Colorado needle palm

[gymtimetmrrw]

Planted this last June and it seems to have survived its first winter. How healthy does it look? Any recommendations for springtime feeding?

 

[Palmsbro]

It looks healthy to me, except for a little bit of leaf tip burn. What kind of temperatures did it see?

[gymtimetmrrw]

It got down to -2F on the coldest night. There was one 5 day stretch where it didn't get above 32F even during the day, but overall not too harsh of a winter.

[Palmsbro]

9 minutes ago, gymtimetmrrw said:

It got down to -2F on the coldest night. There was one 5 day stretch where it didn't get above 32F even during the day, but overall not too harsh of a winter.

That explains it.

[pin38]

Not sure where you are, but Denver and much of CO had a mild winter this year. I had a windmill palm unprotected until we moved on December 23rd, though I know they saw some colder temps after that. Even had a seedling Phoenix dactylifera that I planted just for kicks, still alive at that time. Probably not anymore...

Edited April 10, 2018 by pin38

[gymtimetmrrw]

How many winters did the windmill see? Date palm seems like it would have 0% chance even with tons of protection.

I'm in Boulder

[pin38]

21 hours ago, gymtimetmrrw said:

How many winters did the windmill see? Date palm seems like it would have 0% chance even with tons of protection.

I'm in Boulder

I should clarify: it was unprotected summer 2017 until we moved in late December and I took it out. And yeah I wasn't counting on the date palm being there forever; it was germinated from a grocery store date and both palms were planted right next to a south-facing brick wall.

Edited April 14, 2018 by pin38

[gymtimetmrrw]

Couple q's for y'all.

Is that a "pup" growing on the right side? 

With the leaves that are browning, is my best bet leaving them or clipping? Will the whole frond eventually die?

[Palmsbro]

7 minutes ago, gymtimetmrrw said:

Couple q's for y'all.

Is that a "pup" growing on the right side? 

With the leaves that are browning, is my best bet leaving them or clipping? Will the whole frond eventually die?

Yes, that is a sucker/pup. The whole frond will eventually die, but it is best if you only cut it off when it is mostly/entirely dead.

[gymtimetmrrw]

When is the ideal time to remove the pup to plant elsewhere? Or would ya just leave it be?

[Palmsbro]

36 minutes ago, gymtimetmrrw said:

When is the ideal time to remove the pup to plant elsewhere? Or would ya just leave it be?

I would just leave it be. As long as there is plenty of root with it, you could remove it it you really wanted to (though if you wanted to do this just make sure you don't take too much of the parent plant's root [if this works like I think it does]).

[Josh-O]

looks great. Not many palms can even handle 5 day below freezing..

[gymtimetmrrw]

Just an update- in a strange turn of events as soon as the warm temps moved in, the yellow/browning has gotten worse. One of the entire fronds turned crispy in a matter of days. This is what it looks like now after clipping that off. Any idea on what could be causing it to not be dong so well all of a sudden? No major changes. Recommendations would be appreciated!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Sun or lack of water.  Newly planted needles don't like sun and all needles want moist soil during the summer.  The only needles I have killed were from too much sun or not enough water, or a combination of both.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Don't try and remove that pup either.  Just leave it be.

[gymtimetmrrw]

On 6/9/2018, 10:39:01, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Sun or lack of water.  Newly planted needles don't like sun and all needles want moist soil during the summer.  The only needles I have killed were from too much sun or not enough water, or a combination of both.

Thank you. I put out the sprinkler for a good soaking and hopefully it will come around. I noticed black spots on one of the dying fronds today... Possible fungal issue?

[jwitt]

From your NM neighbor to the south,  coffee grounds are an excellent addition to the soil along with water.  I had a mediterranean palm survive -10f here in 2011(only lost the main trunk-looks like what's happening with yours).  Let the pups grow and provide energy to the entire plant.  Good luck! 

[PalmatierMeg]

Needles hate full sun - I found that out the hard way. But I'm wondering if you are seeing a bit of delayed cold damage from winter? I've had palms (more tropical ones I admit) that appeared to suffer little or no cold damage at first, then more significant damage weeks or even months after the return of warm weather.

[gymtimetmrrw]

On 6/9/2018, 10:39:01, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Sun or lack of water.  Newly planted needles don't like sun and all needles want moist soil during the summer.  The only needles I have killed were from too much sun or not enough water, or a combination of both.

I’ll try the coffee grinds!

[jwitt]

Sun is our friend for palms here. Trachies grown full sun in the highest UV in the nation. January pic.

[gymtimetmrrw]

On 6/16/2018, 9:29:51, jwitt said:

Sun is our friend for palms here. Trachies grown full sun in the highest UV in the nation. January pic.

Those look great. How old and how big were they when you planted?

[jwitt]

Left one was planted in 2010 as 1 gallon. Survived -10f in 2011 unprotected. More like came back from the dead! The one on the right planted as a 5 gallon in 2013, I think.  Thanks.

[gymtimetmrrw]

So, this is all that is left today. Any chance of it surviving with really only the pup fronds remaining?