Palms of Augusta, GA

[Emman]

18 hours ago, Jcalvin said:

It's a shame. Georgia use to be filled with Long Leaf Pine and wild prairies under their canopy .

Slash Pine, but to a greater degree loblolly Pine, has taken over the state through timber and lumber production. 

There's still patches of the old long leaf pine forest around the Fort Gordon area in Augusta but who knows, it might eventually get cut down for new "development".

They messed up a beautiful southern natural landscape throughout Georgia(and much of the coastal plain), there needs to be a long leaf pine restoration project .

 

[Emman]

These are pics throughout the CSRA

Augusta skyline

North Augusta Washingtonias

Large palmettos with a view of the lamar building in Augusta

Different view of the same palmettos

Barnwell, sc live oaks and palms

Barnwell eucalyptus tree

 

 

 

[Emman]

Another pic I took of CIDP

Queen palm(I posted it earlier but many people couldn't see the pics)

Live oaks, palms, and eucalyptus in Aiken and Allendale

Aiken

Allendale

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Emman

[Emman]

Another philodendron selloum 

Large european fan palms

Highway view of a washingtonia robusta I posted a pic of earlier

North Augusta CIDP and palmettos

Large palmettos in Augusta

Allendale palmettos and a eucalyptus tree

Spanish moss draped southern magnolias!

More beautiful Aiken live oaks

Augusta spanish moss at phinizy swamp 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Emman

[Emman]

I've taken a lot more pics, I've found more phoenix palms and other cool stuff

These are new pics of the queen palm I took earlier this year(in April), it has grown so fast, more trunk than even a few months ago

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Cant see the photos that you took.  The others you saved or screen shotted come through just fine.  Others are just a do not enter symbol.    

Maybe its the file type that your camera creates.  What is the file extension?   Usually .jpg or .png works great. 

 

My niece lives in Augusta but I don't think she has any palms on her property.    Nice to see so much can grow there though. 

[Emman]

15 minutes ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

Cant see the photos that you took.  The others you saved or screen shotted come through just fine.  Others are just a do not enter symbol.    

Maybe its the file type that your camera creates.  What is the file extension?   Usually .jpg or .png works great. 

 

My niece lives in Augusta but I don't think she has any palms on her property.    Nice to see so much can grow there though. 

Can you see the newer pics, I thought I fixed that problem?

Most yards in Augusta are very plain and bare, the climate is extremely underutilized, citrus trees could be grown a lot more but I've only seen one in a yard that was loaded with lemons back in January.  

Even with all the palms I've shown Augusta could support a lot more, it could look close to many cities in Florida if there was the initiative.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Emman

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

21 hours ago, Emman said:

Can you see the newer pics, I thought I fixed that problem?

Most yards in Augusta are very plain and bare, the climate is extremely underutilized, citrus trees could be grown a lot more but I've only seen one in a yard that was loaded with lemons back in January.  

Even with all the palms I've shown Augusta could support a lot more, it could look close to many cities in Florida if there was the initiative.

I can see you very last post.   That's about it.  

 

I've always thought the climate there could support a lot more palms than are there.   I wonder why its so underutilized?  

[Emman]

More pics

I love the look of this palmetto in Aiken county

Aiken CIDP

Tall Augusta washingtonia robustas

Augusta CIDP

More beautiful Aiken live oaks, I like when they are planted with the cast iron plant beneath them

Gigantic North Augusta palmettos

Augusta mule palm?

 

 

[DAVEinMB]

3 minutes ago, Emman said:

Augusta mule palm?

These look like majesties 

[Emman]

4 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

These look like majesties 

That's a 9b palm right, we have been having mild winters lately but that's really zone pushing isn't it.

[DAVEinMB]

25 minutes ago, Emman said:

That's a 9b palm right, we have been having mild winters lately but that's really zone pushing isn't it.

Yea some people have had luck in 9a but it seems more of a 9b palm reliably. I've tried those as well as pygmies and even in really mild winters (handful of 20s, 24f ultimate low) I haven't had any luck

[kinzyjr]

10 hours ago, DAVEinMB said:

Yea some people have had luck in 9a but it seems more of a 9b palm reliably. I've tried those as well as pygmies and even in really mild winters (handful of 20s, 24f ultimate low) I haven't had any luck

Both of those tend to survive that once-in-a-while 24F, but multiple drops in to the 20s with a 24F to put a cherry on top is usually enough for a mass extinction event on those two species.  For a similar Phoenix that might give you better results, try Phoenix acaulis if you can get your hands on it.  I might be able to get you some seeds this fall, but they will likely have some hybridization since there are other Phoenix in the area.  The below excerpt from the Cold Hardiness Master Data suggests you may have some luck, in particular, the observation in Natchez, MS from @mnorell:

 

[mnorell]

