Texas palm photos...

[Meangreen94z]

On 7/29/2023 at 3:34 PM, iamjv said:

thanks and I totally agree, these pure blue uresana palms are gorgeous.  I bought three of these palms from an elderly, elderly man in Tucson about 15 yrs ago, who had garnered the seeds himself....  the palms were one gal size at that time.   Sadly my sabal hasn't seeded yet....  I'm hoping it'll set in the next couple years and plan to cut off any flowering stocks from all my other sabals, to minimize cross pollination.  

p.s. I check yearly with JF gardens to see if they have SU seedlings but they don't seem to be propagating seeds from their trees !!!!

They had seedlings earlier in the summer. Check with Craig Jackson who is the nursery manager

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Carrollton TX. Perfect Sabal 

Is this a Palmetto or Mexicana ? 

[__nevii]

Between the hellish heat/droughts and winter freezes, might as well just give up on gardening and palms. Texas is a cursed, forsaken state, probably will be abandonded soon. Total climate fail and rip-off.

[MarcusH]

7 hours ago, __nevii said:

Between the hellish heat/droughts and winter freezes, might as well just give up on gardening and palms. Texas is a cursed, forsaken state, probably will be abandonded soon. Total climate fail and 

I hear you but it all depends on where you live.  I'm not denying the fact that the weather extremes we get on both sides summer and winter are going to be more frequent but that won't take place just in Texas.  As for gardening the solution is to change your garden to more heat , drought and frost tolerent plants .  We're never going to have the looks of an English Garden in Texas.  Plant palms that are absolutely bulletproof in your area that can take every record low with no problem.  

[__nevii]

3 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I hear you but it all depends on where you live.  I'm not denying the fact that the weather extremes we get on both sides summer and winter are going to be more frequent but that won't take place just in Texas.  As for gardening the solution is to change your garden to more heat , drought and frost tolerent plants .  We're never going to have the looks of an English Garden in Texas.  Plant palms that are absolutely bulletproof in your area that can take every record low with no problem.  

For sure. The freezes, at least, are a known risk every year. Given extensive discussion on this forum regarding the prospects every winter.

But the extensive heat and drought during summer is a liability, especially if it extends to normally wetter, eastern areas of the state like Houston/Beaumont (and even into Louisiana with wildfires and drought there).  Though silver-lining given scenes out of Del Rio, Laredo, McAllen, overall heat/dryness during summer cannot stop palms outright. 

[DreaminAboutPalms]

As we saw post 2021 Palmagaeddon, even deciduous and other native trees aren’t always bulletproof here. There are magnolia trees in my apartment complex courtyard that are literally fried. This time of year after it’s been hot and dry for a few months, it’s the palms around town that are some of the best looking trees. Just have to plant the right ones. Sabals do as well as any native here and they pop up literally everywhere. Same goes for Washingtonia in some parts of Texas. 

Edited September 2 by DreaminAboutPalms

[fr8train]

3 hours ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

As we saw post 2021 Palmagaeddon, even deciduous and other native trees aren’t always bulletproof here. There are magnolia trees in my apartment complex courtyard that are literally fried. This time of year after it’s been hot and dry for a few months, it’s the palms around town that are some of the best looking trees. Just have to plant the right ones. Sabals do as well as any native here and they pop up literally everywhere. Same goes for Washingtonia in some parts of Texas. 

I think Brahea armata would do great in a lot of areas here, it's a shame they're not more readily available. I know they're slower growing and difficult to transplant, but I've seen them all over at Vegas nurseries. 

[Cade]

36 minutes ago, fr8train said:

I think Brahea armata would do great in a lot of areas here, it's a shame they're not more readily available. I know they're slower growing and difficult to transplant, but I've seen them all over at Vegas nurseries. 

I have a bunch i started from seed back in July 

now we wait …….. 

[Cade]

Surprised my Meyer lemon tree is doing well after all the heat 

 

drought wise my area is now in the worst category yay……

[MarcusH]

There's nothing we can do about climate but we can get prepared for climate change and adjust to it.  I used to live close to a national forest park in Germany . It took two droughts to kill off more than 50 percent of the pine trees that grew there. I don't know what kind of pine tree but a bug caused all the damages . Now they're planting a mix of other trees . Sad to see once a beautiful forest turn into this. 

