Palmageddon Aftermath Photo Thread

[Xenon]

2 hours ago, MesquiteRetreat said:

Two of our Roystonea regia are pushing up a green spear!!! YAY!!! Unfortunately, there is no movement on any of our Wodyetia bifurcata, although most still do have erect spears. And most seem to have solid trunks...no mushy or soft spots. But it's been two months...how much longer should we wait before we accept that they need to be replaced???

That's great! I'd wait on your foxtails until the end of July 

[Reyes Vargas]

3 hours ago, MesquiteRetreat said:

Two of our Roystonea regia are pushing up a green spear!!! YAY!!! Unfortunately, there is no movement on any of our Wodyetia bifurcata, although most still do have erect spears. And most seem to have solid trunks...no mushy or soft spots. But it's been two months...how much longer should we wait before we accept that they need to be replaced???

That is great news.  Post some pictures we would love to see. Wodyetia are way more cold sensitive than Roystonea.  I would give your Wodyetia maybe till June.  If no movement by then, then its more than likely dead.

Edited April 15, 2021 by Reyes Vargas

[PricklyPearSATC]

On 4/11/2021 at 4:45 PM, UK_Palms said:

College station had a daily high temperature of just 20F (-6.6C) on the 15th!? That's crazy for 30N. I'm way up here at 51N and my lowest nighttime temperature all winter was 21F (-6.1C). It looks like they were either at or below freezing for about 120 consecutive hours as well in College Station. An absolute low of 4F (-16C) according to @Collectorpalms I think he said.

If the CIDP and Filifera's have survived from that, I am more hopeful of them also surviving long term for me here, inland at 51N. I've never been anywhere near that cold before, but CIDP's and Washies are still considered pretty marginal here in my location. But if they can come back from 4F (-16C) and 120 hours below freezing, they can surely come back from just about anything here. The coldest I have ever seen in my lifetime is 12F (-11C) and about 72 hours below freezing, back in 2010. 

Perhaps the winter/spring warm-up is more of a factor than I am crediting it. You would think the ultimate low and duration below freezing are more important for survival though than the warm-up period that follows it. Of course a decent warm-up period helps recovery, but Dallas reached 80F a week after the freeze yet everything is still dead there due to the ultimate low of 0F and 250 hours below freezing. So the winter/spring warmup becomes irrelevant. 

Have any CIDP or Washies actually survived in the DFW area, or is everything toast? I remember seeing a photo of a big CIDP in Dallas that was up against a building and about 30-40 feet tall. Obviously it would have been defoliated, but does anyone know whether it has pulled through and put out new growth, or is it totally smoked?

 

 

Totally, totally different climate than the UK...

A good portion of Texas is humid subtropical with continental influences.  Seattle is more like the UK, they have a pacific current that helps moderate winter and summer temps.  In winter winds blow from the west.  On the east coast of the US, they do not get much winter moderation from the Atlantic because winds are primarily from the west.  The Gulf of Mexico is also a huge source of warmth but in the winter, its moderating is cut off, except for coastal areas. 
The Rocky Mountains can force polar jets to travel far south. 
Much of the weather depends on wind direction: 
N cold front, but it is not prevailing for long..sporadic..disappears completely in summer months.
S (hot, hot and humid) prevails most of the time. 
W (can be wet or dry) also prevails in winter.  (Stronger in North Texas..prevails in summer at latitudes of 40 N..rare in South Texas during summer)
E (warm, humid, tropical) prevails in summer coastal areas. 

Edited April 15, 2021 by PricklyPearSATC

[oliver]

My 2 20ft foxtails at the office now opening a green spear and the 10 footer at my house next to the pool on its second leaf. All my rare cycads and not so rare are flushing.  Now 4 of 8 mature mangos pushing sprouts out of the trunk before the first branch point. I did however lose all my exotic syargrus out of Brazil apparently, and most of the madagascar stuff, except Tahinia which are all alive including the 4 in 10 gallon pots which were unprotected. ??Still for sale if anyone in the Valley interested?? Price went up though!! The big ones are doing fine!!

[oliver]

Almost everything I have out of Mexico and the Carribean seems to be good. Copernicia, Coccothrinax etc.

[Austinpalm]

22 hours ago, MesquiteRetreat said:

Two of our Roystonea regia are pushing up a green spear!!! YAY!!! Unfortunately, there is no movement on any of our Wodyetia bifurcata, although most still do have erect spears. And most seem to have solid trunks...no mushy or soft spots. But it's been two months...how much longer should we wait before we accept that they need to be replaced???

Give it at least a few more weeks.  I am starting to see some movement in more foxtails here on the island.  On another note, saw my first schefllera actinophyla today with growth.  Highest growth so far was on 4-inch thick wood.  Maybe it will move farther out over the next few days.  More Roystoneas are showing life as well.  But I would say that over half are dead. Still no movement on the coconuts that I have seen yet.  Also beginning to see a few queens that look like they will die or are dead while others next to them are alive. Some with little damage. And finally, it seems like all pygmy dates smaller than about 3-4 feet are dead unless in a very protected location.  Even some much larger plants in very exposed positions look to be dead or dying.