40 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Both of those tend to survive that once-in-a-while 24F, but multiple drops in to the 20s with a 24F to put a cherry on top is usually enough for a mass extinction event on those two species.  For a similar Phoenix that might give you better results, try Phoenix acaulis if you can get your hands on it.  I might be able to get you some seeds this fall, but they will likely have some hybridization since there are other Phoenix in the area.  The below excerpt from the Cold Hardiness Master Data suggests you may have some luck, in particular, the observation in Natchez, MS from @mnorell:

 

I would definitely promote Phoenix acaulis for colder areas, and as Kinzy Jr. mentioned above, I had good winter experience. Note that these were planted under a row of Prunus caroliniana (cherry-laurel or laurel-cherry) along our driveway, though they would still receive north winds to a slight extent. They made it through the 2010 winter (about three days continuously below freezing, to 18F) and according to my notes they classified as "slight to moderate damage" after that horrible winter, but unfortunately I lost them after a mishap while transplanting them during the summer of 2010, though they had been pushing lots of new leaves after the freeze. I wanted to kick myself for that. (Lesson: plant them in the right place at first, not at last!)

A note on this species, which is quite variable in appearance, from various reports. My specimens, which were obtained from Redland Nursery around 2005, were quite beautiful in appearance, and they did not exhibit the scruffy characteristics sometimes ascribed to the species. But buyer beware, with hybridization and varying seed sources, your results may vary. Still, the acaulescent nature of this species alone recommends it for colder areas, at least under some protective evergreen canopy. P. loureiroi (bought as P. humilis) also did pretty well for me under protective canopy near the P. acaulis, and my notes show "completely or mostly defoliated" after 2010, and that one of my specimens survived that freeze to regrow. I found that P. roebelenii was my worst performer by a longshot, worse than many other tropical species. I couldn't get them to survive even milder winters in Natchez. They just hated extended freezes there, even when temps only went down to mid-20s.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

Old Sabal Palmetto off of #4 at Augusta National. They cut down some branches so you can actually see it now, used to be completely hidden 

[Emman]

7 minutes ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Old Sabal Palmetto off of #4 at Augusta National. They cut down some branches so you can actually see it now, used to be completely hidden 

Yeah that's a nice curved trunk palmetto, I posted that same pic earlier I think, they need to plant some 15-20 feet CIDPs all over the golf course, that would make me very happy.

[howfam]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:08 PM, DAVEinMB said:

These look like majesties 

I said the same thing when I saw these palms. Those are Majesties. In Augusta Ga. ?

[EvanM]

On 8/24/2021 at 9:24 AM, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

I can see you very last post.   That's about it.  

 

I've always thought the climate there could support a lot more palms than are there.   I wonder why its so underutilized?  

I live just on the other side of the Savannah River, my guess would be:

- Many people don’t consider them to fit with the traditional idea or conception of a “Southern garden” (e.g., live oaks with Spanish moss, camillas, crape myrtles, magnolias, and azaleas).

- Being at the edge of the native range of palms; not at the heart (like Charleston or Savannah), furthermore these palms (S. minor and R. hysterix) are shrubby and found in less prominent habitats.

- The historical legacy of Fruitlands/Augusta National and the Aiken Winter Colony on landscaping (related to the first point).

 

Also, thanks for the nice thread @Emman.

[Emman]

Here's another pic of one of the luxury homes in summerville, I noticed the pic is not showing now.

This pic is of the outside of the home

Another beautiful Aiken live oak

Washingtonia robusta and CIDP in Augusta, I took this pic in July

 

 

[Emman]

Fatsia japonica, some with cast iron plant

Acuba japonica

I posted this queen palm earlier, this is an newer pic

Banana plant

I

A newer pic of a washingtonia robusta I posted earlier(took the pic in winter)

 

 

[Emman]

More pics

Washingtonia robusta pic I posted earlier a year later

Palmetto

Queen palm with newer growth

Live oaks

Citrus tree with lemons ripening

[Emman]

I've seen another larger citrus tree that has some lemons starting to ripen on the top, I'll take a pic of it when it's loaded with fruit later this month or January.

I've also discovered a few livistona palms, I'll try to get some pics of those as well.

This catcus is a pic a took in July, does anyone know what kind it is

Edited December 6, 2021 by Emman

[Tom in Tucson]

7 hours ago, Emman said:

I've seen another larger citrus tree that has some lemons starting to ripen on the top, I'll take a pic of it when it's loaded with fruit later this month or January.

I've also discovered a few livistona palms, I'll try to get some pics of those as well.

