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Zone pushing Rhapis


NC_Palms

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I went to one of the local nurseries today hoping to find a Livistonia but I came home with a Rhapis instead. I will certainly be protecting this palm when it gets below 25ºF

IMG_0991.thumb.JPG.b2fc7cd028e74bbc64926

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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Which Rhapis did you get?

One good thing about these in marginal climates is that when they clump there is a chance they'll come back even if they are killed to the ground.

 

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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8 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Which Rhapis did you get?

One good thing about these in marginal climates is that when they clump there is a chance they'll come back even if they are killed to the ground.

 

I think it is an excelsa, I could be wrong since it wasn't marked.

I heard these are pretty root hardy, my goal is to make it through the winter being killed to the roots.   

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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4 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

I think it is an excelsa, I could be wrong since it wasn't marked.

I heard these are pretty root hardy, my goal is to make it through the winter being killed to the roots.   

Looks like Excelsa to me.  Def do protect it this winter since you just put it in the ground.  Didnt you guys just get snow and ice?  For the first year id try to fully cover it with a small cold frame.  Maybe some incandescent xmas lights at least on the ground in the cold frame.  It has alot of growing to do before it might have enough of a root system under ground for it to be possibly hardy.  They arent the fastedst growers either so it might take some years, and maybe even double the years since your growing seasons are much shorter and you have colder winters.  Good luck with it.  Keep us posted!

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2 hours ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

Looks like Excelsa to me.  Def do protect it this winter since you just put it in the ground.  Didnt you guys just get snow and ice?  For the first year id try to fully cover it with a small cold frame.  Maybe some incandescent xmas lights at least on the ground in the cold frame.  It has alot of growing to do before it might have enough of a root system under ground for it to be possibly hardy.  They arent the fastedst growers either so it might take some years, and maybe even double the years since your growing seasons are much shorter and you have colder winters.  Good luck with it.  Keep us posted!

Thank you. I already am prepared with Christmas lights and a cold frame that I made a few weeks ago. Fortunately, this week will be mild so I don't have to fret too much. 

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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1 hour ago, NC_Palms said:

Thank you. I already am prepared with Christmas lights and a cold frame that I made a few weeks ago. Fortunately, this week will be mild so I don't have to fret too much. 

Nice!  Cant wait to see how it does!  Please post pics of your set up and progress over the winter too!  

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On 12/11/2018, 7:12:08, NC_Palms said:

I went to one of the local nurseries today hoping to find a Livistonia but I came home with a Rhapis instead. I will certainly be protecting this palm when it gets below 25ºF

IMG_0991.thumb.JPG.b2fc7cd028e74bbc64926

I can relate my experience with R. excelsa. I planted several clumps about 25 years ago in Houston and they grew slowly to 6-8 feet tall and spread several feet wide.

They did well until last January. I don't have an image per se but some can be partially seen in this image background.

RE.jpg.0a8fa761b5fb35e629e724b4ad262b0b.

The first cold damage occurred a few years ago when the temp got to 26F. About 10% of the canes died while the other canes were undamaged. I just trimmed out the 10% dead canes and you really couldn't notice as the clumps still looked great. Then came last January when I experienced the coldest winter in 28 years with 22F and 15-20 MPH winds. 100% of the canes died. They began to send up new canes by early summer and after one whole growing season the new canes are 6-8 inches tall.

Rhapis_E.jpg.c0b73fe5583c5f63fd06bc22293

 

I expect them to recover fully.........over the next 25 years!!!

Ed in Houston

 

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I have had one (Rhapis) in the ground for several years(5+).   It does not flourish.   It cares not for my hot summers or freezing winters.  I am at the edge of Zn 8a/8b.  It is covered with frost cloth each winter and shaded in summer.  It is slowly dwindling away.  Compared to Ed in Houston who is likely in Zn 9a, my winter temps get into the single digits at times and are frequently in the teens-- Fahrenheit.  My Rhapis now look like Ed's last picture of what was once a 4 ft tall large clump of Rhapis.  

Good luck  NC-Palms..............  :rolleyes:

jimmyt

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13 hours ago, Ed in Houston said:

I can relate my experience with R. excelsa. I planted several clumps about 25 years ago in Houston and they grew slowly to 6-8 feet tall and spread several feet wide.

They did well until last January. I don't have an image per se but some can be partially seen in this image background.

RE.jpg.0a8fa761b5fb35e629e724b4ad262b0b.

