2020 Christmas night freeze damage, 28F and frost

[Merlyn]

In early December 2020 I had a couple of frosts, on the nights of 12/01-02 36F w/medium frost and 12/9-9 37F w/light frost.  These didn't do any noticeable damage to my palms.  They did cause about 25% leaf burn on two Bambusa Lako and a bit of spotting/edema on Agave Attenuata and an Agave Weberi "Arizona Star."  Unfortunately my datalogger wasn't logging data, so I'm only guessing at the actual low temperature.  I checked the temperature at around 7am on both days.  Wunderground has the local airport station reading 40F and 37F on the two nights.

On Christmas night it was predicted to go to about 33F, and my house is generally 3-4 degrees below the airport.  Wunderground shows 35F on the 26th around 4AM and 36F around 1AM on the 27th.  I fixed the datalogging and downloaded the file.  Christmas morning was 35F with no frost, but I had several hours of 28-29F with medium frost the next night, and 11 hours of 31-33F the morning of the 27th:

This did a *lot* of damage to the more sensitive palms, especially Hyophorbes and Chambeyronia.  Here's the final damage tally a week later:

Minor burn, yellowing or spotting: Zamia Integrifolia; Dendrocalamus Maroochy, Hamiltonii & Latiflorus; Agave Valenciana & Neglecta; Cycas Simplicipinna-ish; Encephalartos (Gratus x Trispinosus, Manikensis, Gratus x Hildebrandtii, Aemulans seedling, Whitelockii); Arenga Engleri x3 (recent plantings); Phoenix Roebellini x3 clumps; Caryota Mitis 6' cluster; Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii x2; Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis x2 (no canopy) and x5 (with canopy and house warmth); Arenga Micrantha (oldest leaf); Gigantochloa "Bali White Stripe"; Bambusa Guangxiensis; Wodyetia Bifurcata x3 small doubles/triples; Ptychosperma Macarthurii 2' tall cluster; Gaussia Princeps quad 1' tall; Copernicia Prunifera x3 seedlings; Dypsis Leptocheilos x2 1' tall; Beccariophoenix Alfredii 8' tall

10% or less burn:  Coccothrinax Argentea; Zombia hybrid from NatureGirl (with an unknown Coccothrinax); Dioon Spinulosum 12' diameter no canopy

20% bronzed leaves but recovering color quickly: Attalea Cohune 4' tall backyard, 6' tall E yard; Attalea Phalerata solid leaf seedling in the backyard; Allagoptera Caudescens solid leaf seedling (under Butia & B. Alfredii canopy)

25% leaf burn but ok: Encephalartos various (Ituriensis, Whitelockii, Chimanimaniensis, Turneri, Gratus x Whitelockii); Livistona/Saribus Rotundifolia seedlings x2; Arenga Pinnata 6' tall; Agave Celsii "Multicolor"; Zamia Furfuracea types x7; Arenga Engleri (suspected Tremula); Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii (Spindle) x6; Ravenea Rivularis x2 (no canopy); Malayan Dwarf Green Cocos; Heliconia Orange Gyro; Heliconia Rostrata; Hawaiian TI "Red Sister" with canopy; Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii (less than 1 foot tall with no canopy); Dioon Spinulosum 2 leaf seedling

50% burn: Arenga Pinnata 6' tall SW corner; Bambusa Lako x2; Zamia Furfuracea x3; Ptychosperma Macarthurii 6" tall double seedling; Thai Black bananas x2 clusters; Agave Celsii "Multicolor"; Allagoptera Caudescens 6' tall; Encephalartos (Turneri, 2 small NOID plantings); Kerriodoxa Elegans (4' tall with canopy); Dendrocalamus Maximuslamina (no canopy); Gaussia Princeps 1' tall seedlings x2; Heliconia "Bihai Giant"; Caryota Gigas 2' tall (no canopy); Corypha NOID

80% burn: Zamia Furfuracea type x2; Cycas Litoralis 3 leaf seedling; Malayan Tall Yellow

90% burn: Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii (Spindle) x2 7' tall trunking; Allagoptera Caudescens solid leaf seedling (no canopy); Chambeyronia Macrocarpa 4' tall (no canopy); Musa Basjoo & "Mekong Giant"

Frost torched top leaves, but lower leaves unaffected: Ficus Elastica 2' tall; Coccoloba Uvifera (Sea Grapes) x4; Dypsis Pembana 14' tall; Dypsis Lutescens x2 7' tall; Ficus Lyrata; Philodendron Monstera; "Ice Cream" Banana monstrous 10' diameter 20' tall clump

Torched, recovery uncertain:  Bananas (Little Prince, Truly Tiny, Saba, Bordelon x4, Dwarf Cavendish, Mekong Giant, Zebrina, Ice Cream, Goldfinger, CA Gold, Kandarian); Thai Giant elephant ears (various spots); Hawaiian TI transplant tops; Gaussia Princeps two singles and one triple 1' tall; Cycas 2" caudex seedlings (Elephantipes, Pectinata x2); Cannas (various); Heliconia "Temptress"; Ficus Elastica 2' tall; Ficus Benghalensis "Audrey" 2' tall; Encephalartos Tegulaneus 3" caudex seedling; Chambeyronia Macrocarpa 7' tall (no canopy); Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis double and single; Agave Attenuata (Ray of Light, Boutin Blue, Kara's Stripes), Heliconia Psittacorum "Lady Di" large area burnt to the ground

As a rough summary, about 420 plantings were unaffected, 45 with minor damage, 40 with low damage, 20 with 50% damage, 10 with severe damage, and 50 completely torched.  Most of the severe damage were bananas and heliconias, fortunately!

