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Washingtonia "filibusta" more cold tolerant than originally thought...


jfrye01@live.com

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Well, as I have mentioned before, my two Washingtonia "filibustas" were the first two palms I planted, back in mid-March...They were around 12" tall when planted, and had 3-4 fronds...About a week after being planted, the temperature dropped to around 8-10F (VERY unseasonable, I blame the polar vortex...) for around 18 hours. I had covered the palms with 5 gallon plastic buckets from Lowe's, and that was it. The palms completely defoliated, and because of their small size, I was sure they were dead. Flash forward 3 months, and these guys are both around 18" tall, with 4-5 fronds a piece, and new ones opening!! They are thoroughly THRIVING on our 85-90F temperatures...I'll post pictures when I get the chance, but these guys are continuing to shock me!!

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VERY good to know. Of all the palms I have I don't have one of those....yet, but since our climates are very similar I'll have to give it a try.

PICS.....and keep us posted.

Scott/Omaha

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I have found mine to be noticeably more cold hardy that robusta.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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I'd like to see pics as well. There are several filibustas around here that withstood our mid to low teens this past winter. Not to mentioned the horrid snow, ice and wind. They've shrugged it off and now have a full head of green fronds. They can only get more hardy and resistant to cold as they get older and larger.

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There are some large ones at the Atlanta botanical gardens that have been there for years. I didn't get a chance to see them before I left but I imagine they may have survived this past winter's single digits and snow/ice storms. They receive no protection other than favorable siting in a good microclimate in midtown

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I'm out of town for the next several days, but as soon as I return, I will definitely post pictures...

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VERY good to know. Of all the palms I have I don't have one of those....yet, but since our climates are very similar I'll have to give it a try.

PICS.....and keep us posted.

Scott/Omaha

Definitely not the most cold hardy, it's no Windmill, but the growth rate is much faster so they look much better, much sooner than other palms...are you zone 6A?

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6A most of the time, but more like 5B/A this past winter....it was brutal

I have a lot of stuff outside, and added more this year already after I made a road trip to the San Diego area in May.

Edited by sashaeffer
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Excellent that they survived those temps. Filibusta's look good here as well. Most of the robusta here defoliated this year and filifera kept their fronds but never look that good due to humidity. Filibusta's are the perfect marriage. We got a nice huge specimen in our neighborhood.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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  • 2 months later...

Here are a couple pics of Washingtonia that survived below zero in Albuquerque a few years back during the SW freeze. I don't think our area lost any filifera or filibusta hybrids during that event.

They might need a little fertilizer but otherwise they are growing just fine after that.

Robusta is a no-go here. I lost one at 12f first year in the ground unprotected. I would argue they are just about fully hardy in this area.

post-8989-0-03176900-1410312449_thumb.jp

post-8989-0-06958300-1410312465_thumb.jp

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  • 2 weeks later...

SailorBold: Whats the coldest you've seen a Filifera handle? I'm in Lubbock, and I think the climate is very similar to ABQ. I got a baby Filifera from Home Depot (labelled as a robusta, but none the less, the most pure Filifera I've seen), and I'm wondering if I'll need to protect it for the next few months. We're a tiny bit warmer than ABQ, and get 10 more inches of rain per year on average.

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I guess -5F to -10ish..Complete defoliation including spears. I don't think there were spear pulls tho.

It was a long crazy freeze for here however not as long as some freezes Dallas endures during their arctic blasts. I say give it a shot.. protection wise.. just wool tie the fronds.. place some dark pebbles around the base and put a white bucket with a heavy rock on top. Leave it alone and let it dry out.

If I were you I would do your researching. You most likely have a robusta but I could be wrong. Those palms are iffy even in big box stores. Did you plant it in the ground? You can try protection.. but I would say no go based on my experience... I suggest you prove me wrong.

Nice you get more rainfall.. this is a blessing and a curse.. your summer heat is a huge benefit.

Jimmy

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Here's one of mine that defoliated last spring...this picture is a couple months old.

post-9451-0-33390800-1411492000_thumb.jp

Grasshoppers have eaten it to shreds:(

Edited by jfrye01@live.com
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Here's one of mine that defoliated last spring...this picture is a couple months old.

attachicon.gifWashy.jpg

Grasshoppers have eaten it to shreds:(

Now a locust swarm? Dude I swear I would have given up by now if I lived where you do. I tip my cap to you!

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Here's one of mine that defoliated last spring...this picture is a couple months old.

attachicon.gifWashy.jpg

Grasshoppers have eaten it to shreds:(

grasshoppers have never been an issue unitl i got my yard all cleaned up. now that everything's clean and looking nice grasshoppers usually attack my Ravenea hildebrandtii and Archontophoenix species

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Here's one of mine that defoliated last spring...this picture is a couple months old.

attachicon.gifWashy.jpg

Grasshoppers have eaten it to shreds:(

Now a locust swarm? Dude I swear I would have given up by now if I lived where you do. I tip my cap to you!

Man, I've wanted to so many times, but it's just so worth it to be one of the only yards that has palms in Kansas :P

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Here's one of mine that defoliated last spring...this picture is a couple months old.

attachicon.gifWashy.jpg

Grasshoppers have eaten it to shreds:(

grasshoppers have never been an issue unitl i got my yard all cleaned up. now that everything's clean and looking nice grasshoppers usually attack my Ravenea hildebrandtii and Archontophoenix species
It's funny, they don't attack the garden, they don't attack the trees, just my poor palms, especially the washies...they don't touch the sabals as much...I sprinkled Sevin dust on them, that solved the problem, might be worth a try for you! Good luck!

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  • 1 year later...

Here is in my opinion one of the best looking filibustas. Out in an exposed location, it's canopy was mostly unscathed while pure robustas nearby crumbled and even died with light freezing rain and upper teens. Looks like this one got mostly filifera traits. Love the thick trunk and huge, lush crown. Filibustas vary so greatly, as I've seen pictures of some that reportedly endured the aforementioned conditions and completely fried. The ones with more filifera traits seem to be the way to go in colder areas.

56a67381097f9_11.WashingtoniaFilibusta.t

 

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  • 2 years later...

Nor cal 9a    We get 40 inchs rain in 3-4 months in winter, an inch or two snow acouple times. Almost all my pure filliferas rot n mold.  My robustas burn back hard n grow slow.  My fillibustas; not a mark n keep growing threw winter. This is the hardiest fastest growing palm for me including butia

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  • 2 years later...

I live in Winston-Salem , NC and I protect only the trunk when I see a low below 16F . Do you think my Filibusta is hardier than 16F . . It will fully fill out soon and puts out over 25 fronds a season . 

Here it is today on 6/17/2020 .

 

50016613253_4978bfbb28_b.jpg

 

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/17/2020 at 7:45 PM, Will Simpson said:

I live in Winston-Salem , NC and I protect only the trunk when I see a low below 16F . Do you think my Filibusta is hardier than 16F . . It will fully fill out soon and puts out over 25 fronds a season . 

Here it is today on 6/17/2020 .

 

50016613253_4978bfbb28_b.jpg

 

I just sprouted a bunch of seeds from this large, long term survivor in Fayetteville. That tree gets no protection or care ever. And it’s survived multiple single digits

C00EBAB4-7817-4BCE-8640-2136788ADA6E.jpeg

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