Leaderboard

Though this Feb freeze was the coldest around Orlando since the 12/89 freeze it was no where near as bad. For those who weren't here or forgot, some examples of what happened to "hardy" palms in 12/89...(2 nights at 19-20F, the hi in between barely reaching 32F so duration was extreme and 1-2 nights after in the upper 20s) Acrocomia aculeata- killed Acrocomia totai- severe burn Arenga engleri (a few around)- severe foliage damage, some stems killed back X Butyagrus nabonnandii- varied from no damage to severe burn Chamaedorea microspadix- some leaf burn Livistona chinensis- had burned foliage Livistona australis- some foliage burn Livistona decora ( a few were around)- severe foliage burn Phoenix canariensis- some foliage burn on some specimens Phoenix sylvestris- some burned leaves Phoenix reclinata (non hybrid)- dead or killed to the roots Phoenix roebelenii- almost were killed (many had perished in 83 and 85) Phoenix rupicola- most had died in 83 or 85, if not 89 killed them (one survived in Epcot , planted in 1984 and some by Pirates of the Caribbean planted back in the 70s, but very protected microclimates, the Epcot specimen is still there with a constriction in the trunk marking 89) Rhapis excelsa- most killed to the roots Syagrus romanzoffiana- most were killed if they had survived 83 and 85, the robust/southern Brazil forms survived Washingtonia robusta- burned foliage tropical palms like Chrysalidocarpus lutescens and Caryota urens killed back to the roots, many died outright, a few surprisingly came up in 1990 after being knocked back in 83,85 and 89 Everything else tender, Archontophoenix, Howea, Cocos, Adonidia, Ptychosperma, Roystonea, Hyophorbe, Latania, Licuala, Coccothrinax, Thrinax, all killed A few surprises around; Attalea rostrata and Arenga pinnata at Leu Gardens survived all 3 80s freezes (defoliated in all 3), both planted in 1973 A juvenile Copernicia macroglossa defoliated but survived in Maitland and the collector had Livistona australis die, he recorded 17F on the north side of Lake Maitland A mature Roystonea regia at an appx 15 story building downtown growing in a U shaped courtyard facing south survived 83 and 85, it had major burn but grew out but died around 1987(unknown reason), also Syagrus romanzoffiana and Phoenix reclinata survived the same freezes there with only moderate burn and mature Heptapleurum actinophyllum (Schefflera) only had partial dieback

A couple of nice plants for the garden, potting up in stages is the key to growing!

Spotted these two nice Filifera examples in Picayune, Mississippi. A place with wet weather year round.

The back to back days of big wind storms did a number on my coconut burned fronds. Almost all snapped! Revealed lots of promise as new green showing. You can see the newest spear on the left side is mostly green. I can see some brown mixed in which hopefully will work itself out. Still hard to look at.

Another flower forming on the dypsis saintlucei!

Down to ~20F, Arenga engleri often do OK.

Here’s mine after its first winter season. The burn on the leaves is mostly from 1 or 2 nights of frost but it was initially the fastest large plant I put in the ground (compared to a. Cunninghamiana, parajubea torallyi, Bismarckia, Roystonea regia). It’s in full sun but it was planted as a 25g so that has probably helped it survive here next to the foothills.

This is what I do for my in ground seedlings for defense (pun intended!) against those wascally wabbits!

I had a 9 footer transplanted from a shady lot in homestead and planted in full sun in 2011 at my place. Ken johnson took 5-6 months to prune it and deliver. Any time you cut roots in a transplant the palm will give up some leaves. Many nurseries will do that for you, cut off a few extra before they deliver a recently dug palm. This is because after transplanting the palm has less roots, some were cut. And there is not enough water uptake capacity in the remaining roots to supply the leaves which continuously transpire water. So the palm sacrificially drops older leaves. Looks like you did a painstaking job there Toni, only the lowest leaves browned, and it is growing. Keep it moist in the heat, and get a good palm fertilizer recommended by locals. I have brought (2)fallaensis, (3)hospita, (2)macrofglossa, and (1)baileyana out from heavy shade to full sun in pots( not a transplant, a plant) with zero leaf burning from sun exposure. My bigger problem is they tend to get fungal attack here in the shade, maybe too much dew for shade here. Roots are easier to handle on a small copernicia than a big one as the mass of the rootball can bend/sever the roots at the trunk during handling. I have found all the cubans copernicias want plenty of water or rain in the heat, though they be can be drought tolerant(florida drought tolerant). Good you got it in the right spot Toni. Maybe some humic acid a few times a year and some dolomite around the root area along with a good palm fertilizer. Enjoy the view from above, one day you may have to walk away a bit to get a better view. Here is my large fallaensis still recovering from a hurricane hit.

