most cold hardy rhapis?

[Matt N- Dallas]

I'm just curious which is the most cold hardy rhapis. What are your experiences?

thanks

[mnorell]

It's pretty well established that Rhapis humilis has a few degrees' edge on Rhapis excelsa and the others. But not all of them have been tested, including several new species recently described in Vietnam and the surrounding area. So there may be more possibilities. I think Eric Schmidt has stated that R. humilis was the only Rhapis undamaged in the '89 freeze (upper teens and repeated very hard freezes) at Leu Gardens in Orlando...if he sees this post, perhaps he can verify or correct that info which comes from my not-always-trustworthy memory.

[boko]

Mine Rhapis exelsa did survive last killer winter(3 weeks of sub zero temp from 0 to-9c) i thougt it died bud was pretty surprised it sprouted from the roots. needs a few years to grow back to it old size , but is still alive.

Peter

[Eric in Orlando]

Rhapis humilis is hardier than R. excelsa and probably the hardiest. Orlando had 3 horrible record freezes in the 1980s. 12/83 and 1/85 it dropped into the lower 20sF and R. excelsa was severely burnt and some clumps were killed to the ground. The 12/89 freeze was the worst with 2 nights at 19-20F. Rhapis excelsa was all killed to the roots but R. humilis wasn't bothered by any of the freezes and virtually had no foliage burn from the clumps I saw around town and from the big clump in my mom's back yard. The R. excelsa did grow back from the roots.

here is an old, old clump of R. humilis at Leu Gardens;

[mnorell]

Has anyone ever found both sexes of R. humilis? I recently purchased a couple of R. humilis from a source in Florida and when I received them they were obviously seedlings rather than divisions, which I thought was impossible due to no pure seed ever having been obtained from wild or cultivated specimens.

Eric, it's interesting that you say R. excelsa was damaged in low 20s. I have many clumps here that see long freezes to 23-24F each year and I've never had damage aside from one exposed plant that has had some cosmetic damage to upper leaves sometimes around 23F. My clumps are now 5-7' tall and throwing suckers several feet away from the parent plants...they are wonderful and robust! Another that does very well here is R. multifida. I bought an R. "super dwarf" from Christian Faulkner that is pretty tough in the cold though still Liliputian. The only real damage I've had was on two small seedlings of R. laosensis. They both were damaged somewhat last winter (24F, 15-hour freeze) but continued to push and now look pretty good though they're still only 6-9" high!

This is a great genus for those of us challenged by a zone 9a climate. I'm trialing Chuniophoenix nana/humilis this winter and hope it's at least nearly as hardy and/or resilient as Rhapis, as I think it's a particularly beautiful alternative or compliment to Rhapis, with a look all its own.

[edbrown_III]

I have been growing them here in Jax since 81' all mine survived the 80sfreezes killed ot the grown but came back. They werent hurt by the freezes since then down to 20F many times --- We had a bout of freezes around 2000 2weeks below freezes withsome lows in 21 24 26 etc. no damage however I had a plant from Hersh Womble not excelsa

some dwarf Thai species that was hurt

I suspect they can take down to 15F if no wind chill--- I recall driving through Riverside which has extensive plantings at old homes. In 82 we had a 14 F but it didnt hurt them

however the freezes in 83 and 85 were very windy -- gail forsce winds with extreme chill. 89 was longer and not quite as cold and no wind chill.

I hope this helps

Best regards

Ed

[Balaka17]

Hi

Have you some experience about Rhapis multifida.

Best regards

Patrick

[Kailua_Krish]

Has anyone ever found both sexes of R. humilis? I recently purchased a couple of R. humilis from a source in Florida and when I received them they were obviously seedlings rather than divisions, which I thought was impossible due to no pure seed ever having been obtained from wild or cultivated specimens.

