Palms for southern coast of Korea?

[Neolitsea]

Hello there, I am a new member from South Korea.

 

Although I currently live in northern part of South Korea where it is impossible to grow palms outdoor without protection, my father have a parcel of land in Boseong, in the southern coast of the Korean peninsula, and he have allowed me to plant things there. I want to plant some palms in my father's plot, preferably something more exotic than common Trachycarpus fortunei, and am currently raising some seedlings of Butia odorata, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Serenoa repens, Sabal minor, and Sabal palmetto to plant there. However, I am unsure if they would be capable of overwintering reliably without protection there, and would like to know if there are any other palms worth trying.

 

To provide some information, the winter minimum temperature of the said area usually falls to some point between -7~-12°C. Some broadleaf evergreens, such as Camellia japonica, Neolitsea sericea, N. aciculata, Machilus thunbergii, M. japonica, Litsea coreana, Cinnamomum yabunikkei, Castanopsis sieboldii, and several evergreen oak species belonging to subgenus Cyclobalanopsis are native to the region. T. fortunei, Cycas revoluta, and Musa basjoo has traditionally been a part of the landscape there, and Osmanthus fragrans, Magnolia figo, and Loropetalum chinense are grown there as well.

 

Palms other than the common T. fortunei have previously been tried in the general area before. Around 2008, when the winters were milder, three species of palms, Washingtonia robusta, Phoenix canariensis, and Butia odorata, were widely tried in the public greenspaces by municipalities in the southern coasts. The palms were brought from Jeju island, one of the southernmost islands in Korea, where the aforementioned three species were used for landscaping since the 80s. But unlike in Jeju, the former two performed miserably(P. canariensis usually managed to overwinter at least one winter, but failed to regrow enough leaves in subsequent growing season, then died as winter arrived. W. robusta overwintered very unreliably, though they did recover better than P. canariensis if they survived) and soon fell out of favor. B. odorata seemed to be hardier than the other two, but last winter,  when we had constant subfreezing temperature for more than a fortnight, all the Butias had their leaves completely toasted with the exception of those that were protected by microclimate. Although quite a lot of the defoliated Butias survived, I suspect that most of them will fail to survive this winter as majority of them failed to regain enough canopy,  probably due to the severe drought caused by monsoon failure and heatwave that we had this summer.

 

I am fairly sure Rhapidophyllum hystrix would survive, as several of them planted in Chollipo Arboretum, situated in much northern location, survived last winter with little damage. But I am unsure about the Sabals and Serenoa. Would they be able to survive reliably with acceptable damage(in my standard, less than 50% frond damage in usual winters)? I would be very grateful for recommendations for any other palm species that might withstand the winter in the area as well.

 

Thank you.

[kinzyjr]

I would say try rhapidophyllum hystrix and sabal minor.  If they survive, give sabal palmetto and a serenoa a try.  Chamaerops  might be a decent addition as well.

[Neil C]

How warm are the summers at this location? -7 to -12 is a pretty cold winter, you will be really limited with your palm options with winter temps as low as that. I admire your dedication and wish you luck.

Regards Neil

[PalmatierMeg]

Rhapidophyllum and Sabals require lots of sun, heat and warm rain in summer to balance out their cold hardiness. The longer and hotter your summers the better for them. What are your summers like? I believe Trachycarpus (I can't grow them) do not need as much summer heat but they are not as cold hardy either. The interesting trait of Sabal minors is they come in many variations from super dwarf to those that trunk but those variations may be hard to find in Korea. The great thing about PalmTalk is that there are many member who have access to these varieties. Some of the cold hardiest Sabal minors come from McCurtain County, Oklahoma and northern Alabama. Whatever palms you try you may have to protect them from your winter cold, at least while they are small.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

[Neolitsea]

First of all, thank you all for the suggestions. Chamaerops humilis is an interesting suggestion, as I do recall now seeing it planted in a private garden located in the vicinity of Geoje. I would try acquiring that species as well.

 

11 hours ago, Neil C said:

How warm are the summers at this location? -7 to -12 is a pretty cold winter, you will be really limited with your palm options with winter temps as low as that. I admire your dedication and wish you luck.

Regards Neil

Summer temperature high usually rises to some point around 29°C., though it can rise beyond 35°C, especially in August.

I had thought that the climate in Boseong would be similar to that of the coastal Carolinas in US, especially since there are many commercial orchards of Citrus × junos in nearby areas (they did get decimated by cold last winter though), but perhaps I had set my hopes too high.

 

9 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Rhapidophyllum and Sabals require lots of sun, heat and warm rain in summer to balance out their cold hardiness. The longer and hotter your summers the better for them. What are your summers like? I believe Trachycarpus (I can't grow them) do not need as much summer heat but they are not as cold hardy either. The interesting trait of Sabal minors is they come in many variations from super dwarf to those that trunk but those variations may be hard to find in Korea. The great thing about PalmTalk is that there are many member who have access to these varieties. Some of the cold hardiest Sabal minors come from McCurtain County, Oklahoma and northern Alabama. Whatever palms you try you may have to protect them from your winter cold, at least while they are small.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

I have mentioned the summer temperature above, and the number of frost-free days in the area falls somewhere between 200 and 220 days. I don't have the exact numbers for precipitation and humidity, but it is fairly wet and humid in summer here, with monsoon season visiting us in early summer (though this year it failed to happen), and Typhoons visiting us in late summer and early fall.

It is quite interesting that S. minor has such large intraspecific variation. I purchased my Sabals from RPS; I definitely would be glad to have opportunity to acquire more different forms.

And thank you for your warm welcome.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Neolitsea