Spring recoveries after 5 degrees with no protection

[NMPalmjunky]

I have lost many palms over the years to freeze damage. I have used various methods of protection with mixed results, but I stopped protecting about 5 years ago. My area is officially 7b, but it has been a decade since it has hit 5 degrees at my house. I had some minor bronzing before the cold event. Almost everything showed some damage two days later. There have been no losses and things are starting to look much better despite the surprise snow today. 

[jwitt]

I was wondering how your butia did. 

I like!

Any suggestions for those in our climate/soil?

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

@NMPalmjunky Is your locale colder than Albuquerque? That's crazy to have snow this late. Didn't look like much though, to put a positive spin on it.

[NMPalmjunky]

20 hours ago, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

@NMPalmjunky Is your locale colder than Albuquerque? That's crazy to have snow this late. Didn't look like much though, to put a positive spin on it.

@Zone7BpalmguyRio Rancho is a suburb of Albuquerque and is pretty much the same zone as the west side. I am at 5100’ in elevation. Albuquerque ranges in elevation from 4900’ to 6300’ in the city limits alone. This covers zones 6b to 8a with some microclimates probably being a solid zone 8b. 9 degrees was the coldest that I have recorded at my house over the last 5 years until the 5 degrees that we hit this year. Believe it or not, this is the most snow that I have had at my house since early November.

[NMPalmjunky]

On 4/19/2025 at 4:54 PM, jwitt said:

I was wondering how your butia did. 

I like!

Any suggestions for those in our climate/soil?

The smaller one did better than the larger one. Exactly the same conditions. 

[NMPalmjunky]

On 4/19/2025 at 4:47 PM, NMPalmjunky said:

I have lost many palms over the years to freeze damage. I have used various methods of protection with mixed results, but I stopped protecting about 5 years ago. My area is officially 7b, but it has been a decade since it has hit 5 degrees at my house. I had some minor bronzing before the cold event. Almost everything showed some damage two days later. There have been no losses and things are starting to look much better despite the surprise snow today. 

Decent growth in May

[JohnAndSancho]

Nice recovery 👍

[palmofmyhand]

that microclimate must work wonders? or are those palms all just secretly hardier than most people ever thought?

[Atlanta Area Palm Guy]

1 hour ago, palmofmyhand said:

that microclimate must work wonders? or are those palms all just secretly hardier than most people ever thought?

It looks like a little of both there.  I'd expect a bit more damage on some of them from 5 degrees (but still not too bad).  Certainly, they are perfectly alive and well.  Some damage is to be expected with cold snaps in that area.

[Atlanta Area Palm Guy]

3 hours ago, NMPalmjunky said:

Decent growth in May

The palms look great.  The microclimate looks like it helped a bit.  I'd expect some more damage on some of those from 5 degrees.  But, still not too bad.  Looks like the cold snap didn't last long.

[NMPalmjunky]

On 5/31/2025 at 5:45 PM, Atlanta Area Palm Guy said:

The palms look great.  The microclimate looks like it helped a bit.  I'd expect some more damage on some of those from 5 degrees.  But, still not too bad.  Looks like the cold snap didn't last long.

@Atlanta Area Palm Guy thank you. The wall faces east, but it still helps with blocking wind and it warms up faster in the morning. I imagine that the same layout on a south facing wall would be optimal. 

[jwitt]

Was it 2 nights at 5f(or near)?

[NMPalmjunky]

7 hours ago, jwitt said:

Was it 2 nights at 5f(or near)?

@jwittI had 5 degrees and 7 degrees the second night on my home weather station, but both nights were colder than initially forecasted. They were also the coldest readings that I have seen since I started tracking about 5 years ago. Fortunately, both days were sunny and well above freezing. It was also exceptionally dry in January. 

[SailorBold]

From my neck of the cactus..

[jwitt]

@SailorBold You are in the tropics!

And your yard shows it!

[Ltapia]

Give us a future update palms look great !

[palmofmyhand]

On 6/3/2025 at 8:24 AM, SailorBold said:

From my neck of the cactus..

hey what website is this? I have yet to find a site where it lists the lows of every individual day?