[chinandega81]

4 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

In early December 2020 I had a couple of frosts, on the nights of 12/01-02 36F w/medium frost and 12/9-9 37F w/light frost.  These didn't do any noticeable damage to my palms.  They did cause about 25% leaf burn on two Bambusa Lako and a bit of spotting/edema on Agave Attenuata and an Agave Weberi "Arizona Star."  Unfortunately my datalogger wasn't logging data, so I'm only guessing at the actual low temperature.  I checked the temperature at around 7am on both days.  Wunderground has the local airport station reading 40F and 37F on the two nights.

On Christmas night it was predicted to go to about 33F, and my house is generally 3-4 degrees below the airport.  Wunderground shows 35F on the 26th around 4AM and 36F around 1AM on the 27th.  I fixed the datalogging and downloaded the file.  Christmas morning was 35F with no frost, but I had several hours of 28-29F with medium frost the next night, and 11 hours of 31-33F the morning of the 27th:

This did a *lot* of damage to the more sensitive palms, especially Hyophorbes and Chambeyronia.  Here's the final damage tally a week later:

Minor burn, yellowing or spotting: Zamia Integrifolia; Dendrocalamus Maroochy, Hamiltonii & Latiflorus; Agave Valenciana & Neglecta; Cycas Simplicipinna-ish; Encephalartos (Gratus x Trispinosus, Manikensis, Gratus x Hildebrandtii, Aemulans seedling, Whitelockii); Arenga Engleri x3 (recent plantings); Phoenix Roebellini x3 clumps; Caryota Mitis 6' cluster; Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii x2; Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis x2 (no canopy) and x5 (with canopy and house warmth); Arenga Micrantha (oldest leaf); Gigantochloa "Bali White Stripe"; Bambusa Guangxiensis; Wodyetia Bifurcata x3 small doubles/triples; Ptychosperma Macarthurii 2' tall cluster; Gaussia Princeps quad 1' tall; Copernicia Prunifera x3 seedlings; Dypsis Leptocheilos x2 1' tall; Beccariophoenix Alfredii 8' tall

10% or less burn:  Coccothrinax Argentea; Zombia hybrid from NatureGirl (with an unknown Coccothrinax); Dioon Spinulosum 12' diameter no canopy

20% bronzed leaves but recovering color quickly: Attalea Cohune 4' tall backyard, 6' tall E yard; Attalea Phalerata solid leaf seedling in the backyard; Allagoptera Caudescens solid leaf seedling (under Butia & B. Alfredii canopy)

25% leaf burn but ok: Encephalartos various (Ituriensis, Whitelockii, Chimanimaniensis, Turneri, Gratus x Whitelockii); Livistona/Saribus Rotundifolia seedlings x2; Arenga Pinnata 6' tall; Agave Celsii "Multicolor"; Zamia Furfuracea types x7; Arenga Engleri (suspected Tremula); Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii (Spindle) x6; Ravenea Rivularis x2 (no canopy); Malayan Dwarf Green Cocos; Heliconia Orange Gyro; Heliconia Rostrata; Hawaiian TI "Red Sister" with canopy; Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii (less than 1 foot tall with no canopy); Dioon Spinulosum 2 leaf seedling

50% burn: Arenga Pinnata 6' tall SW corner; Bambusa Lako x2; Zamia Furfuracea x3; Ptychosperma Macarthurii 6" tall double seedling; Thai Black bananas x2 clusters; Agave Celsii "Multicolor"; Allagoptera Caudescens 6' tall; Encephalartos (Turneri, 2 small NOID plantings); Kerriodoxa Elegans (4' tall with canopy); Dendrocalamus Maximuslamina (no canopy); Gaussia Princeps 1' tall seedlings x2; Heliconia "Bihai Giant"; Caryota Gigas 2' tall (no canopy); Corypha NOID

80% burn: Zamia Furfuracea type x2; Cycas Litoralis 3 leaf seedling; Malayan Tall Yellow

90% burn: Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii (Spindle) x2 7' tall trunking; Allagoptera Caudescens solid leaf seedling (no canopy); Chambeyronia Macrocarpa 4' tall (no canopy); Musa Basjoo & "Mekong Giant"

Frost torched top leaves, but lower leaves unaffected: Ficus Elastica 2' tall; Coccoloba Uvifera (Sea Grapes) x4; Dypsis Pembana 14' tall; Dypsis Lutescens x2 7' tall; Ficus Lyrata; Philodendron Monstera; "Ice Cream" Banana monstrous 10' diameter 20' tall clump

