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My cold-hardy palms (and cycads)


RaleighNC

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I thought I would share some pics of my plants. First my two Trachycarpus nanus.  I am hoping they will flower some day...

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Trachycarpus nova. This was the first winter for two in the ground. Both had spear pull. It was a mild winter, with a minimum of 18 F.

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Trachycarpus 'nainital'. First winter in the ground for both plants, and neither was harmed.

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All looks good.  The spear pulled ones should pull thru.  

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Row of Chamaerops humilis. These have been in the ground for two winters.  The winter of 2017-2018 was brutal. We experienced 8 days in a row in which the temperature never got above freezing, with a minimum of 5 F. These were protected by covering with pine needles.

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Trachycarpus takil from Plant Delights Nursery. I hope it is the real deal. I have three, and this was the first winter in the ground for all of them. Two of them had spear pull, including the one shown here. 

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9 minutes ago, RaleighNC said:

Sabal uresana 'highlands' from NTCHP. Just planted last weekend.

 

Really curious how this does for you. Please keep us updated through the year. 

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Have you tried princeps? Haven't heard of many reports in the SE on it. 

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First photo is of two Rhapidophyllum hystrix. The second is Butia odorata. The Butia have been in the ground for two winters. The Butias are from a bunch of seeds I collected from a large individual next to a gas station once when I was driving through South Carolina. I had a lot of seedlings so I planted them in pairs like this because I expected most to die.  So far most have been doing great. During the cold winter of 17-18 I covered them with pine needles for protection.  This winter, I didn't protect them.

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15 minutes ago, RJ said:

Have you tried princeps? Haven't heard of many reports in the SE on it. 

I have two seedlings I grew from seeds from NTCHP. I planted one in the ground last week. It is hard to know what to expect from them here.

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Sabal palmetto. I have two this size that I grew from seed I collected 10 or more years ago. Planted the seedlings in the ground in 2012 and they are finally starting to take off. No protection at all for the past few winters. Had only a small amount of leaf spotting after the winter of 17-18.

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Dioon edule 'Rio Verde' from NTCHP and Sabal 'Brazoria' from PDN. They have been in the ground for three winters.  I protect the Dioon by covering the leaves with pine needles on cold nights. I try to get the leaves close to the ground to take advantage of the warmth of the ground.  Lost all of the leaves in winter of 2017-18, but they survived last winter.

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Ceratozamia hildae. I have three in the ground. This one has been in the ground for one winter, and two others have been in for 2 winters.  They get covered with pine needles on cold nights (as you can see, we have an abundance of pine needles!)

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The garden is coming along nicely its all looking good!  Your first person I have seen growing cardiocrinum gigatnteum on the East coast.  Looking good and when it blooms you'll be amazed at the big flowers and fragrance. Good choice. 

Edited by Palm crazy
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Sabal causiarum. I had a lot of seedlings that I didn't really want, so I planted them out in various places in the yard last summer.  All were burned from last winter, but most appear to be recovering. No hope for long-term survival.

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6 minutes ago, Palm crazy said:

The garden is coming along nicely its all looking good!  Your first person I have seen growing cardiocrinum gigatnteum on the East coast.  Looking good and when it blooms you'll be amazed at the big flowers and fragrance. Good choice. 

I am very much looking forward to that! I have have never seen one in flower.

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4 minutes ago, RaleighNC said:

I am very much looking forward to that! I have have never seen one in flower.

It takes a few years to get to blooming size but you will know when it's ready because in early spring it will start to grow a trunk. It is also one of the first perennials to come up in my garden in late winter.  :D

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How old are those Trachycarpus Nanus's?

They must be at least 20 years old, as they are real slow growers, but they appear to be approaching their maximum size going by those photos. They really don't get much bigger than that. Maybe a foot of trunk at most. So they should start flowering this year, or next, for sure.

I have seen a 17 year old specimen in the UK that is smaller than your one in that first photo. Which is why I ask how old they are...?

Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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40 minutes ago, RaleighNC said:

Sabal causiarum. 

I plan on trying this palm. I have 3 small strap leafs. They grow in August, GA which is pretty much identical to us. I would also like to source S. Palmetto X S. Causirium 

40 minutes ago, RaleighNC said:

 

 

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8 hours ago, Palm crazy said:

It takes a few years to get to blooming size but you will know when it's ready because in early spring it will start to grow a trunk. It is also one of the first perennials to come up in my garden in late winter.  :D

Great! It appears to do be doing that this year.  I was hoping that it was a sign that it would bloom.

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7 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

How old are those Trachycarpus Nanus's?

They must be at least 20 years old, as they are real slow growers, but they appear to be approaching their maximum size going by those photos. They really don't get much bigger than that. Maybe a foot of trunk at most. So they should start flowering this year, or next, for sure.

I have seen a 17 year old specimen in the UK that is smaller than your one in that first photo. Which is why I ask how old they are...?