They're already predicting a 3rd winter storm here in Texas so I'm not going to bother with palms that don't belong here.  To dry in summer and too cold in winter and apparently the artic winters are going to find a new home in Texas . 

[fr8train]

I think these things come and go. I was looking at historic record temperature and conditions in this area and things have been worse, even than palmageddon, decades and decades ago. This time next year we may be complaining about flooding, or we'll enter another decade long mild cycle. Finger's crossed it's the latter. 

[amh]

12 hours ago, fr8train said:

I think these things come and go. I was looking at historic record temperature and conditions in this area and things have been worse, even than palmageddon, decades and decades ago. This time next year we may be complaining about flooding, or we'll enter another decade long mild cycle. Finger's crossed it's the latter. 

This is the way to look at the climate in Texas, things are very cyclic and people have short memories. I would suggest any newcomer with a house less than 10 years old research flood insurance.

[amh]

22 hours ago, Cade said:

I have a bunch i started from seed back in July 

now we wait …….. 

I started a bunch of seeds this summer too, and I am now seeing my first sprout.

[__nevii]

On 9/2/2023 at 3:47 PM, Cade said:

Surprised my Meyer lemon tree is doing well after all the heat 

 

drought wise my area is now in the worst category yay….

Finally some honest-to-goodness widespread gully-washers across Houston, Beaumont, and other areas of SE Texas/Acadiana! I got hit with two good downpours, and look to be recieving another one soon!

The rain so far is not near enough to wipe out the drought. But hopefully these storms set the stage for better chances later this week/through the month.

[__nevii]

On 9/2/2023 at 5:07 PM, MarcusH said:

They're already predicting a 3rd winter storm here in Texas so I'm not going to bother with palms that don't belong here.  To dry in summer and too cold in winter and apparently the artic winters are going to find a new home in Texas . 

Which source mentioned winter storm? The predictions I have seen state cooler than average, but that is simply El Nino standard: that phase leads to cooler-than-average winters, but that has more to do with the more active subtropical jet across Texas/Southern US, and resultant rainfall/cloud cover/etc that limits the amount of "80F+ winter days/torches" (rather than necessarily leading to colder winter minimums).

In fact, if the El Nino is strong enough, it will flood the entire country with "zonal/mild Pacific air". Combine that with a +PNA (which tends to be favored during El Nino), and that will keep the brunt of winter cold away from Texas (similar to 2015-2016 winter, as well as 2018-2019 to a lesser extent).

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

3 hours ago, __nevii said:

Finally some honest-to-goodness widespread gully-washers across Houston,

Lucky you , I didn't get anything worth mentioning 😡Rain clouds went right around me. Back to watering the garden with the water hose =/ 

T J 

[Meangreen94z]

I posted these in the worldwide forum, but maybe they belong in here. John Fairey Garden:

Phoenix canariensis 

Brahea dulcis 

Brahea dulcis 

Brahea moorei 

Sabal ‘Tamaulipas’

Sabal uresana 

Brahea Dulcis 

Sabal uresana and Yucca rostrata 

Brahea dulcis 

Brahea bella 

Brahea moorei 

Sabal brazoriensis 

Sabal ‘Tamaulipas’

Sabal mexicana

Macrozamia moorei

Serenoa repens 

Dioon edule 

A couple Sabals on death row 

Nannorrhops Ritchiana 

Brahea decumbens to the right 

[Tom in Tucson]

Love those Sabal uresana!

Hi 102˚, Lo 70˚

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, __nevii said:

Which source mentioned winter storm? The predictions I have seen state cooler than average, but that is simply El Nino standard: that phase leads to cooler-than-average winters, but that has more to do with the more active subtropical jet across Texas/Southern US, and resultant rainfall/cloud cover/etc that limits the amount of "80F+ winter days/torches" (rather than necessarily leading to colder winter minimums).

In fact, if the El Nino is strong enough, it will flood the entire country with "zonal/mild Pacific air". Combine that with a +PNA (which tends to be favored during El Nino), and that will keep the brunt of winter cold away from Texas (similar to 2015-2016 winter, as well as 2018-2019 to a lesser extent).

