0000 - Cold Hardiness Observation Master Data

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Overview

The PalmTalk forums contain thousands of observations on the cold tolerance from a variety of locations and climates.  One of the primary difficulties in determining cold hardiness of a particular species or variety of palm is that observations vary greatly, even at the same temperature in the same location.  Therefore, hardiness can be more accurately expressed as a probability rather than in absolutes.  

The goal of the attached list is to more accurately calculate the probability and degree of damage one could expect from a freeze on a particular species or variety of palm by consolidating the available data into one document.  This list is provided without any warranty or guarantee, expressed or implied.

Several factors can influence the effect of a low temperature on a palm.  These include:

1. Ultimate low temperature
2. Duration of the freeze – time below 28F, time below 32F, number of days with low temperatures
3. Weather before freeze – was it warm and sunny with plants in active growth or were the palms given time to harden off by a slower onset of below average temperatures?
4. Advective vs. Radiational freeze? – Advective freezes are usually more damaging due to wind chill and less stratification.
5. Overhead canopy/protective siting – Was the plant out in the open or under cover?  Are there structures or plants being used as windbreaks?  Canopy typically mitigates frost formation during a radiational freeze and windbreaks lessen the windchill effect during an advective freeze.
6. Frost – did frost form?
7. Wet vs. Dry – did the freeze come with wet/damp soils from a preceding rain storm or was the ground dry?
8. Size and overall health of the plant – A healthy, mature palm is usually more likely to survive than a palm that was juvenile or unhealthy.

Another consideration is how long a grower waited after the freeze to report damage.  Sometimes damage will manifest itself weeks or months after the actual freeze.  If a report comes too soon after the freeze, then the report could change.

When possible, the list is an attempt to consolidate observations into an easily searchable list that captures as many of the factors influencing damage and survival.  Because new observations are constantly being added, this list is a perpetual work in progress.

Credits

The following resources were and are being used to build this list:

• http://www.trebrown.com/palms_arecaceae.php - Used to build the initial list of palms since it is fairly complete and up to date.  Observations added to the list were checked against this list.  If the check failed, it was either because the name given is a synonym or another name needed to be added to the list.
• http://www.theplantlist.org – Used to check for synonyms of the palm species and varieties in the Trebrown list when no match could be found. 
• www.palmpedia.net – Invaluable as a tool to check for synonyms and species potentially not listed by the Trebrown list. 
• http://www.cfpacs.org/freezes-central-florida/ - The freeze observations at this site were added to this list and are also posted in the PalmTalk forums in the Freeze Damage Data section at the following URL: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/40159-aaa-florida-general-palm-hardiness-data/
• https://www.bg-map.com/noblick.html - The two tables available here were merged and duplicates were removed before expanding the list giving each observation its own row in the table.  When the name of the palm in this list could be identified as a synonym, the name in this list was preserved in the Description field in brackets [].  There is a full list of citations at this page that includes several active forum participants.
• https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/ - Some of the hardiness observations throughout the forum have been loaded into this list.  This portion will always be a work in progress.

201909190030_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Updated List: Added Adonidia merrillii observations.

201909250115_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Roystonea regia.

201909290055_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Pseudophoenix sargentii.

201909290900_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Medemia argun.

201909301025_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Nannorrhops ritchiana.

201910020045_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Sabal etonia, Sabal miamiensis, and a stragler for Nannorrhops ritchiana.

201910021920_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[RedRabbit 994]

Here are some of the sources I've used in the past:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/9291-zone-9b-palm-list-expands-again/&page=2

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/23496-cold-damage-report-for-palm-collection-at-leu-gardens/

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/21863-cold-damage-to-palm-collection-near-downtown-orlando/

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/21990-cold-damage-report-cape-coral-fl/

http://www.junglemusic.net/Palm_Tree_Encyclopedia/Index.html

http://www.junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-coldhardy1.htm

[kinzyjr 2,117]

@RedRabbit Thank you for sharing those direct links.  I'm certain they will be helpful on this project. 

Added observations for Wodyetia bifurcata and a few overlooked Roystonea regia observations.  Almost 1,000 total observations.

 

201910082330_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Dypsis leptocheilos.  Now over 1,000 total observations.

201910122330_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Palms from  2018 Freeze - South Carolina.  The list now contains over 1025 observations.  @Turtlesteve also provided observations for cycads.  A separate but similar list will be started for those and other cycad observations shortly.

201910242000_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations for Cycads from  2018 Freeze - South Carolina.  This is the initial list for Cycads and it contains a handful of observations.  Every journey starts with a single step.

201910272030_Cycads_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added a few of my own observations from around town during the freezes of Jan. 2010 and 2018.  Also added some 19F observations for Bismarckia nobilis (green and silver) from Dr. John Rossi.

201911011815_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added @Eric in Orlando's observations from Leu Gardens for the January 2010 freeze (over 500 observations).  This puts the total over 1500 observations.

201911081815_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added the rest of the January 2010 observations from @Eric in Orlando and @PalmatierMeg.  The format was changed to make the spreadsheet more readable.  Some of the columns are hidden and can be un-hidden if you desire.  There are also 2 sheets inside of the file.  The first sheet is the hardiness observations.  The second sheet is a list of events.  Since so many of the observations were tied to specific freezes in specific locations, the long explanation of the freeze is on the second sheet for particular events.

Some statistics for the current sheet:  Over 1,700 total observations for 568 different palms from 99 different people in 8 countries.

201911170055_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations from @RedRabbit and @Sandy Loam for the January 2018 freezes.

201912050055_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

CORRECTION: The last posting contained an error in the Events sheet.  The entry for RedRabbit's observations in 2018 were mistakenly labeled for 2010.  The corrected sheet is attached.

201912050055_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations from the Freeze Damage Data forum for: Acanthophoenix crinita, Acrocomia sp., Actinokentia sp., Adonidia merrillii, Aiphanes minima, Allagoptera arenaria, Allagoptera leucocalyx

201912111935_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added observations from the Freeze Damage Data forum for: Archontophoenix alexandrae, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and a few strays.  The vast bulk of the observations are from the 2007 Freeze in California.

201912140100_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added the remaining observations from the Freeze Damage Data forum for the Archontophoenix sp.

201912191905_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

First update in 2020.  Added updates for Areca sp., Arenga sp., Astrocaryum sp. and Attalea sp. from the Freeze Damage Forum.

 

202001041620_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added updates for Basselinia sp. and Beccariophoenix sp. from the Freeze Damage Forum.  There are now over 2,000 observations recorded in the spreadsheet.

201901192330_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added updates for Bismarckia nobilis from the Freeze Damage Forum.  Where possible, I attempted to differentiate between the standard green variety and the blue/silver variety.  If a report is inaccurate in this regard, please notify me and I'll correct it.

202002090145_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx

[FishEyeAquaculture 200]

This is awesome!

 

[kinzyjr 2,117]

Added updates for Brahea sp. from the Freeze Damage Forum.  Following established convention, synonyms were noted in the description.  There are now over 2,100 observations in the spreadsheet.

202002172200_HardinessObservationsMasterData.xlsx