Sobralia kruskayae opened it's first two flowers overnight. It seems early for Sobralias to be opening here but I only got this species last year, so don't know if this is just an early bloomer or if the warm winter has it confused. I am curious if anyone else has experience with growing this species of Sobralia and if blooming now matches their history with it?

@Silas_Sancona bahama strongbark usually defoliates every winter due to prolonged 40s, and this year it took a beating for me at 25, a lot of dead wood(barely saw any last year), i caught a new bud popping out of the trunk 2.5ft up, so it is alive, little more cold sensitive than a mango. myrsine did very well for me this winter as well. i assumed you were in okaloosa county, didn't realize spring hill was much further south. with that being said, i think you can definitely try south florida tropical looking natives. my lignum vitae was unbothered this winter, dropped 25% leaves and just reflushed with many new leaves. joewood was another excellent performer.

I forgot to add Trithrinax brasiliensis, T. brasiliensis var. acanthocoma and T. campestris.

Other smaller trees to conside for Spring Hill... 3 smaller native Oaks, very drought tolerant; Quercus geminata- Sand Live Oak Quercus incana- Bluejack Oak Quercus myrtifolia- Myrtle Oak a couple other natives; Ilex vomitoria- great small tree, not grown as much as the weeping form, 'Pendula' Pinus densa- South Florida Slash Pine (30-50ft) Some Asian evergreen Maples and Oaks; Acer coriaceifolium Acer fabri Acer oblongum Quercus acuta Quercus glauca Quercus myrsinifolia And the others; Acer buergerianum- does well here if irrigated Araucaria angustifolia Bauhinia forficata Ebenopsis ebano Ehretia anacua Erythrostemon mexicanus (Caesalpinia)- not sure how low it goes but at 24F only light burn but quickly releafed and flowering again Feijoa sellowiana (Acca) Lagerstroemia fauriei- almost never seen in central FL, superb tree Melaleuca viminalis 'Boyette' (Callistemon)- awesome strongly weeping cultivar Nageia nagi Olea europaea Pachygone laurifolia (Cocculus)- makes an incredible picturesque small tree with character Parrotia subaequalis- Chinese Ironwood, small hardy tree, several specimens thriving here, deciduous, foliage drops in Dec. with good red/orange/yellow coloring Podocarpus macrophylla (30-40ft) Podocarpus macrophylla 'Maki' (10-15ft) Viburnum awabuki- makes an AWESOME TREE 15-20ft Viburnum odoratissimum

Heres a good list of hardy and semi hardy palms for that area. I didn't include any Trachycarpus since they are so nematode sensitive on our poor sandy soil. If you have better soil in partial or light shade you could try them with evenly moist soil. Hardy; Acoelorrhaphe wrightii Acrocomia totai Arenga ryukyuensis Brahea armata Brahea brandegeei Brahea clara Brahea decumbens Brahea moorei Butia eriospatha Butia odorata (capitata) Butia paraguayensis Butia purpurescens Butia yatay X Butyagrus nabonnandii Chamaedorea microspadix Chamaedorea radicalis Chamaerops humilis Chamaerops humilis var. argentea Copernicia alba Livistona australis Livistona chinensis Livistona decora Livistona mariae Livistona nitida Livistona saribus Phoenix canariensis Phoenix dactylifera Phoenix loureiroi Phoenix reclinata (hybrids) Phoenix sylvestris Phoenix theophrastii Rhapidophyllum hystrix Rhapis excelsa Rhapis humilis Sabal bermudana Sabal x brazoriensis Sabal causiarum Sabal domingensis Sabal etonia Sabal maritima Sabal mexicana Sabal miamiensis Sabal minor Sabal palmetto Sabal palmetto Sabal rosei Sabal tamaulipensis Sabal uresana Serenoa repens Syagrus romanzoffiana (the robust southern Brazil/Uruguay form) Washingtonia filifera Washingtonia robusta Semi Tender; Acrocomia aculeata Acrocomia mexicana Allagoptera arenaria Arenga caudata Arenga engleri Beccariophoenix alfredii Bismarckia nobilis Caryota monostachya Chuniophoenix hainanensis Chuniophoenix nana Lanonia dasyantha Licuala fordiana Livistona drudei Livistona fulva Livistona jenkinsiana Livistona lanuginosa Livistona nasmophila Livistona rigida Livistona speciosa Phoenix reclinata (pure form) Phoenix roebelenii Phoenix rupicola Rhapis multifida Wallichia oblongifolia (densiflora)

