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Newbie protecting queen palms without frost blankets


jda018

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I’m new to this so please bare with me. I have 2 queen palms (one that’s 12 ft tall & the other that’s 7 ft)  that have been planted in our house early this summer. The palms are being heavily watered & heavy mulching already added. Antitranspirant Spray added & Christmas lights added around the trunks as well.  I’ve ordered frost wraps but my order is delayed & won’t arrive until tomorrow. I live in Jacksonville, FL & tonight it will be 35 degrees but with gale force winds will cause a wind chill in the teens (very unusual climate for here) & tomorrow it will be a low of 27. Local stores & palm nurseries are out of stock of frost covers & burlap.  
 

What else can I do? 
 

I’ve thought off wrapping the trunks with old bed sheets or towels but I do not have enough to cover the fronds. 

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1 hour ago, jda018 said:

I’ve thought off wrapping the trunks with old bed sheets or towels but I do not have enough to cover the fronds.

Do the wrap of the trunks and then tie up the fronds and focus on protecting the growth point and spear.  Welcome to PalmTalk!

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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Thank you so much. What if I can’t tie up the fronds tonight? My husband doesn’t get home from working in the hospital until late & I have a toddler I’m chasing around. I’ve wrapped blankets around the trunks but been chasing my little munchkin/put him to bed. Would the palm die? 

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Depending on where you are in Jacksonville, I honestly don't think you need to worry about a queen palm during this freeze.  Just taking a quick look on Weather.com, I don't see any temperatures that would threaten Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), even without the wrap.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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Oh good! I live in St. Johns, FL (weather app always has my  current location listed as Jax) so slightly south of Jacksonville. I had some beautiful tropical looking Palm trees (they weren’t queen palms. Not sure what they were as I’m new to taking care of palm trees) die last year during a hard freeze & I definitely don’t want that to happen again. And we have plans of buying more queen palms in the spring so I was really hoping that they are cold hardy enough for this area. That makes me feel more at ease especially as I learn more about how to care for them. I love palm trees. The swaying leaves always takes me to my happy place especially after a hard work day the hospital & even my toddler loves to watch the fronds sway. 

Edited by jda018
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If you have photos of the palms that died, there's probably someone on the site that can tell you what they were.  As far as St. Johns goes, there is a new botanical garden slated to open this fall up that way.  How much damage they will have will depend on the severity of this cold event:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/71456-st-johns-botanical-garden-hastings-fl-coming-soon/

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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6 hours ago, jda018 said:

I’m new to this so please bare with me. I have 2 queen palms (one that’s 12 ft tall & the other that’s 7 ft)  that have been planted in our house early this summer. The palms are being heavily watered & heavy mulching already added. Antitranspirant Spray added & Christmas lights added around the trunks as well.  I’ve ordered frost wraps but my order is delayed & won’t arrive until tomorrow. I live in Jacksonville, FL & tonight it will be 35 degrees but with gale force winds will cause a wind chill in the teens (very unusual climate for here) & tomorrow it will be a low of 27. Local stores & palm nurseries are out of stock of frost covers & burlap.  
 

What else can I do? 
 

I’ve thought off wrapping the trunks with old bed sheets or towels but I do not have enough to cover the fronds. 

Will be experiencing about the same thing over here near Pensacola, wind chills down as low as 15F tomorrow morning is a possibility here. I would usually protect them with this type of event, but im letting go this year and only protecting below around 23F. Wind chill shouldnt affect them too much, but you could always wrap a sheet around the trunks to act as a wind break. 

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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Welcome @jda018. For future palm purchases I suggest you look into mule palms (Syagrus x Butia hybrids). They are cold hardier than pure queens, better looking and won't litter the yard with viable seeds. They were once very rare but are becoming more common in colder areas.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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I agree with @PalmatierMeg, look into some mule palms or super mules from Frank and Elaine Lewis at Moultrie Palms over in St Augustine.

Outside of that your queens should probably fair well with this front.  I'd be more worri d if it was entering the low 20s.

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19 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

 As far as St. Johns goes, there is a new botanical garden slated to open this fall up that way.  How much damage they will have will depend on the severity of this cold event:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/71456-st-johns-botanical-garden-hastings-fl-coming-soon/

Spent about four hours with John and a handful of others covering and digging the most cold sensitive palms.  They also strung up lights under some of the covered ones and have tons of localized propane heaters to hopefully ward off the cold affects on some.of the larger temp sensitive palms.  There were some already that showed some damage from the cold snap a week or so ago...

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