Butia eriospatha

[BeyondTheGarden]

Well it's late spring now so I think it's safe to say no latent damage. 

Palm is roughly 3' tall, less than a foot of trunk.  Put in the ground last summer.  

A week of sub-freezing temps (only got above 32 for 3 hours in a seven day period).  Ultimate low 16f.  The only protection it had, was that I piled snow around the growth point on the coldest night (16f).  

ZERO DAMAGE, even to the fronds that were not insulated in snow, fully exposed, not even overhead cover.  

A couple months later we had 3 or 4 nights in a row that got down into the low twenties and even one night down to 17f.  This time no snow and again ZERO DAMAGE.  

This species seems to be bulletproof for where I live, and I'm in a relatively cold spot for growing palms in the PNW.  

It's also, in my opinion, maybe the most beautiful of Butia.  Fronds are more lush-green and have less curvature than most in the genus. 

[Chester B]

Portland, Oregon

23F no damage - three winters in ground experiencing ultimate low of 23 F.  Longest stretch below freezing = 36 hours

Winter 2022/2023 - Two overnights of 19F with wind = death.  60 hours consecutive below freezing.  B Odorata survived with no damage

 

 

[BeyondTheGarden]

I guess I followed Chester B over here.  

Min this year 21F and sadly the eriospatha began showing typical wet damage, brown spots on fronds, center spear turned brown, pulled, and it died.  It was only about 15 gal size.  

Last winter it handled 16, 17, and several other nights in the teens like a champ.  Difference this year, I believe, was more wet, and more overall volume of subfreezing temps.  Meanwhile, of my three in-ground odorata, only one had any damage which appears to have been fungal/damp related.