Texas Palms

[Xenon]

Currently 87-88 degrees in Uptown Houston. Feels like a real scorcher. Rooftop pools and palms sound pretty enticing right now

[thyerr01]

Can barely tell we had a freeze. 

[Chester B]

I thought this was a good lineup to show the differences.  From left to right - theophrastii, dactylifera and sylvestris. 
 

I got within two feet of the Theo and it stuck me.  They are vicious  

 

[Ben G.]

After freezing rain and a low of about 20F, my butia spear pulled about three weeks after the deep freeze. I am disappointed it took so long to show any damage because I think it was pretty bad by the time I noticed it.

After a couple of weeks of treating it for fungus, I still didn't see any new growth. So, last weekend I trunk cut it. I cut it really low and it still didn't look like it had any live tissue. 

I dug it out because I figured it was dead, and I didn't want to sacrifice its prime spot near my pool for a wonky-looking stump for the amount of time it would take to look good if it did grow back.

I put it in a pot just in case I was wrong about it being dead though. Sure enough, a week later it is clearly growing:

I have already planted my 5 to 7 gallon sized mule palm in its place. It will need more protection, but perhaps it will establish faster:

All of this trouble with my butia is really frustrating since there are several butias within a mile of my home that look completely untouched. Mine had been in the ground more than 18 months, and it was finishing its second winter in the ground. So, it was apparently still too new to shake off freezing rain.

[Allen]

4 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

After freezing rain and a low of about 20F, my butia spear pulled about three weeks after the deep freeze. I am disappointed it took so long to show any damage because I think it was pretty bad by the time I noticed it.

After a couple of weeks of treating it for fungus, I still didn't see any new growth. So, last weekend I trunk cut it. I cut it really low and it still didn't look like it had any live tissue. 

I dug it out because I figured it was dead, and I didn't want to sacrifice its prime spot near my pool for a wonky-looking stump for the amount of time it would take to look good if it did grow back.

I put it in a pot just in case I was wrong about it being dead though. Sure enough, a week later it is clearly growing:

I have already planted my 5 to 7 gallon sized mule palm in its place. It will need more protection, but perhaps it will establish faster:

All of this trouble with my butia is really frustrating since there are several butias within a mile of my home that look completely untouched. Mine had been in the ground more than 18 months, and it was finishing its second winter in the ground. So, it was apparently still too new to shake off freezing rain.

I have seen many of these die in wet/cold especially being that young it is susceptible.  That ice did it in

[Meangreen94z]

A few more from Pearland. Everything palmwise survived. The Queens fronds look great for 22-24°F.

Bismarckia nobilis

Medemia argun

Butia , Copernicia alba, and Livistona nitida 

Phoenix theophrastii ‘Golkoy’

 

Copernicia alba #2

Butia x Parajubaea var. torallyi

Mule palm

Livistona decora

Ravenea rivularis and King palm 

Queen, seed supposedly sourced from a hardy parent.

Beaucarnea recurvata starting to form a thick caudex 

Acrocomia, possible totai

Sabal uresana 

Beccariophoenix alfredii

[Ben G.]

54 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

A few more from Pearland. Everything palmwise survived. The Queens fronds look great for 22-24°F.

Glad to see your majesty made it through.

[Chester B]

With some time I too have seen some damage.  One of my mules is starting to brown off and the newest spear looks bad.  
 

Another year and yet again I see damage on a needle palm. It ended up spear pulling. They are so finicky when young. I lost one the first summer and last winter 3/4 had damage.  I’ve seen damage on needle palms before yet somehow every Sabal minor I’ve ever had, at any size, in any weather condition have never been damaged.  After growing many of both of these species, in two totally different climates,  for over a decade, there is literally nothing to convince me that needle palms are the most cold hardy palm. Sabal minor is the GOAT.  

[SeanK]

6 hours ago, Chester B said:

With some time I too have seen some damage.  One of my mules is starting to brown off and the newest spear looks bad.  
 

Another year and yet again I see damage on a needle palm. It ended up spear pulling. They are so finicky when young. I lost one the first summer and last winter 3/4 had damage.  I’ve seen damage on needle palms before yet somehow every Sabal minor I’ve ever had, at any size, in any weather condition have never been damaged.  After growing many of both of these species, in two totally different climates,  for over a decade, there is literally nothing to convince me that needle palms are the most cold hardy palm. Sabal minor is the GOAT.  