Torched, recovery uncertain:  Bananas (Little Prince, Truly Tiny, Saba, Bordelon x4, Dwarf Cavendish, Mekong Giant, Zebrina, Ice Cream, Goldfinger, CA Gold, Kandarian); Thai Giant elephant ears (various spots); Hawaiian TI transplant tops; Gaussia Princeps two singles and one triple 1' tall; Cycas 2" caudex seedlings (Elephantipes, Pectinata x2); Cannas (various); Heliconia "Temptress"; Ficus Elastica 2' tall; Ficus Benghalensis "Audrey" 2' tall; Encephalartos Tegulaneus 3" caudex seedling; Chambeyronia Macrocarpa 7' tall (no canopy); Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis double and single; Agave Attenuata (Ray of Light, Boutin Blue, Kara's Stripes)

As a rough summary, about 420 plantings were unaffected, 45 with minor damage, 40 with low damage, 20 with 50% damage, 10 with severe damage, and 50 completely torched.  Most of the severe damage were bananas and heliconias, fortunately!

Are you in a typical suburban area or more rural? I was surprised I didn't hear more about damage from the Xmas cold snap...there were several hours below freezing or close to it for a lot of Florida....I hope the rest of the winter is kinder and allows your plants to start the recovery process. I saw someone post that there will be a big trough building over the eastern half of the country around the middle of the month....not a good time of year for that to happen. So much for the above normal winter that was predicted.

[Merlyn]

Here's some observations:

Hyophorbes: All took moderate to severe frost damage, especially the bottles.  Only two Lagenicaulis out in the open survived with 50% damage, and they were up front in the "tropical bed" and semi-protected by a big Bismarck on one side and a Philodendron Selloum on the other side.  The top leaves were torched, but the middle leaves look fine.  The others were completely burnt to a crisp and may not survive.  Several potted ones up next to the house with Queen canopy are basically fine, maybe with a bit of yellowing.  Verschaffeltii (Spindle) survived better, but not a whole lot better.  Two big semi-trunking 7' tall ones in the backyard are nearly 100% burned, survival is uncertain.  Other 5' to 7' ones in the front tropical beds are in better shape, but still had at least 50% damage.  The big one I planted up front did okay, the new frond is pristine and the older ones had some frost burn.  It's got 6' of wood and is around 15' tall, and I planted it about 6' from the house.  So probably the house helped that one stay warm.

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa: Big disappointment.  A triple up next to the house in my "nursery area" was completely undamaged, but the two out in the yard with no canopy are completely fried.  Recovery on either of them is questionable.  On rereading @kinzyjr's spreadsheet it looks like these are hardy above 30F, but take variably bad damage or death under 30 without canopy.  Ultimately the hardiness in open air is about the same as a Hyophorbe.  My green dwarf cocos up front did better than both of these!

Encephalartos Laurentianus: Big shocker in a good way!  I have 6 in the ground with no canopy on any of them.  One frond on one plant was burned, and it was a recent flush that probably hadn't hardened off yet.  Another plant had a 90% finished flush, and the leaves got a little distorted by the cold.  These outperformed most of my Whitelockii/Ituriensis/Equatorialis types.  A triple right next to the torched Bottle & Flamethrower was basically undamaged.

Allagoptera Caudescens: a still solid-leaf seedling in the open was completely torched, but an identically-sized one with Butia & B. Alfredii canopy was slighly bronzed and recovered to green in a few days.  A 10' diameter one with no canopy took some significant damage, with the leaves folding up to a tight V and some significant burn.  Canopy seems critical to these, at least with the frost.

Elaeis Guineensis: A 2' tall seedling took zero damage and is opening a new leaf a week later.  Maybe the taller Dypsis Pembana and Caryota Mitis opposite it on my pathway kept frost from forming?

Arenga Pinnata: I have two, grown from seed by @NATEtures Domain many years ago.  The one out in the open (next to the Elaeis) was growing more robustly and took maybe 25% damage.  The one in the SW corner was partially shaded by oaks, and protected on 2 sides by a Viburnum hedge.  It was growing a lot slower this summer and took >50% damage.

Gaussia Princeps: Wow!  While every Hyophorbe took major damage to complete destruction, most of the Gaussia seedlings were undamaged.  I had 27 seedlings planted, all about 1-1.5' tall.  One triple and two singles were torched, and the rest were fine.  If this holds, Princeps will be my replacement for the Hyophorbes...

Cocos: I planted two on either end of my front walkway.  I did not protect them at all.  The green dwarf on the W side had about 25% burn on the old fronds.  The yellow tall type on the E side was severely burned but probably will recover. 

Beccariophoenix Alfredii: 5 in the ground from 8' to 14' tall overall.  The only one that took minor damage was transplanted in April 2019, so it's a bit smaller than the others.  The damage was a bit of yellowing/spotting on one frond, and that could easily have had some nutritional deficiencies before the freeze.  The others are completely undamaged.

