Anyone Else Growing Foxy Lady Palm (Veitchia x Wodyetia) in Cooler Climates?

[Jim in Los Altos]

This one has been in the ground for ten years out of a one gallon container. Neither Wodyetia nor Veitchia will grow well at all here but their hybrid does shockingly well. I wish a had a few more of them. Anyone growing one or more in a cooler climate? 
 

[tim_brissy_13]

Jim, here in Melbourne I think we’re a tad cooler on average than you but with slightly more extreme temps occasionally, both cold and hot. Veitchia is next to no chance of survival here while Wodyetia can survive but invariably ends up stunted. I’ve known a few growers to try foxy ladies with mixed results. Some have done well until killed off by a freeze below zero. The one I planted in my childhood garden nearly 20 years ago is still alive but hasn’t really gained size the last 10 years or so. I suspect it is from not only climate but also soil quality and lack of water. Here it is last year, a pretty sorry looking thing now unfortunately. 

[quaman58]

Man o man Jim, that looks stunning. Unbelievable based on where you’re located! 

[Jim in Los Altos]

32 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

Man o man Jim, that looks stunning. Unbelievable based on where you’re located! 

Thanks, Bret. It’s why I wish I had more of them. So hard to find in the marketplace. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Jim, here in Melbourne I think we’re a tad cooler on average than you but with slightly more extreme temps occasionally, both cold and hot. Veitchia is next to no chance of survival here while Wodyetia can survive but invariably ends up stunted. I’ve known a few growers to try foxy ladies with mixed results. Some have done well until killed off by a freeze below zero. The one I planted in my childhood garden nearly 20 years ago is still alive but hasn’t really gained size the last 10 years or so. I suspect it is from not only climate but also soil quality and lack of water. Here it is last year, a pretty sorry looking thing now unfortunately. 

Yeah Tim, it’s not quite as cool here summer or winter than your area as far as I know but not a huge difference. We don’t typically deviate much from temperature averages either. I bet you wish you could save that Foxy Lady’s life though. Poor thing. 

[Mazat]

3 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Thanks, Bret. It’s why I wish I had more of them. So hard to find in the marketplace. 

We hope that you too will find other wonderful specimens like these. Amazing. We're keeping our fingers crossed for you. Sometimes what you want really does come true if you visualize it over and over again.

[mnorell]

Jim, what's the coldest your tree has seen? It is absolutely stunning and almost unbelievable to me that it would carry that full crown of perfect green leaves in Central California, even as you seem to be situated in a very well-sited testing grounds. As most of us have learned, marginal species usually always look, well, marginal...often with just two or three leaves in the crown, a generally stunted quality (think Newport coconut). But yours is amazing. Does it yellow at all in the winter months? It doesn't look like it.

I once planted as a "temperature of death" experiment when I was living in Natchez, Mississippi, a small xWodveitchia, and I put it up against the house under evergreen canopy, and it somehow survived a hard freeze measured to around 24F on my Davis weather station. The leaves were protected from frost formation by the canopy, and it probably was a couple of degrees warmer than nearby open areas...and it was ultimately killed the following winter I believe, but I was shocked that it could take hours below freezing to that level and survive. And soil temps had to be very, very cold around the roots. So obviously there is some magical "chill tolerance" gene that exists in at least a good number of the F1 hybrids. Probably some duds, though, by the same token in reverse, and that might explain some failures.

I believe I've read over the years that this is a rather common spontaneous hybrid and easily identified after a few leaves, plus presumably a nice F1-hybrid growth-rate, so I just wonder why this hasn't been bred in quantity in Florida to feed a potentially large California market. Maybe just producer ignorance of this hybrid's existence, or some sort of production issue such as tall trees that are a pain to cross-pollinate. We hear a lot about xButiagrus mules now being created in huge numbers, but not about this one (at least not much since it appeared on the scene, then faded). Nearly-frost-free Southern California and coastal Central California/Bay Area constitute a large marketplace, with many millions of people living in suburban homes/landscapes, so to me this is something of a head-scratcher.

In any event, yours seems to be a miraculous achievement, though you of course have made many miracles in your garden. Congrats.