I am not sure of their age. I bought both as fairly large plants. The guy who sold me the larger of the two had been growing it in a huge container for many years already. 

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Some more that I didn't finish posting last night.  These are in more protected locations under the eaves of the south side of our house. These get winter sun but receive deciduous shade in summer. First, Chamaedorea microspadix, which survived its first winter outside, but not exactly thriving. 

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Next, Ceratozamia kuesteriana also spent last winter in the ground for the first time.

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Now, Macrozamia communis. This has survived 4 or 5 winters in this spot. Was looking great in 2017, with 5 or 6 leaves before getting zapped by the following winter. It only managed to produce 2 leaves last summer. They have some cold damage from this past winter, but am expecting this to gain some momentum again.

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Next, this was the first winter in the ground for this Zamia pumila (true Z. pumila from Dominican Republic) and Cycas revoluta x taitungensis. I didn't expect the Zamia to survive,  but I covered them both with an up-turned wheelbarrow on cold nights.

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Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus'

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Cycas revoluta x debaoensis.  First winter. Was looking great last fall, with several upright leaves which proved difficult to protect.DSC01448-copy.thumb.JPG.28a739d6cfe4c7f6e7a806aedba457c2.JPG

Next, Cycas taitungensis. Lost most of its leaves this winter.  

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Here is the same plant as it looked last fall.  It has lost all of its leaves in 2017-18 but flushed twice last year and was looking great by last summer.

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Next,  cycas panzhihuaensis, in ground since 2015.  Two of the leaves on the plant are survivors of the 5 F event in 2017-18, despite only being covered with a pile of pine needles. They are a little tattered, but I am surprised they survived at all:

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Cycas panzhihuaensis x guizhouensis.  In ground since 2016.  Needs a sunnier spot.

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Cycas panzhihuaensis x taitungensis handled its first winter with no damage:

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Edited by RaleighNC
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Cycas revoluta x taitungensis have been rock stars for me. They grow super fast. Though this was the first winter that I had any in the ground. I showed one above in a very protected spot. Here is another (F1), that suffered a little damage.

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Here is a F2 Cycas revoluta x taitungensis that suffered no damage

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I have another F2 that is absolutely spectacular, with broad, flat leaves, unlike either revoluta or taitungensis.  It is in a container and I forgot to photograph it.

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11 hours ago, RJ said:

Have you tried princeps? Haven't heard of many reports in the SE on it. 

Here is a photo of the T. princeps that I planted out this spring. I am probably being reckless to plant out such a small one.

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14 hours ago, RaleighNC said:

I thought I would share some pics of my plants. First my two Trachycarpus nanus.  I am hoping they will flower some day...

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Good luck, mine are over 15 years in the ground & much larger & have never flowered yet.

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You are gonna have a jungle.  Good selection of plants there.

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Impressive selection! The pine needles make a great backdrop for these palms and cycads. I have some of the same cycad hybrids, however, they're recovering from deer damage (!). Glad to hear they shrugged off last winter. Anyway, please keep the updates coming! 

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10 hours ago, Swolte said:

Impressive selection! The pine needles make a great backdrop for these palms and cycads. I have some of the same cycad hybrids, however, they're recovering from deer damage (!). Glad to hear they shrugged off last winter. Anyway, please keep the updates coming! 

Fortunately the deer here have not touched mine. Your deer must be really hungry!

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1 minute ago, RaleighNC said:

Fortunately the deer here have not touched mine. Your deer must be really hungry!

Yeah, and curious! They must have spit out the pieces right away as they were laying right next to the remains (as they should as these things are poisonous!). I am protecting the young ones for those reasons! 

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Those are some great looking palms and cycads!  18F with some damage on the Rev x Deb is pretty impressive, did the cold burn off the upright fronds?  I have it on my sheet as being mostly ok into the low 20s, but have no idea how hardy it really is.  I recently bought a Panz x Deb from TCHP, which should be pretty similar in cold tolerance.  I'm sure both will be fine in the Orlando area, but my parents have a place near Austin that needs some cold hardy specimens!

What was your source for the Sabal Causiarum?  I'm fairly certain I don't need another "monster" in my yard, but I kinda want one anyway!  :yay:

Edited by Merlyn2220
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5 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Those are some great looking palms and cycads!  18F with some damage on the Rev x Deb is pretty impressive, did the cold burn off the upright fronds?  I have it on my sheet as being mostly ok into the low 20s, but have no idea how hardy it really is.  I recently bought a Panz x Deb from TCHP, which should be pretty similar in cold tolerance.  I'm sure both will be fine in the Orlando area, but my parents have a place near Austin that needs some cold hardy specimens!

