Palmageddon Aftermath Photo Thread

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

9 hours ago, NBTX11 said:

Thats the perfect filibusta athestic in my book.  always loved that "halfway" thick trunk on those.  Already looking good

[Collectorpalms]

It’s official! I lost my first Washingtonia Filifera. It looked alive after the freeze, but slowly went down hill. I trunk cut it and was giving it treatments. It was still solid and Their was still life in the crown, but for some reason I decided to push to test its weight and found it was soft in the middle, and I was able to snap it in half. Well it was rotten so it’s just hanging. It wasn’t in a good spot, it got overcrowded by a faster Hybrid. I should have moved it years ago because it only made it to about 7 ft of trunk. I was hoping to save it and move it to a new spot to replace another palm.

This wasn’t a major loss, but a moral hit.
 

I feel a lot more are now going to quickly follow, we have been under a flash flood watch for several days and the rain is just ripe for rot.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[HtownPalms]

On 4/29/2021 at 6:02 PM, Xenon said:

Pygmy dates alive??? That is news 

And please post a pic of your queen palm!!

Xenon,

I literally just sold my house with the Queen Palm last week but I'm still close by so I will try to get a picture to post this week. I have seen 2 or 3 Pygmy Date Palms in my area with some green growth. All of which were unprotected other than planting location. I will get recent pictures of those too. 

[JJPalmer]

Spent this last weekend in Austin for a former classmates wedding and had some time to assess a bit of the damage.  There seems to be a decent heat island in the immediate downtown areas of Austin.  Oddly enough, Italian Cypress served as a decent indicator of microclimates, with significant burn but survivors downtown but completely fried specimens near the airport.  What shocked me was the cosmetic damage to Sabals and Trachycarpus - though most will survive.  Washingtonias are another story - I’d assume almost all robustas are gone  and filibustas are definitely going to be thinned out.  About 90% of the sago palms are wiped out with the exceptions being those on the southern side of large buildings.  Shockingly, I did see a rather large CIDP with some green fronds.  I’d love to know how the large Phoenix dactylifera fared at Gregory Gym on campus - I’d assume they’re toast but who knows.  I’ll post some pics a bit later. 

[NBTX11]

More New Braunfels. Complete Filifera recovery. 

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

[NBTX11]

Here’s my smaller Filifera I grew from seed as of today, 2.5 months after freeze. 

[NBTX11]

1 hour ago, JJPalmer said:

Spent this last weekend in Austin for a former classmates wedding and had some time to assess a bit of the damage.  There seems to be a decent heat island in the immediate downtown areas of Austin.  Oddly enough, Italian Cypress served as a decent indicator of microclimates, with significant burn but survivors downtown but completely fried specimens near the airport.  What shocked me was the cosmetic damage to Sabals and Trachycarpus - though most will survive.  Washingtonias are another story - I’d assume almost all robustas are gone  and filibustas are definitely going to be thinned out.  About 90% of the sago palms are wiped out with the exceptions being those on the southern side of large buildings.  Shockingly, I did see a rather large CIDP with some green fronds.  I’d love to know how the large Phoenix dactylifera fared at Gregory Gym on campus - I’d assume they’re toast but who knows.  I’ll post some pics a bit later. 

All or most of the huge old Filifera in or near downtown Austin should be making a recovery. 

[NBTX11]

@Jtee here is your old palms. The Med fan and Sabal look great. I did not see any pindos. Maybe they removed them. 

[Jtee]

9 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

@Jtee here is your old palms. The Med fan and Sabal look great. I did not see any pindos. Maybe they removed them. 

Thanks for posting my old palms. I haven’t seen them in a while. The pindo was to the left under window but it’s probably camouflaged with all the bushes. I planted that Sabal as a 1 gallon in 2017(I think) and I planted the Mediterranean fan palm in 2015

 

 Thanks again. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Jtee

[NBTX11]

1 minute ago, Jtee said:

Thanks for posting my old palms. I haven’t seen them in a while. The pindo was to the left under window but it’s probably camouflaged with all the bushes.  Thanks again. 

I'll double check sometime for the pindo, it could have been camouflaged.  I wasn't looking that hard for it.

[Collectorpalms]

5 hours ago, HtownPalms said:

Xenon,

I literally just sold my house with the Queen Palm last week but I'm still close by so I will try to get a picture to post this week. I have seen 2 or 3 Pygmy Date Palms in my area with some green growth. All of which were unprotected other than planting location. I will get recent pictures of those too. 

Pygmy unprotected surviving 14*, Impossible. I guess it would have had to been closer to 23* somehow. 

