Palm Collection Before and After The Great Texas Freeze of 5F in 2021

[Collectorpalms]

Street view,  Pictured almost one year ago Feb 28, 2020.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

[Collectorpalms]

[Collectorpalms]

[Collectorpalms]

[Meangreen94z]

They look completely unfazed in the after shots 

[Swolte]

Absolutely stunning. A part of me really doesn't want to see the "after" anymore... 

[Collectorpalms]

Phoenix Sylvestris 

[Collectorpalms]

Some Butia hybrids Recovering 1 year after 14.5F 2018. ( With a special Queen in picture 4, right)
 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

Back corner CIDP. With Palmetto and Washingtonia Filfera and Hybrid double in first couple pictures. Robusta scattered in other pics. spring 2020.

November 2018 after 14.5F February 2018.

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

Brahea Armata with Filifera on right and hybrid washingtonia on left. Very tall Sabal Mexicana (Many decades old) on far left in second picture.

 

Older lower leaves tattered after lemon size hail previous 2 years.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Meangreen94z]

Amazing yard, I’m sure you will have a few surprises 

[Collectorpalms]

 

Same palms from behind Feb 13, 2021. Their skirts began to fall off, kinda bummer too. Could have helped. I never trimmed them over 10ft for any added cold protection. Climbing fig and jasmine vine got stuck in skirts. 

 

I would never knowingly plant a washingtonia Robusta. Can you believe some of them were 1 gallon palms sold as filifera off eBay! But boy they tapped into Texas Oil. They grew better than most plants in Texas. I believe hundreds of thousands of them are going to be gone in Zone 8s. Home to millions of Texans. These plants lived off natural rainfall. I didn’t supplement them once established. There are at least 100 Washingtonia R within a couple miles radius of just me.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Xenon]

Love the contrast with the tulips. Really creates that Willy Wonka/Alice in Wonderland "aesthetic". 

 

[Collectorpalms]

11 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Love the contrast with the tulips. Really creates that Willy Wonka/Alice in Wonderland "aesthetic". 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[PricklyPearSATC]

I'm more impressed with all the tulips , hyacinths and daffodils!!!  I assume they were pre-chilled.  A lot of hard work went into those!

I purchased daffodil bulbs once.  Only 3 out of 30 bulbs of Carlton from Southern Bulb bloomed.  Carlton is supposedly the only daffodil recommended for 9a, except for tazettas.  The next year, not even the foliage emerged!

Edited February 27, 2021 by PricklyPearSATC

[Collectorpalms]

4 minutes ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

I'm more impressed with all the tulips , hyacinths and daffodils!!!  I assume they were pre-chilled.  A lot of hard work went into those!

I purchased daffodil bulbs once.  Only 3 out of 30 bulbs of Carlton from Southern Bulb bloomed.  The next year, not even the foliage emerged!

Only the tulips have to be prechilled, but if you prechill the hyacinths and daffodils as soon as possible as well ( sept- dec( they will bloom when it’s cold and last a long time. I have to remove all the soil from flower beds and replant every year. It’s a month or two long process. This year it was even too cold for them.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

17 minutes ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

I'm more impressed with all the tulips , hyacinths and daffodils!!!  I assume they were pre-chilled.  A lot of hard work went into those!

I purchased daffodil bulbs once.  Only 3 out of 30 bulbs of Carlton from Southern Bulb bloomed.  Carlton is supposedly the only daffodil recommended for 9a, except for tazettas.  The next year, not even the foliage emerged!

Yellow daffodil “Fortune”, is probably the best yellow to return and multiple. February gold will too. But dainty.  The earliest of all blooming is a yellow and white is “Monal.” The best white is “ice follies” and “Thalia.” They return for me. Sandy raised flower beds and I do give fertilizer like for onions. 
Several Hyacinths come back too, delft blue, blue jacket, pink pearl, Gypsy Queen.

Occasionally tulips come back a year but not as nice. World peace and Candy Apple Delight, Darwin hybrids to name a couple.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Teegurr]

4 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

Only the tulips have to be prechilled, but if you prechill the hyacinths and daffodils as soon as possible as well ( sept- dec( they will bloom when it’s cold and last a long time. I have to remove all the soil from flower beds and replant every year. It’s a month or two long process. This year it was even too cold for them.

What an amazing garden. The sylvestris is really impressive. Do you have any pictures of your Bismarckia before the freeze? I'd love to see them. 

Sorry, didn't mean to quote you.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Teegurr

[Collectorpalms]

57 minutes ago, Teegurr said:

What an amazing garden. The sylvestris is really impressive. Do you have any pictures of your Bismarckia before the freeze? I'd love to see them. 

Sorry, didn't mean to quote you.