@SailorBold Your pic deserves another reposting as "miracles never cease in these parts"! Coming out of winter in zone 7b unprotected!!!!! AMAZING!!!!

I've done 5 or 6 orders from Floribunda. Typical overnight UPS charges have been $50-75 to Florida. There's also a flat packing charge, the last order it was $30. For example, the last order I did 5 gallon sized, a bunch of seedlings and 4x 4" pots. The shipping was $54 in a moderate sized box, maybe 3' x 1.5' x 1'. Jeff's palms are all HUGE for the size of pot. If you distribute the S&H charges over the number of palms it's fairly low. Springtime is a good time for a "bulk order"!!!

My plan for layers for my windbreak is a row of stoppers (yay free plants!) then a row of native sabals (literally seedlings from the yard from my beefiest one) and then oaks and hollies and other evergreen trees after. I have to avoid the drain field so it will have two separate green walls, with the second being more sabals and some low shrubs that like shade, then giant bird of paradise/clumping hardy palms, THEN my sensitive stuff under the oak canopy. Multiple native layers first to shelter what's not, and heavy canopy plus denser planting of the tropical stuff. The density seems to be the most important part I have found, so I'll leave it all to get thick and trim only what I have to since it's strategic for what I love more. Much of the stuff there is also die back zone 10 perrennials also outside of the palms, like sanchezia, passion vine, and monstera. They are all growing again now too.

i'd say stick with your natives an try some further south natives to see how they handle your weather. you wont have an empty hedge if you mix and match your areas natives. Florida Native Plant Society | Conserve, Preserve & Restore Florida's Native Plants good starting point. i like to layer and tier my hedge line. been finding out what i can push from s.FL and what i can't, stoppers have performed, along with jamaican caper, pineland strongbark, wild cinnamon, wild lime, necklacepod, lyonia, marlberry. For you, perhaps pushing central florida natives may be an option to see what they can bare. looks like some native to your area are allspice, buttonbush, gallberry, anise, saw palmetto, and some others. i believe we have a better chance at growing exotics or zone pushers if we have a solid native base to start with, may or may not be the case, i'll stick with it until proven otherwise

A couple of good ones for the collection!

Doesnt Jonathan have easy warm weather for growing his sabinara, I hear it’s a growers tropical paradise @Jonathan. I gave him two calmus varieties I got from last years show, so I hope this large one fits in his mailbox, I had to buy it for you Jonathan, hope you don’t mind.🤣

It is just a mater of time to skyrocket!

I'm making a separate thread to discuss the non-palms for climate/conditions such as Spring Hill, FL to keep this thread focused on palms (I realized I might want to post more about them than originally thought)

Will be interested to see what percentage of foxtails die or survive in the Orlando area. Regarding how surprisingly some of the coconuts and foxtails are recovering: my theory has been that since these palms have had 15 years of warm winters (sans Jan 2018 which wasn't technically a hard freeze even), they are more resilient/have better recovery than if there had been more periodic cold events leading up. I don't think this will be the case with your palms @pj_orlando_z9b since you're in one of the warmest microclimates in Orlando: but as I'm sure many know,, damaged palms that push out green growth can still succumb later. Latent damage can show up, and while the bud may recover, areas of trunk damage can occur (I've seen this with queens in Northwest FL) and the small area of damage will grow over time/erode until the trunk is compromised. I would see this happen with queens with freezes below around 22 degrees. Since foxtails are already more tender, I wonder at what temps trunk damage occurs with them. Even if most foxtails/coconuts recover in the warmer parts of Orlando, it'll be interesting to see how the same species do in the colder parts or north towards Sanford like what @Merlyn 's experienced.

