Polar Vortex

[Robert Cade Ross]

Another update on the queens I guess these are going to be okay ???? 

[ChicagoPalma]

  On 1/22/2024 at 6:46 PM, DTS1 said:

I thought it would be worse in my area, but it only got down to -1F, which is usually the normal ult. low temps.

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I hit record low temperatures this year! You are lucky!

[ChicagoPalma]

  On 1/22/2024 at 7:13 PM, EJ NJ said:

low for the freeze for me was 14.9F -9.5C Which is ok for me. have to see what my plants are like.

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why so warm in such cold north east.

[ChicagoPalma]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:38 PM, Cade said:

Another update on the queens I guess these are going to be okay ???? 

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One of them has that "tint" to them. Hopefull they don't, but that tint in a week or longer turns straight into a fried yellow color.

[Sabal King]

Long form walkthrough of the property.. I was VERY surprised with a lot of the results.. not the day after or two days after the storm, but this morning after a good soaking last night.

 

[southpacific73]

  On 1/18/2024 at 4:23 PM, Chester B said:

That is a long time!  I saw videos of all the devastation of the palms in Vancouver from last winter.  How many are going to make it though this one too?

 

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The Trachycarpus Nova, Latisectus and Nainital all look good. Sabal Riverside and Brazorias main spears are green but the outer leaves have been burnt by the cold. Haven’t checked my Brahea Armata Hybrids as it has been raining a lot. Imay just leave them covered until spring. Also have some citrus trees which I covered well before this vortex with C9 lights, frost cloth and a planket.  Spring is the time to assess the damage. If I didn’t do all this protection I’m pretty sure everything would have had some serious cold damage or maybe killed as this was short but with generational lows.

How did your plants in Houston hold up to this cold weather? 

[Ryland]

The arctic blast here is over too.  Ultimately it delivered 6 nights below freezing and with the coldest at -7.2ºC/19ºF - the coldest night in 14 years.  I'm amazed by what some of you have managed to keep alive through even colder temperatures!  So far most of my plants look good - the more delicate ones have had a frost cloth loosely draped over and a tiny touch of supplemental heating to try to prevent them freezing through.  Last winter's exceptional cold spell was worse and reached 20ºF but also included one day that failed to get above freezing (thankfully none of those this year).  That event killed off two Phoenix canariensis, two Chamaerops (one blue, one green), a Butia, and caused spear pull for the Washingtonia and Brahea armata which both subsequently recovered with a few miniature fronds.  Despite it being colder this year, somehow I'm more optimistic.  The only palm with damage so far is the Washingtonia as expected, but the spear and foliage near the spear look ok.

[L.A.M.]

My southern magnolia and needle palm were indeed damaged by the -13 degrees Fahrenheit cold snap. The older growth on my needle palm is developing dark brown dots of death where it wasn't snow-covered, and my southern magnolia's south-facing leaves that weren't snow-covered have bronzed. Even the wild Adam's needle yucca in our northern fencerow got at least mildly frostbitten. This is a first for both the needle palm and the Adam's needle yucca. I sprayed every meristem with copper fungicide pre-emptively to prevent my needle palm from getting infected and gave it a few scoops of Miracle Gro fertilizer before the rain comes to help it recover more quickly, and now I'm debating fertilizing the yucca too.

I still know nothing about how my Carolina cherry laurels dealt with -13 degrees Fahrenheit nor dwarf palmetto -7. I couldn't check on what little was left of the cherries after December 2022 yesterday because the snow was still on the ground, and I cannot safely go down into our valley to check on the dwarf palm as long as snow persists on unpaved surfaces in shaded valleys. Still, I probably won't know the true extent of damage for another week anyways because it takes time to show up fully. The only other things I could do anyways for now would be to spray the meristem of my dwarf palm with copper fungicide and fertilize it, and mentally prepare to have to replace one of the other things at a lower elevation so they don't get as cold next time. Regardless, I'm confident that everything except the Carolina cherry laurels will ultimately survive, even if damaged as expected.

