Verschaffeltia splendida survived my winter with protection 2 degrees Celsius

[happypalms]

I have 5 lone survivors out of 25 seedlings I germinated and iam surprised they  lived through another winter that’s two winters so far with hothouse protection with temperatures as low as 2 degrees Celsius another couple of years in the hothouse will tell if they are going to live with protection but iam not confident of planting in the ground so they might live forever in the hothouse.

[Harry’s Palms]

Yes , the only healthy , large specimans I’ve seen are in tropical places or greenhouses. I saw some beauties in Maui and a couple of huge ones down near San Diego in a near stadium sized greenhouse. It appears they need a tropical jungle environment. Worth the trouble if you can keep them alive. Harry

[happypalms]

27 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Yes , the only healthy , large specimans I’ve seen are in tropical places or greenhouses. I saw some beauties in Maui and a couple of huge ones down near San Diego in a near stadium sized greenhouse. It appears they need a tropical jungle environment. Worth the trouble if you can keep them alive. Harry

I have only seen small ones in the ground further north about 2 hours drive away iam luck6 so far this far south to keep mine alive there such a beautiful palm even with the needle thorns they are still loved.

Richard 

[John hovancsek]

Definitely a palm with amazing characteristics and worth the time and trouble 

[Tyrone]

I always thought that 7C was their reliable minimum temp cut off point, so yes, one of those more ultra tropicals that can survive in the warmest part of the subtropics with special care. Maybe you will get some strong individuals and they will scrape through. 

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, John hovancsek said:

Definitely a palm with amazing characteristics and worth the time and trouble 

That’s one of the reasons why Iam persistent with this variety if I can get one to survive in the garden it will be worth it.

[happypalms]

15 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

I always thought that 7C was their reliable minimum temp cut off point, so yes, one of those more ultra tropicals that can survive in the warmest part of the subtropics with special care. Maybe you will get some strong individuals and they will scrape through. 

Hi Tyrone I would be happy if only one makes it is a cold tender palm I might be lucky with the five I have and find one that has some tolerance to the cold my goal is to get one in the ground and not have it grow so slowly that goes backwards like some tropical palms do they live for a few winters struggling only to eventually die the jury is still out on this one in my garden time will tell but the cold is against me but you have gotta try.

[Harry’s Palms]

Not only sensitive to cold but , by the looks of the mature ones I’ve seen , wind as well. Even with a stilted trunk base , the palm looks vulnerable to me. Harry

[Tyrone]

3 hours ago, happypalms said:

Hi Tyrone I would be happy if only one makes it is a cold tender palm I might be lucky with the five I have and find one that has some tolerance to the cold my goal is to get one in the ground and not have it grow so slowly that goes backwards like some tropical palms do they live for a few winters struggling only to eventually die the jury is still out on this one in my garden time will tell but the cold is against me but you have gotta try.

You’re quite a bit warmer than Perth in winter and nobody had any success with them in Perth. You may just get it going. If you do get one to grow then you have to try Phoenicophorium borsigianum.

[Tyrone]

Or even Pelagadoxa henryana. 

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Not only sensitive to cold but , by the looks of the mature ones I’ve seen , wind as well. Even with a stilted trunk base , the palm looks vulnerable to me. Harry

With a leaf like that iam not surprised same as Kerriodoxa definitely a rainforest palm tucked away out of the wind and cold.

Richard 

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Tyrone said:

You’re quite a bit warmer than Perth in winter and nobody had any success with them in Perth. You may just get it going. If you do get one to grow then you have to try Phoenicophorium borsigianum.

Yes the cold  is not friend when it comes to palms if you could grow one the Fremantle doctor would tear it to pieces after we did win the Americas cup there in sunny windy Perth I might try phoenicophorium borisigianum I have a few henryana in m6 hothouse time will tell.