Mostly protection from me so I don’t accidentally trample them.

Welcome to PalmTalk. It has the trademark symptoms of Lethal Bronzing. If the arborist injects the affected palm with antibiotics and it the symptoms go into remission, it would all but confirm the test results were incorrect.

Found these photos. 2014 2025

Cocothrinax Alta looking good!

Always an option... aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Tucked the atrovirens away for winter, see how she goes, we will see how cool tolerant they are. And the old kangaroo hopping around the garden!

aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Our C. latifolia is a beautiful plant especially when sending out its copper red flush, which lasts for weeks. But it hasn't done so in a couple of years. It did cone last year, which was interesting, but I'd prefer a flush. Now it's coning again! Is there anything I can do to encourage it to flush? I have been feeding with Palmgain occasionally. Thanks for any suggestions.

See you there ! What a great way to kickoff Spring 2026

From my experiences... Acacia stenophylla- only lives 1-3 years here then croaks, COOL TREE Brachychiton rupestris - seems hardy, our mature specimen defoliated at24F but branch tips seem ok, no leafing out yet Ceiba insignis- seems similar to C. speciosa Chilopsis lineararis- never made it through a summer here Eriobotrya deflexa- GREAT TREE but very susceptible to fireblight Leucaena pulverulenta- ours has grown great, planted in 2013 and is over 30ft, defoliated at 24F this year but already leafed out Osmanthus americanus- now Cartrema americana, though its native I have tried over a dozen specimens and never got one to establish Neolitsea sericea- SUPERB TREE for central FL Pittosporum undulatum- tried several times, no luck Xylosma congestum- AWESOME as a tree! Albizia chinensis-24F defoliated it this year, waiting for it to leaf out to see if any damage Cordia boissieri- good tree here, probably has damage below 18-20F Elaeocarpus sylvestris- had a small one growing well for a couple years then lost it under falling trees in a hurricane a few years ago. But E. decipiens is an awesome tree Michelia x alba - now Magnolia x alba, it and M. champaca get damaged below 28F and need evenly moist soil Photinia serrulata (possibly serratifolia?)- grown ok here but more of a shrub Phytolacca dioica - specimen here planted a few years ago, about 10ft tall, defoliated at 24F this year, looks to be resprout at tips or near

I returned home to see an unfortunate sight on my Rhopalostylis Baueri. The leaf base just below it fell off today and I was stoked to see a spathe cracking open underneath it. After about 6 hours I came home to find the spadix almost completely detached from the trunk of the tree without any human intervention. Has anyone seen this happen or knows what could have caused this? This is the second time it’s happened to this tree. Thanks in advance!

My 20 year old Rhopalostylis baueri has been doing this for years. I live in the College Area of San Diego and always thought it was too hot and dry for the inflorescence to develop. I really don’t know what the reason is, but it would be nice to find out.

For starts, Stay FAR ..and i mean FAR away from these... All three are messy, short lived, ..and HIGHLY invasive. A stenophylla ( ..and A. salicina ) are weak wooded as well.. Our landlord has an A sal. in front of his office and i've advised him ..it has to go.. Seeds like mad ..and about half sprout, even under our minimal rainfall conditions.. W/out fail, limbs are sheared off of it almost every year during our ..fairly mild < compared to hurricanes there > summer storms. ..If it weren't as tall as it is, i'd have cut it down already, lol.. ..As far as " Southwestern region " trees?? ..Since humidity and rainfall is typically a bit higher there, your best bet would be trialing stuff from central / south TX vs. some of the trees that grow here. With that said, you have lots of options.. Like: TX Ebony, Anacacho Orchid Tree ( more of a smaller, " Patio " tree than something that could get big.. ) ..and Bauhinia macranthera You mention Corida boissieri, Anacua, Ehretia anacua, would probably be worth trialing.. Same with Arroyo Sweetwood. Both will handle some cold. Think both AZ and TX Kidneywood would be interesting trial subjects there.. Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa would be pretty unique, depending on how well it can tolerate the humidity there.. Desert Willow and the " X Chitalpa " cross are definitely worth a try.. Don't think any of the Arbutus would tolerate the heat + humidity there ..but i could be wrong.. Talk to Eric about that one / that Genus in general.. Leucanea retusa could work. Might actually do better there than they do here ( due to our dry heat ) . Believe Bauhinia galpinii can handle / would return from the roots, if severely whacked down by temps into the lower 20s. Same with some of the Fairy Dusters.. like Calliandra haematocephala and surinamensis. Ceiba insignis ..and speciosa seem to handle the occasional low 20s seen in Tucson every so often but, ..That is under our general " dry " cold spell conditions. Both also tolerate similar temps in moderate 9B areas of N. Cal. that are more humid than here ( Thus more frost chances during their winter cold spells ) so, ..I'd give it a try if i were in your situation.. Common Handroanthus species that are grown in Orlando should be a sinch in Spring Hill, esp. if Peltophorum dubium reaches the pictured proportions there.. That area might be about as far south as you could get away with both Big Leaved native Magnolias ..ashei and macrophylla.. Never seen this species anywhere here, ...or in California..