[Leelanau Palms]

  On 1/23/2024 at 12:01 PM, L.A.M. said:

My southern magnolia and needle palm were indeed damaged by the -13 degrees Fahrenheit cold snap. The older growth on my needle palm is developing dark brown dots of death where it wasn't snow-covered, and my southern magnolia's south-facing leaves that weren't snow-covered have bronzed. Even the wild Adam's needle yucca in our northern fencerow got at least mildly frostbitten. This is a first for both the needle palm and the Adam's needle yucca. I sprayed every meristem with copper fungicide pre-emptively to prevent my needle palm from getting infected and gave it a few scoops of Miracle Gro fertilizer before the rain comes to help it recover more quickly, and now I'm debating fertilizing the yucca too.

I still know nothing about how my Carolina cherry laurels dealt with -13 degrees Fahrenheit nor dwarf palmetto -7. I couldn't check on what little was left of the cherries after December 2022 yesterday because the snow was still on the ground, and I cannot safely go down into our valley to check on the dwarf palm as long as snow persists on unpaved surfaces in shaded valleys. Still, I probably won't know the true extent of damage for another week anyways because it takes time to show up fully. The only other things I could do anyways for now would be to spray the meristem of my dwarf palm with copper fungicide and fertilize it, and mentally prepare to have to replace one of the other things at a lower elevation so they don't get as cold next time. Regardless, I'm confident that everything except the Carolina cherry laurels will ultimately survive, even if damaged as expected.

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Good luck and keep us updated! I would be curious to see pics of your needle.

[Chester B]

  On 1/23/2024 at 7:12 AM, southpacific73 said:

The Trachycarpus Nova, Latisectus and Nainital all look good. Sabal Riverside and Brazorias main spears are green but the outer leaves have been burnt by the cold. Haven’t checked my Brahea Armata Hybrids as it has been raining a lot. Imay just leave them covered until spring. Also have some citrus trees which I covered well before this vortex with C9 lights, frost cloth and a planket.  Spring is the time to assess the damage. If I didn’t do all this protection I’m pretty sure everything would have had some serious cold damage or maybe killed as this was short but with generational lows.

How did your plants in Houston hold up to this cold weather? 

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That's good to hear.  But I wonder about those palms along that walkway on the water by Stanley Park.  I know a lot of those palms died, with many being damaged too.

All my plants did great.  My new house has virtually none!  A few live oaks and some Crepe myrtles so they all did fine.  My property is devoid of palms and all mine are in pots so I threw them in the garage a couple of nights.  All the palms in my neighborhood were unfazed but they consist mainly of Washingtonia, CIDPs, Trunking Sabals and a large ecotype of Sabal minor.

Edited January 23, 2024 by Chester B

[GEnglish]

Winter is not over here on the Arkansas/Missouri line but we’ve got a good stretch of 50s and 40s so I thought I’d check everything today. I always get inspired when I see others unwrapping their palms so I got to it. 

We had two separate stretches of 90+ hours below freezing and the lowest temp at my place being -2.4F and 3 straight days staying below 20F. 

Other than a few of the oldest fronds on my two robustas being a little burnt from previous exposure to frost from a few weeks back everything looks great. I’m so pumped for spring…but being cautious and ready to re-wrap a few palms as needed.

 

Edited January 23, 2024 by GEnglish

[Las Palmas Norte]

  On 1/23/2024 at 3:56 PM, Chester B said:

That's good to hear.  But I wonder about those palms along that walkway on the water by Stanley Park.  I know a lot of those palms died, with many being damaged too.

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Really? That's the first I've heard of that. I was involved with the palm society during the time these where planted in conjunction with the City of Vancouver. We need updates and pics from that area.

[Chester B]

  On 1/23/2024 at 5:37 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Really? That's the first I've heard of that. I was involved with the palm society during the time these where planted in conjunction with the City of Vancouver. We need updates and pics from that area.

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Most of the Chamaerops died, Cordylines, Eucalyptus and even some Trachys.  Videos from last spring.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2024 by Chester B

[Allen]

  On 1/23/2024 at 5:19 PM, GEnglish said:

Winter is not over here on the Arkansas/Missouri line but we’ve got a good stretch of 50s and 40s so I thought I’d check everything today. I always get inspired when I see others unwrapping their palms so I got to it. 

We had two separate stretches of 90+ hours below freezing and the lowest temp at my place being -2.4F and 3 straight days staying below 20F. 

Other than a few of the oldest fronds on my two robustas being a little burnt from previous exposure to frost from a few weeks back everything looks great. I’m so pumped for spring…but being cautious and ready to re-wrap a few palms as needed.

