TEXAS 2025

[Ivanos1982]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

My queens are still mostly green. Most of the small queens I've seen around town are still mostly green too 😝 

I'm looking forward to the repopulation of queen palms. It's looking way too much like Myrtle Beach around here lately 

I am too. Mines look ok and my neightbors do too, he didnt cover. I think their cellular structures can withstand to our lowest we've had so far. Last year when we had 18 I lost one of em. So 20s is really their limit.

[ChrisA]

12 hours ago, Chester B said:

Those are done.  I had some that grew from small $10 palms to that size in one year that had had 3x the fronds so they were somewhat established.  I protected and they looked better than these after the cold and they died.

As far as I'm concerned unless we get 3-4 warm years (ie average) than they aren't worth even trying.

You’re right, they’re done. They look worse every time I drive by.  What is a shame is that the two Olive trees planted beside them also look like their leaves are dying.  I thought Olive trees could handle 15 pretty handily but I guess not with ice and the polar wind we had. I’ve seen other Olives that are untouched, maybe more established, maybe Arbequina which is supposed to be the most cold hardy.

[Chester B]

30 minutes ago, ChrisA said:

You’re right, they’re done. They look worse every time I drive by.  What is a shame is that the two Olive trees planted beside them also look like their leaves are dying.  I thought Olive trees could handle 15 pretty handily but I guess not with ice and the polar wind we had. I’ve seen other Olives that are untouched, maybe more established, maybe Arbequina which is supposed to be the most cold hardy.

Olive trees can handle 15F, but it seems olives don't do particularly well in Texas even in the drier regions.  I've read how the olive farms have never really produced a crop in Texas.  I grew a few varieties of them in Oregon and they were fine with ice storms.  Plus there were some small olive farms there, but Oregon is a Mediterranean climate so is ideal for them.

Here in Houston there are some olives in my neighborhood and they look good but don't produce fruit.  Too hot and humid here that even if they did the fruit would likely be of poor quality.  I've only seen Arbequina for sale here, they are a small olive used for eating and seem to be the most common variety in North America.

[ChrisA]

Thanks for concurring, that’s what I thought as well. I guess it’s just as likely that they haven’t been watering any of their plants and they’re just too stressed at this point. I had read about a Hill Country Olive operation that was an enormous loss of investment, this sure is hell isn’t California. Could be flooding, freezing, or a tornado here! 😂 

[Chester B]

11 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Thanks for concurring, that’s what I thought as well. I guess it’s just as likely that they haven’t been watering any of their plants and they’re just too stressed at this point. I had read about a Hill Country Olive operation that was an enormous loss of investment, this sure is hell isn’t California. Could be flooding, freezing, or a tornado here! 😂 

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but you won't know unless you try.  I think the weather is too erratic with such extremes.  As much as I wanted to get olive trees again, you really have to adhere to the "Right plant, Right spot" mentality to succeed especially in Texas.

[Ivanos1982]

my Areca palms (Ihave two more that look the same as this pic) are green at the bottom, two spears of the tallest fronds pulled but I may have pulled too hard and jusr broke em cause they were white and seemed healthy.  They were about five feet tall. All I did was cover them. No heat added.

The birds of paradise are all pushing the new leaves. And I covered them as well but no additional heat 

Low was 23.5 F in my yard 

[Chester B]

11 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Thanks for concurring, that’s what I thought as well. I guess it’s just as likely that they haven’t been watering any of their plants and they’re just too stressed at this point. I had read about a Hill Country Olive operation that was an enormous loss of investment, this sure is hell isn’t California. Could be flooding, freezing, or a tornado here! 😂 

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but you won't know unless you try.  I think the weather is too erratic with such extremes.  As much as I wanted to get olive trees again, you really have to adhere to the "Right plant, Right spot" mentality to succeed especially in Texas.

[Fusca]

5 hours ago, Chester B said:

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but you won't know unless you try.  I think the weather is too erratic with such extremes.  As much as I wanted to get olive trees again, you really have to adhere to the "Right plant, Right spot" mentality to succeed especially in Texas.

You can say that again.

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but you won't know unless you try.  I think the weather is too erratic with such extremes.  As much as I wanted to get olive trees again, you really have to adhere to the "Right plant, Right spot" mentality to succeed especially in Texas.

Oh, you did!  🤣

[Las Palmas Norte]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but you won't know unless you try.  I think the weather is too erratic with such extremes.  As much as I wanted to get olive trees again, you really have to adhere to the "Right plant, Right spot" mentality to succeed especially in Texas.

There are different cultivars of Olea (Olive) which I've tried in limited numbers. Some are more suited to specific regions than others.

This olive farm in British Columbia was started in 2010. The Olive Farm

[Silas_Sancona]

55 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

There are different cultivars of Olea (Olive) which I've tried in limited numbers. Some are more suited to specific regions than others.

This olive farm in British Columbia was started in 2010. The Olive Farm

  Many cultivars..  At least a handful are grown here that laugh at our heat and drought  ..and some cold too. 

Monastery about an hour to my southeast, south of Florence,  grows 3 varieties that have no issues with conditions out there.  Oil the monks produce and sell locally is said to possess some unique and valued notes compared to Olive oil sourced from other places. 