Arenga Engleri: two recent plantings got a little bit of yellowing, but the only one that took significant damage might be an Arenga Tremula.  It has the "paired leaflets" that is a Tremula characteristic. 

Caryota Mitis: a 6' tall cluster had 5 or 6 burned leaflets and a 14' tall trunking cluster had about the same. 

Dypsis Pembana: The top fronds got frost-torched, but everything below looks pristine.  With its rapid growth rate I'm sure it'll look fine in the spring.

[Merlyn]

27 minutes ago, chinandega81 said:

Are you in a typical suburban area or more rural? I was surprised I didn't hear more about damage from the Xmas cold snap...there were several hours below freezing or close to it for a lot of Florida....I hope the rest of the winter is kinder and allows your plants to start the recovery process. I saw someone post that there will be a big trough building over the eastern half of the country around the middle of the month....not a good time of year for that to happen. So much for the above normal winter that was predicted.

I am just NW of the Orlando heat island.  According to the map I am a borderline 9b/9a zone, though 25F is the lowest temp I've recorded here in January 2018.  It did snow at my house once, I swear I have it on video!  Generally speaking I'm a few degrees colder than the Sanford airport, which is 2F or so colder than the Orlando airport.  If January is ok then most of my stuff will recover...

[Palmfarmer]

its a record breaking cold here. We hit a peak of -3.7c/24-25f for like an hour an many nights around -2/27/28f. I cant see any damage yet on either my majesty, kentia. Bismarckia or even bottlepalm. checked out one of the big royals in the neighboorhood and it had gotton some good burnage. Certain less hardy queens had yellow fronds, but few. I saw one defoliated Robilini in a really exposed area, but all my 4 robilinis look more or less untouched, My dypsis lutescens however has gotton severly burned. Damage might show up later though. but maybe cold above what is considered to kill these palms goes out the back since the cold is so damn short? 

[sonoranfans]

When the polar vortex my yard was hit in 2018 @ 30F for 6+ hours in an advective event (not warmer at height).  I had substantial damage to a 20'+ caryota mits, my 25' dypsis pembana (above the roof) had the whole crown burned off as did most of my other crownshafts.   They survived and grew back.  It takes a few weeks to see the full damage, but it could be the brief cold did not cool off the leaves enough to get a real bad burn. on those palms.  But also with a frost vent it had to be radiational which means 10' above the ground was probably 4-5 degrees warmer than at ground level.  Fingers crossed for the rest of this winter.   

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

12 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Here's some observations:

Hyophorbes: All took moderate to severe frost damage, especially the bottles.  Only two Lagenicaulis out in the open survived with 50% damage, and they were up front in the "tropical bed" and semi-protected by a big Bismarck on one side and a Philodendron Selloum on the other side.  The top leaves were torched, but the middle leaves look fine.  The others were completely burnt to a crisp and may not survive.  Several potted ones up next to the house with Queen canopy are basically fine, maybe with a bit of yellowing.  Verschaffeltii (Spindle) survived better, but not a whole lot better.  Two big semi-trunking 7' tall ones in the backyard are nearly 100% burned, survival is uncertain.  Other 5' to 7' ones in the front tropical beds are in better shape, but still had at least 50% damage.  The big one I planted up front did okay, the new frond is pristine and the older ones had some frost burn.  It's got 6' of wood and is around 15' tall, and I planted it about 6' from the house.  So probably the house helped that one stay warm.

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa: Big disappointment.  A triple up next to the house in my "nursery area" was completely undamaged, but the two out in the yard with no canopy are completely fried.  Recovery on either of them is questionable.  On rereading @kinzyjr's spreadsheet it looks like these are hardy above 30F, but take variably bad damage or death under 30 without canopy.  Ultimately the hardiness in open air is about the same as a Hyophorbe.  My green dwarf cocos up front did better than both of these!

Encephalartos Laurentianus: Big shocker in a good way!  I have 6 in the ground with no canopy on any of them.  One frond on one plant was burned, and it was a recent flush that probably hadn't hardened off yet.  Another plant had a 90% finished flush, and the leaves got a little distorted by the cold.  These outperformed most of my Whitelockii/Ituriensis/Equatorialis types.  A triple right next to the torched Bottle & Flamethrower was basically undamaged.

Allagoptera Caudescens: a still solid-leaf seedling in the open was completely torched, but an identically-sized one with Butia & B. Alfredii canopy was slighly bronzed and recovered to green in a few days.  A 10' diameter one with no canopy took some significant damage, with the leaves folding up to a tight V and some significant burn.  Canopy seems critical to these, at least with the frost.

Elaeis Guineensis: A 2' tall seedling took zero damage and is opening a new leaf a week later.  Maybe the taller Dypsis Pembana and Caryota Mitis opposite it on my pathway kept frost from forming?

Arenga Pinnata: I have two, grown from seed by @NATEtures Domain many years ago.  The one out in the open (next to the Elaeis) was growing more robustly and took maybe 25% damage.  The one in the SW corner was partially shaded by oaks, and protected on 2 sides by a Viburnum hedge.  It was growing a lot slower this summer and took >50% damage.