For shrubs here, it's hard to beat Podocarpus. @flplantguy likes to use Myrcianthes fragrans (Simpson Stopper) . @HudsonBill might have a few favorites, too.

Black Swan is a hybrid from Brian's Botanicals that's supposed to be relatively close to Thai Giant size and the Plumbia Nigra is supposed to be a pretty decent size too. I could probably throw one of these Thai Giants (I have 5 bulbs) in there or one of the 27,000 Jacks Giant I have, and I've got a lot of Black Magic. This is my first year playing with colocasias and alocasias so it's gonna be a fun learning curve. I guess one advantage I do have is I can dig them up and start my bulbs early so I don't have to worry about starting from scratch, but I learned the hard way that starting bulbs in December is way too early. I'm looking for something massive to put here. I don't want that "wow" factor. I want that "holy 💩" factor. Nice pun btw.

Some #'s starting to roll in.... L.A /Oxnard NWS = today: Hanford / Fresno area NWS = today: Flagstaff NWS = today: S.F. Bay Area = yesterday: Sacramento NWS = yesterday and on Sunday: Wider scale records map from Daniel Swain:

My first C. baileyana arrived from I don't remember where in a long skinny box that once held a baseball bat. When I opened the box I almost had heart failure. The seller had unpotted it, hosed it off then tossed it into the box - no padding, wrappings, nada. Just a 6-8" baileyana with 18" of bifurcated root rattling around its cardboard shipping container. I gave him what-for and detailed instructions on packing/shipping. He immediately went ballistic and reported me to eBay for having the nerve to diss him. Upshot to this kerfuffle: I potted my Copernicia, then held my breath. In 2 months it sent roots out of the drain holes. I planted it on our unirrigated Garden Lot. It's trunking now. This is a tough palm.

I know that feeling that happened to my Hedyscepe this week very disappointing

Just a couple of common ones today with a special dypsis brevicaulis. Along with a rainforest tree. Chambeyronia macrocarpa lytocarum weddlianum beccariophoenix Madagascariensis dypsis brevicaulis cordyline Australis

So far this winter (6 days left) no temperatures lower than 29°F / -1.6°C. Musa basjoo are still standing tall with just the leaves frosted. March can be fickle so with any luck, these will pick up right where they left off last year.

Very impressive! Youve got a seriously green thumb to do that in AZ!

Clinostigma samoense Clinostigma with Astrocaryum, Pritcharia, and Attalea in the foreground. Tim

This are two of my BxJ that I planted at my place. The first one has a " Jubaea trunk". It' s gigantic!

Lift off! Meristem trajectory is nominal. Approaching max-Kew. That's the seed that germinated second and had a smaller root when I potted it up, so I wasn't expecting it to be the first to the surface. Hope the other one hasn't got tangled up somehow.

Not my palms but planted out in my vicinity in front of a farm. It doesn't look like the farmer really takes care of it but they are nevertheless big clumps covering the whole length of the farm, about 100 meter. You see those here only planted out in the south, up to the middle of the country really. these here are easily 6/8 meter tall.

I have 3 as well, they are super slow but that's fine as they are monsters. this ones maybe 7 or so years in the ground from a 3 gal pot, no trunk.