Choices…

[ZPalms]

Hello! After my failed Livistona Nitida, which was my fault, my protection method wasn’t good enough, and I accidentally didn’t cover it in time. I’ve had a couple of ideas of what to replace it with and just want second opinions, and these are what I’ve considered.

Mule - I like the idea of this cause it would provide radiating heat from the house but I’m unsure if the spread would be too much, I don’t mind it though as long as it’s temporary.

Butia - Wouldn’t mind this either but it could be way fatter than a mule so it could be too intense?

Trachycarpus - Safe choice, not much spread.

Sabal maybe…. I prefer something quicker though.

Cycad… though maybe too spikey as it’s close to walking space but taitungensis x revoluta or revoluta x multifrondis or normal revoluta

I wouldn’t mind a plant or bushy type of plant but more so wanting a tall palm so those are pretty much my choices.

[NC_Palms]

Why not Livistona chinensis? I know it is not on your list but it is really root hardy, it will die to the ground but always regrow in NC. If you still want a Livistona that might be a good option. 

And I am not sure how far you are from Greenville, NC but if you want a good sized one, Plant and See Nursery sells them for like 30 bucks. 

 

[ZPalms]

8 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Why not Livistona chinensis? I know it is not on your list but it is really root hardy, it will die to the ground but always regrow in NC. If you still want a Livistona that might be a good option. 

And I am not sure how far you are from Greenville, NC but if you want a good sized one, Plant and See Nursery sells them for like 30 bucks. 

 

I do have Livistona at a decent size, I just feel for long term especially in this spot. Something else could be better that I know could make it with little protection. I’m not against planting my Livistona near or around as nice low foliage 😁

[Fusca]

45 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Hello! After my failed Livistona Nitida, which was my fault, my protection method wasn’t good enough, and I accidentally didn’t cover it in time. I’ve had a couple of ideas of what to replace it with and just want second opinions, and these are what I’ve considered.

Mule - I like the idea of this cause it would provide radiating heat from the house but I’m unsure if the spread would be too much, I don’t mind it though as long as it’s temporary.

Butia - Wouldn’t mind this either but it could be way fatter than a mule so it could be too intense?

Trachycarpus - Safe choice, not much spread.

Sabal maybe…. I prefer something quicker though.

Cycad… though maybe too spikey as it’s close to walking space but taitungensis x revoluta or revoluta x multifrondis or normal revoluta

I wouldn’t mind a plant or bushy type of plant but more so wanting a tall palm so those are pretty much my choices.

Cycads don't get very wide or tall and are slower than molasses at Christmas.  Mules can get pretty big like Butia and get there faster but I don't think either one would be a problem in that spot unless you're concerned about it crowding the Trachycarpus.  Other options could be Nannorrhops, silver Serenoa which don't get too tall but spread horizontally, or Chamaerops.

[ZPalms]

4 hours ago, Fusca said:

Cycads don't get very wide or tall and are slower than molasses at Christmas.  Mules can get pretty big like Butia and get there faster but I don't think either one would be a problem in that spot unless you're concerned about it crowding the Trachycarpus.  Other options could be Nannorrhops, silver Serenoa which don't get too tall but spread horizontally, or Chamaerops.

I'm starting to lean more towards having the mule there only for the fact that if it grows much quicker, then it can clear the walking paths quicker. I'm not sure what a full-grown mule leaf span is like and if it will touch the trachy. I feel like a leaf or two wouldn't be that much of an issue as long as it isn't long-term blocking the trachy out. But on the bright side, the placement won't shade or take away from anything else nearby.

I did think about Chamaerops, but with it clumping, I'd have to either make sure the trunks grow how I want them or remove them, and it would take a while to get to a decent height. Same issue with Nannorrhops and with Serenoa.

It's dark now, so this is the best I can do for a photo to show the distance between the trachy and where the "undecided palm" or mule would go.

[ZPalms]

Sooooo, turns out that the nitida survived, I'm shocked and surprised. I thought it was gone, and from the looks of it at first glance, you'd think it was dead. But when I went to pull it to pop it out of the ground to replace it, it was so strong, and I'm like, what the hell? If it was dead, it would have just popped right out. So I dug around the base of it a little with my finger, since the green part was covered by soil, and to my shock, there was green. I was confused, so I checked the middle spear area, and to my surprise, some green was popping out.

So I guess I'm not replacing anything. I'm not sure what exact temperatures it saw, but it was tough enough to survive being left out uncovered for a night in December, getting completely burnt, I continued to cover after, then spear pulling and the rest of its leaves died off. After that, I stopped caring about it and left it covered way after the cold was over.

I'm excited to see it's still fighting, so I'll be caring for it again, knowing it has a chance at recovery. 