 

[Fishinsteeg234]

Jim,

I have two green Foxy Ladies growing in my garden in Longwood, FL (north Orlando) zone 9b. Both planted in 2022 from 15gallon size. During their first winter in ground, Christmas Day 2022 we experienced 27 degrees and I did protect these palms with crownshaft blankets and tied up fronds. They came out unscathed. Since then, my ultimate lows have hovered just above freezing the last two winters, so I consider these Foxy ladies not truly freeze tested yet. However they are some of my fastest growers and hopefully they are established well enough to pull through our next cold event. Both have outgrown their companion frost cover plants and are too tall to protect going forward. The growth rate seems slightly faster than my other Veitchia, Roystonea, and Archontophoenix, making these my fastest growers. They are probably my favorite palms in my garden. Last three pics were from 2022. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, mnorell said:

Jim, what's the coldest your tree has seen? It is absolutely stunning and almost unbelievable to me that it would carry that full crown of perfect green leaves in Central California, even as you seem to be situated in a very well-sited testing grounds. As most of us have learned, marginal species usually always look, well, marginal...often with just two or three leaves in the crown, a generally stunted quality (think Newport coconut). But yours is amazing. Does it yellow at all in the winter months? It doesn't look like it.

I once planted as a "temperature of death" experiment when I was living in Natchez, Mississippi, a small xWodveitchia, and I put it up against the house under evergreen canopy, and it somehow survived a hard freeze measured to around 24F on my Davis weather station. The leaves were protected from frost formation by the canopy, and it probably was a couple of degrees warmer than nearby open areas...and it was ultimately killed the following winter I believe, but I was shocked that it could take hours below freezing to that level and survive. And soil temps had to be very, very cold around the roots. So obviously there is some magical "chill tolerance" gene that exists in at least a good number of the F1 hybrids. Probably some duds, though, by the same token in reverse, and that might explain some failures.

I believe I've read over the years that this is a rather common spontaneous hybrid and easily identified after a few leaves, plus presumably a nice F1-hybrid growth-rate, so I just wonder why this hasn't been bred in quantity in Florida to feed a potentially large California market. Maybe just producer ignorance of this hybrid's existence, or some sort of production issue such as tall trees that are a pain to cross-pollinate. We hear a lot about xButiagrus mules now being created in huge numbers, but not about this one (at least not much since it appeared on the scene, then faded). Nearly-frost-free Southern California and coastal Central California/Bay Area constitute a large marketplace, with many millions of people living in suburban homes/landscapes, so to me this is something of a head-scratcher.

In any event, yours seems to be a miraculous achievement, though you of course have made many miracles in your garden. Congrats.

 

Michael, The lowest temperature that this palm has experienced here is 33°F. It hasn’t fallen below freezing here since 2007, 24 years ago. The biggest challenge here is lack of heat. It’s warm here in the summer but rarely hot. This summer’s high temperatures were almost exclusively in the mid to upper 70s. I finally removed a ten year old Wodyetia after years of struggling and Veitchia arecina never lasted more than a year or so.

This Foxy Lady has grown consistently since planted as a one gallon seedling, just slowing down during the shortest days of the year and never yellowing.  
 

Here are a couple of photos its second year of growth after planting. 
 

[BayAndroid]

I've wanted one, but can never find one for sale. They are great looking palms, that's for sure! 

[Butch]

Such a beautiful palm... I really regret killing my volunteer while transplanting... A hardy, rocket of a palm...

Butch

[The Gerg]

I would not say I am necessarily in a cool climate, but it’s not that hot of a climate either. I have been growing a couple of these palms for awhile now.

First one,

 

Its not as easy to get a clear picture of the other one.

 

From the front you can now see them both peeking up over the roof.

 

Both palms seem to be constantly shedding old leafs. Very fast growers as everyone who has one knows.

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, The Gerg said:

I would not say I am necessarily in a cool climate, but it’s not that hot of a climate either. I have been growing a couple of these palms for awhile now.

First one,

 

Its not as easy to get a clear picture of the other one.

 

From the front you can now see them both peeking up over the roof.

 

Both palms seem to be constantly shedding old leafs. Very fast growers as everyone who has one knows.

 

Greg, Definitely cooler in Ventura than my area according to the stats below. I‘m really impressed by your Foxy Ladies!