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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/22/2021 in all areas

  1. As far as where you want to live based on the palms (and only palms haha), here's a rough sketch: I'm not basing this on last week (that's just brutal) but rather the preceding 20-30 years with the benchmarks being the 2010, 2011, and 2018 freezes. Based on real observation by me and others; confidence level is lower away from the nucleus and coastal I-45 corridor. Blue = queen palms Red = pygmy dates Purple = majesty palm Green = Norfolk pine Orange = royal and foxtail palms
    4 points
  2. Roared on out to West Hills in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and, among other things, visited Warner Center and its palm collection, notably but not exclusively Jubaeas. Don’t be afraid to show pictures you’ve taken!
    3 points
  3. My 3 Attalea cohunes are finally putting on some size and girth. Maybe 25’ now after 4 years from 3 gal pot .Think good palm for warm 9 b locations.
    3 points
  4. I bet if you tell most Americans that palm trees grow here in Canada they would say your are full of it! There are three species of palms in this picture of my house growing happy as clams 100% un protected, along with a few other plants that people probably dont associate Canada with (Eucalyptus, Acacia, olives and a mandarin).
    3 points
  5. oil palm, Elaeis guineensis
    3 points
  6. Hi there! Welcome to PT! I'm from around that area, but i no longer live there. I am familliar with the area. Try tugging on the center spear (lightly), dont pull too hard. If it comes out, then we have a problem, if not then it may have a chance of survival. If the spear does come out, try spraying some Copper Fungicide into the hole or Hydrogen Peroxide. Make sure if you use H202 that you dry up any remaining water left behind after the fizzing has stopped. If the spear doesnt pull out, try marking the spear and another frond with a sharpie to check for any growth as we head into the warmer months.
    3 points
  7. The horrors. Mercer arboretum in northern Harris county will be devastated. While not as cold and duration was shorter, they have a lot less hardy plants.
    3 points
  8. Pictures of the plants I’ve planted
    3 points
  9. On a more serious note, my heart goes out to all those who are suffering and to the loved ones of those whose lives have been lost.
    3 points
  10. Sure, things are up in air with some of the less cold hardy palms after last week's fiasco but Houston is a very palmy city...the comparison you made with Jacksonville is definitely an exaggeration and not true in some respects. Have you been to Houston? Just take a drive along any of the interstates and highways that cross the city and you will see many palms along the road in both commercial and residential settings. Washingtonia is king here; Sabal is present but rarely found in abundance beyond some commercial spaces. There are many palm-lined roads like Nasa Rd 1, sections of Interstate 10, the Gulf Freeway (I-45 S), sections of TX-225, sections of Airport Blvd, Westheimer Rd etc. Most of the shopping malls and plazas here are very palmy too, some examples are Highland Village, Gulfgate Mall, Baybrook Mall, Memorial City Mall, City Centre, and River Oaks Mall. Almost all of the car dealerships use palm as their greenery of choice. In short, there is no shortage of palms in Houston. As far as Houston being "so cold"...well that isn't true at all. This was the coldest winter since 1989 in this area and palms as a whole are not going anywhere. I think the size and health of these queen palms are worth a thousand words. All of these shots are taken within a few miles of downtown. See more here:
    3 points
  11. To be quite frank, I feel like this entire thread, and your response here is rather callous. Nothing personal, just how it read / comes across. When I first saw it, I just left it alone because I thought it was in poor taste. I don't think they ever said anything about a comfortable back story either. He did mention sitting in a comfortable warm home with power and water, etc, which is far better than many have it in TX currently, and that was the point. I think id feel a bit the same way if we had a huge disaster here in FL and others from other unaffected place posted something similar. Anyway, just my .02. Hope everyone over there faired OK personally and things did not get too bad.
    3 points
  12. I hope you're not making a decision on a one time 50 year cold event. Houston is really, really mild a vast, vast majority of the time. In fact, it is a BETTER palm growing area than any area in the Florida Panhandle, and is on par with Jacksonville. Really, no joke. Look up the 1985 freeze that hit north Florida. Jacksonville dropped to 9 degrees, I believe, while inland southern Georgia dropped to zero. A couple of locations dropped to -1 or -2. Houston didn't get anywhere near 9 degrees, even in this brutal event. I think the low in Houston was around 13-16 depending on where you were at. By the way in the 1985 freeze where Jacksonville dropped to 9, Houston only dropped to 20. As far as the idea that Houston doesn't have a huge numbers of palms, have you ever been to Houston. Parts of Houston have HUGE amounts of palms. On the north side or town, I would slightly agree with you, in the fact that there are just so many pine trees, you can't hardly see anything other than pines. But other areas more south have thousands of palms. Houston is a very palmy city. In short, don't make any judgement off a 30-50 year freeze. That same freeze could head to the Florida panhandle or the SE US next time (like it did in 1985).
