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Wichita palms, 6 weeks after arctic event...signs of life!


jfrye01@live.com

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So it has been nearly six weeks since the record cold event here in the central US...and I'm pleased to say I'm seeing signs of recovery in most of the palms at the Church of the Nazarene in downtown Wichita.  Keep in mind, the groundskeeper here was out of town through the duration of the event, so none of these ended up getting any special care...they were quite literally exposed to the elements.  It is likely, however, that the snowfall we experienced in the days preceding the event may have definitely helped insulate.  Wichita Eisenhower Airport sits out southwest of downtown several miles, and that is where the official low temperature for the city was measured.  The airport experienced an insanely cold, record breaking low of -17F on the morning of February 15.  Based on observations made by local weather stations near downtown, it is likely these palms experienced a low temperature of around -12F, which is still insanely cold! A normal winter for us will place the seasonal low in the low teens or high single digits, and that event is usually quite brief, with temperatures rising well above freezing the next day in most cases.  This event was by no means normal.  We experienced a whopping 12 consecutive days in a row where highs did not go above 32F...we got close a couple times but it didn't quite happen.  I was certain, as was my friend Raymond (groundskeeper at the church), we would have a catastrophic loss of palms around town.  Luckily, we seem to be wrong.  So far, at the church, it appears the only losses are Trachycarpus and Sabal palmetto.  Here are pictures taken earlier this week.  When I took these pictures, it was a very balmy 76F out.  Looking at the long term forecast, I see no lows below 35F...recent rains have kicked things into gear, with sabals already showing new growth.  Below are some pictures, taken March 22, 2021. Enjoy, and I certainly hope these pictures will encourage those in marginal areas to plant hardy palms! 

Needle palm on south facing wall: 

May be an image of outdoors

Needle palm on east facing wall: 

May be an image of outdoors

Sabal minor on west facing wall: 

May be an image of Jacob Frye and outdoors

Raymond tells me these are Sabal louisiana, but others here have been skeptical...I'll let you be the judge on these! ;) South facing wall:

May be an image of nature

Sabal brazoriensis, east facing wall (this one has already pushed noticeable growth) :

May be an image of outdoors

Sabal birmingham has already started pushing noticeable growth! South facing wall: 

May be an image of outdoors

Palmetto is likely dead: 

May be a closeup of nature

Below: Not palms, but y'all might be interested to see these as well...

Yucca rostrata:

May be an image of Jacob Frye, standing, tree and outdoors

Agave ovatifolia...quite a large amount of defoliation but looks like it will make it so far! :

May be an image of nature

Cannas survived!: 

May be an image of flower and nature

 

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Amazing on the palms.  To come out of your event with green leaves intact says a lot about those palms!  What zone is Witchita?

Many Rostrata and faxionia survived -34f in this area in 2011, those yuccas are tough!

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4 minutes ago, jwitt said:

Amazing on the palms.  To come out of your event with green leaves intact says a lot about those palms!  What zone is Witchita?

Many Rostrata and faxionia survived -34f in this area in 2011, those yuccas are tough!

We're pretty much right on the line of 6b and 7a,  but strangely enough most winters are 8 with some even being 9a!  Of course, every ten years or so we get vortex events, but I've never seen anything close to what this was!  Luckily, we're blessed (depending on how you wanna look at it ;) ) with warm, wet springs followed by hot summers...a Sabal paradise!  Also, I've heard there are nice size rostrata growing as far north as Denver...they are incredibly hardy and I would love to get ahold of a big one myself! 

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I'm most pleased about the Birmingham because I thought they were only hardy to about 5F . Good to know they are bulletproof here .

Will

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5 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

I'm most pleased about the Birmingham because I thought they were only hardy to about 5F . Good to know they are bulletproof here .

Will

That is good to see as I just planted a Sabal birmingham here in 7a.

Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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9 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

I'm most pleased about the Birmingham because I thought they were only hardy to about 5F . Good to know they are bulletproof here .

Will

This is the same palm four years ago! Super hardy!image.png.0cfb7291e3cd8c6ba2910e769172ca53.png

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On 3/27/2021 at 1:49 PM, Will Simpson said:

I'm most pleased about the Birmingham because I thought they were only hardy to about 5F . Good to know they are bulletproof here .

Will

Will, mine survived -2 during the polar vortex winter of 2014.  I am only 30 mins north of you.

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On 3/27/2021 at 12:49 PM, Will Simpson said:

I'm most pleased about the Birmingham because I thought they were only hardy to about 5F . Good to know they are bulletproof here .

