Phoenix sylvestris

[AJQ]

This one took 3 weeks of sub zero temps with at least 2 excursions to -4c/24.8v and 2 lower dips to -5c/23f.

So far it is undamaged.

Regards Andy.

[Kailua_Krish]

Multiple nights around 20 degrees in the open. Most fronds toasted but looks as if it will recover well.

-Krishna

[Darkman]

Low of 19.3 and two weeks of below 32 with many days only getting slightly above freezing. Mine is looking great. A few areas of burn but not many.

Darkman N Pensacola

[tank]

Low of 14F. 14 days straight of below freezing temps. Minor overhead protection. ~100 Plants in pots (3gal to 15gal) and in the ground had 50 to 100% leaf damage. 70% look like they will make it. Many had been written off with deep spear pulls. These were all inoculated with Hydrogen Peroxide and surprisingly, most of these came back (time will tell). If you have a little green left, it seems that you can nurse most phoenix species back from the brink.

[GREENHAND]

13- deg one night 18- deg the next, dead a a doornail. been in the ground for two years. center spear pulled.

[Austinpalm]

Ultimate low of 16F with multiple lows in upper 20's and lower 30's. Damage only to outer ends of fronds. Palm is situated under live oak canopy and was removed and replanted in early 2009 to allow for construction work. Very tough palm. In the background behind the bismarckia.

[AJQ]

Now it has totally defoiliated and the spears have pulled. The roots still look OK in its pot, no sign of any growth yet though.

Rgds Andy.

[fruitof76]

Planted as 3 gallon size about 4 years ago. No protection in exposed spot of backyard, defoliated by 13 degree weather in January. Well recovered now with 5 or 6 new fronds. About a foot of trunk on it.

[Darkman]

I had a stunning P. sylvestris about twenty foot tall and it snapped about five feet up the trunk. It was a beautiful palm and was the centerpiece of my attempts at a tropical looking landscape. Now I know what happened. I live about one mile from where Opal92 tells this story!

See http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/48447-pensacola-date-palm-disaster/

I am now struggling with what to replace it with. I was actually considering the P. dactylifera as I had seen those and they did not seem to brown every winter in frost. Back to the drawing board. This was a specimen palm and it was used to shade a circular paver sitting area.

I suppose that also was the cause of the demise of my P. reclinatas too! All of my P. reclinatas and various hybrids have died after the last  two Winters (13/14 & 14/15)  that had several 18 degree nights and a ice storm with thirty hours of sub freezing temps. Two of the hybrids one with Sylvestris characteristics were protected from frost and it was the temperature that killed them. My large reclinata still has pups coming up but my main trunk that had eventually grew to six feet of clear trunk is dead.

Does anyone know if a regular fungicide spray program would have prevented this from happening?

[PoolPalm_AB]

HI all - wanted to get some folks thoughts on a Sylvester date palm that I planted about a year ago around a new pool in north Houston.  Before winter hit, it looked like things were going well and tree was getting established.  Then came winter... coldest we've seen in the past decade here.   All my palms which were planted at the same time last year took it pretty hard.... lost a lot of leaves on my 3 mule palms but they've come back strong and green.  My two Sylvesters took it the worst with both basically losing all of their leaves.  One has started to come back (attached a picture and you can see the green crown coming out).  The other is not looking good and this is the one I want an opinion on.   I just pulled the browned spears out pretty easily last weekend and put a little peroxide in the hole to dry it out / kill fungi. 

The main question I have is that the palm still has a little green on two of the leaves that was closest to the tree and likely most insulated during the freeze.  What should I read of this green... still a chance for the tree to recover?  At what point do I wait before knowing.  If I don't see new green emerge by July / August then consider it a goner?  

Appreciate your perspectives.  I've attached some pics.   Thanks in advance. 

Here is the palm... its a about 8 feet high in total...

 

Better view of top half...

  

A view from the top

 

Here is the sister palm... starting to show some good green from the top...

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2018 by PoolPalm_AB

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Not dead yet, but this one could go either way....

[gilles06]

just wait...

[Austinpalm]

I may be in the minority on this, but I think I would remove all dead portions of the fronds so as to allow as much airflow as possible and so that I could more easily see any new growth. Additionally, I would continue with weekly peroxide treatments, especially if there is any rainfall.  Finally, if I did not see a new spear by the middle of June or certainly by the end of June, I would probably start slowly cutting into the trunk (starting at the top of course) at 1-inch increments to get to living tissue not infected with fungus . You can usually start with loppers, but at some point you may need to use a chainsaw as the trunk gets larger in diameter.

I have done this several time and it has worked well.  That is a good size palm and if you are like me, it is easier to deal with a slightly ugly palm for a year than replanting a similar sized one.  Good luck!

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by Austinpalm

[Austinpalm]

How is the Sylvester palm doing now?

[PoolPalm_AB]

Hey Clay, been meaning to post an update here.  

So, I trimmed all I could from the crown to get as much airflow and continued peroxide treatments a month ago.  I didn’t see any new growth and the green remaining on the leaves was starting to fade ever so slightly.  I went ahead and chopped the first 2-3 inches off the top this past weekend.  I think I do see some living tissue (I think it’s the whiter / more transparent portion in center of trunk).  

There was some fungi growing in the top that I couldn’t see so as hard as it was to chop the top off, I think it was good decision.  

I’ll keep monitoring and post back with hopeful story soon.   Let me know if any other suggestions.  

Also, how long would you expect to wait before seeing new growth? A week?  A month?  Two months?