Gaussia Princeps: Wow!  While every Hyophorbe took major damage to complete destruction, most of the Gaussia seedlings were undamaged.  I had 27 seedlings planted, all about 1-1.5' tall.  One triple and two singles were torched, and the rest were fine.  If this holds, Princeps will be my replacement for the Hyophorbes...

Cocos: I planted two on either end of my front walkway.  I did not protect them at all.  The green dwarf on the W side had about 25% burn on the old fronds.  The yellow tall type on the E side was severely burned but probably will recover. 

Beccariophoenix Alfredii: 5 in the ground from 8' to 14' tall overall.  The only one that took minor damage was transplanted in April 2019, so it's a bit smaller than the others.  The damage was a bit of yellowing/spotting on one frond, and that could easily have had some nutritional deficiencies before the freeze.  The others are completely undamaged.

Arenga Engleri: two recent plantings got a little bit of yellowing, but the only one that took significant damage might be an Arenga Tremula.  It has the "paired leaflets" that is a Tremula characteristic. 

Caryota Mitis: a 6' tall cluster had 5 or 6 burned leaflets and a 14' tall trunking cluster had about the same. 

Dypsis Pembana: The top fronds got frost-torched, but everything below looks pristine.  With its rapid growth rate I'm sure it'll look fine in the spring.

Arthur,

What size are your Coconut Palms?  How long have they been in the ground, and what exactly is the "yellow tall type"?  Is it a Golden Maypan, or a Panama Tall?  The reason I ask all this is that I love Coconut Palms (they are my favorite palms), and your wintertime climate in Orlando is very similar to my wintertime climate here, at least for overnight lows, though your area averages about 5F higher highs in January than here.

John

[Merlyn]

16 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

When the polar vortex my yard was hit in 2018 @ 30F for 6+ hours in an advective event (not warmer at height).  I had substantial damage to a 20'+ caryota mits, my 25' dypsis pembana (above the roof) had the whole crown burned off as did most of my other crownshafts.   They survived and grew back.  It takes a few weeks to see the full damage, but it could be the brief cold did not cool off the leaves enough to get a real bad burn. on those palms.  But also with a frost vent it had to be radiational which means 10' above the ground was probably 4-5 degrees warmer than at ground level.  Fingers crossed for the rest of this winter.   

Yeah, there was no wind recorded on my weather station.  The taller Mitis is exactly at roof level and only about 8-10' from the house.  I planted it there as a noise barrier, and to protect the palm on freezes.  There was frost on the roof right next to the palms.  The Dypsis Pembana is about the same distance from the house, and it definitely looks worse on the top fronds.  They are both about the same height.  Here's what they look like this morning.  From right to left: Phoenix Roebellini triple, Dypsis Pembana, Bambusa Viridi-Vittatta (Asian Lemon), gap for the mini-split air conditioner, then Caryota Mitis.  Just on the other side of the Mitis (not visible) is my largest Beccariophoenix Alfredii at about 14' overall height.

[Merlyn]

9 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

What size are your Coconut Palms?  How long have they been in the ground, and what exactly is the "yellow tall type"?  Is it a Golden Maypan, or a Panama Tall?  The reason I ask all this is that I love Coconut Palms (they are my favorite palms), and your wintertime climate in Orlando is very similar to my wintertime climate here, at least for overnight lows, though your area averages about 5F higher highs in January than here.

Originally I bought a pair of the $20 Home Depot Green Malayan Dwarfs.  I planted them in March 2019, but I planted them too high.  In April 2020 I realized that the growing point was at the top of the rotting coconut husk, floating 8" above soil level.  So I replanted it with the root initiation zone at ground level.  The one on the West side of the pathway didn't seem to mind being replanted, and kept growing fine.  The one on the East side died within weeks.  I must have broken a major root, or something.

Around May 1st 2020 I planted the yellow tall type on the East side.  It was a random Home Depot purchase, I was walking through and saw the yellow stems in a sea of green.  So I really don't know what type it is, I am just saying "yellow tall" because of its growth pattern.

Here is what they look like after the freeze, this was taken 12/28 but they haven't really changed since:

[Merlyn]

Here's some photos I took Saturday 1/2/21, 1 week after the freeze. 

Heliconia "Temptress" torched, "Bihai Giant" about 50% burnt on the right side, and Latispatha "Orange Gyro" and Rostrata only about 25% burned, or less.  A section of Psittacorum "Lady Di" were all burnt to the ground.

The only semi-decent looking Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis (Bottle) are the pair on the left, sorta protected by the Bismarck and Philodendron on each side.  Just to the right is a pair of Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii (Spindle) that are in really good shape with only about 25% burn. 

My biggest Spindle is this one next to the house.  The 4 older fronds took about 50-75% burn, any surface facing "up" got burned by frost.  The new frond that opened around the beginning of December is basically clean.  You can see the mass of dead Heliconia "Lady Di" in the foreground.  They'll probably grow back, since they spread aggressively.

