Palmageddon Aftermath Photo Thread

[necturus]

4 hours ago, Xenon said:

Is that Neoregelia spectabilis? Looks great! Did you protect it? 

To be honest, I'm not really sure which Neo it is. Over the years I've bought a lot of named varieties and only a few species.

All my epiphytic bromeliads went into the garage and are fine. My mother left some A. gamosepala and A. recurvata out. They burnt pretty bad but didn't completely die. I wish I had "extra" A. distichantha to trial in the freeze. I gained additional respect for bromeliads after the freeze... they're an easy grow, true plug and play landscaping and obviously add a great tropical touch.

My Dyckias stayed out and mostly died.

[BeyondTheGarden]

It seems like a good number of palms survived temperatures much lower than what is normally expected/rated/advertised.  Will any of this data be put into the freeze damage data threads?  I have enjoyed browsing this thread but it seems like some of this should be quantified with the rest of the freeze data on this site. 

[Meangreen94z]

4 hours ago, Jesse PNW said:

It seems like a good number of palms survived temperatures much lower than what is normally expected/rated/advertised.  Will any of this data be put into the freeze damage data threads?  I have enjoyed browsing this thread but it seems like some of this should be quantified with the rest of the freeze data on this site. 

There have been several surprises, and also known hardy palms that turned out to be even hardier than thought. But in the case of what Daniel(Necturus) and I just posted, I think the fact the growth point still was connected to the roots provided enough ground heat transfer to survive. I’ve heard of that elsewhere, seedlings that were covered in snow, etc. survived but trunking specimen did not. So judge the results based on the size of the plant

    I still find that interesting considering the duration of the cold. Places like central and north Texas were below freezing for 5 days straight. I would have figured the ground would have frozen several inches down.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Was driving around metric/Braker area in North Austin north of domain and saw a very tall filibusta that is definitely more robusta than filifera just now starting to push out a new green frond. This is in a part of town at 800ft of elevation too. Incredible. I assume the 3 more robusta looking hybrids next to it will not come back but this just goes to show that there’s still a chance for some of these.

ill get a pic next time I drive by 

Edited May 21, 2021 by DreaminAboutPalms

[Xenon]

Queen near Buchanan's in Houston Heights is pushing some relatively robust new growth 

 

Both of these queens on I-10 near Memorial have green visible from the interstate 

10190 Old Katy Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fvL9dCJaw3BJiWiq8

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

Looks like at least one coconut survived the freeze in the McAllen region..  Have yet to find out if it was protected,

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78090587

Edited May 22, 2021 by Mr.SamuraiSword

[iamjv]

After a little trunk trimming (took off 12 inches off the top), my Tim Hopper Mule hybrid is showing signs of live !!!!    So happy to see this treasured palm of mine, come through this historic freeze !!!   I suspect it'll take two growing seasons to totally recover the full crown it had prior to the freeze but I'm good with that...  just  happy I won't have to cut this specimen down !!!!

 

 

[NBTX11]

Today’s New Braunfels recoveries. There are now thin Washingtonias recovering all over the place. Including Some that looked dead in early May. Some are putting out thier first fronds in late May. This is unbelievable. 
 

Here is a group of 3 super thin Robusta. 2 weeks ago only one was alive. Now all 3 are pushing green. Poor photo quality due to rain but trust me all three are pushing. 

[NBTX11]

Another group of Washingtonia recovering. In early May, the thin ones looked dead. But back they come. 

[NBTX11]

Medium trunked hybrid. Looked dead with collapsed crown 3 weeks ago, then bam. Pushed fronds. Hybrids are recovering everywhere. The one behind that you can’t really see is recovering also. 

[NBTX11]

This is what I see over and over. First you have one recovering. Then I’ll go back and more are recovering later well into May.  Will these other two recover like their brother. 

[Collectorpalms]

6 hours ago, iamjv said:

After a little trunk trimming (took off 12 inches off the top), my Tim Hopper Mule hybrid is showing signs of live !!!!    So happy to see this treasured palm of mine, come through this historic freeze !!!   I suspect it'll take two growing seasons to totally recover the full crown it had prior to the freeze but I'm good with that...  just  happy I won't have to cut this specimen down !!!!

 

 

How cold was it? I was 4F. Mine died and was removed. No saving it. It was rotten to the core. Had about 6Ft of trunk. You could actually see it all the way down the center. It developed a hollow core. 
My regular mules died too. Up to 15Ft of trunk. Everyone I wrapped died. Only hybrid out of several that lived was a jxs. 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[BeyondTheGarden]

For those of you who have cut the crown, how do you know how far down you can cut?  The growth point is somewhere up there, and you can't cut lower than that, right?  Sorry if this is an amateur question but I guess the shoe fits. 

[Collectorpalms]

23 minutes ago, Jesse PNW said:

For those of you who have cut the crown, how do you know how far down you can cut?  The growth point is somewhere up there, and you can't cut lower than that, right?  Sorry if this is an amateur question but I guess the shoe fits. 

