July 2025 NoMa/Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

[jwf1983]

Just some random photos from July 2025.  Downtown Washington, DC , Zone 8a.

Butia, Cycas r., Trachy f., Rhapis e., Serenoa repens (Silver?), Sabal m.,  Feijoa sellowiana, Ficus c., Passaflora incarnate, Passaflora edilus, Taro, Golden pothos, Tillandsia usneoides, Quercus virginiana, Phoenix roebelenii (left to die in that pot, somehow back from the dead), Beaucarnea recurvata.

 

This past winter we had 2 snowfalls of like 3 and 4.5, inches, 2 nights at 20F, 2 nights at 21F, and 30 total nights at or below freezing from the time of the first freeze December 2, and the last freeze, March 1.  It was one of the coldest winters here in many years, with many January daytime high temperatures quite a bit lower than normal.  By comparison, the previous winter 2023-2024 we had only 15 nights at or below freezing, with the last freeze on February 17.  I was surprised with how everything turned out despite it being a particularly miserable winter.

 

Lady Palm took some damage (about 25% damage to the oldest leaves), but has come back fine.  It's such a slow grower, and takes a fair amount of scorching from the sun late spring through summer.  In a perfect world, I'd keep it in a shadier location, but in Zone 8a DC,  I took my chances with it in a south facing position,  with full sun in an attempt to offset some of the winter cold--not sure how much that has helped.

I left that potted Phoenix r. to die, thinking it certainly would in that pot (I think we picked it up the previous January at a Wegmans).  I'd never plant it in ground, as it has no shot here long-term. Hacked off all the fried fronds sometime in early March, and just never got around to tossing it in the trash.  In April I was surprised to find some life appearing.

One big surprise was that our Passiflora edulis (south facing, in the back corner behind the Ficus c. and Spanish Moss on rose tree) roots made it through the winter.  After surging with growth during an extremely long, very hot and humid summer in 2024, it actually flowered from the beginning of August, and continued flowering and fruiting until the end of November.  The fruit actually tasted really good!  It also seemed to not take an immediate hit the first couple of freezes.  It was near the end of December when the leaves really started to get fried, and die back.  I didn't have much hope that it would make it, but it did.  July and August were explosive growth periods for it last year, and it seems to be on that trajectory this year as well.  We also have Passiflora incarnata, which is sometimes really regret planting a few years back, as the rhizomes shoot up literally everywhere.  They have appeared on the other side of a patio, concrete footpath, and so many places in the grass.  It's taken over a holly bush, using it as a trellis, of sorts,  filling it's entire surface area with passionflower leaves and flowers.  The picture here is of the Passiflora incarnata.  Edulis will likely begin to flower later in July, early August.

Feijoa (Pineapple Guava) took zero damage as a very small plant this past winter, and has taken off with rapid growth this year.

Dwarf Palmetto, Trachy, 4 Cycas r,  Butia all breezed on through the winter.   The Windmill Palm has probably had the most rapid growth of all of them, and is currently putting out a completely new fan every 1 to 1.5 weeks.