The first cold damage occurred a few years ago when the temp got to 26F. About 10% of the canes died while the other canes were undamaged. I just trimmed out the 10% dead canes and you really couldn't notice as the clumps still looked great. Then came last January when I experienced the coldest winter in 28 years with 22F and 15-20 MPH winds. 100% of the canes died. They began to send up new canes by early summer and after one whole growing season the new canes are 6-8 inches tall.

Rhapis_E.jpg.c0b73fe5583c5f63fd06bc22293

 

I expect them to recover fully.........over the next 25 years!!!

Ed in Houston

 

Is that Schefflera? How does that do in your zone?

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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14 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

Is that Schefflera? How does that do in your zone?

Yes, it is Schefflera Arboricola also known as Dwarf Schefflera. They don't do well in my clay soil but do grow OK. I planted a few in bed with about 6 inches of Miracle Grow garden soil that gets partial sun and they grew very well. They were planted in the spring of 2017 from one gallon containers. I covered them with a sheet when it hit 22F last January and they froze to about an inch from the ground. These recovered very fast this year and now are larger than after the first growing season before the January 22F freeze. The ones in the in the yard in the image with the R.excelsa that had been growing slowly for years in clay soil were not covered and died. A few years back when we got a 26F freeze, they were slightly damaged with no protection.

 

Ed in Houston

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  • 3 weeks later...

My clumps saw 8F last year. Returning from the ground now. I find that its best to plant them next to buildings where you can put moving blankets over them and maybe a space heater. That didn't help this last time.

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Longview, Texas :: Record Low: -5F, Feb. 16, 2021 :: Borderline 8A/8B :: '06-'07: 18F / '07-'08: 21F / '08-'09: 21F / '09-'10: 14F / '10-'11: 15F / '11-'12: 24F / '12-'13: 23F / '13-'14: 15F / '14-'15: 20F / '15-'16: 27F / '16-'17: 15F / '17-'18: 8F / '18-'19: 23F / '19-'20: 19F / '20-'21: -5F / '21-'22: 20F / '22-'23: 6F

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Thankfully no damage yet. I've been noticing some growth, do these palms grow in cooler temperatures? 

IMG_1262.thumb.JPG.c422275e96558560ad24a 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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  • 1 month later...

Ed, I am amazed that your Rapids Excelsa were killed to the ground at 22 degrees Fahrenheit.  I am also amazed that they were damaged at 26 degrees Fahrenheit and that any canes died.  Mine would never be damaged in the least at 26 degrees.

Here, I see around town some rhapis that appear to have survived our brutal 2009-2010 freeze when the temperature got as low as 17 Fahrenheit in some parts of town (or perhaps that was west of town somewhere).  It got colder than 22, in any event. 

My own were planted in about 2011 and they have never shown any damage at all.  Supposedly, they had a night when temperatures dipped to somewhere between 23 and 24 degrees during the January 2018 freeze.  .... No damage.

Sorry for your loss though.

As for your Schleffera Arboricola, I saw some dwarf variegated Schleffera (like yours) that was damaged in the January 2018 freeze here, but it quickly came back in the summer and looks perfectly fine right now.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Schleffera Actynophylla.  They are coming back slowly, but have still not regained a fraction of their size from before the big January 2018 freeze here.

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....and, like yours, one of mine is suckered right now (or spending via rhizomes underground).  The new "pup" is taking forever to get any height at all.  I can't be sure, but it may only a foot (or less) tall after a couple of years since it emerged from the ground. Slooooow.

If you're living a climate where this palm, unprotected, could be killed to the ground every couple of years, don't bother with it.  It's just such a slower grower that it isn't worth it.

I don't protect mine.

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  • 1 month later...

This is the current update on my Rhapis. I regret not using the cold frame I made because my Christmas light and blanket method failed on me, so I had some minor leaf damage that I already trimmed off. Thankfully the damage was only aesthetic and my Rhapis continues to rapidly grow. I've already planned on heading back to the local nursery sometime this week to buy some more of these palms since I've had luck with growing this one.

 IMG_1944.thumb.jpg.0d36c0d75c30fa802f6bf2fa44a40cb2.jpg

 

 

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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  • 2 years later...
On 3/30/2019 at 8:33 PM, NC_Palms said:

This is the current update on my Rhapis. I regret not using the cold frame I made because my Christmas light and blanket method failed on me, so I had some minor leaf damage that I already trimmed off. Thankfully the damage was only aesthetic and my Rhapis continues to rapidly grow. I've already planned on heading back to the local nursery sometime this week to buy some more of these palms since I've had luck with growing this one.

 IMG_1944.thumb.jpg.0d36c0d75c30fa802f6bf2fa44a40cb2.jpg

 

 

Any updates on this one?

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