Also, there are already donzens of new Pygmy plantings. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[necturus]

3 hours ago, JJPalmer said:

Spent this last weekend in Austin for a former classmates wedding and had some time to assess a bit of the damage.  There seems to be a decent heat island in the immediate downtown areas of Austin.  Oddly enough, Italian Cypress served as a decent indicator of microclimates, with significant burn but survivors downtown but completely fried specimens near the airport.  What shocked me was the cosmetic damage to Sabals and Trachycarpus - though most will survive.  Washingtonias are another story - I’d assume almost all robustas are gone  and filibustas are definitely going to be thinned out.  About 90% of the sago palms are wiped out with the exceptions being those on the southern side of large buildings.  Shockingly, I did see a rather large CIDP with some green fronds.  I’d love to know how the large Phoenix dactylifera fared at Gregory Gym on campus - I’d assume they’re toast but who knows.  I’ll post some pics a bit later. 

I was in Austin on Tuesday-Wednesday. Saw the CIDPs leafing out. There have been a lot of reports of them leafing out in areas that got colder than Austin, so I'm not surprised.

A lot of sagos are just waking up in Houston, so unless they've collapsed I wouldn't write them off in Austin yet.

Chamaerops looked pretty bad. Sabal mexicana looked better than I expected.

[Collectorpalms]

Seeing several recoveries out of zone 9, doesn’t match previous deep freeze in Texas. Next one is going Further south to get the remaining Robustas even in San Antonio and Houston. .....
question is it going to be in the next decade or sooner? 

[NBTX11]

I don’t know how we can have a worse freeze. Even the 1983 and 89 freezes weren’t as long or deep as this one. Unless you’re going back to 1949, and even the Filifera survived that one. 

[Collectorpalms]

5 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

I don’t know how we can have a worse freeze. Even the 1983 and 89 freezes weren’t as long or deep as this one. Unless you’re going back to 1949, and even the Filifera survived that one. 

Robustas did not Survive after 1989 in

Houston. Houston was 7, this year 13.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[NBTX11]

1 minute ago, Collectorpalms said:

Robustas did not Survive after 1989 in

Houston. 

I wasn’t here then. But I bet there were survivors in 1989. This freeze was much longer in duration than 1989, and there are survivors in San Antonio. A lot of them. 1989 was a quick in and out freeze by comparison. 

[Collectorpalms]

2 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

I wasn’t here then. But I bet there were survivors in 1989. This freeze was much longer in duration than 1989, and there are survivors in San Antonio. A lot of them. 1989 was a quick in and out freeze by comparison. 

I know someone ( worked with) who lived In Houston and knew the difference between a Robusta and A Filifera and lived Texas 80 years. 
Robustas did not live past the 1980s in Houston. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[MesquiteRetreat]

On 5/1/2021 at 11:41 AM, boaterboat said:

Yes, a couple weeks ago. I bought Chinese Fan Palms, Texas Sabal, Sabal Palmetto & Filifera from Adam’s Gardens. 

Oh! Those were your photos earlier?! I’m green with envy. Your neighbors might think you are crazy, but I certainly don’t think that! And we do the same regarding photos...whenever we have a palm delivered, a large mesquite taken down, or any “big work” done, we take oodles of photos...always fun to see them later. I am not familiar with Adams Nursery, but will certainly check it out. Did they deliver? And did they actually plant them? Thanks for the tip!

[Collectorpalms]

The 1989 freeze was worse in San Antonio, two consecutive days were colder in 1989.

you guys in San Antonio and Houston got off lucky!

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

On 5/1/2021 at 11:41 AM, boaterboat said:

Yes, a couple weeks ago. I bought Chinese Fan Palms, Texas Sabal, Sabal Palmetto & Filifera from Adam’s Gardens. 

They don’t grow pure Filifera in the Valley. I have seen what Adams Nursery puts out in the past.

at least they grow Texas Sabals. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Collectorpalms said:

Pygmy unprotected surviving 14*, Impossible. I guess it would have had to been closer to 23* somehow. 

Also, there are already donzens of new Pygmy plantings. 

Angleton is a bit further south (which made all of the difference in this freeze) and saw something closer to 17F so it does seem possible for established pygmy to survive in a protected spot, south facing wall, etc. Some old established pygmies in central Houston did survive 18-19F a few years back.

[Xenon]

As for "very far south", it seems the majority of royal palms survived in Brownsville and plenty of them are also waking up elsewhere in Cameron and Hidalgo counties. Some foxtail palms are pushing growth even inland in the McAllen Area.

Still waiting for a mythical holy grail TX coconut to push out a green leaf 

[Collectorpalms]

8 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Angleton is a bit further south (which made all of the difference in this freeze) and saw something closer to 17F so it does seem possible for established pygmy to survive in a protected spot, south facing wall, etc. Some old established pygmies in central Houston did survive 18-19F a few years back.

Freeport which is south of angelton  saw 15* on the coast. 

[Xenon]

57 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Robustas did not Survive after 1989 in

Houston. Houston was 7, this year 13.

Agree the 80s were definitely worse, though I wasn't alive . Galveston was only 19F vs 14F in 1989 and there was no frozen bay this time and no massive ecology changing fish kills. 

