Notable Survivors of Corpus Christi

[Little Tex]

2 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Bizzy survives while queen next to it died. So Bismarckia more hardy than queen?

A few doors down, there is a surviving queen I made a post about, and next to it is a few dead robusta, so I would not not say queens are hardier than robusta, but some special cases happen

[Xenon]

2 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Agreed, and one of the thoughts I was having but didn't put down is that which one performs better is really event-specific.  In this case I'd say I'm seeing a greater percentage of bismarck survivors than queen, but under most scenarios that we're likely to see here it would be queen that would do better, which just illustrates what you were saying about bud hardiness vs. frond hardiness vs. growth rate.

Strangely I found Bismarckia to do better (as far as absolute survival rate) in all of the major freezes of the 2010s (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018) in the Houston Area. The queens that survived recovered faster but considering the much smaller sample size, there were surprisingly few Bismarckia deaths. There are a few Bismarckia recovering in Galveston and the NASA area compared to maybe a handful or two of queens (probably thousand or more before 2021). 

[Meangreen94z]

4 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Bizzy survives while queen next to it died. So Bismarckia more hardy than queen? Not sure I’m ready to say that but at least this shows that if you live somewhere where queens do well the Bismarck should be worth a try also. Also, I keep finding Bizzy survivors here and there and I have noticed that the survival rate is much higher for small to medium specimens. The largest ones have been decimated, my working theory is that the tallest ones were completely exposed to the relentless arctic winds while the shorter ones at least had some protection from wind and that made the difference. 
 

Bismarckia is hardier 

[Xerarch]

So I guess these are mule palms? I couldn’t see the trunk, there are 3 of them. These may or may not pre-date the freeze, but glad to see them around. Hoping to see many more as availability increases. 
 

[Xerarch]

On 2/22/2022 at 3:47 PM, Collectorpalms said:

Any Good Nurseries in and around Corpus for anything? Even Oleander varieties?

So I have happened across the oleander section at Turner's since I responded last. They do have a handful of varieties including a few that look like Turner's own varieties like Flirt, Trey Boy (super dwarf), and Carnival, other cultivars there too, couldn't tell which might be standard varieties or their own.

[necturus]

On 3/21/2022 at 1:51 PM, Meangreen94z said:

Bismarckia is hardier 

Someone on here posted a while ago that the Bismarckia at Caldwell Nursery in Rosenberg TX are no more. I didn’t take any pictures, but when I visited a couple weeks back one still had a leaf coming out. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Mrs. Caldwell passed away in May far too soon. May she RIP. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 2/10/2022 at 9:13 AM, Xerarch said:

Your neck of the woods, at a home on the canal just south of Bluff's Landing

That area about 1.5 miles to 2.5 miles south of my place seems to be a perfect microclimate area to successfully grow some Coconut Palms.  That area seems to stay at least 2F to 3F warmer on cold winter nights than my place.

[Xerarch]

Saw this flowing Delonix regia today. Do you suppose it survived at the base or would a planted one grow this big and flower so quickly? I almost knocked on the guy’s door to ask, he also had some guava growing with those little net bags on them, wanted to hit him up about that too. 
 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Saw this flowing Delonix regia today. Do you suppose it survived at the base or would a planted one grow this big and flower so quickly? I almost knocked on the guy’s door to ask, he also had some guava growing with those little net bags on them, wanted to hit him up about that too. 
 

Hey Ammon,

I actually know the guy.  You should have stopped and knocked on his door to see if he was there.  Yes, that is a Big Freeze survivor.  As I recall, he wrapped it and tried to put some kind of tarp up to protect it from the the north winds, which ended up being so strong it blew the tarp down and onto the north side of the tree, which got SEVERE FREEZE BURN.  The south side of the tree survived somehow, including that large branch, which is flowering, but the whole north side of the trunk was frozen and rotting away.  I told him about 5 months ago, that he would probably need to cut it down and replace it, because it was just going to eventually fall over and break under the weight of that heavy limb in some of our high winds.  He was reluctant to do it though, since it was starting to grow again, but he knew my advice was correct about it eventually breaking and falling over.  When he noticed some buds appearing on it, I went ahead and advised him to leave it alone this year, enjoy the blooms and see if it actually produces seed (which I would like some of), then chop it down and replace it next spring.  He acted like he was impatient and didn't want to wait that long to replace it, so I thought he was going to go ahead and chop it down and replace it this summer, but I guess he decided to wait after all.  It's been a while since I have driven that way.   He lives only a block off of Ocean Dr., so I guess I need to swing by there and take a look at it again.

John

P.S.  How are your Coconut Palms doing?  You're Panama Tall is probably really taking off now.  You should post a pic or two of it on the forums here and on my group on Facebook (but I won't be able to comment on it there, just maybe give a thumb's up, since I am in Facebook Jail for 3 more weeks and can't participate in groups on there, due to their hyper Censorship now).

Edited June 25, 2022 by Mr. Coconut Palm

[WisTex]

The large Foxtail survivors shown here are always heavily protected.  They were again this past winter.  If I recall correctly they are completely tented in plastic with obviously a heat source.  The way Corpus palm sellers were promoting Foxtails after the big freeze there will some disappointed property owners who are unaware of the need to protect them when temps hit 26 or below. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by WisTex

[Xerarch]

1 hour ago, WisTex said:

The large Foxtail survivors shown here are always heavily protected.  They were again this past winter.  If I recall correctly they are completely tented in plastic with obviously a heat source.  The way Corpus palm sellers were promoting Foxtails after the big freeze there will some disappointed property owners who are unaware of the need to protect them when temps hit 26 or below. 

