Florida Christmas Freeze 2022

[Matthew92]

Dec 25th. 7:52am. Plants already showing a lot of damage. Temp was 21-22 deg this next morning. During the daytime, the temp only got into the high 30's if I remember correctly. Hardly any chance for plants to thaw out. And this was all under basically cloudless skies/bright sunshine. 

 

[Matthew92]

January 1st at The Track in Destin, FL. (this area saw 19-20 deg the first night, with maybe mid to high 20's the next 2 nights). 

Phoenix robelleni was already showing major damage

Surprised to see Star/Confederate Jasmine showing such damage.

Mexican petunia 

[Matthew92]

January 6th. Significant damage to Oleander and Seagrape in Destin.

[Matthew92]

January 11th. Lake Lorraine neighborhood of Shalimar, FL. 

This queen palm had gained considerable size after several warm winters. Phoenix robelenni look like toast.

[Matthew92]

Shalimar, FL

Pretty dismal that only the standard upright, red flowering bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis) largely survived. Even the weeping red ones (like this one below) all look like toast. I'd like to figure out more which cultivars/species are truly zone 8 hardy. This event really showed the hardiness difference.

Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Phoenix sylvestris. If I remember correctly, this specimen survived the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 winters (upper teens and winter precipitation event). 

Phoenix dactylifera in Niceville FL. These were planted as mature specimens right before the 2013-2014 winter which they survived with basically total defoliation and unfortunately later manifested trunk damage which will probably shorten their lifespan. I think a lot of the reason they look as good as they after this event is that this was a dry cold: whereas after Jan 2014 with the freezing rain/sleet event the damage to P. dactylifera was much, much worse. I even saw multiple specimens die out near the coast.

[Matthew92]

January 11th:

In my yard: unfortunately Cordyline australis "Red Star" seem to have bit the dust (unprotected). However, I will wait to see if any of them resprout from the stem. I've since cut off most of the dead leaves and poured hydrogen peroxide in the center. These had survived last winter with a 23 deg min low (and a few other dips into the 20's) with basically no damage. But that winter had much lower durations/when it did get that cold the temp would rise fairly quickly once the sun came up.

Chamaedorea microspadix (I have several in ground: all the same age/roughly same size) came out not too bad considering I didn't cover any of the tall stems. I bunched up towels at the base to protect the base/pups so it could sprout back there if I lost the tall stems.

Edited February 5 by Matthew92

[Matthew92]

Jan 20th

Livistona nitida not too shabby out in Destin.

The following are in a neighborhood just north of the bay separating the mainland from Destin/the beaches. One night around 18 deg here, with the next 2 being around 22 deg.

To me, this looks like a Phoenix sylvestris x dactylifera hybrid: but interestingly takes damage more like a pure sylvestris (it was about 100% brown after Jan 2018: which had a quick dip to 18-19 deg and not as long duration as this event).

Livistona chinensis look like they will survive. This one actually had more browning than I saw on many in the area.

This Livistona decora survived Jan 2018 with bascially no damage. This time it took a lot more. Interestingly, when I saw it in person it looked a lot more brown that it turned out in the picture.

This Phoenix canariensis was a lot worse looking than many in the area.

This one looked much better (though some of these may have mixed genetics, which could cause this variation in hardiness)

[Matthew92]

A little out of order. Jan 11th. 

My poor citrus took this freeze really hard. Since this picture was taken: they've dropped all leaves. No protection. They weren't protected for Jan 2018 and only a couple defoliated, and they came back just fine.

From left: Meyer lemon, Parson Brown orange, Glen Navel orage, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Ponkan Tangerine. All planted within 2009-2011 period.

[kinzyjr]

@Matthew92 You did a really good job capturing the effects of the cold snap in different parts of the region with varying microclimates.  This freeze yielded some odd results.

Some of the Teddy Bears around here had more damage than dwarf betel nuts.

[JLM]

Dancy tangerine is 100% defoliated. Many limbs look brown, i really actually want the thing to bloom earlier than its supposed to just to see that its alive. Ive never seen citrus get defoliated before, so i dont even know what to be watching for whenever it does come back to life.

Both Queens are alive and growing. The backyard Queen took the hardest hit and has just recently began some very slow growth. The frontyard Queen is currently opening a spear and is pushing a second one. Its growing at a much faster pace and im very happy to see some new green.

My Super Dwarf Cavendish looks really sad, but its alive. There is at least one new pup that has popped up recently. The main stem and some of the pups from last year are still alive, but with hardly any noticeable growth.

My canna lilies that got absolutely toasted during the freeze have already come back.

Both Majesties and Pygmy Dates are deader than a doornail.

My washy is completely brown, but the spear is still firm. If it dies, i wont be upset. This palm has grown very slowly from the start and has just been a strange one. 

Strange enough, both of my Sagos are becoming increasingly light brown on the newer fronds. Im not even sure what their cold hardiness is, i just know that they grow well here. Im not sure that cold is the cause but i cant think of anything else that would have done it.

I will probably try Pygmy Dates again, mainly because they look real nice. I could have protected one of them, but i A) forgot and b) diverted most of the resources to other palms. Luckily they are cheap. 
 

