Washy almost respectable now :

[Will Simpson 797]

It's got a good start to the season . It's almost respectable and can  look decent into January some years . 

Will

 

Edited May 9 by Will Simpson

[DreaminAboutPalms 372]

What year did you plant it again and at what size? 

has gained noticeable trunk since last year. Impressive palm and hope it continues to stay healthy

[Will Simpson 797]

Here it is the day it was planted on 2/21/2011  , so it's been in the ground 11 seasons . This season will be season 12 . 

 

Edited May 9 by Will Simpson

[Allen 1,256]

You did well with that one.  

[Will Simpson 797]

Thanks Allen . With the exception of protecting it some years it's been an easy palm to grow . It'll have a full crown in no time . 

Will

Edited May 9 by Will Simpson

[GEnglish 1]

Will, can you describe your winter protection methods thus far for this palm over since planting in ground? I’m starting with a few young Washingtonias in 7A and want to see them get bigger than me one day  

 

[steve617 28]

Impressive 

[Allen 1,256]

2 hours ago, GEnglish said:

Will, can you describe your winter protection methods thus far for this palm over since planting in ground? I’m starting with a few young Washingtonias in 7A and want to see them get bigger than me one day  

 

Look toward the end here for his post

 

[Will Simpson 797]

5 hours ago, steve617 said:

Impressive 

Thanks Steve .

It's been fun to grow .

Will

[Will Simpson 797]

8 hours ago, GEnglish said:

Will, can you describe your winter protection methods thus far for this palm over since planting in ground? I’m starting with a few young Washingtonias in 7A and want to see them get bigger than me one day  

 

Allen's post shows it with the protection on it . 

There were some years that I left the previous year's petioles and fronds  on the trunk for a skirt effect in the next growing season  , so I would wedge small pieces of rags  in and around the petiole bases to cover and insulate  the lights  . Again ,  I kept the fronds on because I wanted  the old fronds to form a skirt . I stopped doing this because placing all those rags in and around the petiole bases would get yourself cut up by all those spines on the petioles . That was an option when the palm was small but it's too hard to do now , so I cut off all the previous year's fronds now , making it much easier to protect with one straight trunk to protect and no working rags in and  around all those spines . 

Specifically ,  I wrap the trunk with incandescent Xmas lights that get warm . Don't use the LED type because they don't add much heat . I buy my lights from the  1,000bulbs.com   website . 

I wrap the trunk about 2 inches between wraps starting at the top and moving all the way  down the trunk . I use a a few more lights at the top  bud area . I cover the lights with  1 layer of a blankets  but there is some overlap at certain places and widths of the trunk . I mulch the bottom    blanket at the base of the trunk   to keep air from going under the blankets . Then just plug it in . 

 

Edited Wednesday at 07:44 PM by Will Simpson

[Tropicdoc 462]

Don’t the blankets get soaking wet?

[Will Simpson 797]

2 hours ago, Tropicdoc said:

Don’t the blankets get soaking wet?

They dry   out pretty fast it seems being just a layer thick and doubled up in some places , but the outside air and a little wind keeps it dry most of the time . We had 7 days with precipitation of .10" or more  last  January leaving plenty of drying time .Our biggest rain was 1.94" and .64" was the next biggest rain out of the 7 events .. 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:25 PM by Will Simpson

[Tropicdoc 462]

So you got the fronds wrapped too? Do they turn yellow from being deprived of sunlight for a few months

[Will Simpson 797]

1 hour ago, Tropicdoc said:

So you got the fronds wrapped too? Do they turn yellow from being deprived of sunlight for a few months

The fronds will almost every year die back because they are only hardy to about 24F . In the last   100 years   I may have had a winter that didn't get below 24F but that would be very rare  . The good thing is that it puts out about 25-30 fronds a season and can look good into January . So it  can be  respectable looking  from May to early January or 8 months of the year   . A couple years ago I had a 20F on November 13th which cut the " looking respectable " period down a lot . The Low for that winter was 19F so that cold period in November was almost the coldest morning of the winter . 

Below is what it looks like after  Lows below 24F , and what it will look like almost every winter with the exception of a freakishly mild winter . 

Will

Edited Sunday at 01:54 PM by Will Simpson

[Will Simpson 797]

1 hour ago, Tropicdoc said:

So you got the fronds wrapped too? Do they turn yellow from being deprived of sunlight for a few months

Sorry , I didn't answer your question . I'll cut all the fronds off before putting on the protection . It's too tall to leave the fronds on and protect it  . I could leave the fronds on if I don't see any temperatures below 15F , and those fronds would form a skirt the next season . 

[Jimhardy 650]

Pretty cool how tall its getting...it almost looks like pure Robusta if you went by the trunk.

 

I planted my first palm in 3 years a few days ago....it is supposed to be a straight Filifera,I hope

it is but it will be fun to have a Washy going again.....hows the T.Princeps doing?

[Will Simpson 797]

Thanks Jim .

My Filifera died in the 2018 cold snap . If I had  known that  that cold would be so prolonged ,  I would've protected it really well , but instead I half assed the protection and it didn't make it . Another learning lesson . 

Will

[Will Simpson 797]

On 5/15/2022 at 10:45 AM, Jimhardy said:

Pretty cool how tall its getting...it almost looks like pure Robusta if you went by the trunk.

 

I planted my first palm in 3 years a few days ago....it is supposed to be a straight Filifera,I hope

it is but it will be fun to have a Washy going again.....hows the T.Princeps doing?

It's got about 3 feet of trunk   now  and the base of the trunk is about fully mature in circumference  . If it doesn't bloom next season  it will almost certainly in the season after  next  season . I hope it is a female . 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by Will Simpson

[Collectorpalms 1,764]

21 minutes ago, Will Simpson said:

It's got about 3 feet of trunk   now  and the base of the trunk is about fully mature in circumference  . If it doesn't bloom next season  it will almost certainly in the season after  next  season . I hope it is a female . 

 

If you need a Pure Filifera from Habitat or one that survived the Texas Freeze ( maybe better for the south) hit me up in a year or two if you decide to want one. I'll trade.

[Will Simpson 797]

OK

Thanks , I need a Filifera that will look frond decent some winters , and won't need  protection most years , and won't get so tall so fast  .

Will

Edited 8 hours ago by Will Simpson

[Las Palmas Norte 515]

On 5/15/2022 at 6:28 AM, Will Simpson said:

In the last   100 years   I may have had a winter that didn't get below 24F ...

I had no idea you where that old! Congratulations and "Garden On" 

[Tropicdoc 462]

On 5/15/2022 at 9:22 AM, Will Simpson said:

Sorry , I didn't answer your question . I'll cut all the fronds off before putting on the protection . It's too tall to leave the fronds on and protect it  . I could leave the fronds on if I don't see any temperatures below 15F , and those fronds would form a skirt the next season . 

Oh I was looking for strategies for my beccariophoenix but that thing puts out like 4-5 fronds a year so not a great strategy for me