[redant]

You will need to update come say June or so, that's when you will have a real idea of the damage. Right now the cosmetic stuff is just that, cosmetic. The bananas and Heliconia surely will come back from the dead.

[Merlyn]

My poor Caryota Gigas looks about the same as the yellow tall Cocos, but the spear is growing rapidly.  The biggest fronds are about 2.5 feet long, and it is fully exposed with no nearby canopy.  I'll definitely protect this one in the next freeze.  I have another in a pot in my nursery area that took zero damage, but it was near the house and had canopy.

A Zombia/Coccothrinax hybrid on the right and Coccothrinax Argenteum on the left took minor frost damage.  A Coccothrinax Barbadensis/Dussiana to the left of this photo took no damage, but it was sorta protected from frost by Bordelon bananas and a 7' tall Chamaerops Humilis. 

Here's 5 of the Gaussia Princeps seedlings, the two on the right are pretty burned but will probably recover.  The other 3 are either undamaged or only slightly burned.  I really expected a bunch of these to die immediately. 

[Merlyn]

Here's four other semi-sheltered Bottles and Spindles.  The big Bottle is about 90% burnt, and the three Spindles in a row behind it are only about 25-50% burnt. 

And the two backyard Bottles, also 90% burnt.  The leaf of the Chambeyronia Macrocarpa is in the bottom left corner:

And the poor Flamethrower.  Only the rachis and the tip of the left frond (slightly under Roebellini canopy) are still green.  In the upper right you can see the only burnt frond on an Encephalartos Laurentianus, it was a new-ish flush and hadn't hardened off yet:

 

[Reeverse]

Wow thanks for the update. I'm surprised how much colder it got out there. Should all recover though 

[Merlyn]

I think most of it should recover, but if we get another hard freeze my "Dead Pool" list includes 3 Bottles, 2 Flamethrowers, 1 Allagoptera Caudescens seedling, and the below Encephalartos Tegulaneus.  Oddly enough the bigger Tegulaneus up front had zero damage, and looks like it is thinking about flushing.  My front yard is about 6 feet higher than the back yard, so maybe it's warmer up there.  I need to get a multi-zone datalogging sensor so I can find out!

There's a Cycas Litoralis seedling a few feet to the left of that Tegulaneus, also burnt to a crisp.  And a few feet to the West again is a pretty bronzed Dioon Spinulosum seedling, and then there's this Allagoptera Caudescens that is unlikely to survive:

Contrast that to this identically sized seedling, with some protection from a Butia on the left and Alfredii on the right:

And this bigger Caudescens, about 8 feet across.  It had no canopy either, and the frost definitely hurt it.  The leaves are all in a pretty tight "V" shape compared to before the freeze.  Overall I'd guess 25-50% damage, but 1.5 weeks later it still hasn't returned to a normal shape.  By next winter the Bambusa Maligensis "Seashore" on the left should provide it some nice frost protection:

Edit: note the Dioon Spinulosum frond on the right side, with almost no damage.  Most of the brown spots on the fronds are actually old transportation/planting damage from when I bought it from ChuckG.  That Spinulosum had much less than 10% bronzing.

[Oviedo_z10b_lol]

Maybe you should’ve kept some of those water oaks around for canopy.  Hope everything recovers, and we have a mild winter from here on. Good luck!

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

Maybe you should’ve kept some of those water oaks around for canopy.  Hope everything recovers, and we have a mild winter from here on. Good luck!

Yeah, the water oaks definitely would have helped!  I think that's why the West side stuff took less damage, since my neighbors to the West have a full canopy.  It could just be coincidence, though, since the SW corner Arenga Pinnata took a lot more damage than the East side one.  And what am I doing today?  Having guys take down the last 4 oaks and pines in the backyard...  My neighbors cut down 100% of their water oaks in December, leaving just 4 loners on my side of the fence.  90 foot tall solo pines make for zero canopy and good hurricane targets, so down they go.

[TomJ]

I would peroxide the crown shafts ASAP.

Keep an eye on fungal issues until June.

I get those temps almost every year a couple times, minus frosts generally.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 1/4/2021 at 8:32 AM, Merlyn said:

Originally I bought a pair of the $20 Home Depot Green Malayan Dwarfs.  I planted them in March 2019, but I planted them too high.  In April 2020 I realized that the growing point was at the top of the rotting coconut husk, floating 8" above soil level.  So I replanted it with the root initiation zone at ground level.  The one on the West side of the pathway didn't seem to mind being replanted, and kept growing fine.  The one on the East side died within weeks.  I must have broken a major root, or something.

Around May 1st 2020 I planted the yellow tall type on the East side.  It was a random Home Depot purchase, I was walking through and saw the yellow stems in a sea of green.  So I really don't know what type it is, I am just saying "yellow tall" because of its growth pattern.