Hey welcome to the forum!  Yes we figure they must have been heavily protected but nice to know you have some first-hand knowledge of the method.  BTW you aren't kidding about the sale of foxtails since the freeze, I think I've seen more recently planted foxtails than I have queens, it should be the opposite based on hardiness but I do love the look of the foxtail.  Pre-freeze there were numerous large foxtails and royals around so hopefully it will be a good while before these new ones get smoked.  My foxtail has grown a ton since planting it early this year, I'm excited for next growing season already.

[palmnut-fry]

Wow this is a testament to what can and does survive even in such extreme conditions! Amazing pics in this thread here~

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

3 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Hey welcome to the forum!  Yes we figure they must have been heavily protected but nice to know you have some first-hand knowledge of the method.  BTW you aren't kidding about the sale of foxtails since the freeze, I think I've seen more recently planted foxtails than I have queens, it should be the opposite based on hardiness but I do love the look of the foxtail.  Pre-freeze there were numerous large foxtails and royals around so hopefully it will be a good while before these new ones get smoked.  My foxtail has grown a ton since planting it early this year, I'm excited for next growing season already.

Ammon, post some current pics of your Panama Tall, and your Foxtail, and any others you would like to post.  I am sure everyone would love to see them.

John

[Xerarch]

On 12/11/2022 at 6:53 PM, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Ammon, post some current pics of your Panama Tall, and your Foxtail, and any others you would like to post.  I am sure everyone would love to see them.

John

Actually I made a thread at the beginning of November with a lot of photos of my plantings to document the before-winter maximum . 

 

 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

10 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Actually I made a thread at the beginning of November with a lot of photos of my plantings to document the before-winter maximum . 

 

 

Ammon, give us one more updated pic of your Panama Tall before the cold next week.  If it is like my Green Malayan, it has probably grown even more since that pic was taken a month and half ago.

John

[Xerarch]

12 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Ammon, give us one more updated pic of your Panama Tall before the cold next week.  If it is like my Green Malayan, it has probably grown even more since that pic was taken a month and half ago.

John

Here it is this morning, that lowest frond has bronzed since last pic, it was on its way out anyway but I’m sure that cool spell we had didn’t help. Also visible is the potted beach sprout coconut, also with some lower frond that are done and will need to be removed 

The foxtail as a bonus, starting to get some trunk, when I planted it, it only had a tiny ring of trunk at the bottom. 

[Xerarch]

So since starting this post I’ve continued to find many more survivors, and they keep looking better and better with time.  I don’t want to beat a dead horse so it’s not like I stop and get pictures of every new thing I see so I can post it. Anyway this group of surviving queens was too good to pass up, best group of survivors I’ve seen. In ideal location, in the middle of an apartment complex, surrounding by buildings on all sides, and near the pool, they look great. 

Also some good Livistonas, they didn’t have a problem surviving but there were some great ones on the site. Actually looking at my camera roll I thought I had more photos of them so I’m missing the biggest grouping, oh well. 

[Xerarch]

Lol I have no idea why a bunch of random photos from my camera roll showed up, I did not insert those, sorry about that, too late to edit. At least nothing embarrassing 😂

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

11 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Here it is this morning, that lowest frond has bronzed since last pic, it was on its way out anyway but I’m sure that cool spell we had didn’t help. Also visible is the potted beach sprout coconut, also with some lower frond that are done and will need to be removed 

The foxtail as a bonus, starting to get some trunk, when I planted it, it only had a tiny ring of trunk at the bottom. 

Looking good, Ammon.  Palms sure take off once planted in the ground.  By the way, did any of your beach nuts sprout?  I just had one sprout a couple of days ago, the first one this year, and probably from all the 80F+ temps and the little bit of rain too we had lately.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

4 hours ago, Xerarch said:

So since starting this post I’ve continued to find many more survivors, and they keep looking better and better with time.  I don’t want to beat a dead horse so it’s not like I stop and get pictures of every new thing I see so I can post it. Anyway this group of surviving queens was too good to pass up, best group of survivors I’ve seen. In ideal location, in the middle of an apartment complex, surrounding by buildings on all sides, and near the pool, they look great. 

Also some good Livistonas, they didn’t have a problem surviving but there were some great ones on the site. Actually looking at my camera roll I thought I had more photos of them so I’m missing the biggest grouping, oh well. 

REALLY NICE LOOKING QUEENS!!!  Probably the best looking surviving Queens in Corpus Christi.  Nice looking Chinese Fans too, and I love the Green Jay,

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

56 minutes ago, Xerarch said:

Lol I have no idea why a bunch of random photos from my camera roll showed up, I did not insert those, sorry about that, too late to edit. At least nothing embarrassing 😂

It's okay, Ammon.  I love the Green Jay, and wish I had one in my yard!!!

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

11 hours ago, Xerarch said:

Here it is this morning, that lowest frond has bronzed since last pic, it was on its way out anyway but I’m sure that cool spell we had didn’t help. Also visible is the potted beach sprout coconut, also with some lower frond that are done and will need to be removed 

The foxtail as a bonus, starting to get some trunk, when I planted it, it only had a tiny ring of trunk at the bottom. 

Ammon, is your Panama Tall starting to produce any woody trunk at all at the base?  

John

[Xerarch]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:25 PM, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Ammon, is your Panama Tall starting to produce any woody trunk at all at the base?  

John

The base has certainly gotten quite fat, but there is no woody trunk visible, maybe after those lower leaf bases come off.