It easier if the spear pulls. I just measure to the base of the bottom of where the spear pulled and cut there. 
for those that the spear doesn’t pull, it’s more challenging. I just cut off some then wait a few days and try again. Once you go past the meristem you killed it. It is going to be different in every type of palm.

This freeze was so bad that trunk cutting only may have saved a few for me. I think waiting too long after the freeze is detrimental. I think in Texas it’s too late. It should have been as soon as the weather warmed up.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[PricklyPearSATC]

58 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

It easier if the spear pulls. I just measure to the base of the bottom of where the spear pulled and cut there. 
for those that the spear doesn’t pull, it’s more challenging. I just cut off some then wait a few days and try again. Once you go past the meristem you killed it. It is going to be different in every type of palm.

This freeze was so bad that trunk cutting only may have saved a few for me. I think waiting too long after the freeze is detrimental. I think in Texas it’s too late. It should have been as soon as the weather warmed up.

I don't think the Livistona chinesis at Rainbow Gardens made it.  I sorta trunk cut mine because the spear had stopped growing in late March,   It had turned brown and was rotting where it was coming out, but did not pull.  I cut it back until it was firm, and rot was no longer visible, which was about 6 inches.  It has put on green growth at a fairly normal pace now. 

[Sabal King]

So I think the massive amount of rain has been a huge driver in the recovery of many things including palms.. We planted a hardy avocado last year in October, and I didn't see any life this early after the freeze so in April I moved it and replaced it with a S. Birmingham.  I put it in a spot that if it lives, it can grow just fine, but I wasn't expecting anything as the top part of the tree turned black and just was looking worse, and worse.  In fact, I was going to pull it out of the ground soon as it was unsightly.

Come to look yesterday, and above the graft line it's growing and is coming back pretty quick!  We also had an Arctic Frost Satsuma that was planted around the same time, both wrapped with a PVC structure, kept warm, put xmas lights on, all of that, I thought both were done.  The arctic frost died from the top all the way down to about.... 12", it stood as a big twig in my yard but then I started seeing tiny green spots on the trunk, and weeks later, it's totally grown out...

RAIN... RAIN.. and MORE RAIN!  But seriously... this week can be enough, I'm done with rain my sabals need some damn sun.

[iamjv]

18 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

How cold was it? I was 4F. Mine died and was removed. No saving it. It was rotten to the core. Had about 6Ft of trunk. You could actually see it all the way down the center. It developed a hollow core. 
My regular mules died too. Up to 15Ft of trunk. Everyone I wrapped died. Only hybrid out of several that lived was a jxs. 

My low was 8F with a couple of other days at 9 and 11F !   Sorry to hear you lost yours....  hope that JxS recovers completely !

[Fusca]

12 hours ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

I don't think the Livistona chinesis at Rainbow Gardens made it.

I noticed them when I last went there in late April.  I asked a worker there why they hadn't trunk-cut them since mine that I cut were pushing new growth for a couple of weeks already.  They said that they "didn't have time".  I should have gone back and done it myself!  15-20 minutes is worth saving a nice palm!

[Swolte]

The big P. Canariensis at the Houston Outlet Malls is returning. No sign of life on the W. Robusta there and the medies (that had overhead protection and boxed in by stores) are just pushing some fronds now. 
(Oh and I hate that place...)

[Xenon]

5 hours ago, Swolte said:

 Houston Outlet Malls

That's Phoenix dactyfilera

Yeah that general area is a graveyard...hardly looks better than College Station from what I've seen. There's a huge jump in overall survival further south on 290 towards HWY 6/FM-1960 that steadily increases past BW 8 where there is another significant jump near the 610 and central I-10 corridor. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Xenon

[Swolte]

13 hours ago, Xenon said:

That's Phoenix dactyfilera

 Oops, yes, thanks for the correction!

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Swolte

[PricklyPearSATC]

My Mexican Olive has recovered and is blooming.  Sustained minimal damage which is visible on the left

[Collectorpalms]

56 minutes ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

My Mexican Olive has recovered and is blooming.  Sustained minimal damage which is visible on the left

Ours froze to the ground but are coming back from the lowest point on trunk.

[PricklyPearSATC]

2 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Ours froze to the ground but are coming back from the lowest point on trunk.

This one returned from latent buds on the branches.  It did not return from dormant buds. 

I have a small one that I protected.  It returned from dormant buds.

 

[amh]

Here's a chiltepin returning after -F, there are more, but this one is 50 feet away from any structure. Very hardy native Capsicum annuum.

Never mind the hack berry seedling.

[Meangreen94z]

Standard green Chamaerops Humilis coming back from 7*F in South Austin.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Manor, TX - East Austin. Hit 4 degrees here. These what I think are sabal minor never even burned at all and are absolutely thriving here. 

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Today I noticed at the Gold's gym off research Blvd that's visible from the 183 that a Filibusta hybrid trunk had snapped in half... This was google street view from August of 2019, so it was never been healthy to begin with. Rest of the robusta hybrids are not showing any life as expected in North Austin. I did however see a robusta hybrid in horseshoe Bay coming back yesterday, very surprising as the dactylfera's that I saw were not.  