Here is what they look like after the freeze, this was taken 12/28 but they haven't really changed since:

Arthur,

Okay.  Thanks for the info.  I think you have a Green Malayan Dwarf and a Golden or Yellow Malayan Dwarf (the Golden Malayan Dwarfs have a golden yellowish orange petiole, but the Yellow Malayan Dwarfs have a bright yellow petiole, and they are the least common of the 3 Malayan Dwarf varieties grown in Florida).  Green Malayans are slightly more cold hardy than the Goldens, which are slightly more cold hardy that the Yellow Malayans, which seem to be the least cold hardy of the 3 Malayan Dwarf varieties.  But the Golden and Yellow Malayans certainly have beautiful petioles and nuts before they ripen.  The Goldens have golden yellowish orange nuts just like the color of their petioles, and the Yellows have bright yellow nuts just like the color of their petioles.  I wish I could grow them here, but I am just lucky to be able to grow the Green Malayans here, but all 3 Malayans can be grown in Brownsville in the lower part of the Rio Grande Valley, about 3 hours south of me.

John

[Merlyn]

Here's a mid-April update on the freezes.  I had a heavy frost on 2/4, and my new Ambient Weather datalogger had 4 zones with consistent data.  The backyard orange and yellow lines are consistently 3 degrees colder than the front yard, which explains why Bottles/Spindles up front were only slightly damaged and ones in the back were completely torched.  This was the heaviest frost I can recall, it really looked like it snowed.  The warmest spot is my nursery area, which is close to the house and under Queen canopy.  That sensor gets hit by sunlight at about 8:30AM, which is why there's an unusual spike.  The front NW sensor drops out a lot due to positioning, but on other cold nights it tracks the NE sensor pretty closely.  I checked calibration at room temperature and in the freezer, all were within about 0.2F of each other:

For the most part the 2nd frost didn't do any additional damage, but it was the coup de grace to a few plants.  Of the previously mentioned plants, basically everything with 50% burn or less is growing happily, despite our February-April drought.  All the cycads are flushing except for the E. Tegulaneus.  The caudex is still firm, but no sign of life at the moment.  Other tropicals like Ficus Elastica, Lyrata and Benghalensis started sprouting around the beginning of May.  The heliconia are all growing back, and the majority of the bananas either kept growing or sprouted offsets at the base.  Only a couple of random "Zebrina" types just rotted away to nothing.  Most of the transplanted tops of Hawaiian TIs are resprouting, but very slowly.  An Agave Attenuata Kara's Stripes turned to mush, as well as a Potatorum "Golden Glow" and a potted Aloe "Goliath."  The planted "Goliath" was unaffected.

And among the palms:

Hyophorbes: 100% recovery at this point, even the completely torched ones are growing or have already opened new fronds.  I already transplanted one of the trunking Verschaffeltii to the front yard tropical bed, and will probably transplant the second in a week or two.  The two Lagenicaulis in the backyard are probably in the worst shape.  They are both growing but opening up stunted or frost-damaged fronds.  :

Chambeyronia:  The smaller of the two is pushing a new spear with daily movement, so it'll probably recover by the middle of May.  The bigger one is probably dead, it had a spear pull last week and was really rotten inside.  I gave it some Banrot systemic and hydrogen peroxide regularly.  I give it a 5% chance:

Allagoptera Caudescens:  All three are recovering, to my surprise!  The biggest one took a little more damage in February, but is growing new fronds at a reasonable pace.  The first full frond should open up in a few days.  The frost-protected seedling looks pretty good, with only minor yellowing/spotting.  The one that burnt 100% has opened up a full new leaf and is working on a second:

[Merlyn]

Cocos: 1 dead, 1 on life support.  The yellow one (closest to the camera) was taken out by the 2nd frost, spear pulled and I chucked it in the trash.  The second was doing mostly okay until I had to dig up the 2' trunk Sylvestris behind it for a septic tank + drainfield install.  I didn't notice that I had yanked the dripline away from it, so it went completely dry for February-March.  It had 2 decent leaves even after the 2nd frost, but they died without water.  I potted it in my tropical bed and it's not quite dead...yet.

Beccariophoenix Alfredii: No photos, since they were essentially undamaged by both frosts. 

Gaussia Princeps: 27 seedlings in the ground, 100% recovery.  Two are still straggling along, but at only about 10" tall I'm really shocked at how well they are doing.  Ones with some amount of frost protection had zero damage.  In the below photo you can see a triple that's chugging along like nothing happened.

Arenga Pinnata: Both ended up with 50-75% damage but have opened new fronds.  See below for the one on the pathway.

Elaeis Guineensis:  There were two frosts?  Say what? 

Ptychosperma Macarthurii:  Yellowing and a little spotting on the oldest leaves, but growing new ones fast. 

Caryota Mitis and Dypsis Pembana:  Both are about the same, with top leaves frost burned but growing rapidly.

Attalea Cohune:  The 2nd frost did some additional damage, but both are growing new fronds at a moderate pace.  The East side yard one lost 5 decent leaves but has a whole new 4' tall frond and a new spear growing.