[JLM]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Sooooo, turns out that the nitida survived, I'm shocked and surprised. I thought it was gone, and from the looks of it at first glance, you'd think it was dead. But when I went to pull it to pop it out of the ground to replace it, it was so strong, and I'm like, what the hell? If it was dead, it would have just popped right out. So I dug around the base of it a little with my finger, since the green part was covered by soil, and to my shock, there was green. I was confused, so I checked the middle spear area, and to my surprise, some green was popping out.

So I guess I'm not replacing anything. I'm not sure what exact temperatures it saw, but it was tough enough to survive being left out uncovered for a night in December, getting completely burnt, I continued to cover after, then spear pulling and the rest of its leaves died off. After that, I stopped caring about it and left it covered way after the cold was over.

I'm excited to see it's still fighting, so I'll be caring for it again, knowing it has a chance at recovery. 

I just had a similar thing happen to me last week. I was getting ready to pull a majesty that I though for sure was dead, and it had green popping out. I was utterly shocked, especially after 12F and 7 inches of snow. It had a real nasty spear pull a few days after the snow melted, so again, utterly shocked. It experienced a few night of low 20s before the snow cover with no protection. Some palms are tougher than we think they are.

[ZPalms]

3 hours ago, JLM said:

I just had a similar thing happen to me last week. I was getting ready to pull a majesty that I though for sure was dead, and it had green popping out. I was utterly shocked, especially after 12F and 7 inches of snow. It had a real nasty spear pull a few days after the snow melted, so again, utterly shocked. It experienced a few night of low 20s before the snow cover with no protection. Some palms are tougher than we think they are.

That's actually amazing!!!! I love majesty leaves so the fact you will get to have some nice foilage again eventually! makes me wanna put my majesty in the ground but Id probably not get as lucky. 😂 I hope our palms look better than they do now soon!

[Fusca]

4 hours ago, JLM said:

I just had a similar thing happen to me last week. I was getting ready to pull a majesty that I though for sure was dead, and it had green popping out. I was utterly shocked, especially after 12F and 7 inches of snow. It had a real nasty spear pull a few days after the snow melted, so again, utterly shocked. It experienced a few night of low 20s before the snow cover with no protection. Some palms are tougher than we think they are.

I'll bet that if you didn't get any snow the majesty would be gone.  I'm sure it helped insulate.  Glad that it's pulling through!

@ZPalms, how cold did your Livistona nitida see?  I lost a big one in 2021 at 9°F but surely you didn't go that low.  Good to see it's coming back!

[ZPalms]

1 minute ago, Fusca said:

I'll bet that if you didn't get any snow the majesty would be gone.  I'm sure it helped insulate.  Glad that it's pulling through!

@ZPalms, how cold did your Livistona nitida see?  I lost a big one in 2021 at 9°F but surely you didn't go that low.  Good to see it's coming back!

If I knew where to get accurate historical temperature data then maybe I could say but I know it was below freezing and heavy frost and clear skies, all the leaves were burnt by the time I went out and covered it up.

[JLM]

26 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I'll bet that if you didn't get any snow the majesty would be gone.  I'm sure it helped insulate.  Glad that it's pulling through!

Oh for sure. But, we would've also never gotten into the low teens if it didn't snow. Very possible if there wasn't a weather system following that cold front we would've just had a chilly week with a string of light freezes each night following the initial dip into the low to mid 20s.

[SeanK]

5 hours ago, JLM said:

I just had a similar thing happen to me last week. I was getting ready to pull a majesty that I though for sure was dead, and it had green popping out. I was utterly shocked, especially after 12F and 7 inches of snow. It had a real nasty spear pull a few days after the snow melted, so again, utterly shocked. It experienced a few night of low 20s before the snow cover with no protection. Some palms are tougher than we think they are.

In another thread, I mentioned that a neighbor had planted a pair of Majesties in their front yard of our ATL 'burb. Of course they died, but last week I replaced them with Windmills from 10-inch pots.

I was very impressed with the vigorous root systems of the Raveneas. They were as tough to pull as Nandina. Hopefully, the Windmills take hold. I guess Majesties can recover from spear pull, as you have documented.

[NC_Palms]

On 4/28/2025 at 3:29 PM, ZPalms said:

Sooooo, turns out that the nitida survived, I'm shocked and surprised. I thought it was gone, and from the looks of it at first glance, you'd think it was dead. But when I went to pull it to pop it out of the ground to replace it, it was so strong, and I'm like, what the hell? If it was dead, it would have just popped right out. So I dug around the base of it a little with my finger, since the green part was covered by soil, and to my shock, there was green. I was confused, so I checked the middle spear area, and to my surprise, some green was popping out.

So I guess I'm not replacing anything. I'm not sure what exact temperatures it saw, but it was tough enough to survive being left out uncovered for a night in December, getting completely burnt, I continued to cover after, then spear pulling and the rest of its leaves died off. After that, I stopped caring about it and left it covered way after the cold was over.

