Long Island, NY Sabal Palmetto's Cold Advice

[Holloway727]

Rough night last night here. My 2 Sabal Palmettos were doing great going into their 3rd summer in ground. Both growing and established pretty well. I do box and protect them with C9's and last night the thermostats in both boxes failed. I assume they blew the internal breaker from being on so long and never getting up to temp. we saw a low of 0f and -21 wind chill. By far the coldest night in the past 5-10 years here that I can remember as I'm about 1/2 mile from the Long Island Sound. I believe the boxes lost heat around 2am and I wasn't able to catch it until 530am. we I finally got into the boxes and got the lights back running 1 Sabal was at 7f the other was at 10f going off the temp probe in the box that I have near the crown. I was devasted after all the work I put into all of my Palms and I'm looking for some input. I know they are hardy and can handle cold pretty well but what's the chance I lose them? They were regenerated in North Carolina and transplanted in April of 2021 here. Since I've had them they haven't seen below 28-30f or so. any input on what if anything I should do? Fungicide etc. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Holloway727
Added photos

[Allen]

With that box they may be ok.  They might have frond damage.  On a dry/windy day spray them with copper fungicide with the box 'open air'.  Make sure it fully dries.  If they are completely dry and ones that big they should live.   What thermostat did you use and what was the exact nature of the failure? Check for dampness and any fungus/mold on dead tissues.  BTW for future they make temperature sensors that have a 'low temp' alarm feature. 

Questions to ask yourself

What is your total wattage on each extension cord and the total on your outlet?  

Looking at your boxes I am estimating you need about 100-150 watts or 14-21 C9 bulbs in a 4'x4'x20' enclosure (looks like yours is 14'?)

BTW those are super nice looking palms!

Edited February 5, 2023 by Allen

[Holloway727]

28 minutes ago, Allen said:

With that box they may be ok.  They might have frond damage.  On a dry/windy day spray them with copper fungicide with the box 'open air'.  Make sure it fully dries.  If they are completely dry and ones that big they should live.   What thermostat did you use and what was the exact nature of the failure? Check for dampness and any fungus/mold on dead tissues.  BTW for future they make temperature sensors that have a 'low temp' alarm feature. 

Questions to ask yourself

What is your total wattage on each extension cord and the total on your outlet?  

Looking at your boxes I am estimating you need about 100-150 watts or 14-21 C9 bulbs in a 4'x4'x20' enclosure (looks like yours is 14'?)

BTW those are super nice looking palms!

I have to find the exact thermostat I’ll get a link for it. I didn’t blow any breakers I have them all run on separate extension cords so I think it was the actual thermostat that failed. I use 4 strands of 25 C9 bulbs for each Sabal. They run 2 on each circuit so I don’t blow the fuse on the strands. All I did was remove the thermostat and plug them in directly and all the lights were fine so once it warms up I can open the boxes and figure out exactly what happened. The humidity was around 20% when they failed so it was a dry cold protected from wind for a short duration. Looking like low 50’s here Weds and Thurs so I’ll try and spray them and see if the fronds have any discoloration on them. And they are 4x4x16. That’s a pretty good eye you have haha. Thank you for the input 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Holloway727

[Allen]

36 minutes ago, Holloway727 said:

I have to find the exact thermostat I’ll get a link for it. I didn’t blow any breakers I have them all run on separate extension cords so I think it was the actual thermostat that failed. I use 4 strands of 25 C9 bulbs for each Sabal. They run 2 on each circuit so I don’t blow the fuse on the strands. All I did was remove the thermostat and plug them in directly and all the lights were fine so once it warms up I can open the boxes and figure out exactly what happened. The humidity was around 20% when they failed so it was a dry cold protected from wind for a short duration. Looking like low 50’s here Weds and Thurs so I’ll try and spray them and see if the fronds have any discoloration on them. And they are 4x4x16. That’s a pretty good eye you have haha. Thank you for the input 

I think you may have went over the watt rating for the thermostat using 700 watts (4x25x7watts each) especially if all cords are plugged into it??.  That seems like way too much wattage from my experience unless the box is really un insulated (But I'm not sure about the insulation from that poly sheet).   That is even close/over some extension cord ratings.  Look into watts used/ extension cord rating and rating on the thermostat.  BTW I think the palms will be fine

Edited February 5, 2023 by Allen

[Holloway727]

12 minutes ago, Allen said:

I think you may have went over the watt rating for the thermostat using 700 watts (4x25x7watts each).  That seems like way too much wattage from my experience unless the box is really un insulated (But I'm not sure about the insulation from that poly sheet).   That is even close/over some extension cord ratings.  Look into watts used/ extension cord rating and rating on the thermostat.  

The max watts on it is 1875. And the extension cord is rated at 1100 so I believe each box is 900 watts. The downfall is the side is polycarbonate and the top is just variegated plastic with no insulation value. So it’s great 95% of the days for sunlight and some heat but cold night the heat escapes so I overkill the lights. I was always told Sabal’s don’t do good in dark cool winters so I get warm days with this method normally 60-80 depending on the temp and 35-45 at night with the lights. But then these types of situations happen. So it’s just odd that both failed on the same night at the same exact time. So I really want to figure out what happened. Unless with the 50mph winds we had a power surge or something and it fried them

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

I agree with everything Allen said.  Maybe you should search for a temp alarm that will notify your cell phone ( search "wifi temperature sensor") and an automatic vent opener (search "temperature controlled vent opener").  Here is a couple of links to get you started.  I have not used and do not endorse any of the products you find or the ones in these links or the companies you buy from. 

 https://www.amazon.com/wifi-temperature-sensor/s?k=wifi+temperature+sensor

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=temperature+automatic+vent+device&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS983US983&oq=&aqs=chrome.1.35i39i362l8.17847j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Edited February 5, 2023 by Jeff zone 8 N.C.

[Holloway727]

21 minutes ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

I agree with everything Allen said.  Maybe you should search for a temp alarm that will notify your cell phone ( search "wifi temperature sensor") and an automatic vent opener (search "temperature controlled vent opener").  Here is a couple of links to get you started.  I have not used and do not endorse any of the products you find or the ones in these links or the companies you buy from. 

 https://www.amazon.com/wifi-temperature-sensor/s?k=wifi+temperature+sensor

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=temperature+automatic+vent+device&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS983US983&oq=&aqs=chrome.1.35i39i362l8.17847j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Thank you. I will def check them out. Honestly I think I got to comfortable with them and thought I had everything figured out with them after last winter. I tried not to make it a chore this winter with them after last winter as I spent many nights staring at the temps but a backup or fail safe would def come in handy. I even thought about using the remote Christmas light outlet as a last resort that I can turn on and off from inside. I picked up a ton of lights on clearance after Christmas so maybe next season I’ll get an alarm and run some extra lights as a backup. If I still have these Sabal’s 😔

 

 

[Alex Zone 5]

100% agree with Allen, they were only exposed to cold for a few hours .

Beautiful palms. Please do keep us updated on progress