 

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Those washy look great!

Here is my past temps and the reason I chanced taking covers off combined with the forecast thru Feb 8th looking good.  On the chart you'll see not too many temps under 12F after Early Feb

 

 

Edited January 23, 2024 by Allen

[Las Palmas Norte]

  On 1/23/2024 at 5:50 PM, Chester B said:

Most of the Chamaerops died, Cordylines, Eucalyptus and even some Trachys.  Videos from last spring.

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OK. I somehow envisioned mass damage. Still plenty of survivors.

[Ivanos1982]

After several tantrums I threw before this artic blast I felt embarassed to even post anything here about my palms and yard in west Houston TX but I just read all of yalls posts and I feel normal somehow lol anyway I will post some pics of my queens, majesties and other tropicals in my yard. I only covered them with sheet, no heat added. I also added mulch to them this year which seemed to help because all of them seem alive and well at this point. The queens are all green but as some of u mentioned it can be a trick to the eye because queens take a while to brown up. Anyways, with how paranoic I am I was looking at the forecasts for the next month and came accross this picture which shows another front. Im assuming the artic will be splitting again... ugh! I thought this mess was over. Yes it's too far in advance to predict and know what day or how low temps will get BUT it just shows winter isnt over and these artic blasts seem to be becoming a trend which could end up wiping out all tropicals entireley. What are yalls thoughts? 

[L.A.M.]

  On 1/23/2024 at 3:56 PM, Leelanau Palms said:

Good luck and keep us updated! I would be curious to see pics of your needle.

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I'm not enough of a tech nerd to know how to sync photos from my phone to my PC. If I was, I'd share them on a regular basis! I'll still do my best to keep you updated, though!

  On 1/23/2024 at 8:43 PM, Ivanos1982 said:

After several tantrums I threw before this artic blast I felt embarassed to even post anything here about my palms and yard in west Houston TX but I just read all of yalls posts and I feel normal somehow lol anyway I will post some pics of my queens, majesties and other tropicals in my yard. I only covered them with sheet, no heat added. I also added mulch to them this year which seemed to help because all of them seem alive and well at this point. The queens are all green but as some of u mentioned it can be a trick to the eye because queens take a while to brown up. Anyways, with how paranoic I am I was looking at the forecasts for the next month and came accross this picture which shows another front. Im assuming the artic will be splitting again... ugh! I thought this mess was over. Yes it's too far in advance to predict and know what day or how low temps will get BUT it just shows winter isnt over and these artic blasts seem to be becoming a trend which could end up wiping out all tropicals entireley. What are yalls thoughts? 

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Splitting? Where, and how? Although I'd say that even if another cold wave does happen, it won't be as bad even compared to normal, let alone overall. The Arctic air has already been partly drained.

[Allen]

  On 1/23/2024 at 8:43 PM, Ivanos1982 said:

After several tantrums I threw before this artic blast I felt embarassed to even post anything here about my palms and yard in west Houston TX but I just read all of yalls posts and I feel normal somehow lol anyway I will post some pics of my queens, majesties and other tropicals in my yard. I only covered them with sheet, no heat added. I also added mulch to them this year which seemed to help because all of them seem alive and well at this point. The queens are all green but as some of u mentioned it can be a trick to the eye because queens take a while to brown up. Anyways, with how paranoic I am I was looking at the forecasts for the next month and came accross this picture which shows another front. Im assuming the artic will be splitting again... ugh! I thought this mess was over. Yes it's too far in advance to predict and know what day or how low temps will get BUT it just shows winter isnt over and these artic blasts seem to be becoming a trend which could end up wiping out all tropicals entireley. What are yalls thoughts? 

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Well if that's as bad as it gets!  I'll take it.  20F vs -6F I got

Edited January 23, 2024 by Allen

[Las Palmas Norte]

Some samples after the Vortex of 2024. No winterized protection.

 

2 - 5gal. Windmills planted last spring.

 

3 gal. Needle Palm

 

Sabal minor

 

Cordyline australis - 7 ft tall. Wrapped with bubble wrap. No supplemental heat.