What was your source for the Sabal Causiarum?  I'm fairly certain I don't need another "monster" in my yard, but I kinda want one anyway!  :yay:

I protected the rev x deb like I did the others -- I threw pine needles on top and tried to keep the leaves as close to the ground as possible. This was not possible with the upright leaves, so the needles were just perched on top.  So as you guessed, they were burned.  I also have a Panz x Deb in the ground, but I did not show this one because the leaves burned completely and I had allready trimmed them back. All that is left to see are pieces of green petiole a few inches long! The same happened to my "pure" debaoensis.  My only hope with debaoensis and its hybrids is that they resprout early enough in summer to at least enough to recover what was lost the previous winter.  I should also mention that each winter I make a "skirt" for each of my cycads. I take a small plastic sheet 2 or 3 feet across and cut a slit halfway through which I then lay on the ground around the base to reduce the amount of water that infiltrates the ground. This is intended to keep the caudex and roots a little drier and hopefully reduce rot. And I plant all of them with the caudex completely buried. To avoid contact between the caudex and wet soil,  when I plant my cycads, I pack a few handfuls of permatill immediately around the caudex. Permatill isn't available everywhere, but any small gravel or coarse sand should work.

The Sabal causiarum were from seeds I grabbed a few years ago while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.  I had too many seedlings and I needed to get rid of them, but could not stomach composting them,  so they went into the ground.  Besides, I am really good at deluding myself that I just may get lucky enough to find a rare specimen with superb genetics that will happen to tolerate our winters!

Compared to here, Orlando and Austin appear to me to offer nearly limitless options for planting of palms and cycads, though it probably doesn't seem like it to you.  It may be a good thing that I am in a place where the options are much more limited. A warmer climate would only enable more compulsive buying!

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Thanks for the info on the protection!  I'm reluctant to try Debaoensis here in Orlando, even with protection.  I have that one listed on my sheet as "dies at 25F, defoliates around 30F," but that might be a bit pessimistic.  Maybe it's a coincidence, but the spellchecker recommended "delusion" as a replacement for Debaoensis.  :D I have a big Cycas Seemannii (or maybe Rumphii) that isn't supposed to be much hardier than a Debaoensis, and it's pretty much fine with zero protection.  Most of my others are hardy to the lower 20s or better, so except for an extreme weather event they'll be fine here in Orlando.  If those cycas did that well, you might be able to get away with some of the Encephalartos that are leaf-hardy to ~23F.  I'm not sure where their "caudex death" is compared to your cycas, though...

I use a lot of coarse sand and perlite, though the perlite always tries to wash up to the surface after a while.  I'll have to look into Permatill, there's a similar one called SoilMender that's also expanded shale.

Noted on the Causiarum seedlings, you should put them up on that 4 letter online marketplace as bare rooted seedlings!  

In Orlando I can grow a lot of stuff that's sort of marginal, with the expectation that one year TPPD/Lethal Bronzing or a bad cold front is going to sweep through and kill a bunch of it.  I hadn't thought of Austin as a place to grow palms and cycads, but the lower humidity makes it possible to grow things like Jubaea and Brahea that typically rot to death here in the swamplands.  :D 

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1 hour ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Thanks for the info on the protection!  I'm reluctant to try Debaoensis here in Orlando, even with protection. 

Debaos do fine in NorCal, Orlando should be a breeze.

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Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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42 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Debaos do fine in NorCal, Orlando should be a breeze.

I agree with Ben. I have three Debaos in tree pots outdoors and they had no problem during this wet but relatively mild winter.

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Excellent collection! I am really lovin it 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looking good!!  Our Bigger Princeps outside spear pulled this year @ 20-21.  They don't have mature trunks yet, only 7G sized plants.  No other trachycarpus spear pulled for us.

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On 4/24/2019 at 9:28 AM, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Looking good!!  Our Bigger Princeps outside spear pulled this year @ 20-21.  They don't have mature trunks yet, only 7G sized plants.  No other trachycarpus spear pulled for us.

I've been thinking about Trachy for my parent's place in Austin, it sounds like the Princeps might be a poor choice?  Are the "Stone Gate" ones more cold hardy?  You have them listed as hardy to 5F, that's a pretty big difference rom spear pull at 20F!

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21 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I've been thinking about Trachy for my parent's place in Austin, it sounds like the Princeps might be a poor choice?  Are the "Stone Gate" ones more cold hardy?  You have them listed as hardy to 5F, that's a pretty big difference rom spear pull at 20F!

Not familiar with this Trachy but cold-hardiness tends to improve with age/size.  My 3-gal sized Livistona nitida had spear pull this past winter at 27° but you couldn't tell now other than the slightly abnormal frond it pushed first and has since pushed 2 more healthy leaves.  So I'm sure Joseph's 7-gal T. princeps will be fine.  Once it's grown to a 15-gal size it shouldn't spear-pull at that temp.  If you/your folks get a good sized one to start with I bet you wouldn't half to worry about it.

Jon

Jon Sunder

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