    3 points
  13. Got a little update from the nursery manager today. Their outside thermometer measured 6F with, indeed, very little protected. In a last minute effort, they did move what they could into the nursery so there's hope some of the smaller favs may live. Brahea, mules, serenoa (arghh!), phoenix, and butia look very bad and may not recover. That's all I know for now. I will try to drop by for a visit when I have time next month and share some pics.
    3 points
  14. I’ve came to believe that royal palms seem to be pretty reliable within 2-3 miles of the ocean in Volusia county from south Daytona all the way through new Smyrna beach Etc. There are even some tall coconut palms right on the beach at this property just north of Bethune beach in New Smyrna. I know these all made it through the freeze in 2017-2018 with some damage but they’re completely recovered with huge racks of coconuts! What’s most impressive about these larger palms is that they could rival what you’d see in south Florida! For reference I’ll post some of the royals in port orange, and the coconuts in NSB. I’ll also post my own royal palm 10 miles inland. (I know some of these plantings have been discussed prior in other threads, but these were taken about a week ago after our most recent light freeze hit the area)
    3 points
  15. Could go in the Rainbows thread, or here.. Regardless, an unusual afternoon " Sun Dog " and very weak Parhelic Circle ( Line moving to the right, away from the " Sun Dog " ) from a week ago. Very vague ( couldn't photograph correctly either ) but there was also a 22deg Halo around the sun at the same time that day. Most Sun Dogs are viewed closer to sunset. Optics are caused by a combination of hexagonal plate and 6 sided, columnar-type Ice crystals. Overall.. Closer-ups of the Sun Dog, or.. Parhelia: This one was pretty bright, but have observed others which were hard to look at ( due to brightness )
    3 points
  16. Found this online. https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/if-the-texas-cold-snap-had-happened-in-australia/533520
    2 points
  17. A few pictures from last Monday Dypsis pilulifera 2 stems, Chambeyronia sp houailou and a bit Dypsis that has been named many times by lots of palm collectors form Australia, America, Hawaii all with a different opinion.
    2 points
  18. Anyone know of success stories around Maine? I have three needle palm plants planted at various times and so far show minor in some to spear pull in one. I have successfully grown a larger windmill palm by utilizing a wooden structure with Lex and glass around it to make a micro climate or enclose the palm in extreme weather. Currently trying sable minor this upcoming year and even a cabbage palm next to our foundation on the sunny side of our house. Cutie hat success others have had here in Maine.
    2 points
  19. @AustinpalmHi Clay, you click the multi-quote button (+ sign) next to the quote button to quote from other threads.
    2 points
  20. Regarding St. Pete, I think it’s a great city. I didn’t suggest it though because it’s relatively expensive at this point. It also sounds like @Jake would prefer something more rural. Manatee or Sarasota would be a better fit, it’s just too bad the pay isn’t competitive with Houston.
    2 points
  21. Here it is on 1/24/2021
    2 points
  22. try tugging the spear if it comes out pour h202 or hydrogen peroxide on spear. just do it anyway just to be safe
    2 points
  23. Here are my three palms (Jubaea x Butia hybrid and 2 Sabal Palmettos). Overall, not too bad considering we saw -1° air temp. Spears are still looking solid and green at the moment, but we'll see what happens over the next few months. Foliage on the Sabals is browning a bit, so I expect more of that considering the wind and temps it saw.
    2 points
  24. No but then germinating together is ( as sure u know) not same as naturally occuring, aye? I tried to get 4 seedlings of Washy to make like a "W" eventually in my yard so planted them many feet apart to give them some room to develop trunk's bases. They all but one promptly died by 2nd year. In a way kind of glad, as it would've been too much in my small yard.
    2 points
  25. Based on what seems most important to you, N Florida vs. SE TX is similar palm wise. Texas pays more. That makes your decision easy. Pick an area near Houston (probably towards Galveston) that will be conducive to palm growing long term compared to cooler areas north of the city. If you can overcome the pay issue, I would recommend SW Florida. Pine Island, Bokeelia, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acreas are places where you can get property at reasonable levels some day. Maybe not today, but as you grow profesionaly and earn more, that might be a consideration for long term. But based on economics right now, Texas should do well. You could be one of the pioneers to re-palmify Houston. Remember, this really was a freak and unusual event and probably you won't see anything like this again in your life time.