This catcus is a pic a took in July, does anyone know what kind it is

Looks like Austrocylindropuntia subulata 

Hi 79˚, Lo 43˚

[Collectorpalms]

Augusta Georgia 1985-01-21

Low

-1

  That hurts! Take some advise from the more humid/wet Zone 8 Texans, Skip the Washingtonias and stick with Sabals and Canaries

Edited December 9, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Emman]

4 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

Augusta Georgia 1985-01-21

Low

-1

  That hurts! Take some advise from the more humid/wet Zone 8 Texans, Skip the Washingtonias and stick with Sabals and Canaries

So CIDPs are hardier than washingtonias?

From what I've seen robustas got those brown, burnt fronds around 23 degrees while (the very few)CIDPs looked unfazed last winter in Augusta.

I don't really expect LA skyduster robustas to be here even without the extreme minimums, the lighting would eventually take some of them out.

 

[Collectorpalms]

56 minutes ago, Emman said:

So CIDPs are hardier than washingtonias?

From what I've seen robustas got those brown, burnt fronds around 23 degrees while (the very few)CIDPs looked unfazed last winter in Augusta.

I don't really expect LA skyduster robustas to be here even without the extreme minimums, the lighting would eventually take some of them out.

 

Thousands upon Thousands of Washingtonia are dead in Texas. In the drier parts of Texas they can handle the cold better however. Almost all Large Canaries I know of survived down to a low of -2F. Newly planted Canaries didnt fair well though.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Emman]

Here's more plants 

Bottlebrush/callistemon

 

Camphor tree 

Citrus tree

Golden rain tree

Livistona palms

Large eucalyptus tree and livistona growing on side of house

I showed a pic of these palmettos earlier but this is a recent pic 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Emman

[SeanK]

@Emman- Would you say that CIDP is more cold-hardy than L.chinensis?

[Emman]

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

@Emman- Would you say that CIDP is more cold-hardy than L.chinensis?

They're both rated as 8b but I think CIDP is hardier, according to some Texas posters CIDPs survived sub zero temps in the 2021 freeze.

 

[Emman]

And I love the yard of the palmettos and cacti with the Spanish revival architecture, that style seems very prevalent in warm subtropical places like Florida and California.

[Can't think of username]

Just found this thread linked in the ol' City-Data weather forum! Might as well join in
I'm not Emman, I don't have any pictures, and I know diddly squat about plants, but I have some stuff that might be appropriate to point out as far as microclimates go.

In addition to the Savannah River effect already mentioned earlier, Emman makes a good point here that the minimum temps for Augusta are in an open airfield and that the urbanization may have some effect for microclimates too: https://www.city-data.com/forum/weather/3301518-climate-southeast-really-inferior-not-true-6.html#post62061733
There's one more thing I have to add on. Augusta I believe is in the Sandhills, so sandier parts can be a cold sink compared to less sandy places.

With all this in mind, let's look at Daniel Field. Unlike Bush Field, it has a median low of -5 Celsius, so easily 9a.
I don't know how sandy the soil is around there, but it's away from Downtown Augusta on the river and is still an airfield, so it's certainly not the warmest of the microclimates.  Going by that, I would expect the downtown area along the river to be a 9b microclimate (even though there's no NOAA data on it). 

Just some food for thought on what palms can grow.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

On 8/11/2022 at 7:54 AM, Emman said:

And I love the yard of the palmettos and cacti with the Spanish revival architecture, that style seems very prevalent in warm subtropical places like Florida and California.

That describes a considerable number of houses in Texas

Edited August 21, 2022 by DreaminAboutPalms

[Emman]

Took some new pics of banana, washingtonia robusta, aloe, naturalized palmettos, and more but those two pics need some ID

This is a crownshaft palm.....looks very tropical

This is a ficus looking big leafed tree

[Xenon]

31 minutes ago, Emman said:

Took some new pics of banana, washingtonia robusta, aloe, naturalized palmettos, and more but those two pics need some ID

This is a crownshaft palm.....looks very tropical

 

 

 

This is a ficus looking big leafed tree

 

The first one looks fake, like a fake Archontophoenix cunninghamia 

The second is giant milkweed, Calotropis gigantea

[Emman]

5 minutes ago, Xenon said:

The first one looks fake, like a fake Archontophoenix cunninghamia 

The second is giant milkweed, Calotropis gigantea

I figured it might be fake, the fronds like very plastic.

Giant milkweed is supposedly zone 10, maybe this one dies back in winter or there's extensive winter protection because it looks like it's thriving.

[SeanK]

Archontophoenix polypropylene?

[Emman]

Could the calotropis be calotropis procera instead of gigantea, it's cold hardiness is said to be zone 8 which makes more sense.

 

[Teegurr]

17 hours ago, Emman said:

I figured it might be fake, the fronds like very plastic.

Giant milkweed is supposedly zone 10, maybe this one dies back in winter or there's extensive winter protection because it looks like it's thriving.

It's definitely fake, no question about it. Look at that trunk.

[Emman]

Washingtonia robusta with oleander and chinaberry tree 

 

[Emman]

Here's pics of a naturalized palmetto grove