My last remaining one was a glorified blue leaf looking minor. I checked on it. It has already keeled over sideway. I never had a great picture it ( they) got over crowded. I can occasional see a frond sticking out from my pics. Mine purchased in the fall were safe in garage, if they are planted will go In raised beds with as much sun and heat as possible.

The sylvestris was on my neighbors property line so it got Almost daily watering. That will be sad if it dies. Not to mention a big financial mess. However I think the canaries will be the hardest to remove.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

Risen from the Ashes once before in August 2011, only to be follow by extreme heat. (most Robusta were killed to our north.) Also, one of the hottest summer followed. Had the great Bastrop fire. Notice the difference in grass that was watered to prevent fire. There was one in CS that almost burned my vet clinic down.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

2016 Better times. Bismarckia and Everglades palm in there. Also a skinny phoenix. All lasted till 2021. Armata, Sabal Uresana in there too.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Cikas]

On 2/27/2021 at 10:06 PM, PricklyPearSATC said:

I'm more impressed with all the tulips , hyacinths and daffodils!!!  I assume they were pre-chilled.  A lot of hard work went into those!

I purchased daffodil bulbs once.  Only 3 out of 30 bulbs of Carlton from Southern Bulb bloomed.  Carlton is supposedly the only daffodil recommended for 9a, except for tazettas.  The next year, not even the foliage emerged!

Daffodils are native to Mediterranean Europe, Asia and Africa. They are native in USDA 9 and 10 zone. They actually do not like cold weather. They just need cool night temperatures during winter. 

Several species is native here in Mediterranean coastal Croatia. And they flower without any help. 

[PricklyPearSATC]

On 2/28/2021 at 9:58 PM, Collectorpalms said:

Risen from the Ashes once before in August 2011, only to be follow by extreme heat. (most Robusta were killed to our north.) Also, one of the hottest summer followed. Had the great Bastrop fire. Notice the difference in grass that was watered to prevent fire. There was one in CS that almost burned my vet clinic down.

 

 

Your Sago Palm looks better than mine! I've got a bunch of bleach blonde sagos....I think they will make it.

I just can't figure out that pruning thing with them.  Too many experts are giving too many opinions. The petioles of the sagos are green, so I'm leaving them for now.  However, I would not be surprised if the petioles stay green for months.   They never put out any growth until summer anyway. 

[necturus]

 

2 hours ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

Your Sago Palm looks better than mine! I've got a bunch of bleach blonde sagos....I think they will make it.

I just can't figure out that pruning thing with them.  Too many experts are giving too many opinions. The petioles of the sagos are green, so I'm leaving them for now.  However, I would not be surprised if the petioles stay green for months.   They never put out any growth until summer anyway. 

I don't think it matters too much one way or another. Tom Broome (cycad expert in Florida) said  Cycas flush new leaves and produce pups more frequently after defoliation. In fact, he and others deliberately defoliate (either complete or partial) to induce faster growth. I went ahead and pruned all of mine hoping it might get them flushing faster.

[Collectorpalms]

1 hour ago, necturus said:

 

I don't think it matters too much one way or another. Tom Broome (cycad expert in Florida) said  Cycas flush new leaves and produce pups more frequently after defoliation. In fact, he and others deliberately defoliate (either complete or partial) to induce faster growth. I went ahead and pruned all of mine hoping it might get them flushing faster.

That picture was from after 17F in 2011. The largest sago that would cost a ton to replace about 5ft if trunk, I defoliated and wrapped for this event. They can use a lot of fertilizer to get going again. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

3 hours ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

Your Sago Palm looks better than mine! I've got a bunch of bleach blonde sagos....I think they will make it.

I just can't figure out that pruning thing with them.  Too many experts are giving too many opinions. The petioles of the sagos are green, so I'm leaving them for now.  However, I would not be surprised if the petioles stay green for months.   They never put out any growth until summer anyway. 

I have 8 cycads, all were protected except three. They went blond before it even went above 32. After 15f In 2018, I had two that took a couple years to throw a new leaf. They needed a lot of  sun and some fertilizer. I dig them up and put in pots. There were in the 2ft of trunk range. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[amh]

I have sagos in my area that have seen 7F or 8F many times in their lives and always survive, as well as put on lots of new growth.

I dont know how they will respond to the recent 4F to -5F conditions.

[necturus]

19 minutes ago, amh said:

I have sagos in my area that have seen 7F or 8F many times in their lives and always survive, as well as put on lots of new growth.

I dont know how they will respond to the recent 4F to -5F conditions.

Trunking?

[amh]

11 minutes ago, necturus said:

Trunking?

yes.

[necturus]

15 minutes ago, amh said:

yes.

Nice, that's impressive. It surprises me there aren't some real monsters down here if they are really that hardy. Seems they could have survived the 80s. 

[amh]

8 minutes ago, necturus said:

Nice, that's impressive. It surprises me there aren't some real monsters down here if they are really that hardy. Seems they could have survived the 80s. 