    2 points
  26. These are some pictures from north central Austin, where plants probably saw 6-7 degrees as the low on Tuesday. Most of the sagos were torched, but I have a included a couple that have only partial damage. I am thinking maybe the microclimate was just slightly better there though. Another positive surprise was the Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata which seem very healthy. Trachycarpus and Sabals were pretty much the only unscathed palms.
    2 points
  27. Yes, the Mexican food is bomb. One of the most diverse, biggest and best (imo) Asian food scenes in the US as well. To make it palm related...Chinatown/Bellaire is home to many palm trees as well. Most of the plazas use Washingtonia or queen palms. This is Dun Huang Plaza A bit more upscale is Highland Village
    2 points
  28. Here are a few places that I would live, relatively affordable, and should be great for palms. - Northwest Bradenton - Laurel - Osprey I think Palm Harbor/Ozona and South Venice also deserve honorable mentions. Palm Harbor is a great area and by the water is zone 10, but go a few blocks inland and you’re back to zone 9. South Venice is great for palms, but I’m not certain I’d want to live there. I’m not a huge fan of places south of Sarasota County on the west coast. I’m less familiar with the east coast. I like Boca, Jupiter, and Coral Gables, but they’re not going to meet your affordability criteria.
    2 points
  29. Not too much "open space' etc in areas zone 10 and up in FL. I'm a city guy. I like convenience, beaches, lots of great things to do and outdoor things to do, etc. this area offers it all, without having to drive 1,2, or more hours to get to most of it. There are places in Manatee county that are zone 10 that are not as populated, might be worth a look there. Once your away from the coast though zone 9B goes pretty far down the peninsula. You may be able to find suitable places with somewhat warmer climates near the lakes on the southern parts of the center of the state. There is one poster here who lives on one of those lakes and he grows a couple of coconut palms and there are some in the area. I think the lake is "Lake June in Winter" . Its also much less populated in that area as well. Another thing to consider is that Wesley Chapel / New Tampa are very rapidly growing areas. It won't be too long before they become large population centers themselves either.
    2 points
  30. WOW!!! Those look FANTASTIC for that far north in Florida. That area has just a slightly milder wintertime climate than my area here in Flour Bluff (east side of Corpus Christi) on the South Texas Coast ( that is BEFORE last week's once in a generation HORRIBLE ARCTIC BLAST). John
    2 points
  31. If palms are a major factor I think you’re really going to want to be somewhere 10a or better. You have pretty modest wants for palm species, but when you live somewhere that doesn’t freeze your options become much more extensive and well worth it.
    2 points
  32. "Fish seed"... Bill, I doubt the market for milt !
    2 points
  33. 2 points
  34. There are long leaf C Chamaedorea geonomiformis, small leaf Chamaedorea geonomiformis known as tenella, another Chamaedorea geonomiformis form know as C tenella wide leaf. Picture below regards Colin
    2 points
  35. SITREP #2: Warm day today. If it wasn't for the horticultural devastation all around, you would have never guessed an arctic blast blew through here last week. Good news and bad news to report: Uncovered Palms: UPDATE: Washingtonia sps. with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like total ass. Spear pull today. All palm fronds burnt. NO CHANGE: Washingtonia sps. with 1 to 2 foot of trunk: Looks like ass. NO CHANGE: Washingtonia sps. with 3 foot + of trunk: Looks bad. NO CHANGE: Sabal sps. with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like ass. NO CHANGE: Phoenix dactylifera with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like total ass. Covered Palms: DOWNGRADE: Washingtonia sps. with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like total ass. Spear pull today. Most palm fronds burnt. UPDATE: Washingtonia sps. with 1 foot + of trunk: Looks not that bad. Spear still stiff and green. Some palm fronds burnt. UPGRADE: Nannorrhops ritchiana with no trunk: Looks not that good. Spear still stiff and green. Palm fronds still green. UPGRADE: Sabal minor with no trunk: Looks good. Spear still stiff and green. Palm fronds still green. Currently showing no signs of cold damage. UPDATE: Sabal palmetto with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks not that bad. Spear still stiff and green. Some palm fronds show slight burn. DOWNGRADE: Sabal causiarum with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like ass. Spear still stiff and green. Most palm fronds burnt. UPDATE: Brahea armata with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks bad. Spear still stiff and silver. Many palm fronds burnt. UPDATE: Brahea sp. "Super Silver" with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like total ass. Spear pull today. All palm fronds burnt. DOWNGRADE: Chamaerops humilis with 1 foot + of trunk: Looks like total ass. Spear pull today (5 spears). Most palm fronds burnt. Some palm fronds came out with the spear pull too. DOWNGRADE: Livistona chinensis with no trunk: Looks like total ass. No spear for spear pull test. UPGRADE: Trachycarpus fortunei with 1 foot + of trunk: Looks not that good. No spear pull. Spear still stiff and green. Palm fronds still mostly green. UPGRADE: Serenoa repens with no trunk: Looks not that good. No spear pull. Spear still stiff and green. Palm fronds still mostly green. NO CHANGE: Trithrinax brasiliensis with no trunk: Looks like total ass. DOWNGRADE: Phoenix dactylifera with less than 1 foot of trunk: Looks like total ass. Spear pull today (3 spears). All palm fronds burnt.