[Xenon]

College Station: filifera aliveeee; robusta dead dead dead dead dead dead

 

[Collectorpalms]

Interesting. I took same pictures a few days ago 4/12/21 of same ones. They are in a courtyard of an apartment complex in the center of town, so the warmest area, if there was one. These are some of the oldest Washingtonians. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Xenon]

3 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Interesting. I took same pictures a few days ago of same ones. They are in a courtyard of an apartment complex in the center of town, so the warmest area, if there was one. These are some of the oldest Washingtonians. 

There is a small filifera out front (facing Harvey Rd) that is pushing green as well along with the one at Ozuna. Still haven't see any green on the big date palm a few doors down from you  

[Collectorpalms]

Yeah, This one.

I have almost given up hope on anything that has not moved.

[Xerarch]

Filifera are TANKS!

[Collectorpalms]

I haven’t seen any live Washington Robustas alive in College Station.

But there is one skinny tall one in Bryan that is still alive. I’ll post it if it it pulls though and crown Doesn’t soften and flop over. 

I also have at least 1 hybrid that is alive, but probably a couple Filifera dead. It’s hard to get them as beefy on my plot of land. I go by what temperature they burned by in the past. If they remained green after 14.5* in 2018, I considered them Filifera. If they are fat, but burned at 17F but not 20 then hybrids. Anything that burned at 20 a Robusta. 

....,,You can also tell the Filifera dead fronds are the color of light straw. The dead fronds of the others are dark brown.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[NBTX11]

Did a small inspection today.  

Zero movement on Robusta.  Going to have a 95% plus death rate on Robusta.  DEAD.  I haven't inspected every one in town, but every single time I look at them they are dead looking.

Some movement on a few hybrids, mostly thicker trunks, but most are dead also.

Flifera mostly alive (90% +).  And most are aggressively growing healthy fronds at a fast clip now.

I inspected a large true date palm, but could not tell if it is recovering, due to all the dead fronds that haven't been trimmed off yet.

Everything more hardy than Robusta is recovering.  Canary Island Dates putting out tons of green.

[NBTX11]

2 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Filifera are TANKS!

They are and extremely hardy.  Mine are now growing like wild.  Survived without a problem.

[Xenon]

I'm actually having a hard time finding living robusta more than a mile or two north of I-10 in east Katy/far west Houston. The >95% total kill line seems to hug I-10 very closely this far west. It's literally walking distance between near complete kill to the occasional pure/reasonably pure robusta survivor. Thin trunked but obvious hybrids have a much higher survival rate. 

[NBTX11]

Does anyone know how all the tall, thin Washingtonias in Corpus Christi are doing?  If I had to guess, they probably burnt to a crisp but are mostly recovering. 

[NBTX11]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

I'm actually having a hard time finding living robusta more than a mile or two north of I-10 in east Katy/far west Houston. The >95% total kill line seems to hug I-10 very closely this far west. It's literally walking distance between near complete kill to the occasional pure/reasonably pure robusta survivor. Thin trunked but obvious hybrids have a much higher survival rate. 

At least you’re finding some. I’ve yet to see a thin trunked Robusta recover in New Braunfels. I haven’t seen one. The only palms I’ve seen recovering are Filifera and thicker trunk hybrids. And many neighborhoods were loaded with Robusta. 

[PricklyPearSATC]

2 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

At least you’re finding some. I’ve yet to see a thin trunked Robusta recover in New Braunfels. I haven’t seen one. The only palms I’ve seen recovering are Filifera and thicker trunk hybrids. And many neighborhoods were loaded with Robusta. 

I saw some in San Antonio at the Anheuser-Busch HQ on Highway 90.  They've been pruned and growth is visible. 

[NBTX11]

11 minutes ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

I saw some in San Antonio at the Anheuser-Busch HQ on Highway 90.  They've been pruned and growth is visible. 

What percentage are you seeing in San Antonio. I’ve yet to see one recover in New Braunfels, Schertz, Cibolo, or Universal City.   Out of hundreds.

Edited April 17, 2021 by NBTX11

[PricklyPearSATC]

Just now, NBTX11 said:

What percentage are you seeing in San Antonio. I’ve yet to see one in New Braunfels, Schertz, Cibolo, or Universal City. 