[Collectorpalms]

13 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Agree the 80s were definitely worse, though I wasn't alive . Galveston was only 19F vs 14F in 1989 and there was no frozen bay this time and no massive ecology changing fish kills. 

Exactly. However Austin, Waco, Dallas, College Station got a bad taste of the 1980s all in 7 days.

Scary but this is only a warning for those south of us.... and to Florida.

Older Washingtonia at car wash in Bryan There were large Pygmy that survived 2010 and some till 2011.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Teegurr]

1. Chamaerops humilis recovery

2. Phoenix canariensis recovery

3. Washingtonia filifera recovery

On Dexter Dr. CSTX

 

[Collectorpalms]

Look closely at Temperatures in south College Station. Less ice and snow maybe. They were warmer than some areas. Not me, I am on end north edge of town and had 4*
 

I think 6* and 7 * helped. The NE wind protected areas on the west side of town. But blasted the eastern edge. 

The heaviest snow fell right along University Drive and north, and with the Ice.

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

53 minutes ago, Teegurr said:

1. Chamaerops humilis recovery

2. Phoenix canariensis recovery

3. Washingtonia filifera recovery

On Dexter Dr. CSTX

 

Why don’t we just start a thread for Bryan College Station Plant survivors?

[Teegurr]

Just now, Collectorpalms said:

Why don’t we just start a thread for Bryan College Station Plant survivors?

I'll do it. The thing is, there aren't that many members from here. But it can't hurt, I guess.

[Swolte]

EDIT: LOL, look at us posting all at the same time. Agreed, Teegurr/Ryan. I was thinking the same as it would be easier to compare for readers since we all experienced a (somewhat) similar weather event.  

Pindo recovering in College Station (near asian supermarket)!

Edited May 2, 2021 by Swolte

[NBTX11]

3 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

The 1989 freeze was worse in San Antonio, two consecutive days were colder in 1989.

you guys in San Antonio and Houston got off lucky!

I can't find the temperature chart for San Antonio in Dec 1989, but I have seen it before, and from what I remember, this freeze was much longer and of a greater duration than 1989.  And I think it was by far longer.

San Antonio went almost 5 days below freezing this year.  That didn't happen in 1989.  If I remember correctly it was only 2-3 days then.  Am I wrong about that?  I can't find the stats.   

Edited May 3, 2021 by NBTX11

[Collectorpalms]

8 minutes ago, NBTX11 said:

I can't find the temperature chart for San Antonio in Dec 1989, but I have seen it before, and from what I remember, this freeze was much longer and of a greater duration than 1989.  And I think it was by far longer.

San Antonio went almost 5 days below freezing this year.  That didn't happen in 1989.  If I remember correctly it was only 2-3 days then.  Am I wrong about that?  I can't find the stats.   

1989 was shorter, but the two days it did happen the average temperatures were colder than this. - Specifically only referring to along Zone 9 and south.

To me, it appears that the ultimate low had the greatest impact on Robusta, just by looking at Houston metro which was short like 1989, but not as severe.

Every degree you drop as you head west of Houston, the percentage of Robustas recovering drops precipitously. 14*to 12* was a big drop in survivors.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[SLTX21]

16 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

1989 was shorter, but the two days it did happen the average temperatures were colder than this.

To me, it appears that the ultimate low had the greatest impact on Robusta, just by looking at Houston metro which was short like 1989, but not as severe.

 

It's possible we may never see anything like this again in our lifetimes. This was a once in a generation all the stars align event 

The strong vortex was predicted, and the US Midwest East coast was supposed to be in the deep freeze and we'd get a cold snap and freeze, well within our zone rating, even with the strong vortex. This was an all the stars align event, with bad timing on ice, snow, cloudy days, clear nights, and uniquely set up high pressure zones on both sides sending the jet deep south.

I will plant based on the 2018 freeze event, which is about our zone minimum, not this freak event, that we may honestly never see again.  With climate change, when the stars do align again, it may be 5 degrees warmer, or possibly more due to urban heat island. 

With climate change, I read USDA is actually predicting half zone up for many of us in the next 20-30 years. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by SLTX21

[SLTX21]

Recently took a trip down to the RGV from Houston. Robustas/filibustas look burned damaged all the way down to Corpus, although most look like they'll survive.  

There was a HUGE difference going from Kingsville to Raymondsville. In the actual valley, pure Robusta and Sagos looked like nothing happened. What surprised me was how well the Royals are doing.  Almost all were coming back. What also surprised me was the queens looked burned (some weren't that bad), but are clearly coming back - they Royals didn't look that much worse. Also the Norfolk Island Pines and Cook Pines looked terrible - that surprised me with the clear Royal recovery.  Maybe Royals can be tried in Galveston? 

Edited May 3, 2021 by SLTX21