Veitchia joannis

[Kostas]

Its surprising there arent many cold hardiness reports on this so beautiful species. I decided to try it anyway after reading a post of Eric(Erin in Orlando) mentioning 2 mature V. joannis surviving -3C.

Anyway,here is my report:

1m tall Veitchia joannis planted last summer,in a good microclimate and relatively close to a retaining wall(retaining 3meters of soil on the other side of it),experienced multiple hail events and a low of around -1C to -1,5C at the coldest part of the night, just before sunrise,with just slight leaf edge damage of 1-2mm Its already 2 weeks from the last cold and temperatures have been very high all this time,even allowing growth on Bismarckia! The edge damage could be from anything,including the fact that the leaflets are shredded from all the hail and that these leafs are partially greenhouse grown.

Overall,much much less damage than i expected on these and may be viable to lower temperatures under tree cover or after a certain height

[PANGEA EXPRESS]

my 2 year old seedling was holding on around 26f/ -3C but once it got to 24f/ -4C it got SMASHED. lol

I agree it might be hardier than people give it credit. But definitely not an option for Northern California lol

[Rafael]

Its surprising there arent many cold hardiness reports on this so beautiful species. I decided to try it anyway after reading a post of Eric(Erin in Orlando) mentioning 2 mature V. joannis surviving -3C.

Anyway,here is my report:

1m tall Veitchia joannis planted last summer,in a good microclimate and relatively close to a retaining wall(retaining 3meters of soil on the other side of it),experienced multiple hail events and a low of around -1C to -1,5C at the coldest part of the night, just before sunrise,with just slight leaf edge damage of 1-2mm Its already 2 weeks from the last cold and temperatures have been very high all this time,even allowing growth on Bismarckia! The edge damage could be from anything,including the fact that the leaflets are shredded from all the hail and that these leafs are partially greenhouse grown.

Overall,much much less damage than i expected on these and may be viable to lower temperatures under tree cover or after a certain height

Any available update Kostas?

[quaman58]

I have been growing one since 2007 from a seedling; it's still in a pot, about 7 foot tall. It seems to be similar to arecina in cold tolerance. (Which I can grow okay in a 10a zone) I think I will plant it in ground this spring. Veitchias are awesome.

[Kostas]

That is great Bret,very nice to hear! Wish you to see it trunking, tall and flowering soon!

Mine unexpectedly rotted in late spring/early summer. I saw ants nesting in them in early spring and next thing I know,they collapsed. I don't know wether the ants are to blame,my slight deeper planting than I should or the fact that they had formed tiny trunks while in greenhouse,prior to getting them,which were not acclimated and were potentially a weak spot of the palm to cold,as their leafs came through winter relatively ok. Anyway,they were dead by early summer and pulled their potted remains by mid-summer and fall and replaced them with other palms which did great in their spots. In early fall,I got 3 new Veitcgia joannis I have been waiting to get since early summer,and planted them in other spots,some of the most protected I could think of and had free,waiting for a palm at the time. They were root bound plants,with thick roots and very sturdy and much younger,at 20 to 30cm. They quickly adjusted and grew through fall pretty fast. We had a mild winter(2-3 nights of frost and close 1-2 with close to 0C temperatures at the coldest part of the night) and they slowly grew through it too and now are from completely undamaged(the one in the most protected spot,tucked under thick palm canopy and close to a small retaining wall. Heavy shade) to ~20-50% damaged from frost spotting but growing nicely and now opening it's first spear for the year(most exposed ones but still very good locations. These got the most sun). No special soil mix used,plain native soil with just some organic amendment mixed in and maybe a little sand? I don't remember very well but my native soil is good enough in the areas I planted them that I usually plant things straight in it without amending with anything else other than the potting soil they were in(what falls of the root ball). Soil stays wet for almost 9mobths of the year from the rains and the shallow underground water table.

Frost risk has passed in Pyrgos so hopefully my 3 new Veitchia joannis from last fall will be off to a very good start early in the season,having been somewhat established in the ground and hardened off some. If they grow as fast as they are reputed to,maybe they will be big palms till next winter and better able to handle cold. I hope they make it through some winters ok and start trunking before they see any real cold,and then they should be able to handle much more cold hopefully. The seller,who gifted them to me(so not much if any reason to advertise them),told me this species and specifically their motherplant,has survived -4C in Spain,which is quite promising as that's my record low(-3,6C). Let's see...I totally agree with Bret,Veitchias,and especially V. joannis with its droopy leaflets,are awesome!