Thanks!

 

[Austinpalm]

I would be surprised if there was not any noticeable growth within 2 weeks with all the heat Texas is getting right now.  Sounds like you got to living tissue.  If it starts to turn brown or necrotic, cut farther down and douse it with peroxide in the morning on a hot day so the residual can evaporate and not create any problems.  Good luck.

[Lavideo]

Whatever happened to this palm tree. We had a really bad freeze in February 2021 here in Louisiana and I have a 20 foot Sylvester date palm that looks dead we had to prolong freeze of around 19° for about five days

[jdl]

First winter with palm trees. Most of the damage is already done on my Sylvester since there shouldn’t be anymore freezing nights.

The shorter tree had it worse than the taller tree, but just about all of the fronds are burned on my Sylvesters but some fronds are almost completely burned with a tiny bit green at the bottom of each frond and some are only burned half way down the frond. And the baby fronds in the middle are still green so they’re not dead. 

But how should I go about treating this in spring. Should I cut off everything except for the meristem or only cut the lower fronds? And should I spray fungicide or is there no need to. 

[D Palm]

I would remove the unsightly fronds. I always pour peroxide on the cut ends. Might as well dump some in the crown while your up there. Is it a recent transplant?

What kind of mulch is that? Move it back 8-12 inches from the trunk.

Edited February 23, 2022 by D Palm

[Chris Chance]

Personally I just leave frost damaged palms alone until temperatures warm up and it starts growing in new fronds. I figure it will only shock the palm more hacking it up and also exposes it to disease. Also make sure to clean tools after trimming each palm. 

[Tigerpalm]

On 1/17/2010 at 10:46 AM, AJQ said:

This one took 3 weeks of sub zero temps with at least 2 excursions to -4c/24.8v and 2 lower dips to -5c/23f.

So far it is undamaged.

 

Regards Andy.

Hey Andy, 

what was the weather like during that time? Really Wet, mild damp, or dry? From what I hearing and reading it’s not the cold that kills them it’s the water when it freezes inside the crown? 

[Dana Calais]

We’ve had our Sylvester palms 2 years. We had a freeze of mid 20’s for a couple days. 1 out of the 3 started sprouting new fronds  at the beginning of summer. We know 2 are dead 🥲.  1 has no new fronds but still has its old fronds with green on it. It’s only on the stalk closer to the truck. Is this considered dead?

[gyuseppe]

live without even a single burn on the leaves,at  - 5.7 degrees celsius,in   january 2017

[gyuseppe]

live without even a single burn on the leaves,at  - 5.7 degrees celsius,in   january 2017

[gyuseppe]

live without even a single burn on the leaves,at  - 5.7 degrees celsius,in   january 2017

[Chris J]

Hello everyone. A couple of weeks ago here in south Georgia. We got about 3 to 4 inches of snow and freezing temperatures at night as low as 20°. About a week later after the snow was gone my two Sylvester trees were completely brown.  I’ve noticed a couple of miles from me someone has Sylvester’s and theirs only have a little browning  versus mine. My Sylvester’s are completely brown. I have a picture attached. By the looks of my picture, can anyone tell me if my Palms are still alive? Or is there anything I need to do? I would appreciate advice from anyone that can help. Thank you.

[Cee Flowes]

I’m so sorry to hear this. Please keep us posted as to their progress. Hopefully, they will recover.

[palmofmyhand]

On 2/7/2025 at 12:11 PM, Chris J said:

Hello everyone. A couple of weeks ago here in south Georgia. We got about 3 to 4 inches of snow and freezing temperatures at night as low as 20°. About a week later after the snow was gone my two Sylvester trees were completely brown.  I’ve noticed a couple of miles from me someone has Sylvester’s and theirs only have a little browning  versus mine. My Sylvester’s are completely brown. I have a picture attached. By the looks of my picture, can anyone tell me if my Palms are still alive? Or is there anything I need to do? I would appreciate advice from anyone that can help. Thank you.

you can check if there is any green on the plant at all maybe even some in the center. Any green means there is a chance at survival but lookup hydrogen peroxide and copper fungicide treatment for freeze damaged palms and you may want to take their advice to prevent crown rotting and give it a better chance at coming back

[SeanK]

How do these palms look now?

[kinzyjr]

On 5/26/2025 at 5:32 AM, SeanK said:

How do these palms look now?

Yeah, no follow-up doesn't help.  Hopefully they made it, but not optimistic.

[Chris J]

On 2/25/2025 at 11:07 AM, palmofmyhand said:

you can check if there is any green on the plant at all maybe even some in the center. Any green means there is a chance at survival but lookup hydrogen peroxide and copper fungicide treatment for freeze damaged palms and you may want to take their advice to prevent crown rotting and give it a better chance at coming back

Hello, I’m sorry for the late reply. The hydrogen peroxide and copper fungicide treatment did work. I started seeing a difference in 6 weeks! It took about 6 months before they were completely green. You were right. If there is a little green left there is hope for survival. The pictures I posted are from this past October 2025. Thank you again for your help. 

[Chris J]

On 8/21/2025 at 7:21 PM, kinzyjr said:

Yeah, no follow-up doesn't help.  Hopefully they made it, but not optimistic.

Hello, I’m sorry for the late reply. The hydrogen peroxide and copper fungicide treatment did work. I started seeing a difference in 6 weeks! It took about 6 months before they were completely green. If there is a little green left there is hope for survival. The pictures I posted are from this past October 2025.