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Trouble with palms in Houston

HoustonKyle

By HoustonKyle
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

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HoustonKyle Rookie

HoustonKyle

Posted
Posted

Hi everybody, 

I'm new to palmtalk. This is my first post. Having trouble trying to figure out what is going on with some of my palms (Houston area). Some are prematurely losing fronds and looking unhealthy and some are growing great and look very healthy. Any advice is much appreciated. I'm perfectly willing to go out and buy different palms, but I don't know what type to get.

Thanks!

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SWFLchris Community Regular

SWFLchris

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Don’t know much about Houston but would guess that Serenoa repens does well there

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PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
Posted

My first impression is that some of your palms have cold damage and/or a combination of cold accompanied by cold rain. I believe TX got hit hard and early by an arctic front that dropped lows into the 20s and brought winter precipitation. Welcome to PalmTalk

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Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

Jeff985 Experienced

Jeff985

Posted
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Which part of Houston you live in makes a difference. Northern and/or western parts are noticeably colder than southern and/or eastern. Judging by the fried bananas in the background of one of those pictures I’m guessing you’re north or west. Most of the bananas in SE Houston are still green. The Sabals are a solid choice no matter which part of Houston you’re in. As are the chamaerops, butia, and most Phoenix palms. Bismarckia also do well in all of Houston. Livistona chinensis and mules are also good choices. Queens do really well here and are very common unless you’re in far north or west Houston and judging by your undamaged roebelenii I’d guess you don’t. The farther south and east you go the more options you have. Foxtails can thrive here for 10 or more years at a time. In SE Houston archontophoenix cunninghamiana, and majestys do pretty well. If you’re willing to provide protection you’ll have more options. 

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Jeff985 Experienced

Jeff985

Posted
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3 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

My first impression is that some of your palms have cold damage and/or a combination of cold accompanied by cold rain. I believe TX got hit hard and early by an arctic front that dropped lows into the 20s and brought winter precipitation. Welcome to PalmTalk

North Texas had low 20’s. Northwest Houston had upper 20’s. Southeast Houston hasn’t had a freeze so far this winter. My lowest temperature has been 33-34 depending on which weather station you go by. 

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HoustonKyle Rookie

HoustonKyle

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Which part of Houston you live in makes a difference. Northern and/or western parts are noticeably colder than southern and/or eastern. Judging by the fried bananas in the background of one of those pictures I’m guessing you’re north or west. Most of the bananas in SE Houston are still green. The Sabals are a solid choice no matter which part of Houston you’re in. As are the chamaerops, butia, and most Phoenix palms. Bismarckia also do well in all of Houston. Livistona chinensis and mules are also good choices. Queens do really well here and are very common unless you’re in far north or west Houston and judging by your undamaged roebelenii I’d guess you don’t. The farther south and east you go the more options you have. Foxtails can thrive here for 10 or more years at a time. In SE Houston archontophoenix cunninghamiana, and majestys do pretty well. If you’re willing to provide protection you’ll have more options. 

Thanks for the suggestions and information. You did a great job at pinpointing the location based on the pictures! It's in Cypress which is northwest. 

Xenon Grand Master

Xenon

Posted
Posted (edited)
19 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

My first impression is that some of your palms have cold damage and/or a combination of cold accompanied by cold rain. I believe TX got hit hard and early by an arctic front that dropped lows into the 20s and brought winter precipitation. Welcome to PalmTalk

Most of Houston hasn't seen below 30-31 this winter. Parts of the heat island and water moderated areas have not seen a freeze. Even the far outer suburbs only saw 28-29. 

Ironically, the worst looking palms are the Trachycarpus. Perhaps a drainage issue? It's rare to see a healthy Trachycarpus here, might be the tropical summer or maybe nematodes.

Edited by Xenon

Jonathan
 

Jeff985 Experienced

Jeff985

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, HoustonKyle said:

Thanks for the suggestions and information. You did a great job at pinpointing the location based on the pictures! It's in Cypress which is northwest. 

I used to live not far from there in Katy. In Cypress queens are an option. Some died in the 2018 freeze but a lot survived. 2018 was pretty extreme though. Lowest temperatures in 30 years. Your roebelenii is pretty marginal there. You might need to protect it every few years. I’m thinking your foxtail has some cold damage. I believe you probably had some upper 20’s a couple months ago. As small as it is I’d just take it inside on the cold nights. 

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Jeff985 Experienced

Jeff985

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Most of Houston hasn't seen below 30-31 this winter. Parts of the heat island and water moderated areas have not seen a freeze. Even the far outer suburbs only saw 28-29. 