I just saw those.  Most are not pruned.  I think I saw 2 filibustas with some green on the south side, in back yards, but we were also on 90 driving fast.  People don't prune their palms in those neighborhoods, so time will tell.
All the Robustas in Leon Valley etc are dead.  (I live near Bandera and 1604)

[NBTX11]

1 minute ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

I just saw those.  Most are not pruned.  I think I saw 2 filibustas with some green on the south side, in back yards, but we were also on 90 driving fast.  People don't prune their palms in those neighborhoods, so time will tell.
All the Robustas in Leon Valley etc are dead.  (I live near Bandera and 1604)

Same, I've seen a handful of moderate to thick trunk Filibusta survive, but that's it.  Anything pencil thin is dead, completely dead, and does not appear like it will recover.  I would be totally shocked if 5 Robusta survived in New Braunfels (out of hundreds/thousands).  Some neighborhoods were absolutely loaded with Robusta.  Key word is were.

This freeze was complete and total wipeout of Robusta in my area.

[Collectorpalms]

Ok, here we go. Here is the only thin tall Washingtonia I found to survive 5*.

I am referring to the one on the right of the driveway. If you notice the one on the right the leaf color is glossy green- Robusta-like. The one on the left of the driveway, the fronds are dull green- Filifera-like, but rather thin trunk. 

I believe both of these to be hybrids, but the One on the right, has the appearance of a Robusta.
Another Palm on the lot, you can see what looks like a pure Filifera. Much thicker trunked. 
These are from google-street view. I’ll get some actual pictures one day soon. I was trying to find some more, but couldn’t find another that had the appearance of a Robusta (guesstimate 75%) alive here, except that one on the right of the drive.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[PricklyPearSATC]

Apparently filifera has the potential to get tall:

These palms are almost 100 years old.  The writer in the Express News did not know whether they were filifera or robusta
Apparently there were plans for removal before the freeze.  Their trunks are pretty beat up..

 

Green-gray foliage points to filifera

Edited April 17, 2021 by PricklyPearSATC

[Collectorpalms]

Those are certainly all Filifera. Very stout, all  nearly identical in height and girth. No sway to them. 
Those have a lot of pseudo-Bark damage. It can also be caused by the humid climate.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[NBTX11]

Smaller Filifera recovery. Can you tell it was damaged?

[NBTX11]

I found the first Robusta I’ve seen recovering in New Braunfels. Don’t get excited, the kill rate is still over 99%. That’s one I’ve seen recovering out of about 1,000. 

[NBTX11]

Couple of thick hybrids recovering. 

[Collectorpalms]

2 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

Smaller Filifera recovery. Can you tell it was damaged?

Where did you purchase this one? 

 

2 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

I found the first Robusta I’ve seen recovering in New Braunfels. Don’t get excited, the kill rate is still over 99%. That’s one I’ve seen recovering out of about 1,000. 

It’s hard to tell if it’s pure Robusta from that picture, but did you see the one I posted?

[NBTX11]

33 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Where did you purchase this one? 

 

I didn't.  I grew it from seed.  It was several years ago, so I am not totally sure which tree I got the seeds from, but I know they were pure Filifera seeds.  I only get Filifera seeds from obvious Filifera that obviously pre-date 1980 (old beat up trunks, etc).

[Xenon]

Life is appearing in some more robusta that wasn't apparent 2 weeks ago here in far west Houston/"Katy".  Palms that had green two weeks ago are continuing to push and a decent number have a fully formed stunted leaf or two.  Death toll still remains high but the survival rate is trending more towards 20% vs 10%. 

[Collectorpalms]

8 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Life is appearing in some more robusta that wasn't apparent 2 weeks ago here in far west Houston/"Katy".  Palms that had green two weeks ago are continuing to push and a decent number have a fully formed stunted leaf or two.  Death toll still remains high but the survival rate is trending more towards 20% vs 10%. 

I trunk cut a Washingtonia Filifera or Filabusta leaning Filifera, two weeks ago that has only grown 1/2 inch. So I am not sure if some of the very tall dead looking Filibustas of mine are slowly moving or that one has puttered out. We had a turn of cooler weather here, so maybe that is on the pause.
 

One Filifera in Bryan that was up against a wall (so it didn’t go all brown) has a crown of leaves. 

so these 100% defoliated palms are struggling with no green on them.

Edited April 19, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[strongbad635]

GREAT recovery on 90% of the dactyls in this shopping center in the City Center area of west Houston!  

 

Most of the robustas are also looking pretty good!

[NBTX11]

Filifera trimmed. 

[NBTX11]

Robusta cut down. DEAD. 

[Collectorpalms]

23 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

Robusta cut down. DEAD. 

Big bummer! Do you have any pictures of what the crown and meristem looked like after cut down? 
looks like you also got the stump removed too, wow?
 

[NBTX11]

13 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Big bummer! Do you have any pictures of what the crown and meristem looked like after cut down? 
looks like you also got the stump removed too, wow?
 

Unfortunately not. These guys came and started cutting before I could get home from work. I asked him if he saw any life in the crown and he said no. 

[NBTX11]

Another view of my Filifera and where my Robusta used to be. 

[NBTX11]

Here’s a small Robusta I found that recovered. It looked toast a few weeks ago. 

[NBTX11]

More Typical CIDP recovery. 

[NBTX11]

Sago palm recovery.