Texas Palms

[Chester B]

On 2/8/2026 at 4:23 PM, thyerr01 said:

The various firebushes (Hamelia patens) are being watched. Several are going through their first winter and I have found these harder to overwinter than expected, especially the smaller ones. I regularly saw these in Austin pre-2021 (not sure whether they are still around) and they returned fine after normal winters there.

I have three types of firebush.  The standard Hamelia patens, Lime sizzler and the Dwarf firebush.  All returned for me last year so I expect better recovery this year.   The Arbor gate in Tomball has a dwarf version that is 7 or 8 feet tall and very wide.  They are hardy here and supposedly come back bigger each year as they become more established.

21 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Livistona nitida seems perfect for Houston. I don’t think it burned this winter or last in Pearland

The two I have are doing well with no damage.

[Xenon]

Big clump of queens spotted in Spring Branch (Houston) today. What freeze?

 

A nicer looking Butia

[SeanK]

1 minute ago, Xenon said:

Big clump of queens spotted in Spring Branch (Houston) today. What freeze?

 

A nicer looking Butia

That's a nice sized palm.

[Xenon]

Just a recent throwback to just how warm our mild winters can be. I know it isn't in as recent memory as our super cold winters 😝

This triple solitaire (Ptychosperma elegans) and Royal were planted in 2018 and lived in decent condition until the big freeze in 2021. 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 were mild winters for all of Houston. You can see mild burn but also complete recovery and more through our long summers. This is not a warm part of town or anything (West Houston/Energy Corridor). 

Now just imagine how warm the late 90s and 2000s were...and for a much longer uninterrupted stretch. 

[MarcusH]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Just a recent throwback to just how warm our mild winters can be. I know it isn't in as recent memory as our super cold winters 😝

This triple solitaire (Ptychosperma elegans) and Royal were planted in 2018 and lived in decent condition until the big freeze in 2021. 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 were mild winters for all of Houston. You can see mild burn but also complete recovery and more through our long summers. This is not a warm part of town or anything (West Houston/Energy Corridor). 

Now just imagine how warm the late 90s and 2000s were...and for a much longer uninterrupted stretch. 

Good ole times , right ? Looks like there's nothing concerning in the forecast.  All I see are warm temperatures throughout February.  I might just going to get my palms out of dormancy by nuking the soil with some palmgain on Saturday lol also going to increase watering a bit. We should be out of the woods now. 

[Chester B]

19 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Good ole times , right ? Looks like there's nothing concerning in the forecast.  All I see are warm temperatures throughout February.  I might just going to get my palms out of dormancy by nuking the soil with some palmgain on Saturday lol also going to increase watering a bit. We should be out of the woods now. 

I'm starting fertilization, but could really use some rain.  Some of my deciduous plants that lost their leaves have started regrowing.  Palmgain is unavailable right now, I guess people made a run on it so I bought the miracle grow one from Lowes.  It's half the price but should be reasonably good.  I'm probably going to hit all the garden beds with the Microlife Multipurpose as well.

I'm not at all concerned about cold at this point.

 

[Allen]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

I'm starting fertilization, but could really use some rain.  Some of my deciduous plants that lost their leaves have started regrowing.  Palmgain is unavailable right now, I guess people made a run on it so I bought the miracle grow one from Lowes.  It's half the price but should be reasonably good.  I'm probably going to hit all the garden beds with the Microlife Multipurpose as well.

I'm not at all concerned about cold at this point.

 

Get the 50 pound palmgain one on seedworldusa dot com

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Allen said:

Get the 50 pound palmgain one on seedworldusa dot com

Thanks Allen.  Cheapest price I've seen.  I'll blow through this bag in 2-3 applications, but I find that is usually enough for the year.

[Ben G.]

Cibolo TX Post Winter storm report:

Temps in my neck of the woods hit 19F or 20F, with some freezing rain. As usual, I think the freezing precipitation was the bigger problem.