There's no guarantee for anything since climate does its own thing and often leads to surprises . I'm not a weather expert by no means I just mentioned what news sources already predicting for Texas .  Will it happen ? We will see . I'm going to provide you just the top first sources that Google sent me . 

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

There's no guarantee for anything since climate does its own thing and often leads to surprises . I'm not a weather expert by no means I just mentioned what news sources already predicting for Texas .  Will it happen ? We will see . I'm going to provide you just the top first sources that Google sent me .

Pay no attention to the Farmer's Almanac, it's about as accurate as zodiac signs are for personalities lol 

[MarcusH]

4 hours ago, Xenon said:

Pay no attention to the Farmer's Almanac, it's about as accurate as zodiac signs are for personalities lol 

I already know that it's as accurate as flipping a coin but the chances are there and I'm not pretending to be that we're out of the woods you know what I'm saying ? I hope for a mild mild winter for the next 50 years lol. 

[Chester B]

The Farmer's A:lmanac is a joke  I can't believe people even waste their time with it.

[__nevii]

The last heat-spike of the year is through, so we can safely say that summer is over in Texas.

Hopefully the upcoming pattern delivers good rains across the state.

[Chester B]

@Meangreen94z Do you know if their online stock list is kept reasonably up to date?  I'm looking forward to visiting there this winter.

[Meangreen94z]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

@Meangreen94z Do you know if their online stock list is kept reasonably up to date?  I'm looking forward to visiting there this winter.

It should be relatively accurate. Nursery sales are slow, they only do onsite, and unfortunately the longtime nursery manager Craig Jackson is departing in November or December. What are you looking for? You can email him to verify, he is very responsive.

[Chester B]

19 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

It should be relatively accurate. Nursery sales are slow, they only do onsite, and unfortunately the longtime nursery manager Craig Jackson is departing in November or December. What are you looking for? You can email him to verify, he is very responsive.

That's a shame, hopefully they get someone good to replace him. 

I was looking at the list the other week and saw a few goodies..

[Meangreen94z]

He has Brahea moorei in 1 and 5 gallon. I picked up quite a few for myself and others, the bigger 5 gallon are gone but there’s still some overall nice sized 5 gallon specimen. Plenty of 1 gallon. He also has plenty of 1 gallon Sabal uresana for $10, seeds sourced from the silver variants. He had Brahea edulis , Sabal etonia, Chamaedora radicalis, and a few other palms. There are plenty of other great species. You really have to spend time researching the nursery list to appreciate it. If you contact hill through email, he can set up a day when they aren’t doing tours to let you go through the nursery greenhouses.

[Chester B]

21 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

He has Brahea moorei in 1 and 5 gallon. I picked up quite a few for myself and others, the bigger 5 gallon are gone but there’s still some overall nice sized 5 gallon specimen. Plenty of 1 gallon. He also has plenty of 1 gallon Sabal uresana for $10, seeds sourced from the silver variants. He had Brahea edulis , Sabal etonia, Chamaedora radicalis, and a few other palms. There are plenty of other great species. You really have to spend time researching the nursery list to appreciate it. If you contact hill through email, he can set up a day when they aren’t doing tours to let you go through the nursery greenhouses.

Thanks for the tips.  Sabal uresana is the big one for me to get.  I have one here but, clearly I can't take it with me.  Any Brahea species is on the major want list as well too.  

My plan is to focus on the Sabals and Braheas with a few other genus as well.  If I can source a pure filifera  - maybe.  I'm on the fence if I want to have a Washingtonia when there are plenty of other more suitable fan palms.  I have a few Patric hybrids that will be coming with me and a mule or two will round out my feather palms.  The only real iffy palm I plan on growing is a Bismarckia because its one of my favorites.  Not sure what part of Houston, I'll end up in but I'm going to go for it regardless.

[Meangreen94z]

12 hours ago, Chester B said:

Thanks for the tips.  Sabal uresana is the big one for me to get.  I have one here but, clearly I can't take it with me.  Any Brahea species is on the major want list as well too.  