My experience is the same here in Atlanta. I don't know if Rhapidophyllum wants to be dry in the winter or if it's an issue of seed source. S.minor seems bulletproof; sun-shade, wet-dry, it doesn't matter.

[jwitt]

If one were to take the lows that sabal minors have endured at the Denver zoo, multiple times at or below what the 1 time event in Knoxville, that a needle palm endured, sabal minors are the clear winner. 

End of story.

[Robert Cade Ross]

Out and about Brazoria county last two weeks . I noticed east Pearland was a cold spot this freeze and nuked the queens / cidps . Down in Manvel / Alvin they all look great.Queen palmy yard Manvel freshly planted palmetpigmy’s Alvin HW6 new palms two big queens planted last summer here in Manvel both have 90% green fronds Fresno / Arcola HW6 

[Chester B]

@Robert Cade Ross how come you haven't posted photos of that tall Butia at SCV Valve on FM646?

[Robert Cade Ross]

7 minutes ago, Chester B said:

@Robert Cade Ross how come you haven't posted photos of that tall Butia at SCV Valve on FM646?

lol tall butia are common around here . At least to me . I’ve passed these often the huge Spanish dagger next to them Is awesome.

[Xenon]

Encountered a bunch of big old-ish CIDP in Houston today that somehow have escaped lethal bronzing. MacGregor/Old Spanish Trail near UofH

 

 

[MarcusH]

The return of the Queen palm in San Antonio.  The outcome of this is clear. Won't see a bright future for those that made it through the last couple of winters. I decided to remove my Queen a few weeks back . Obviously it survived,  no spear pull , just ugly brown all over. Bought it last year in hope it would push out a few fronds but unfortunately , that hasn't been the case. It slowly grew one long spear. So I thought I would remove it because there's no point at looking at something that doesn't even look nice. The Queens at the Riveralk seem to do well and grow quite fast after being in the ground for 2.5 years.  I also took some pictures of a few Livistona Chinensis . 

Also new rows of Sabal Palmettos have been planted around downtown. Here's one of it. Best choice of palms in our area. 

Surprisingly the few Ravenea Rivularis have survived near the Riverwalk.  Seems to be a great microclimate for a lot of exotics.  

[Fusca]

On 3/3/2026 at 2:24 PM, MarcusH said:

I also took some pictures of a few Livistona Chinensis.  

If this is the palm I'm thinking of I believe that it's Livistona decora.  L. chinensis and australis typically have white to cream colored flowers.  If you can check out the fruits when they ripen this fall I'd expect them to be spherical in shape and shiny black.  If it is chinensis the fruits will be somewhat oblong and bluish colored.  I recently collected some decora fruits that ripened a couple of months ago.

[Xenon]

Just some queens left to fend for themselves at the Port of Houston next to the cargo terminals (Bayport). Still growing despite neglect and a very cold winter 😊

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, Fusca said:

If this is the palm I'm thinking of I believe that it's Livistona decora.  L. chinensis and australis typically have white to cream colored flowers.  If you can check out the fruits when they ripen this fall I'd expect them to be spherical in shape and shiny black.  If it is chinensis the fruits will be somewhat oblong and bluish colored.  I recently collected some decora fruits that ripened a couple of months ago.

Yes sure I will take a look in fall. It's the one at the Rivercenter Mall.  There are more spread out along the Riverwalk,  mature species.  

[Fusca]

4 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Yes sure I will take a look in fall. It's the one at the Rivercenter Mall.  There are more spread out along the Riverwalk,  mature species.  

Yes, that is the palm I was thinking of.  There were two or three tall L. decora in that area before 2021 and if I'm remembering correctly this palm was in a more protected spot and the only survivor.  Besides these the other Livistona along the Riverwalk are chinensis.  They're not as tall since decora grow much faster.  I didn't think of it before but my chinensis still has some ripe fruit on it so I took another photo of the fruits together to better show the difference - chinensis on the left with decora on the right.

[MarcusH]

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

Yes, that is the palm I was thinking of.  There were two or three tall L. decora in that area before 2021 and if I'm remembering correctly this palm was in a more protected spot and the only survivor.  Besides these the other Livistona along the Riverwalk are chinensis.  They're not as tall since decora grow much faster.  I didn't think of it before but my chinensis still has some ripe fruit on it so I took another photo of the fruits together to better show the difference - chinensis on the left with decora on the right.

Do you want me to collect some seeds for you later the year ?

Yes you're right . If I can remember correctly I think there were more by the Rivercenter Mall that unfortunately didn't make it back in 2021. The first time I visited San Antonio was in 2019 and since you brought that up I'm going to look in my photo archive to see if I have an old picture .

