What 12.5" of snow will do to your palms

[TonyDFW]

Most of the snow is melted by today, but it created the most damage ever to my garden. The 15F freeze we had earlier in the year was nothing to the physical damage caused by the heavy wet snow. The weight caused many petioles to collapse and even large Live Oak trees had their branches snap with all this snow accomulating in the still leaf bearing trees.

Here are some images of palms and how they look with so much snow. It will be interesting what I will be reporting in early summer after all the cryptic damage has time to show itself.

Last growing season

Do not try this at home!!

[TonyDFW]

[gsn]

This winter just plain SUCKS!!!

It might not be 1989, but IMHO it will end up being the worst winter at least in the south east since then!

Tony good luck with the recovery,it is a shame that your have so much damage ,especially when you have mostly planted to your zone,not pushed it a great deal...

[TonyDFW]

ButiaXJubea hybrid

Dallas snow punk

[TonyDFW]

Do you feel cold yet? The poor Brahea armata!!!

[TonyDFW]

[TonyDFW]

Stop the madness!! or the nasty weather at least!!

[TonyDFW]

I hope this is the last snowy scene for Dallas this year!!

[BS Man about Palms]

Tony, until I saw these pics I forgot something we used to do if we had an early (or late) season heavy snowfall. If it was a plant or tree you were worried about, you would sometimes go out and shake or broom off the plant so it wouldn't break under the weight.

Good luck.

[Zeeth]

That stinks about all the snow, but the pictures of palms covered in snow brings a really cool contrast. I would like to see a '77 picture of coconut palms in Miami covered in snow. What a cool contrast that would be!

[happ]

Agree, the photos look beautiful. Was it the most snowfall in Dallas' history?

[TonyDFW]

This was the all time record for snowfall in Dallas.

That is great advice about brushing off the snow from the leaves. I went out and used a broom.

The amount of snowfall looks devastating, but the temperature during this event never went into the 20Fs.

It was the shear weight that crushed petioles, bent fronds, broke branches, sheared leaves etc.

The winter has been very wet, which is more unusual for us. Normally winter is drier than our hot summers.

[epicure3]

Thise pics freak me out more than the Wsahington, DC ones. You just don't expect that much snow on the ground in Dallas.

[Perito]

Tony, Great photo documentation of an event I hope you don't experience again. Perry

[Alicehunter2000]

That looks horrible. Don't know what to say, except I hope everything makes it. Summer heat can't come fast enough. You got so many large specimens, with so many years of growth, it would be a real shame if you lose some. Like you said, the only bright spot is that temps never got down super low....hopefully the maturity of your landscape will pull it through. Was that big oak (on its side) in your yard?

[Carlo Morici]

:blink:

[SunnyFl]

Oh lord, Tony - all that snow!

It's sad, seeing the winter pics after looking at the the earlier photos of your beautiful palmy yard. The JxB is gorgeous, your silvery palms a great contrast. And, of course, the others.

That had to hurt, seeing them under the weight of all that snow. I hope they'll be okay - they are cold-tolerant... but after seeing the pix of the toppled trees.... ?

Hard to believe that's Dallas/Ft. Worth. looked more like new england....

just a horrid winter.

[PalmatierMeg]

Ow, ow, ow! Tony, so sorry to see those photos.

[BS Man about Palms]

Heh, heh, I just noticed I gave my broom off tip without pointing out the fact that I lived in Colorado for 15 years. Not much use for that info in So Cal!!

Heres hoping to good news!!

[oliver]

I feel for you Tony, but take heart, here are some pictures a friend sent me of a hanger that his Gulfstream is parked in, in Washington, DC - sorry, not palm related - just trying to make you feel a little better. What 30" of heavy snow can do.