[Hurricanepalms]

@happypalmsI have 3 growing in my garden in area they’re not supposed to grow. One has been in the ground almost 5 years from a three gallon and the other two only a year from a 4inch pot. My largest pictured below has seen 2-3c multiple times and some cool periods when our high temps were in the 17-20c range and lows of 6-8c for a week straight. Our usual highs, even in our coldest months, are 22 -23c. My largest is protected on almost all sides by trees. On nights were the temps drop below 8c I hang a 40w incandescent bulb off the lowest leaf suspended next to the palms’ heart. I have never seen the largest show any cold damage including any damage to its’ leaves. Best of luck and I think if your weather is similar to or warmer than mine you will be able to grow them. You have a lot more experience and talent caring for plants than I do. 

[D. Morrowii]

This one will be 3 years from seed in October. It has never seen below 3c unprotected. It’s getting to that point though where I’ll need to roll the dice. 0c is possible on any year here during one of those winter cold fronts. Last time I saw 0c was Christmas 2022 for about 5 hours I think. Last winters low was 5c. Once I put it in the ground I plan to do some minimal protection if the forecast is for 3c or lower similar to what @Hurricanepalms describes above. I guess at some point it will be too much to protect and I’ll have to let it fend for itself. There are probably only a dozen or so days during one of our colder years here where the temps get low enough to bother the zone 10b stuff. Usually it warms up pretty quickly after that dip that seems to occur right at sunset. I hear stacking the mulch up around the stilt roots can help keep them happy in the cold too.

@Hurricanepalms Your’s look fantastic! Hopefully I can get one of mine to that stage. Any tips are appreciated! 

[happypalms]

20 hours ago, Hurricanepalms said:

@happypalmsI have 3 growing in my garden in area they’re not supposed to grow. One has been in the ground almost 5 years from a three gallon and the other two only a year from a 4inch pot. My largest pictured below has seen 2-3c multiple times and some cool periods when our high temps were in the 17-20c range and lows of 6-8c for a week straight. Our usual highs, even in our coldest months, are 22 -23c. My largest is protected on almost all sides by trees. On nights were the temps drop below 8c I hang a 40w incandescent bulb off the lowest leaf suspended next to the palms’ heart. I have never seen the largest show any cold damage including any damage to its’ leaves. Best of luck and I think if your weather is similar to or warmer than mine you will be able to grow them. You have a lot more experience and talent caring for plants than I do. 

 Nice  palms so there is hope I might plant mine next to the septic tank with it being concrete some thermal will help them iam sure the five that i have are getting stronger each season so a iam hopeful but as they say don’t count your chickens before they hatch your ones are doing well your just as good a grower as iam I learn daily about my plants something new you have a great green thumb by the looks of your palm I have seen them growing well a two hour drive further north if I was on the coast i would have a better chance iam about 15 kms inland but a very unique microclimate.

[happypalms]

17 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

This one will be 3 years from seed in October. It has never seen below 3c unprotected. It’s getting to that point though where I’ll need to roll the dice. 0c is possible on any year here during one of those winter cold fronts. Last time I saw 0c was Christmas 2022 for about 5 hours I think. Last winters low was 5c. Once I put it in the ground I plan to do some minimal protection if the forecast is for 3c or lower similar to what @Hurricanepalms describes above. I guess at some point it will be too much to protect and I’ll have to let it fend for itself. There are probably only a dozen or so days during one of our colder years here where the temps get low enough to bother the zone 10b stuff. Usually it warms up pretty quickly after that dip that seems to occur right at sunset. I hear stacking the mulch up around the stilt roots can help keep them happy in the cold too.

@Hurricanepalms Your’s look fantastic! Hopefully I can get one of mine to that stage. Any tips are appreciated! 

That wall is helping you with thermal mass but your temperature sound similar I might have trouble with the cold wet weather that may be my only obstacle but from what you are describing with your climate it sounds positive I read on palm talk about people wanting to grow certain palm varieties but are afraid to do because of cold weather and I post saying I can’t see the problem I have the same palm you want to try and say go for it with similar climate conditions tha5 you are describing for my verschaffeltii it’s encouraging me to give it a go even more.