.

St George - I wonder if their long <32F and 0-ish lows a few winters ago did some damage? I recall some W. filifera crowns wrapped with heating coils on a visit in 1/1993, which should be unnecessary there, but maybe it keeps them green even in a colder winter.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

13 hours ago, Desert DAC said:

Carlsbad - I hear they wrap the crowns and put up christmas lights in winter, and I saw that one trip there.

They used to wrap the smaller ones with that silver bubble wrap stuff, but the older ones went unprotected for at least a decade until 2011.  They all looked like Sabal Palmetto to me, but from my experience I think Sabal Uresana or Mexicana would be a better choice for New Mexico. Uresana may very well turn out to be the second hardiest sabal in the genus and Mexicana is ever bit as leaf hardy as palmetto if not slightly more so.  With the added mass of the thicker trunk (Mexicana and Uresana) to further insulate the meristem I think they could easily be a few degrees hardier than the skinny palmettos.

[Desert DAC]

On 8/24/2016, 3:01:16, pennerchris@gmail.com said:

Over the last few years, I've been paying close attention to the large Filiferas that I find around the Lubbock area (from Hobbs, NM, to Snyder, TX). Most of the ones I'm tracking get  no winter protection, and they see 10f or below every few years (down to 3f in 2011)-- so I'm pretty sure that they're pure Filiferas. 

I'd love to collect some seeds from these palms and share them with y'all, but I have yet to find a single plant that's fruited.

Does anyone know why a large Filifera wouldn't be fruiting?

I'm not sure. For 3 years I rented an office in a warm part of downtown El Paso. My landlord told me how 2015 was the 1st time in 2 decades owning that building, that his huge W. filifera fruited or at least fruited so heavily. I was surprised to hear that, given El Paso is much warmer in winter and stable than Lubbock or SE NM.

I wonder about W. filifera's specific needs on pollinators, soils, irrigation, and temperatures at critical times.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Desert DAC