I'm excited to see it's still fighting, so I'll be caring for it again, knowing it has a chance at recovery. 

Wow this is super impressive! 

[ZPalms]

WELLLLLL, it decided to spear pull after doing so well, so I chopped it. But when I did, it was mostly brown and black, so I kept cutting until I got to what you see in the photo. Is it toast?

[Fusca]

5 hours ago, ZPalms said:

WELLLLLL, it decided to spear pull after doing so well, so I chopped it. But when I did, it was mostly brown and black, so I kept cutting until I got to what you see in the photo. Is it toast?

I can't tell how far down you cut but it might continue growing.  Water it from the side and try to keep water off of the part you cut.  Put a bucket over it if it rains until you see growth.  If it's alive it'll start pushing soon.  Here's my Copernicia alba after cold damage in 2018.  It's well over 8' tall now.

[ZPalms]

4 hours ago, Fusca said:

I can't tell how far down you cut but it might continue growing.  Water it from the side and try to keep water off of the part you cut.  Put a bucket over it if it rains until you see growth.  If it's alive it'll start pushing soon.  Here's my Copernicia alba after cold damage in 2018.  It's well over 8' tall now.

hope I didnt cut too low... I just did it until the middle looked clean...

[ZPalms]

It's not looking good, the whole thing is browning... I'll leave it a week and if nothing then the mule will be taking its place 😕

[Fusca]

20 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

It's not looking good, the whole thing is browning... I'll leave it a week and if nothing then the mule will be taking its place 😕

Bummer.  I guess you cut too far down.

[ZPalms]

Just now, Fusca said:

Bummer.  I guess you cut too far down.

😭😭 I didnt see any green when I cut also, It was so brown, and when I did get something "clean" it was white when I cut down. such a shame!

[happypalms]

I admire your determination to grow palms in that cold environment. Why not try an Arenga engleri fairly cold tolerant  or is it to cold for that one. Keep on trying iam sure you will find something.

[ZPalms]

On 5/24/2025 at 2:43 AM, happypalms said:

I admire your determination to grow palms in that cold environment. Why not try an Arenga engleri fairly cold tolerant  or is it to cold for that one. Keep on trying iam sure you will find something.

I've looked at this palm a couple times and never considered it because it looked too good to be true for cold tolerance, I'm not against trying it and probably would try it given the chance to have one or sprout one 😍 I do wish my options for screening palms were broad so if this works so to speak that would be cool.

[ZPalms]

Well I have bad news, my livistona was dead dead. I squeezed it a bit and nothing but gross slime came out of it so it was toast... the roots were shockly deep. I would try doing a nitida again but I think if I do this again, I'd grow it up bigger in a pot before putting in the ground. I feel bad for losing it but what can I do... I have already replaced it with the mule and as sad as it is to lose the livistona, It's nice to have something green in it's place. 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I've looked at this palm a couple times and never considered it because it looked too good to be true for cold tolerance, I'm not against trying it and probably would try it given the chance to have one or sprout one 😍 I do wish my options for screening palms were broad so if this works so to speak that would be cool.

Iam confident. You just have to try. A little slow growing at first, if you can get some good 140mm container ones or bigger that’s the best chance, the bigger the better.  From the way you describe your climate in previous post. It sounds like you’re up against it. 

[Harry’s Palms]

Sorry to hear about that palm . As @happypalms says , I would try a larger size palm for setting out . The smaller palms tend to succumb more quickly in adverse conditions. Hopefully the replacement will do better. I have to admit , I don’t know the tricks of colder climate growing. I admire those that have been able to make it work. Harry

[ZPalms]

4 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Sorry to hear about that palm . As @happypalms says , I would try a larger size palm for setting out . The smaller palms tend to succumb more quickly in adverse conditions. Hopefully the replacement will do better. I have to admit , I don’t know the tricks of colder climate growing. I admire those that have been able to make it work. Harry

definitely made the mistake of thinking it would grow enough in a single season, at least I know the next time, to not rush it 

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

definitely made the mistake of thinking it would grow enough in a single season, at least I know the next time, to not rush it 

The very wise @DoomsDaveonce told me "If you ain't killing, you ain't growing." I try really hard not to think about how much money I've spent on things I've killed. It's.... A lot. Unfortunately it's how we learn. 

[NC-Key-Bar]

Sharing my eastern NC  Nitida coming up from its 12 degree grave. Photos are exactly 1 month apart. 
this one was trunk cut. I had another that I triple-spear-pulled (light protection). It’s just starting to break through again. 3rd pic. 

we hit 17-19F maybe 4 or 5 times and I saw minimal damage. But a single night dip down to 12F burned the exposed one pretty bad. But there was still green in the petioles. I question the trunk cut

Excited, cause they put off nearly a frond a week last year in peak summer.