[Xenon]

  On 1/23/2024 at 8:43 PM, Ivanos1982 said:

After several tantrums I threw before this artic blast I felt embarassed to even post anything here about my palms and yard in west Houston TX but I just read all of yalls posts and I feel normal somehow lol anyway I will post some pics of my queens, majesties and other tropicals in my yard. I only covered them with sheet, no heat added. I also added mulch to them this year which seemed to help because all of them seem alive and well at this point. The queens are all green but as some of u mentioned it can be a trick to the eye because queens take a while to brown up. Anyways, with how paranoic I am I was looking at the forecasts for the next month and came accross this picture which shows another front. Im assuming the artic will be splitting again... ugh! I thought this mess was over. Yes it's too far in advance to predict and know what day or how low temps will get BUT it just shows winter isnt over and these artic blasts seem to be becoming a trend which could end up wiping out all tropicals entireley. What are yalls thoughts? 

 

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Even if it pans out, it will very likely be highly moderated by the time it reaches us.  Late February is pushing it for a super freeze with the daytime heating ramping up. 

Also a forecast for a month out is the same as doodling blindly on a map 😆

[Leelanau Palms]

  On 1/23/2024 at 1:03 AM, Sabal King said:

Long form walkthrough of the property.. I was VERY surprised with a lot of the results.. not the day after or two days after the storm, but this morning after a good soaking last night.

 

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How did Sabal Megatron do?

[Ivanos1982]

Here is an update of my queens. Went down to 18.3 (Jan 16 2024) in my yard here in west Houston TX, the first night, the second night only to 21.5 (Jan 17 2024). I only covered the queens bases with mulch. Not sure if they will make it. None of the spears are pulling though. 

Edited January 25, 2024 by Ivanos1982

[Allen]

  On 1/25/2024 at 5:53 PM, Ivanos1982 said:

Here is an update of my queens. Went down to 18.3 (Jan 16 2024) in my yard here in west Houston TX, the first night, the second night only to 21.5 (Jan 17 2024). I only covered the queens bases with mulch. Not sure if they will make it. None of the spears are pulling though. 

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I think they will make it

[Las Palmas Norte]

  On 1/24/2024 at 1:24 AM, Leelanau Palms said:

How did Sabal Megatron do?

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Megatron? WTHIT? Sounds space age.

[Robert Cade Ross]

Driving around south Houston today most - 90% of the queens look great 

[Leelanau Palms]

  On 1/25/2024 at 6:16 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Megatron? WTHIT? Sounds space age.

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Ask @Sabal King 😁

[RJ]

  On 1/25/2024 at 6:16 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Megatron? WTHIT? Sounds space age.

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It’s the nickname given to a cross os Sabal causiarum and Sabal palmetto. 

[L.A.M.]

  On 1/24/2024 at 12:04 AM, Xenon said:

Even if it pans out, it will very likely be highly moderated by the time it reaches us.  Late February is pushing it for a super freeze with the daytime heating ramping up. 

Also a forecast for a month out is the same as doodling blindly on a map 😆

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I second this. For most of Middle Tennessee, the window for sub-zero record lows is late November to mid February, with only some mountain areas like Crossville and relatively northern near-mountain areas like Cookeville getting somewhat below zero in March. The 1892 Saint Patrick's Day Snowstorm, Great Blizzard of February 1899 and March 1993 Storm of the Century were all remarkable not only in terms of their severity but also for the fact that they happened in spring in the subtropics rather than winter or further north. Plus, the Arctic air has already been partly drained by the January 2024 super freeze we had last week. February 2021 and February 2015 are the only recent severe spring freezes I recall this far south, and even then, only 2015 would be what I'd call a "super freeze;" the worst of 2021 was further west.

Still, an Arctic outbreak doesn't have to happen in winter or early spring to cause trouble. A late spring Arctic outbreak may not be as serious overall, and thus not a threat to evergreen plants like palms, but something like the April 2007 freeze can be seriously devastating for some deciduous trees/shrubs even if it only gets into the low twenties or upper teens degrees Fahrenheit. An early spring cold wave can also bring more snow/ice than a winter one and at least delay deciduous trees/shrubs breaking dormancy, though, which is why I dreaded El Nino so much and got relieved that we got a January cold wave instead of the expected February (or even March like in 2019) one.

[L.A.M.]

