Nor cal frost report

[NorCalWill]

Santa Rosa, California...

A few nights throughout the months of December, January, and February as low as 26 degrees with a few heavy frosts and ice in standing water...

Butia capitata - fine

Chamaerops humilis - fine

Brahea armata - fine

Sabal minor - fine

Phoenix canariensis - fine

Phoenix dactylifera - fine

Livistonia mariae - fine

Washingtonia filifera - fine

Sabal bermudana - burnt beyond recognition (except the new spear)

[Jim in Los Altos]

Will,

That major burn on your Sabal is a real surprise. I bet it will be fine though. Mine's green but except for one 29F night here, we had no other freezing nights. How old/big is you S. bermudana?

[NorCalWill]

Hey Jim,

I planted the S. bermudana this past summer. It was a pretty overgrown 15 gallon that I got down in So. Cal.

I dug it up and put it back in the pot because I don't want to have to watch it recover all season only to get nailed again next year.

I'd like a Sabal, but not sure if there is another species that will be hardier.

[PalmGuyWC]

My coldest night in Walnut Creek was back in Dec. when it got down to 27 F, my low, so far, for this winter. There was a series of cold nights from that front, and I had thin ice in my rain buckets for 3 days running. I'm noticing minor damage to some gingers, which I didn't have the previous winter with a low of 25.5 F., but it remained below freezing longer with the 27 F low this year. I had about 2 weeks of above normal temps in Jan, with highs up to 75F, but night time temps still falling into the low 30's with clear skys.

It's 46 F here this morning with rain showers. The low just off the coast, and San Francisco is still pumping pulses of moisture into the SF bay area.

Will, I would question if your Sabal is a bermudana, as it should take much colder temps than you have had.

Dick

[NorCalWill]

Hmm...

I wouldn't know if was a different species.

It was labeled as S. bermudana when I bought it this summer down at JD Andersens...

It had 3 large leaves, and they were all totally brown by mid January.