[Merlyn]

And the last of the damaged plants were Encephalartos Laurentianus and E. Whitelockii/Ituriensis/Equatorialis.  The Laurentianus took a little bit of frost damage, especially after the 2nd heavy frost.  But it was no more than about 30% burn in the backyard, and 1 or 2 leaflets in the front yard.  They are almost all flushing.  This one took the most damage but has 4 new fronds that are about 5 feet tall already:

I moved this E. Ituriensis over to the SW side, and the next day it started flushing and is now 90% done.  I'll cut off the old damaged fronds, since I plan on keeping this one to a single rank of fronds:

This Sabal Mauritiiformis was in good shape after the first frost, but I cut down the last water oak in early January.  It was giving this one some afternoon shade, so it sunburned pretty bad in January.  The frost probably didn't help, but it's hard to say whether the damage was frost or sunburn.  Either way it's recovering, and should have some shade + frost protection from nearby Bambusa Lako, Chungii, and Tuldoides "Swollen Internode."

[Merlyn]

The last two mostly undamaged seedlings are:

Attalea Phalerata:  This one bronzed in both frosts, and recovered 100% after the first one.  The second left some scars, but it is still going strong.  It is near the torched Allagoptera Caudescens seedling, and about the same physical size.  Clearly this one is a lot hardier, at least at seedling stage:

I almost forgot the Licuala Peltata v. Sumawongii!!!  I planted this in November 2020 with 2 good leaves and 2 kinda "meh" leaves.  It now has 1 new leaf, 1 new spear, and has killed off two of the November leaves.  I didn't notice any significant frost damage, despite being completely exposed.  It bronzed slightly, but recovered in a day or two.  These leaves are around 3-5" diameter.  Weeds for size reference:

The only ones I forgot to photo are the Caryota Gigas in the front yard, and Corypha in the East yard.  I'll add photos once it stops raining.

[Merlyn]

I caught a lucky break in the rain, so here's the Corypha.  It was an unknown seedling from a PT member Brian out in Tampa, if anyone has an idea on ID let me know!  It has one new frond on the bottom right, hopefully it'll get moving this summer!  Weeds for scale:

The Caryota Gigas up front opened the one big frond in mid January, and the February 4th frost burned the other older ones.  But the new frond still looks reasonably good, and there's a BIG new spear growing fast.  I bet in 2 weeks it'll have two big fronds and be starting on a third:

[Merlyn]

And here's a "final update" on the dead/alive palms.  The only ones that died are the two small Cocos and the two Chambeyronias.  All spear pulled and ended up with crown rot, with the top basically turning to mush.  Everything else survived and is growing okay, though slow growers like Attalea Cohune, Allagoptera Caudescens, Arenga Pinnata and Arenga Tremula still only have a few decent leaves.  The seedling Allagoptera Caudescens and Attalea Phalerata are all doing fine.  The Corypha has a couple of decent sized leaves now, and the Caryota Gigas up front is growing fast.  Bottles and Spindles all still have varying degrees of old dead fronds, but most have at least 3-4 new green ones.  Out of all the Gaussia Princeps seedlings, only 1 is still stunted from the frosts and spring drought.  Coccothrinax Argentea and Barbadensis up front had some lingering crown fungal infections, but have grown out of it.  The Copernicia Macroglossa hybrid in the backyard is still not totally clean either, but it's also getting less sun than it probably wants.  I had planted a Dioon Spinulosum with 3' of trunk just to the East of it, so it is now getting only a few hours of direct sun at mid-day.

The Ficus Lyrata burned to the ground and resprouted from ground level, but in August is now *almost* the same size it was last fall.  Since I get frosts like that every year, I probably will need to move it so it will actually grow bigger.  Likewise the Ficus Elastica is still very small but about the same size as last fall.  The Ficus Benghalensis also burned to the ground, but has not particularly recovered.  It's still less than 1 foot tall and barely holding a few leaves.  This seems like a bad choice for the area. 

Cycads all recovered 100% with the exception of one Encephalartos Tegulaneus.  It put out 1 small frond in May, and followed up with an even tinier one in July, literally 3 inches long with 1 leaf.  I'm going to repot this one in super-draining soil and see if I can get it to recover.

 

[chinandega81]

I'm surprised the Ficus Benghalensis and elsatica haven't rebounded. I thought they were more cold tolerant. This past winter was annoying with several consistent and strong cold fronts throughout all of December and into early February. Then it got mild and Texas took the brunt of the cold. Spring was also on the cool side and summer started off very dry, so this hasn't been ideal for palms or tropicals. I am hoping for a nice, wet end of summer and fall and a warm and dry winter, but who knows what is really in store.

[kinzyjr]

@Merlyn Thanks for the report, even though you had some unfortunate results.

[NickJames]

Everything over here has recovered.

My Lowe’s cocos has put on a lot of growth this summer. 

Even my baby cocos from @redant is thriving. 

Not pictured, but I would say my foxtail looks the worst. I’m surprised as it was the most established. 

[redant]

Looking very tropical James. Hope for a mild winter.

[palmsOrl]

Love the coconut James!!!