2010 2010_12 - Frost/cold damage from record December 2010

[PalmatierMeg]

Yesterday (1/2/11) I photographed some of the damage my gardens sustained from my record-breaking cold December. I tried to protect the most sensitive small palms but when the last arctic front rolled in on 12/26/10 I was out of town, so everything except the Cyrtostachys (which I stashed indoors) was on its own. When I got home on noon Dec. 27 I ran about covering stuff till dark. Even so, some palms are pretty beat up. In lieu of inklings that my colder winters may be here to stay (no political commentary intended or desired) I am evaluating future gardening endeavors.

Adonidias on east side of lanai. Too tall to be protected. They survived last winter and should this one but fronds took a hit and crownshafts are turning brown as palms prepare to shed damaged goods.

Areca catechu dwarf. Except on 12/26 this guy was covered with double flannel. Even so ....

Areca catechu semi-dwarf. Also got double coverage.

Bentinckia nicobarica

Coccothrinax sp. The Caribbean palms will tattered again this spring.

Cocos nucifera Panama Tall

Cocos nucifera red spicata. Protected by towel and flannel

[PalmatierMeg]

Drymophloeous

Dypsis pinnatifrons

Hydriastele pinangoides

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis. This is our smaller bottle down by the street

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

Sorry to see this Meg......looks like everything will recover, tho.

Looks like a lot of my stuff here at the Flatts.

Rusty

[REKS]

We are concerned about our Foxtails. This was the second harsh winter for these Palms. Although, they keep pushing up spears of new growth, the damaged, dried up fronds on the bottom of the Foxtails are slow to fall away. The cylindrical boots that these dead fronds are attached to are still green and healthy looking. Usually, the frond and boot wither together and fall off as one piece. Should we be concerned? Is anyone familiar with this situation. We are well aware that the Foxtails are self-cleaning and should not be tampered with to accelerate the process. Here is a photo of one of our Foxtails.

[Pedro 65]

We are concerned about our Foxtails. This was the second harsh winter for these Palms. Although, they keep pushing up spears of new growth, the damaged, dried up fronds on the bottom of the Foxtails are slow to fall away. The cylindrical boots that these dead fronds are attached to are still green and healthy looking. Usually, the frond and boot wither together and fall off as one piece. Should we be concerned? Is anyone familiar with this situation. We are well aware that the Foxtails are self-cleaning and should not be tampered with to accelerate the process. Here is a photo of one of our Foxtails.

All will be well, a good liquid feed will help and a good slow release like nutricoat around the base now your in spring and nearly summer to help make it strong again before next winter. Nutricoat total is fantastic for palms as the nitrogen isnt too high and has a good amount of K(Potassium)which plays a very important role especially in making palms stand up to the cold better. Pete

[Kumar]

Beautiful , lush foxtail. I have royals with similar crownshafts and although I have no experience with freezes, it does happen that a frond dries up before the cylindrical crownshaft does. In such a case, it is important not to try and pull off the frond as the palm is not yet ready to discard it. At most you can cut off the frond at the petiole if you find it unsightly. But the crownshaft should most certainly not be tampered with.

[peachy]

Just cut off the ratty part. I've always cut them before they fall off as I hate the dead messy look, so far its never harmed them, just dont touch anywhere on the crownshaft. Mine go through a few freezes each winter and even survived a black frost. They are tougher than you think.

Peachy

Edited May 21, 2011 by peachy