Will

My Birmingham was unblemished at -5F.

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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On 3/27/2021 at 10:59 AM, jfrye01@live.com said:

We're pretty much right on the line of 6b and 7a,  but strangely enough most winters are 8 with some even being 9a!  Of course, every ten years or so we get vortex events, but I've never seen anything close to what this was!  Luckily, we're blessed (depending on how you wanna look at it ;) ) with warm, wet springs followed by hot summers...a Sabal paradise!  Also, I've heard there are nice size rostrata growing as far north as Denver...they are incredibly hardy and I would love to get ahold of a big one myself! 

There have only been 2 years in 130 year Wichita weather record that were zone 8. None that were zone 9, so ughhh what?

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On 3/29/2021 at 5:01 PM, PalmsNC said:

There have only been 2 years in 130 year Wichita weather record that were zone 8. None that were zone 9, so ughhh what?

My bad...I misremembered the temperatures for the zones...correct that to say many winters are well within zone 7 (0-10).  However...I keep a weather station at my house, and I can remember two times in the past ten years alone that I didn't record anything below 10F at my house...we did bottom out right there though, but I would call that a zone 8 winter, if only barely so....Anyway, I digress...I suppose it doesn't really matter too much, I've never really cared about zones too much, I've always figured knowing where to place things in marginal climates such as mine makes a huge difference, taking advantage of microclimates, etc...

My mistake on that earlier claim...:wacko:

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On 3/27/2021 at 7:02 PM, Palmaceae said:

That is good to see as I just planted a Sabal birmingham here in 7a.

Good luck . I'm really going to try  to get  my smallest one in   the front yard   big . I have 2 others in the yard with one trunking and the other trunking too  but less . I have a non trunking one that I need to water and fertilize well this summer .

Will

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On 3/29/2021 at 8:47 AM, buffy said:

My Birmingham was unblemished at -5F.

That's good to know . I have three in various sizes and should get a couple more .

Will

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On 3/28/2021 at 6:36 PM, Chad king NC said:

Will, mine survived -2 during the polar vortex winter of 2014.  I am only 30 mins north of you.

I'm glad to hear that . I have three and should get a couple more .

Will

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On 3/27/2021 at 7:59 AM, jfrye01@live.com said:

We're pretty much right on the line of 6b and 7a,  but strangely enough most winters are 8 with some even being 9a!  Of course, every ten years or so we get vortex events, but I've never seen anything close to what this was!  Luckily, we're blessed (depending on how you wanna look at it ;) ) with warm, wet springs followed by hot summers...a Sabal paradise!  Also, I've heard there are nice size rostrata growing as far north as Denver...they are incredibly hardy and I would love to get ahold of a big one myself! 

 

33 minutes ago, jfrye01@live.com said:

My bad...I misremembered the temperatures for the zones...correct that to say many winters are well within zone 7 (0-10).  However...I keep a weather station at my house, and I can remember two times in the past ten years alone that I didn't record anything below 10F at my house...we did bottom out right there though, but I would call that a zone 8 winter, if only barely so....Anyway, I digress...I suppose it doesn't really matter too much, I've never really cared about zones too much, I've always figured knowing where to place things in marginal climates such as mine makes a huge difference, taking advantage of microclimates, etc...

My mistake on that earlier claim...:wacko:

An honest mistake, and agree that in marginal areas ( this is true pretty much anywhere  really ) placement is a big factor in helping things to survive less than optimal winters.. 

Having lived north of you for several years in the past, had seen similar milder  than normal winters. Remember one year the Cricket/ Chorus frogs were out in force on Valentine's day, shortly before it snowed one last time that year.. Usually just starting to call about now.

Since leaving the region, periodically check in on the weather in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, and either side of Kansas City, esp. through the winter and have noted an obvious warming trend.. so, as far as i'm concerned, while not at 9a status ( yet, lol ), your thoughts on experiencing zone 8 " cold " some winters in that part of the state is accurate..  Regardless,

Glad to see everything you've been growing/ keeping an eye on made it through this crazy winter.. Wish some of the PT members up in KC would update on how things are looking up that way..

As far as Yucca, there should be several you can try, Y. rostrata being the nicest of course..  Might have to travel to find a bigger specimen, but shouldn't be a challenge to acquire. Know there's a couple mail order nurseries in/ near Denver you could pull from if you decide to start small, either for you're own collection, or to test elsewhere.

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