C. radicalis with East Northeast exposure and partial overhead protection from the eave of the house.

P. dactylifera was almost immediately dead. It was about 3 ft in overall height and very healthy going into this event. I covered it, but not until it was already wet. So it's spear pulled almost immediately after the freeze. It's leaves were brown within a few days. I cut the trunk down and there was no living tissue left, despite treating it with hydrogen peroxide within a couple of days of the ice.

Butia took a little longer to show damage. It was covered with a large patio umbrella, but it blew off during the storm. It was a couple of weeks before the newest leaves started losing color. Spear pulled, and I have been treating it with H2O2 as well. No signs of a new spear yet.

Even my S. mexicanas (No protection) have a leaf or two that have lost their color. This surprised me:

My Washingtonia that grows like a weed looks pretty much perfect with no protection:

Not all Washingtonians are created equal though. This is what another one just a couple of houses down from mine looks like:

Small trachycarpus F x Ws took no damage with a bucket to cover them:

[MarcusH]

On 2/12/2026 at 9:33 AM, Chester B said:

I'm starting fertilization, but could really use some rain.  Some of my deciduous plants that lost their leaves have started regrowing.  Palmgain is unavailable right now, I guess people made a run on it so I bought the miracle grow one from Lowes.  It's half the price but should be reasonably good.  I'm probably going to hit all the garden beds with the Microlife Multipurpose as well.

I'm not at all concerned about cold at this point.

 

Miracle grow worked just as good as palmgain in my opinion.  It's really hard to tell which one is better .  You really have to do a side by side,  same growing conditions comparison in order to tell which one is really better and are the most expensive ones really better or is it just the name you pay for?  I can tell my palms grow well using both brands. 

A lot of stuff is growing back in my yard as well.  My Robusta is already trying to be the fastest horse on the race track . Pushing out the frond like a champ. The others are slower.  

[MarcusH]

3 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Cibolo TX Post Winter storm report:

Temps in my neck of the woods hit 19F or 20F, with some freezing rain. As usual, I think the freezing precipitation was the bigger problem.

C. radicalis with East Northeast exposure and partial overhead protection from the eave of the house.

P. dactylifera was almost immediately dead. It was about 3 ft in overall height and very healthy going into this event. I covered it, but not until it was already wet. So it's spear pulled almost immediately after the freeze. It's leaves were brown within a few days. I cut the trunk down and there was no living tissue left, despite treating it with hydrogen peroxide within a couple of days of the ice.

Butia took a little longer to show damage. It was covered with a large patio umbrella, but it blew off during the storm. It was a couple of weeks before the newest leaves started losing color. Spear pulled, and I have been treating it with H2O2 as well. No signs of a new spear yet.

Even my S. mexicanas (No protection) have a leaf or two that have lost their color. This surprised me:

My Washingtonia that grows like a weed looks pretty much perfect with no protection:

Not all Washingtonians are created equal though. This is what another one just a couple of houses down from mine looks like:

Small trachycarpus F x Ws took no damage with a bucket to cover them:

My Robusta isn't very leaf hardy.  Low 20s , the fronds will turn brown, all of them. I see some they look exactly like mine but seem to handle the cold better.  At least mine is pretty bud hardy and recovers fast.  I leave the fronds on until they're crispy but the new frond that is currently seeking daylight doesn't look bad at all. 

[MarcusH]

Couldn't resist . Another pigym for the big container. What I like about those is they're low maintenance and don't mind being outside in the 30s at all. 

[Fusca]

On 2/14/2026 at 6:49 PM, MarcusH said:

Couldn't resist . Another pigym for the big container. What I like about those is they're low maintenance and don't mind being outside in the 30s at all. 

Nice double roebelenii!  I almost bought one too - $70 at the orange store, right?  I settled instead for a $35 foxtail and a $10 Dypsis lutescens.  I managed to get both in my Nissan (somehow).