My plan is to focus on the Sabals and Braheas with a few other genus as well.  If I can source a pure filifera  - maybe.  I'm on the fence if I want to have a Washingtonia when there are plenty of other more suitable fan palms.  I have a few Patric hybrids that will be coming with me and a mule or two will round out my feather palms.  The only real iffy palm I plan on growing is a Bismarckia because it’s one of my favorites.  Not sure what part of Houston, I'll end up in but I'm going to go for it regardless.

Yeah, finding the right place to live in Houston is always tricky. I lived there for over 35 years. Location, neighboring areas, job location, schools if you have kids, etc. usually narrows it down to a few areas. Palms may not take precedence, but unless you live north of Houston in the Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia, etc. I would definitely try a Bismarckia. Most box stores carry them for cheap, and in multiple sizes in South Houston.Even in the worst weather you can wrap the trunk in Christmas lights and tarp and it will be fine. A few survived 2021 completely unprotected.(14°F or so)
 

Another cheap palm you can pick up, especially if you wait for the winter discounts at Lowe’s,  is a Ravenea rivularis aka the “Majesty Palm”. They grow rapidly in ground and have proven hardy to high teens/low 20’s in Houston. My parents live in a retirement community in Pearland and I wrapped theirs in Christmas lights and tarp and it did fine in 16-17°F in December. 

The green Braheas will do ok in Houston, but I wouldn’t try Brahea armata unless you end up in the far northern sections. The humidity closer to the coast is not their friend. Same scenario with Jubaea chilensis. I’ve heard of them doing ok in places like Magnolia.

Livistona nitida and Livistona decora/decipiens barely took damage last December.

Phoenix species would be great but lethal bronzing has become a problem in the area. I still planted a sylvestris and it came back in 2021 and after last December.

Hyphaene species are under appreciated and have done well in the area. Most are hardy into the teens. I put a cardboard box over a Hyphaene petersiana in Pearland and the strap leaves only burned halfway last December. No heat.

Copernicia alba and prunifera are great.

Butia do well in the clay soil and humidity. There are plenty of nice large specimen in the Clearlake area.

Acrocomia totai and aculeata are worth considering if you can find them.

[Chester B]

4 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Yeah, finding the right place to live in Houston is always tricky. I lived there for over 35 years. Location, neighboring areas, job location, schools if you have kids, etc. usually narrows it down to a few areas. Palms may not take precedence, but unless you live north of Houston in the Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia, etc. I would definitely try a Bismarckia. Most box stores carry them for cheap, and in multiple sizes in South Houston.Even in the worst weather you can wrap the trunk in Christmas lights and tarp and it will be fine. A few survived 2021 completely unprotected.(14°F or so)
 

Another cheap palm you can pick up, especially if you wait for the winter discounts at Lowe’s,  is a Ravenea rivularis aka the “Majesty Palm”. They grow rapidly in ground and have proven hardy to high teens/low 20’s in Houston. My parents live in a retirement community in Pearland and I wrapped theirs in Christmas lights and tarp and it did fine in 16-17°F in December. 

The green Braheas will do ok in Houston, but I wouldn’t try Brahea armata unless you end up in the far northern sections. The humidity closer to the coast is not their friend. Same scenario with Jubaea chilensis. I’ve heard of them doing ok in places like Magnolia.

Livistona nitida and Livistona decora/decipiens barely took damage last December.

Phoenix species would be great but lethal bronzing has become a problem in the area. I still planted a sylvestris and it came back in 2021 and after last December.

Hyphaene species are under appreciated and have done well in the area. Most are hardy into the teens. I put a cardboard box over a Hyphaene petersiana in Pearland and the strap leaves only burned halfway last December. No heat.

Copernicia alba and prunifera are great.

Butia do well in the clay soil and humidity. There are plenty of nice large specimen in the Clearlake area.

Acrocomia totai and aculeata are worth considering if you can find them.

Thank you for the info.   A lot of nuances on what can grow where and I would probably have learned the hard way.

So I don't have kids, and I work from home so I can go to any neighborhood.  At this point I'm focusing more on the N and NE due to the trees.  But am keeping an open mind on some of the more southern areas.  

I'm definitely not opposed to have 2 or 3 palms that might need some minimal help.  I have a Livistona nitida here that has been doing well for the last few years and really took off this year, so I know they're pretty tough considering I lost palms this last winter that on paper are hardier.  Copernicia alba is on my list of plants for the new garden since I saw the photos you posted. 