I ultimately fertilized that wild Adam’s needle yucca today. Also, my needle palm seems to be showing slight leaf spotting on even the newest growth above the point that snow reached, and some of the tip damage and leaf spotting on older growth is proving totally destructive. Southern magnolias, surprisingly, seem mostly OK even compared to December 2022; it seems that deep snow provided some insulation for the leaves even feet off the ground and also prevented the sun from shining on and desiccating even most south-facing leaves (with only the smallest ones being hit hard due to limited ability to hold snow).

The two of my Carolina cherry laurels that I could find, surprisingly, are still alive, although the single year of growth post-2022 was indeed damaged by the -13 °F cold wave. I scratched the bark to make sure that they’re truly still alive. Still, I couldn’t even find the third that seemed completely done for after 2022 but surprisingly recovered. I’m still likely to plant another set of them at a lower elevation simply so that the growth is less likely to be killed back to the ground and the longer growing seasons/hotter summers speed up growth.

Unsurprisingly, my dwarf palmetto was indeed damaged by -7 °F. The surprise is actually how little damage it suffered. The oldest frond that survived December 2022 seems done for, and the second-oldest suffered some damage too. Nonetheless, the third-oldest suffered no damage, and the spear didn’t pull. I still took precaution by fertilizing it with MiracleGro and spraying the meristem with copper fungicide, though.

[DTS]

My Sweetbay Magnolia is fine after all of that, still even has some green leaves on it.

[southpacific73]

  On 1/23/2024 at 3:56 PM, Chester B said:

That's good to hear.  But I wonder about those palms along that walkway on the water by Stanley Park.  I know a lot of those palms died, with many being damaged too.

All my plants did great.  My new house has virtually none!  A few live oaks and some Crepe myrtles so they all did fine.  My property is devoid of palms and all mine are in pots so I threw them in the garage a couple of nights.  All the palms in my neighborhood were unfazed but they consist mainly of Washingtonia, CIDPs, Trunking Sabals and a large ecotype of Sabal minor.

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Now you can design and plant your palms the way you like it! Make sure you post your yard transformation on Palmtalk so that we can be jealous up here in the cold PNW lol .

[RFun]

  On 1/23/2024 at 5:50 PM, Chester B said:

Most of the Chamaerops died, Cordylines, Eucalyptus and even some Trachys.  Videos from last spring.

 

 

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That's an interesting climate area.  If someone is too wrapped up in the extreme low temperature averages, they will find that some of the palms you'd think would survive, don't. 

Edited February 1, 2024 by RFun

[Manalto]

Rhapis damage in Mobile. It was wrapped. Not sure about the low temperature, I think it might have been 19°

[Manalto]

Livistona chinensis damage.

 

Chamaerops humilis, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Chamaedorea microspadix, C. radicalis, Sabal palmetto, S. causiarum, S. minor, and mule all unscathed.

[Las Palmas Norte]

  On 2/5/2024 at 1:04 AM, Manalto said:

Livistona chinensis damage.

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Was that damage done at about 25°F ?

[Manalto]

  On 2/5/2024 at 7:11 AM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Was that damage done at about 25°F ?

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It's impossible for me to determine at what precise temperature the damage occurred, because it wasn't visible for several days, and the temperature dropped below 25°. I can tell you, though, that in previous winters it came through the upper 20s unharmed, so your guess is probably pretty good.

[Sabal King]

  On 1/26/2024 at 12:42 AM, RJ said:

It’s the nickname given to a cross os Sabal causiarum and Sabal palmetto. 

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lol yea it is a Sabal palmetto x causiarum.  If you google it, you'll find buffy out in the Tyler\Longview area of East Texas and his ridiculously amazing specimen going through 2021.  Would be curious to see how it fared this year during these temps.  Any update by chance @buffy?  How is the parent doing?  Hoping it did fine like in previous years.

I've got a ton of seedlings from a specimen FL (original source of these all) and can't wait to get a few out in the ground this spring here.

[Cody Salem]

Severe-weather . eu is predicting another polar vortex collapse in second half of February.    I hope the west coast is spared this time.

 

 

 

[Allen]

  On 2/5/2024 at 5:53 PM, Cody Salem said:

Severe-weather . eu is predicting another polar vortex collapse in second half of February.    I hope the west coast is spared this time.

 

 

 

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Really looking like nothing much

[Sabal King]

  On 2/5/2024 at 6:00 PM, Allen said:

Really looking like nothing much

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With a name like Severe Weather EU (likely cherry picking one model).. are we surprised?