Eric, it's interesting that you say R. excelsa was damaged in low 20s. I have many clumps here that see long freezes to 23-24F each year and I've never had damage aside from one exposed plant that has had some cosmetic damage to upper leaves sometimes around 23F. My clumps are now 5-7' tall and throwing suckers several feet away from the parent plants...they are wonderful and robust! Another that does very well here is R. multifida. I bought an R. "super dwarf" from Christian Faulkner that is pretty tough in the cold though still Liliputian. The only real damage I've had was on two small seedlings of R. laosensis. They both were damaged somewhat last winter (24F, 15-hour freeze) but continued to push and now look pretty good though they're still only 6-9" high!

This is a great genus for those of us challenged by a zone 9a climate. I'm trialing Chuniophoenix nana/humilis this winter and hope it's at least nearly as hardy and/or resilient as Rhapis, as I think it's a particularly beautiful alternative or compliment to Rhapis, with a look all its own.

C. nana has been great for me!

-Krishna

[Kailua_Krish]

Hi

Have you some experience about Rhapis multifida.

Best regards

Patrick

Mine have been fine down to 20 under dense canopy.

-Krishna

[tank]

My 7 gal R.multifida has taken down to mid teens under canopy with relatively minor leaf damage.

R. excelsa made it through these conditions in a more exposed area with similar results. I may have lost 5% of the canes on the R. excelsa.

[buffy]

My 7 gal R.multifida has taken down to mid teens under canopy with relatively minor leaf damage.

R. excelsa made it through these conditions in a more exposed area with similar results. I may have lost 5% of the canes on the R. excelsa.

I have three 4 foot tall clumps of R. multifida against the house. Most of the taller foliage was toast after 4 days below freezing. We bottomed out between 15F and 17.5F in my yard. Mine have overhead protection. One of those days had 20 mph winds in the 20s F. It was brutal. Some of the lower shoots were untouched. This one looks like a winner. My humilis was more burned with similar protection.

[mnorell]

I did lose a small multifida last year in the unusually severe cold and freezes in Natchez, but the plant was small and exposed to dry arctic winds. I think it was a matter of the age of the plant. If the rhizome-mass is large, of course there is a very good chancee they will survive at least from the roots. Meanwhile I didn't lose laosensis, humilis (laughed at the cold in exposed pots!) and 'Thai Dwarf' even though everything was pretty much defoliated. A few canes of excelsa survived, but most were burnt to the ground. One thing I've noticed about R. excelsa: recovery from the rhizome tends to be from the outside edges of the clump. The center of the clump has a tendency to lift itself up out of the ground for some reason, making it susceptible to kill-out from sub-20F, extended freezes. But I would say it will take five years for those clumps to regain their former beauty. I had them in the ground for 5-6 years previously, during which they were never really bothered by annual lows in the low 20s. Of those I've trialed, R. laosensis seems the most robust at returning from the roots, even in small plants, though it is rather frost-tender (better under canopy, though).

[JasonD]

Rhapis multifida at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden was reputed to be one of the most resilient palms from the 14F freeze of 1990 there. Planted against the wall of a minimally heated bathroom building. It's an extensive hedge now, 2-3x the size it was.

[edbrown_III]

I have one(R. multiphidia ) that is right on the margin of the forest as opposed to canopy. It saw probably 20 21 F... the foliage is not blistered but a light speckling of brown so probably a degree or lower would have burnt it out in the open.

I have a R. laoensis under canopy-- it was hurt last year but is okay this year for some reason.

R. excela-- was killed to ground up here in 83 85 and 89--- so 16F is about the limit for canes .

I didnt own humilus but Walter Rogers werent hurt.

I will try to post a few pictures but my canon rebel has died so will have to find another camera to use.

Best regards

Ed

[Balaka17]

Thank you for your answers on the rustic character of Rhapis multifida and others.

Best regards

Patrick

[edbrown_III]

Here is a foto of Forest margine when R multiphidia is planted. 2 other photos are leaves after the recent cold spell that bottomed out at 20-21F

[edbrown_III]

Here is the R laoensis -- it was planted under very heavy canopy.

Best regard

Ed

[sarasota alex]

At Mercer Arboretum in Houston Rhapis multifida is the only Rhapis that is undamaged after several nights in the 20s including a low of 20F followed by an ice storm. All other Rhapis are heavily damaged.