Edited February 5 by JLM

[Estlander]

My Christmas freeze lows were 20.5, 27, 28  

Happy to say my Pygmy date and Majesty are alive and growing. 
The only protection I gave them was to wrap them in blankets. 
Majesty lost all it’s fronds(no spear pull) which are now already growing back. 
Pygmy Date actually has quite a few green fronds that didn’t freeze surprisingly and is quickly pushing new growth now. 
The same can’t be said about other Pygmy Dates around town - all brown and no green showing anywhere yet. Most likely dead. 
So, I’m very surprised the difference a simple cover up makes. 
Apart from the fronds, my Queens are fine too. 
I did wrap the trunks though. Windy freezes in the very low 20’s unprotected is a certain recipe for trunk damage a couple of years down the line. You really wanna keep the cold wind from hitting the trunk all night long.

[Estlander]

16 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

Shalimar, FL

Pretty dismal that only the standard upright, red flowering bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis) largely survived. Even the weeping red ones (like this one below) all look like toast. I'd like to figure out more which cultivars/species are truly zone 8 hardy. This event really showed the hardiness difference.

Here’s how my standard Bottlebrushes and my two Dwarf Little Johns look today.

One of the Dwarfs is looking pretty good while the other one about 20ft. away is looking a little rougher.

 

[Plantking165]

Couple freezes here and a few nights at 33 some frost on the cars too.  Also some pictures of pre 2010 cocos in Daytona today and burnt sabals and various other hardy palms in Daytona I was shocked as this was on the coast where I was staying the beach.  First 2 pics show the damage on my fiji dwarf the next is my red spicata and then various palms at Daytona Beach today

[kinzyjr]

@Plantking165 Thank you for documenting the results in this area, especially the pre-2010 Cocos.

[Matthew92]

 @Plantking165 Maybe the yellow/brown Sabals is leftover salt spray damage from Hurricane Nicole? 

[Plantking165]

8 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

 @Plantking165 Maybe the yellow/brown Sabals is leftover salt spray damage from Hurricane Nicole? 

I thought about that too but everything was pretty burnt up and even looked like some were recently trimmed up and they were still burnt could be a combination of both.

[Matthew92]

2 hours ago, Plantking165 said:

I thought about that too but everything was pretty burnt up and even looked like some were recently trimmed up and they were still burnt could be a combination of both.

Yeah, it's just that those temps were not cold enough to damage Sabal palmetto. They don't start taking damage until the low teens F or a little lower if I understand correctly.

[D Palm]

Here is what I got in N. Florida, Glen St Mary. Low 20’s 3 consecutive nights with about 40 daytime highs. Many exposed water pipes bust in the area. No spear pull on the bigger Bismarck. My small one did have a spear pull. Sylvester is unphased…no pic. Queens had spear pull, 2 small ones with no photo will probably die. I think being planted close to the pool was worse then in the open air yard. I put that pop up greenhouse over my largest Bizzy to help speed recovery

Edited February 10 by D Palm

[kinzyjr]

A follow-up on the Rainbow Eucalyptus.  This is leafing out on the branches that made it through the hurricane:

The coconut down the street from it isn't doing to bad either:

[kinzyjr]

On the way back from Leu, I stopped by Smashburger and I-Drive to compare the damage for the two coconut palms.

Smashburger Coconuts: These have damage similar to the local coconuts here.

I-Drive Coconut: This palm has next to no damage.  From my point of view, this gives the International Drive area the edge in regard to microclimate vs. almost every inland area along the I-4 corridor.

On the way back, there were a lot of Chrysalidocarpus lutescens with yellowing and burned fronds, but Adonidia merrillii overall looked very good.  Bananas and Giant Bird of Paradise had some damage in spots, indicating there may have been frost in some areas.  Plumeria in most places were recovering from leaf drop.  Didn't get to drop in and pay any of the Sanford coconuts or tropical plants a visit, but if anyone has photos of the Cocos, etc. in that area, it would be interesting to compare.

Glad this one is in the rear view mirror.

[kinzyjr]

A tale of two coconuts.  These are sited on the south side of Lake Fannie in Winter Haven, FL.  One with very little damage setting fruit, and the other dead after near total defoliation from December 2022.

[JLM]

AND SHE'S BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!

Majesty palm - 19F. Has returned from a really really bad spear pull. I thought it was completely done for, I guess not.

[kinzyjr]

10 minutes ago, JLM said:

AND SHE'S BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!

Majesty palm - 19F. Has returned from a really really bad spear pull. I thought it was completely done for, I guess not.

That's great news.  Hopefully it has a full crown again soon.

[JLM]

On 3/26/2023 at 11:33 AM, kinzyjr said:

That's great news.  Hopefully it has a full crown again soon.

There was a triple planting of queens at a house just down the street. One of them has been removed, the other two have no new growth. All three were likely killed outright. They were about the size of mine, one of them was a little bigger. This has shown me that if i had slacked off even just a little and didnt protect them, mine would have no doubt suffered the same fate.

[Scott W]

Due to my work schedule I was unable to protect what palms I knew would be temp sensitive in my collection...the results are as follows with a low of 25/26f over the course of two days in Jacksonville. 

Syagrus botryophra and Triangle hybrid? toast

20+ year, grown from seed, Adonidia merrillii 

Royal palm 

Satakentia leukuensis 

 

[kinzyjr]

The map for this particular freeze: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1QwsArS8xqOQ1Bbw_4LqRrurwD6cf3Q8&usp=sharing

This was a tough dataset to sanitize.

Additional details available here: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/66320-florida-freeze-and-weather-station-data/?do=findComment&comment=1113221