 

[Xenon]

Olives not producing in Texas is just not true. There are at least several producers. You can buy Texas olive oil at many "normal" big box stores in Texas such as HEB and even Aldi. Will it ever rival the Med, California, Chile, Australia, etc probably not but it is at least viable enough for some people to continue to invest in it. 

Arbequina is very popular for olive oil both as a single variety and as part of a blend. It seems to make up the majority of the Texas olive oil production from what I've seen. It makes for a mild, approachable oil (boring imo) but some people call it buttery and smooth. 

[RedRabbit]

Winter is over.

[ChrisA]

18 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Winter is over.

Nervously seconded here! No cold weather in sight through the rest of February. Hurray!

[Las Palmas Norte]

TEXAS ̶2̶0̶2̶5̶  2026

[Xenon]

Oh winter has been over for a while. I already planted last weekend. My plumerias were dug up for only 2 weeks and back to the ground they go lol

 

[Robert Cade Ross]

Some palms in my neighborhood- Manvel yesterday I assume these pigmy’s will recover from 23°? 

[Chester B]

On 2/10/2026 at 7:19 PM, Xenon said:

Olives not producing in Texas is just not true. There are at least several producers. You can buy Texas olive oil at many "normal" big box stores in Texas such as HEB and even Aldi. Will it ever rival the Med, California, Chile, Australia, etc probably not but it is at least viable enough for some people to continue to invest in it. 

Arbequina is very popular for olive oil both as a single variety and as part of a blend. It seems to make up the majority of the Texas olive oil production from what I've seen. It makes for a mild, approachable oil (boring imo) but some people call it buttery and smooth. 

I realize I haven't lived here for very long but I have read numerous articles on the failure of the Olive crop in Texas, and what a flop it all was.  I have yet to see a "Texas Grown" olive, and have inquired at a bunch of the better nurseries in Houston about olives and they have all told me the same thing.  They don't even recommend using the trees for ornamental reasons as they can get killed to the ground here.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one, unless you can show me evidence to the contrary.  I have no issues admitting that I am misinformed or downright wrong.

Since you've got your Plumeria in the ground I'm going to do the same this weekend.  I only have one but I'm concerned it wasn't cool enough in my shed where it was stored dry and upside down.  It's not looking so great.  Any leads on where to get them at at discount?  As in less than $20/each?  One other question.  When people are selling plumerias grown from seed, it's a crapshoot as to what you'll get, right?

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

I realize I haven't lived here for very long but I have read numerous articles on the failure of the Olive crop in Texas, and what a flop it all was.  I have yet to see a "Texas Grown" olive, and have inquired at a bunch of the better nurseries in Houston about olives and they have all told me the same thing.  They don't even recommend using the trees for ornamental reasons as they can get killed to the ground here.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one, unless you can show me evidence to the contrary.  I have no issues admitting that I am misinformed or downright wrong.

Since you've got your Plumeria in the ground I'm going to do the same this weekend.  I only have one but I'm concerned it wasn't cool enough in my shed where it was stored dry and upside down.  It's not looking so great.  Any leads on where to get them at at discount?  As in less than $20/each?  One other question.  When people are selling plumerias grown from seed, it's a crapshoot as to what you'll get, right?

Just go to the olive oil section at HEB where you can buy Texas grown olive oil. There are several suppliers online that will ship to you too. It's not a massive industry but it certainly isn't one guy with a few olives either. There might be a flop in one production area or farm in Texas, but it certainly isn't a state wide thing. Because TX olive oil continues to be produced and sold in a not insignificant quantity. 

HGC has cheap plumerias. They aren't labeled so you can buy when they're flowering or take your chances. Not sure about the seeds, but don't think they aren't true to seed 

[Xenon]

It's a beautiful day in Houston 

[Xenon]

Look what is rising from the ashes !!! A volunteer ribbon palm Livistona decora. Legacy of all the beautiful ribbon palms that once graced these roads 

 

 

The young queen palms starting to pop up are looking good overall. Here is one at the work office that is definitely not protected 

[thyerr01]

@Xenon Are those smaller ones behind also Livistona? I assume that's over on 45. That's really interesting, although I only saw them a few times before the 2021 freeze I never noticed them setting seed.

[Xenon]

6 hours ago, thyerr01 said:

@Xenon Are those smaller ones behind also Livistona? I assume that's over on 45. That's really interesting, although I only saw them a few times before the 2021 freeze I never noticed them setting seed.

Sure looks like it (not going to walk over and find out). The palms were regularly setting seed and flowering profusely. The flowers are quite showy/conspicuous for a palm, much more so than Washingtonia 

[Fusca]

9 hours ago, thyerr01 said:

@Xenon Are those smaller ones behind also Livistona? I assume that's over on 45. That's really interesting, although I only saw them a few times before the 2021 freeze I never noticed them setting seed.

Before I ever saw the decora along IH-45 there was one along the feeder road of US-59 north of Porter not far from my sister's place.  I collected seeds from it (around 2015) and looked for it many times after but it must have been taken out with the development in the area.