    2 points
  36. Very likely. I had many spp of tropical palms. The rain came in overnight when temps were in the low 40s (the only time in my 28-year residence it rained below 50F). It rained all that day while temps continued to fall into the mid-30s. It finally stopped raining around dusk and the clouds cleared out. Temps remained in the 30s overnight with howling winds. The next day the high rose to the mid-40s. The following night fell to 28.5F. Winter of 2009/10 was colder, cloudier and rainier than normal well into March - just plain dreary and nasty. Those palms never stood a chance. Some of them were dead for weeks and months and didn't know it. That's why you can't assume it's over when the sun comes out - the carnage may just be starting. Heartaches by the dozen, troubles by the score.
    2 points
  37. I admit, I don't get it. In Hawaii where tropical species from around the world can be grown outdoors with relative ease from sea level to the cloud forest at 3,000 ft., unusual palms that won't flourish in most of the world, and you'd like to plant a common Washingtonia on top of a volcano at 6,000 ft. where nobody lives? The logic escapes me. And it could turn out to be highly invasive, as it is in Southern California. In this case, I'd say "Try this at home."
    2 points
  38. Well said. We should be coming together and maybe ask for donations for Texas like water instead of debating zone maps. A lot of Texas is still under mandatory boil water orders.
    2 points
  39. Can someone tell me what the point of this whole thread is? It just looks like a poorly timed wiener swinging. Forgive me if I sound spicy, but I am actively involved in a humanitarian crisis here and this he said/she said crap seems to be in incredibly poor taste given the immense suffering and loss of life.
    2 points
  40. Still have my fingers crossed that all the boring landscaping plants and knockout roses at my work don't make it
    2 points
  41. Basically, just to clarify - the concept of the long-term "non-tropical, freeze-free" climate was completely foreign to me. When I was younger, I'd always viewed climates as a sort of a hard-and-fast gradient - the poles are cold, then frequency of freezes and cold/snow always decrease heading equatorward until you reached the frostless tropics. With places like India, New Zealand, even (almost!) entire continents like South America and Africa, I just viewed them as completely tropical - the reason was a lot of media, textbooks, childrens books, etc I read just portrayed it as such. Finally, I did my own research, online and with real informative books, starting at age 8 - I built knowledge in ecology, weather/climate, and figured out all the nuances. It was mind blowing to learn how poleward New Zealand was compared to my location, or that parts of India, Brazil, Africa, etc were right at my parallel, or even farther poleward! These sorts of nuances are rarely emphasized in the classic school curriculum from what I saw.
    2 points
  42. 2 points
  43. Albany had snow on the beach in the 90s. Strange to see triangle palms covered in light snow. I never want that ever here.
    2 points
  44. Australia has the distinct advantage ( re Polar outbreaks ) of having the Southern Ocean between us and Antarctica. So we never get a Polar Express travelling over a land mass and reaching deep into the tropics ( even South America does to a lesser extent than North America. ) Having said that, a 1 in a hundred year event back in July 1965 produced widespread light snowfalls over the Central Highlands of Queensland, including a documented fall at Eungella, inland ( and at altitude 690m asl ) from the coast near Mackay ( lat 21.13S ). This was the most northerly snowfall in Australias recorded history. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/when-snow-fell-in-tropical-queensland/12407184
    2 points
  45. As others have said, only the foliage on pygmy dates is tender. The bud is hardy into the low 20s. There's a reason they managed to last this long in Houston, where it is much colder than the RGV.
    1 point
  46. A bit, but not a huge amount more. I haven’t been to Florida or Texas in quite a while, so it’s hard to say which one is best without seeing both places side to side.
    1 point
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