I am a little bummed out hearing Jubaeas can make it in the north, I though they were a no go for the area and ended up selling mine this summer.💩

[Meangreen94z]

56 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Thank you for the info.   A lot of nuances on what can grow where and I would probably have learned the hard way.

So I don't have kids, and I work from home so I can go to any neighborhood.  At this point I'm focusing more on the N and NE due to the trees.  But am keeping an open mind on some of the more southern areas.  

I'm definitely not opposed to have 2 or 3 palms that might need some minimal help.  I have a Livistona nitida here that has been doing well for the last few years and really took off this year, so I know they're pretty tough considering I lost palms this last winter that on paper are hardier.  Copernicia alba is on my list of plants for the new garden since I saw the photos you posted. 

I am a little bummed out hearing Jubaeas can make it in the north, I though they were a no go for the area and ended up selling mine this summer.💩

“Meteorologistpalmguy” had both a Jubaea and Jubaea x Syagrus in ground in Magnolia. I went to his house to buy a palm once,  they both looked great and did well. I believe he sold the house right before the 2021 freeze, so how they faired is unknown. Maybe he will respond. 

 

[Chester B]

Ah yes, I remember drooling over that palm.  I guess I've been on the forum longer than I remember.  

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

On 9/11/2023 at 5:54 PM, Chester B said:

Ah yes, I remember drooling over that palm.  I guess I've been on the forum longer than I remember.  

Patric hybrids have been worth the money so far in my area. All of mine saw 17° F in there first year in the ground with minimal protection. I think (BxJ)xS is the perfect palm but I'm still hoping to get a JxS someday =/ 

T J 

[meteorologistpalmguy]

On 9/11/2023 at 10:45 AM, Meangreen94z said:

“Meteorologistpalmguy” had both a Jubaea and Jubaea x Syagrus in ground in Magnolia. I went to his house to buy a palm once,  they both looked great and did well. I believe he sold the house right before the 2021 freeze, so how they faired is unknown. Maybe he will respond. 

 

Unfortunately the palm did not make it through the 2021 freeze (or at least the current owners did not give it a chance more likely).   I don't even own it anymore and it still hurts!  🙂 

[Chester B]

11 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Patric hybrids have been worth the money so far in my area. All of mine saw 17° F in there first year in the ground with minimal protection. I think (BxJ)xS is the perfect palm but I'm still hoping to get a JxS someday =/ 

T J 

I’ve got two of those plus two BxJ with one heavy on the Jubaea. Looking forward to getting them in the ground. 
 

2 hours ago, meteorologistpalmguy said:

Unfortunately the palm did not make it through the 2021 freeze (or at least the current owners did not give it a chance more likely).   I don't even own it anymore and it still hurts!  🙂 

ouch!  That sucks. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

12 hours ago, meteorologistpalmguy said:

Unfortunately the palm did not make it through the 2021 freeze

Man that is such a bummer to hear =/ Your JxS was an absolute knock out and set my quest to get one someday. 

 

9 hours ago, Chester B said:

I’ve got two of those plus two BxJ with one heavy on the Jubaea. Looking forward to getting them in the ground

BxPJT will be a stunner one day too !!! 

T J 

[fr8train]

I've been driving by this place in Leon Springs (just northwest of San Antonio) for months and I finally stopped to take a few photos. I believe this is a Blue Mediterranean Fan Palm. The 3 large CIDPs are recovering nicely too since the December freeze.

[fr8train]

I visited this very nice looking Brahea armata on the southside of San Antonio today, I found on it on here:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/76105-old-brahea-armata-in-southside-san-antonio-texas/

[Meangreen94z]

Copernicia alba putting on great growth in Pearland:
Ravenea rivularis as well:Bismarckia coming back from last December:

[Fusca]

On 9/9/2023 at 4:07 PM, __nevii said:

The last heat-spike of the year is through, so we can safely say that summer is over in Texas.

Really?  What part of Texas?  LOL!  We're still hitting 100°+ 5 of 7 days this week in the RGV with overnight lows in the mid to upper 70's.  I wouldn't say summer is over in South Texas until November.  😅