Most are growing in a more squat configuration, but there are some that have 4 to 6 feet of trunk.

[Austinpalm]

On 2/28/2021 at 11:18 PM, Collectorpalms said:

2016 Better times. Bismarckia and Everglades palm in there. Also a skinny phoenix. All lasted till 2021. Armata, Sabal Uresana in there too.

Not seeing the Everglades palm in these pix.  Can you point it out? You anticipate yours is dead? Am curious about their survival in Houston and points south.

[Collectorpalms]

1 minute ago, Austinpalm said:

Not seeing the Everglades palm in these pix.  Can you point it out? You anticipate yours is dead? Am curious about their survival in Houston and points south.

They burned to the ground after 15F in 2018 and came back. There were several trunks around 3Ft tall after 3 growing seasons. I am not sure if they will come back. I have already defoliated them and did not see any green. Since they can come back from ground I give them a chance since it was a well established clump.

[Austinpalm]

Thanks!

Hope they come back for you.

[ngservet]

On 2/27/2021 at 6:37 AM, Collectorpalms said:

Phoenix Sylvestris 

Do you have a picture of the Sylvestris today? How are you feeling about this pulling through?

[Collectorpalms]

20 minutes ago, ngservet said:

Do you have a picture of the Sylvestris today? How are you feeling about this pulling through?

Everything is so horrible it’s hard to look. I spent the evening trying to figure out how anyone could cut these down without closing to traffic. I think I have a couple Washingtonia hybrids 40ft tall. They Could fall on the house with a south wind. That oak tree might have helped the sylvestris a tad. It’s in the warmest area of yard. It had a full crown. I haven’t ruled it out. It’s not as horrible looking at my two CIDP that took a hit with the ice storm and just crumbled. It’s partly upright and flat. CIDP look hideous. Even one CIDP a 1/2 mile that is protected at the Hilton from a huge building it is nothing but a stump at the moment. A neighbor has two sylvestris that are only about 1/3 the height up near their house. Nothing looks alive at the moment. I gave some first aid to some palms today. 
God I hate the thorns on palms! Trying to trim them and having one fall on you is a real risk.

thank for asking. I’ll update you how it turns out.

 

ok pic from a couple days ago. Still working to clean up yard. The live oak you can see it’s lost most leaves now. It’s not 100 percent fried like some around.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[ngservet]

15 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

Everything is so horrible it’s hard to look. I spent the evening trying to figure out how anyone could cut these down without closing to traffic. I think I have a couple Washingtonia hybrids 40ft tall. They Could fall on the house with a south wind. That oak tree might have helped the sylvestris a tad. It’s in the warmest area of yard. It had a full crown. I haven’t ruled it out. It’s not as horrible looking at my two CIDP that took a hit with the ice storm and just crumbled. It’s partly upright and flat. CIDP look hideous. Even one CIDP a 1/2 mile that is protected at the Hilton from a huge building it is nothing but a stump at the moment. A neighbor has two sylvestris that are only about 1/3 the height up near their house. Nothing looks alive at the moment. I gave some first aid to some palms today. 
God I hate the thorns on palms! Trying to trim them and having one fall on you is a real risk.

thank for asking. I’ll update you how it turns out.

 

ok pic from a couple days ago. Still working to clean up yard. The live oak you can see it’s lost most leaves now. It’s not 100 percent fried like some around.

I’m sorry for the devastation you had!! Thanks for sharing and I hope it makes a full recovery. I guess time will only tell. 

[amh]

15 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

ok pic from a couple days ago. Still working to clean up yard. The live oak you can see it’s lost most leaves now. It’s not 100 percent fried like some around.

The good news is that the oaks should be naturally dropping leaves this week.

[mnorell]

Mid-March is the leaf-swap time in the south, at least I know in Natchez, Mississippi it is...so hopefully it will quickly become apparent what is dead vs. alive. We would always lose the leaves about the 15th of March in Natchez, and by the first of April the new leaves were expanded pretty much completely. One question I have about Quercus virginiana...if these trees have defoliated or lost limbs throughout Texas where single digits were experienced (I know that large limbs in Natchez were lost after 4F in the Christmas ice storm of 1989)...don't they take those temperatures regularly in the northernmost extremes of their range? I wonder if there is a cold-hardier genetic strain? Though I just looked on Wikipedia and it mentions that in Central Texas and Oklahoma there is a closely related live oak, the "Escarpment Live Oak" or "Texas Live Oak," Quercus fusiformis, of somewhat similar appearance and much greater cold-hardiness; and that the two hybridize readily. I had never heard about that one. Can anyone comment on the way these two species are used in Texas and whether they did show great differences in response to the cold; and to the similarities/differences between these two, and any info regarding the hybrids?