need some urgent help with cold protection

[Palmfarmer]

Hey, this winter is colder than usually the forecast is 30f for 2 nights 28f for one and 25-27f on the coldest. They will probably last around 2-4 hours before the sun heats things up. The palms i will Protecting is a small Bismarck and a Majesty palm. I have no acess to non led c9 christmas lights. My plan was to use a small frame i made put it over the majesty making "walls" using booblewrap stappeling it to the wood frame and making sure the fronds will not touch the bobblewrap "walls". For the Bismarck I am think just putting over a huge plastic trashcan. Should this be sufficient or will i need supplemental heat? If i need to get a heat source fast i might be able to obtain some small space heaters and put them in with the palms. Suggestions for anything else for generating power or should the isolation alone be enough for these conditions? 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Palmfarmer

[ahosey01]

12 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Hey, this winter is colder than usually the forecast is 30f for 2 nights 28f for one and 25-27f on the coldest. They will probably last around 2-4 hours before the sun heats things up. The palms i will Protecting is a small Bismarck and a Majesty palm. I have no acess to non led c9 christmas lights. My plan was to use a small frame i made put it over the majesty making "walls" using booblewrap stappeling it to the wood frame and making sure the fronds will not touch the bobblewrap "walls". For the Bismarck I am think just putting over a huge plastic trashcan. Should this be sufficient or will i need supplemental heat? If i need to get a heat source fast i might be able to obtain some small space heaters and put them in with the palms. Suggestions for anything else for generating power or should the isolation alone be enough for these conditions? 

I can’t speak to the Ravenea but my Bismarckia has seen 24F twice this year with 0 damage.  Key appears to be a dry root zone and high subsequent daytime temps. Got back up to like 70F + both times in the following day.

[Palmfarmer]

5 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

I can’t speak to the Ravenea but my Bismarckia has seen 24F twice this year with 0 damage.  Key appears to be a dry root zone and high subsequent daytime temps. Got back up to like 70F + both times in the following day.

Yeah i will just let thing run its course without protection. I got surprised last night when we all of a sudden dropped to -3.6c/25.5f I inspected the plants and Bismarck had 0 signs of damage and the Majesty had some burn, but not much. Time will tell. Happy new years!  Yes our temps usually rebounds at least to 15c in the shade, but 20-25 is also normal.

Edited January 1, 2021 by Palmfarmer

[96720]

I have never protected my Bismarck’s 

[climate change virginia]

just dig it up and bring it inside and prepare next year

[floridaPalmMan]

On 12/31/2020 at 2:54 AM, Palmfarmer said:

For the Bismarck I am think just putting over a huge plastic trashcan. Should this be sufficient or will i need supplemental heat? If i need to get a heat source fast i might be able to obtain some small space heaters and put them in with the palms. Suggestions for anything else for generating power or should the isolation alone be enough for these conditions? 

Do you have access to 'mylar blankets'? They reflect radiant thermal energy and will trap the heat inside the trashcan if you line it with the mylar. They're also super cheap.

Here's some on ebay that ship to Mexico if you can't find them locally. With the mylar, you might even be able to get away with a 40w-60w old school light bulb as a source of heat but that's just speculation.

Mylar lined trashcan + 40w bulb might not be the most elegant solution, but it might get you through the super cold days.

Best of luck

Edited January 5, 2021 by floridaPalmMan

[Palmfarmer]

5 hours ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Do you have access to 'mylar blankets'? They reflect radiant thermal energy and will trap the heat inside the trashcan if you line it with the mylar. They're also super cheap.

Here's some on ebay that ship to Mexico if you can't find them locally. With the mylar, you might even be able to get away with a 40w-60w old school light bulb as a source of heat but that's just speculation.

Mylar lined trashcan + 40w bulb might not be the most elegant solution, but it might get you through the super cold days.

Best of luck

I only used trashcans, i had to cut of a lot of leafs to not make the palms not touch the trashcan, I see no Burnage on them yet. The Bismarck should probably do fine at 25f, but i was worried because of the size. I guess a bigger Majesty could handle these short dry freezes, but as i said its a small plant still. forecast shows warm wheater next 2 weeks. Thanks for the tips.

[Palm D]

A shop light type set up with a 40watt bulb should provide heat under the cover.

[Jimhardy]

At those temps you really are just looking for a few degrees bump....

the trash can with a blanket( over ) should take advantage of any ground warmth

and keep you in the safe zone-the Bizzy should be kept bone dry in

the cold....not a good idea to transplant as Bizzies don't transplant 

well even in summer heat.

[WSimpson]

A trashcan and a lightbulb should do it , or blankets and a lightbulb . Keep the blankets  from contacting the blanket directly since bulbs get pretty hot . 

In the future you could order incandescent  Xmas lights from 1,000bulbs.com  . Small Xmas lights get warm but not hot and a string of  100 will definitely add some heat . 

[Tropicdoc]

I use bubble foil insulation in rolls. Same concept as the Mylar with some r value. No issues with fronds touching the walls

[Tropicdoc]

I also use self regulating pipe heat cables