[Kostas]

Just an update on the Veitchia joannis, only 1 made it fine and grew ok after last winter, the one that was tucked under other palms in a most protected location and was almost unscathed. The most "exposed" one rotted and the medium exposed one(it's spot was protected above but cold air passes from there) had its leafs get thrashed by the end of spring, stalled and eventually rotted.

None was artificially protected, their spots just had plant canopy of various thickness and height above them. The tighter canopy spot closer to the veranda was the winner.

The surviving Veitchia is entering winter in good condition and hope it survives again. A couple more winters maybe and it should be much stronger and likely to live long term. I also have a much better idea as to what is more important for a V. joannis in position selection for it to survive. Will be adding two more in similar spots

[Victor G.]

On 2/3/2013 at 11:49 PM, Kostas said:

Its surprising there arent many cold hardiness reports on this so beautiful species. I decided to try it anyway after reading a post of Eric(Erin in Orlando) mentioning 2 mature V. joannis surviving -3C.

 

Anyway,here is my report:

 

1m tall Veitchia joannis planted last summer,in a good microclimate and relatively close to a retaining wall(retaining 3meters of soil on the other side of it),experienced multiple hail events and a low of around -1C to -1,5C at the coldest part of the night, just before sunrise,with just slight leaf edge damage of 1-2mm Its already 2 weeks from the last cold and temperatures have been very high all this time,even allowing growth on Bismarckia! The edge damage could be from anything,including the fact that the leaflets are shredded from all the hail and that these leafs are partially greenhouse grown.

Overall,much much less damage than i expected on these and may be viable to lower temperatures under tree cover or after a certain height

How's the veitchia joannis doing now? I'm considering also to buy one or two, to be placed in an area that's even milder than Melissia

[Phoenikakias]

11 hours ago, Victor G. said:

How's the veitchia joannis doing now? I'm considering also to buy one or two, to be placed in an area that's even milder than Melissia

I am going to spoil your optimism and enthusiasm! And I I bet that this Veitchia has since long gone to palm heaven. Kostas knows me well and personally, so he will not be surprised by my conservatism. As a newby in the hobby, you'd better start with something being less of a challenge. Fyi Kostas was growing those specimens in Pyrgos, not Melissia.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Phoenikakias

[Victor G.]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

I am going to spoil your optimism and enthusiasm! And I I bet that this Veitchia has since long gone to palm heaven. Kostas knows me well and personally, so he will not be surprised by my conservatism. As a newby in the hobby, you'd better start with something being less of a challenge. Fyi Kostas was growing those specimens in Pyrgos, not Melissia.

Ah okay. Melissia surprised me a lot; I consider it to be very cold. I lived in Vrilissia for many years which is already cold and Melissia is even further up the mountain.

But his veitchias survived harsh conditions in 2013 and still survived, so how do we know?

P.S.: I know that risky thinking will consume both money and work (though I don't care about the second one), but that's no problem to me. I've always been a fan of the try and fail method. That said, I do consider your advice. I'm gathering a list of potential plants and stuff, maybe I won't end up planting V. Joannis after all

[Than]

On 3/25/2022 at 9:12 AM, Phoenikakias said:

I am going to spoil your optimism and enthusiasm! And I I bet that this Veitchia has since long gone to palm heaven. Kostas knows me well and personally, so he will not be surprised by my conservatism. As a newby in the hobby, you'd better start with something being less of a challenge. Fyi Kostas was growing those specimens in Pyrgos, not Melissia.

You have (had?) veitchia joannis too, right?

[Phoenikakias]

I used to. Never managed to get one sail through a just average winter.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Phoenikakias

[Than]

7 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

I used to. Never managed to get one sail through a just average winter.

Do you use some artificial protection in the winter?

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, ego said:

Do you use some artificial protection in the winter?

Back then no!

[Than]

13 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Back then no!

Do you think they would be alive now if you did?

[Phoenikakias]

Until they would get planted out, if I would let them overwinter in my cold  frame. But I still believe they would not survive a single winter in the ground.