[Xenon]

This thing looks beautiful on radar. Our rainmaker! 

[Robert Cade Ross]

On 2/14/2026 at 6:18 PM, Xenon said:

This thing looks beautiful on radar. Our rainmaker! 

Got a little over an inch here . Yard is still soggy haha 

[Chester B]

I actually got rain!  I bet it was close to an inch.  
It looks like that’s all we will be getting for some time though. 

[MarcusH]

On 2/16/2026 at 10:32 PM, Chester B said:

I actually got rain!  I bet it was close to an inch.  
It looks like that’s all we will be getting for some time though. 

It rained in San Antonio as well but not enough to saturate the soil.  So far it has been a very dry winter and there's no indication of a weather change in the near future.  I increased watering the soil around the foundation to decrease the risk of cracking.  Some bare spots in the yard already start to look like the surface of death valley.  The soil we have here on the NE side of San Antonio is the worst you can get in terms of stability.  Spots of ground sinking are visible as far as the eye can see. A recent report that was published on YouTube mentioned that Texas alone lost about 25% of tree canopy since 2000 and 20% percent in Bexar County where I live. Constant growth of new development and HOA's strict rules of what trees can be planted are the main drivers of this problem that only results in more longer lasting droughts,  increasing temperatures  due to the reduction of green space.  Greed and power hungry people lead this state putting the environment at the very bottom of the "To Do List"  .  I'd love to see way more trees that can withstand the challenges of our future climate here in Texas but that also requires maintenance ( irrigation). Everything comes with a price tag but it's necessary to keep the temperatures at a bearable level in summer otherwise we're turning more into Arizona.  I personally don't count on the years with above normal rainfall because those seem to decrease in numbers. This state needs to take actions by putting the environment first before making money of new development otherwise Texas is in for a rude awakening in the near future.  We're already past the tipping point now it's time for control damage.  

[Chester B]

9 hours ago, MarcusH said:

It rained in San Antonio as well but not enough to saturate the soil.  So far it has been a very dry winter and there's no indication of a weather change in the near future.  I increased watering the soil around the foundation to decrease the risk of cracking.  Some bare spots in the yard already start to look like the surface of death valley.  The soil we have here on the NE side of San Antonio is the worst you can get in terms of stability.  Spots of ground sinking are visible as far as the eye can see. A recent report that was published on YouTube mentioned that Texas alone lost about 25% of tree canopy since 2000 and 20% percent in Bexar County where I live. Constant growth of new development and HOA's strict rules of what trees can be planted are the main drivers of this problem that only results in more longer lasting droughts,  increasing temperatures  due to the reduction of green space.  Greed and power hungry people lead this state putting the environment at the very bottom of the "To Do List"  .  I'd love to see way more trees that can withstand the challenges of our future climate here in Texas but that also requires maintenance ( irrigation). Everything comes with a price tag but it's necessary to keep the temperatures at a bearable level in summer otherwise we're turning more into Arizona.  I personally don't count on the years with above normal rainfall because those seem to decrease in numbers. This state needs to take actions by putting the environment first before making money of new development otherwise Texas is in for a rude awakening in the near future.  We're already past the tipping point now it's time for control damage.  

All true.  You don't even want to know what they are dumping in the water, unfortunately I do.

As much as you like it, its time to lose the grass.   Lawns have no business in Central Texas.  If you got chip drop you could cover your entire backyard in some thick mulch and that would go a long way to retaining water on your property.  Leave paths as either mulch or gravel.  Minimize your lawn in the front and you can easily do a thick topdressing of fresh soil/compost on a small grassy area yearly if not biannually.  Get those palms big and start underplanting to create a microclimate.

That's what would I would do.  

Even here where I supposedly should get 50" of rain annually, I have removed thousands of square feet of lawn already and plan on taking a whole lot more out.  

[MarcusH]

54 minutes ago, Chester B said:

All true.  You don't even want to know what they are dumping in the water, unfortunately I do.

As much as you like it, its time to lose the grass.   Lawns have no business in Central Texas.  If you got chip drop you could cover your entire backyard in some thick mulch and that would go a long way to retaining water on your property.  Leave paths as either mulch or gravel.  Minimize your lawn in the front and you can easily do a thick topdressing of fresh soil/compost on a small grassy area yearly if not biannually.  Get those palms big and start underplanting to create a microclimate.

That's what would I would do.  

Even here where I supposedly should get 50" of rain annually, I have removed thousands of square feet of lawn already and plan on taking a whole lot more out.  

I have trouble keeping St Augustine grass look good especially during summer. It requires so much maintenance and I think I will still lose that battle in the long run. Unfortunately,  I don't make that decision by myself.  My wife wants the lawn and me personally I'm all in for minimize it to a manageable size , just like you explained it.  Mulch and gravel is the answer to the problem.  

I can only imagine what they put in the water .  I also wonder how much soil and groundwater is already contaminated with toxic chemicals that the government won't tell us. All these refineries all over the place doesn't look environment friendly to me. 

I know I came off topic but this all we've been talking about will have an impact on growing palms. Weather extremes will put more stress on our palms.