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

Do you want me to collect some seeds for you later the year ?

I appreciate the offer but there's literally hundreds of seeds I could collect here.  A local grower has a really cool planting of about a dozen mature decora in two rows about 6' from each other.  Each pair lean into each other forming a really cool canopy.  I'll have to take a photo of it next time I am there.  😊  In my garden I have 4 decora plus two mariae x decora and a rigida x decora!  First pic is my largest decora and second is the mariae x decora I grew from seed.  Note the red color from the mariae parent but unfortunately the color doesn't last into adulthood.

[Robert Cade Ross]

On 3/5/2026 at 7:36 AM, Xenon said:

Just some queens left to fend for themselves at the Port of Houston next to the cargo terminals (Bayport). Still growing despite neglect and a very cold winter 😊

lol this is pathetic where’s the chainsaw 

[Xenon]

3 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

lol this is pathetic where’s the chainsaw 

pretty things can start out ugly 😄. I think they will look quite ok in a few months if the rainy season cooperates. There's probably a lot of natural fertilizer aka industrial waste in the soil lol 

[Fusca]

Here's some massive Sabal uresana at Dyer's nursery in Weslaco.  Photo doesn't do it justice - note the thickness of the trunk.  @5am for scale in both photos.

[Fusca]

Here's an interesting planting of Livistona decora at the same nursery.  The drought is severe here as well - no rain in 2026 yet...

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Here's some massive Sabal uresana at Dyer's nursery in Weslaco.  Photo doesn't do it justice - note the thickness of the trunk.  @5am for scale in both photos.

That's nuts.  The ones at The John Fairey Garden are probably just as tall so I do have a reference point.  The difference is that these still have all their boots which makes them look even beefier.

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

That's nuts.  The ones at The John Fairey Garden are probably just as tall so I do have a reference point.  The difference is that these still have all their boots which makes them look even beefier.

Tad told us that they are about 21 years from seed that he personally collected in Sonora.  They are impressive.  Environmental factors have kept these from producing viable seeds despite flowering.

[Xenon]

Compact and robust Butia today in Galena Park by the Houston Ship Channel 

[Chester B]

5 hours ago, Fusca said:

Tad told us that they are about 21 years from seed that he personally collected in Sonora.  They are impressive.  Environmental factors have kept these from producing viable seeds despite flowering.

What are the environmental factors?  The ones around here haven’t produced seeds after 2021. 

[Fusca]

13 hours ago, Chester B said:

What are the environmental factors?  The ones around here haven’t produced seeds after 2021. 

Not 100% sure but Tad believes it's the high night temperatures here compared to those out west.  Same reason we can't grow Parajubaea.  Even now in early March the lows are in the low 70's.  😔

[5am]

On 3/10/2026 at 2:21 PM, Xenon said:

Compact and robust Butia today in Galena Park by the Houston Ship Channel 

This is what I hope mine become. In my area I get to enjoy a decent range of palms but the simple rugged beauty of a well manicured butia is near the top of my list. Any idea how old it is?

[Xenon]

18 minutes ago, 5am said:

This is what I hope mine become. In my area I get to enjoy a decent range of palms but the simple rugged beauty of a well manicured butia is near the top of my list. Any idea how old it is?

I'd guess 1970s +/-

I think Butia appearance is just a lottery. 95% of them don't do it for me with the wiry wispy unkept open crown look. Nothing to do with manicure imo. Most mules inherit the trait too, don't like most of them either 😅

[Fusca]

22 minutes ago, Xenon said:

I'd guess 1970s +/-

I was going to say 70's or 80's just based on the limited view of the home style... 😄  Maybe palm had some size to it when planted so even older than the house.

[Chester B]

I always see this group from 59/69 between the beltway and I10 on the right hand side when heading into downtown.  They are pretty beefy looking.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/o3iPLsPHRGZYvGnL8

[Chester B]

Here are some neglected Butia I pass out in Richmond/Katy area.  Much bigger looking in person.

[Chester B]

Randomly stumbled upon these Queen palms circa 2016.  Dead now.

@Xenon proof positive they did exist once

[Chester B]

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

Randomly stumbled upon these Queen palms circa 2016.  Dead now.

@Xenon proof positive they did exist once

I'm not sure what you mean by exist once. Queens used to be 50-100x more common than Butia, most common pinnate palm by far. 

These look better than any Butia, sorry it's the truth 😝