[palmsOrl]

On 5/22/2021 at 5:16 AM, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

Looks like at least one coconut survived the freeze in the McAllen region..  Have yet to find out if it was protected,

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78090587

Well I'll be...

[Xenon]

13 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Well I'll be...

Don't believe it survived unprotected and in that condition for a second...

We'll have the final verdict of any possible surviving TX coconut within the next 2 months or so imo. Highest hopes for some of the ~20+ year old coconuts in Brownsville Area where the low was 24F and "only" below 26F for two hours.  McAllen and the coast saw a longer duration of cold and hit 22-23F. 

[NBTX11]

1 hour ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Today I noticed at the Gold's gym off research Blvd that's visible from the 183 that a Filibusta hybrid trunk had snapped in half... This was google street view from August of 2019, so it was never been healthy to begin with. Rest of the robusta hybrids are not showing any life as expected in North Austin. I did however see a robusta hybrid in horseshoe Bay coming back yesterday, very surprising as the dactylfera's that I saw were not.  

You're not seeing hybrids recover in Austin?  I am seeing basically all the 50/50 hybrids recover in New Braunfels.  Virtually all medium to thick trunked hybrids plus Filifera recovered.  Some thin Robusta recovered also, although there is still a lot of death there.  However, a decent number of really thin Robusta recovered as well.  I did see one Robusta that had snapped off.  The crown snapped right off.  But the Robusta right next to it had completely recovered.  It's weird, you see a group of Robusta with some recovering, some dead all in the same group.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

12 hours ago, NBTX11 said:

You're not seeing hybrids recover in Austin?  I am seeing basically all the 50/50 hybrids recover in New Braunfels.  Virtually all medium to thick trunked hybrids plus Filifera recovered.  Some thin Robusta recovered also, although there is still a lot of death there.  However, a decent number of really thin Robusta recovered as well.  I did see one Robusta that had snapped off.  The crown snapped right off.  But the Robusta right next to it had completely recovered.  It's weird, you see a group of Robusta with some recovering, some dead all in the same group.

All I'm consistently seeing come back North of the 183 in Austin are the more filifera dominant hybrids. Towards downtown Austin they are coming back in much higher numbers, but where I am located north of 183 I have seen hardly any survivors that are thinner trunked.

However, as I mentioned a few says ago I did see 3 tall thin trunked hybrids at an apartment complex by braker and metric, one of which was just pushing green. And thats at 800ft of elevation too so very exposed to wind

Who knows, maybe if we can get some warm hot sun after all this rain the past week some of these still have a chance.

[joetx]

16 hours ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Today I noticed at the Gold's gym off research Blvd that's visible from the 183 that a Filibusta hybrid trunk had snapped in half... This was google street view from August of 2019, so it was never been healthy to begin with. Rest of the robusta hybrids are not showing any life as expected in North Austin. I did however see a robusta hybrid in horseshoe Bay coming back yesterday, very surprising as the dactylfera's that I saw were not.  

That's a bummer. Those ones by Golds were getting tall.

[joetx]

1 hour ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

All I'm consistently seeing come back North of the 183 in Austin are the more filifera dominant hybrids. Towards downtown Austin they are coming back in much higher numbers, but where I am located north of 183 I have seen hardly any survivors that are thinner trunked.

However, as I mentioned a few says ago I did see 3 tall thin trunked hybrids at an apartment complex by braker and metric, one of which was just pushing green. And thats at 800ft of elevation too so very exposed to wind

Who knows, maybe if we can get some warm hot sun after all this rain the past week some of these still have a chance.

I'm holding on to hope for 13ft hybrid in my front yard. Waiting until around August to call it.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

2 hours ago, joetx said:

That's a bummer. Those ones by Golds were getting tall.

I'm most upset about the two outside Taco cabana a mile east on 183 at 8415 research blvd, they were taller than the overpass, at least 60 feet. The filibusta next to it came back at least

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Taco Cabana at 8415 research blvd by mopac and 183 in Austin. 3 Filiferas/Filifera hybrid showing life as is the trachycarpus. 3 t’all robusta are not 

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Chateau Avalon Apartments off Lamar just north of 183. Lifeless robustas/hybrids. Used to feel like SoCal. Fingers crossed for some of these hybrids 

[joetx]

1 hour ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Taco Cabana at 8415 research blvd by mopac and 183 in Austin. 3 Filiferas/Filifera hybrid showing life as is the trachycarpus. 3 t’all robusta are not 

Glad it’s not a total loss - but a real bummer not to see those tall ones from the highway. 

[joetx]

Tall hybrid on Anderson mill pushing new growth. That’s pretty far north for a hybrid. Bad pic 

Edited May 27, 2021 by joetx

[strongbad635]

Robustas can really take their time recvovering.  This one is at the SE intersection of Interstate 10 and the Houston Beltway in City Center.  It was dormant for over 3 months but after the recent week and a half of near-constant rain, it suddenly sprung back to life!