Ironically, the worst looking palms are the Trachycarpus. Perhaps a drainage issue? It's rare to see a healthy Trachycarpus here, might be the tropical summer or maybe nematodes.

I was noticing the terrible looking trachycarpus too. Even over here by the water where we haven’t had a freeze they look terrible. I just saw a dead one today with probably 15 feet of trunk. 

awkonradi Mentor

awkonradi

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi HoustonKyle,

To Xenon's and Jeff985's point, your Trachycarpus (pictures 3 and 7) are not well suited for Houston.  Personally, I recommend that you remove these.  Your Butia (picture 2) and your Sabal (picture 5) are well suited for Houston, which is why they look great!  I don't recognize the species of palm in the pot (pictures 1 and 4).  Maybe another expert will comment.  Your Phoenix roebelenii (picture 6) will be more freeze-sensitive than your Butia or Sabal.  So, unless you know this palm has survived uncovered for many winters, then I think you might want to cover this for hard freeze events.  Obviously, your Phoenix roebelenii looks great!

I used to live down in Clear Lake.

Best!

Edited by awkonradi

Andrei W. Konradi, Burlingame, California.  Vicarious appreciator of palms in other people's gardens and in habitat

OC2Texaspalmlvr Grand Master

OC2Texaspalmlvr

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

I was noticing the terrible looking trachycarpus too. Even over here by the water where we haven’t had a freeze they look terrible. I just saw a dead one today with probably 15 feet of trunk. 

All your palms look good except your trachys. Even tho you can grow them here and they dont mind our rain. They hate our poor draining gumbo clay and do better when mound planted. Foxtails are marginal and will be taken out one day but like @Jeff985 said you can get plenty of enjoyment out of them. Head over to Lowes and pick you up a couple Bizzies they grow well here =) 

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T J 

kinzyjr Grand Master

kinzyjr

Posted
Posted

@HoustonKyle Welcome to the forums!

Noticed the photos and the comments on Trachycarpus.  We have a similar climate here; basically subtropical with arctic blasts every so many years.  There are some healthy Trachycarpus here, but almost all of them that are happy are under some kind of canopy.  There is one freak of nature Trachycarpus that is doing find out in the open here, but haven't seen others performing quite as well.

The Butia and Sabal you have should be fine against the cold.  The Phoenix roebelenii and Wodyetia bifurcata will face some challenges once it hits the mid-20s.

In your area, one you'll want to try if you like clumping palms that don't mind a lot of rain is Acoelorrhaphe wrightii.  They are pretty easy to get, and @TexasColdHardyPalms in Mansfield carries the 'Azul' variety if you want a little more color.

I've attached a spreadsheet you can use as a general guide, sorted by hardiness zone lowest to highest, genus, species, variety and common name in alphabetical order.  You can sort and filter the sheet as you wish.  Some of the zones are a bit off, but it's derived from the Trebrown list (https://www.trebrown.com/palms_arecaceae.php).  You've already gotten a warm welcome from some of the more knowledgeable folks on the site.  Happy growing!

9a_palms.xlsx

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Lakeland, FL: USDA Zone 2023: 10a  2012: 9b  1990: 9a | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962)

Allen Grand Master

Allen

Posted
Posted

Worst looking trachy I've seen except ones rotted by super cold

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7B palms - (Sabal) minor (15+, 3 dwarf),  brazoria (1) , birmingham (3), louisiana (4), palmetto (2),  tamaulipensis (1), (Trachycarpus) fortunei (15+), wagnerianus (2+),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix (7),  Blue Butia odorata (1), Serenoa repens (1) Chamaerops humilis (1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows 4F, -6F, -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

HoustonKyle Rookie

HoustonKyle

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm excited to upgrade the yard with some new palms. Come spring time I am going to make adjustments and get some new ones. I will post updates later on. Thanks!

  • Like 1
OC2Texaspalmlvr Grand Master

OC2Texaspalmlvr

Posted
Posted
On 1/29/2020 at 3:26 PM, HoustonKyle said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm excited to upgrade the yard with some new palms. Come spring time I am going to make adjustments and get some new ones. I will post updates later on. Thanks!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask on here. Tons of great info available from the PT family. 

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T J 

HoustonKyle Rookie

HoustonKyle

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

If you have any other questions feel free to ask on here. Tons of great info available from the PT family. 

Sounds good. Thanks!

Rickybobby Veteran

Rickybobby

Posted
Posted

Does your foxtails pot have drainage holes?

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