Will these Washingtonias survive my 8B winter unprotected?

[palmofmyhand]

I want to hear everyone’s opinion. I have these 3 Washingtonias that I planted in the spring and our loving their new homes in the ground with their mulch and lava rock insulation. I want to hear all opinions, I will send $1 to each person on Cash App that was right once spring comes back around.  For a little bit of extra information they all survived a 29F night while still potted in February. The first one took no damage at all and the second two had very very slight browning damage that was all trimmed away and bounced right back. I live in Augusta, GA- Grovetown to be exact.

[SeanK]

If we have an average winter, they will defoliate in the low-20's, °F. Be prepared to wrap them. Christmas lights and bubble wrap.

Watch the forecasts. Mid to late November, cut off the leaves and wrap.

[Mishaq]

I reckon, even if they defoliate, they will grow back and be full again by this time next year. But lets wait and see what happens

[MarcusH]

39 minutes ago, palmofmyhand said:

I want to hear everyone’s opinion. I have these 3 Washingtonias that I planted in the spring and our loving their new homes in the ground with their mulch and lava rock insulation. I want to hear all opinions, I will send $1 to each person on Cash App that was right once spring comes back around.  For a little bit of extra information they all survived a 29F night while still potted in February. The first one took no damage at all and the second two had very very slight browning damage that was all trimmed away and bounced right back. I live in Augusta, GA- Grovetown to be exact.

Only time will tell . There's no guarantee for anything and that all depends on the palm's genetic.  Augusta is in zone 8b that means Robustas aren't going to be your ideal palm if you look for a palm that you can enjoy for many decades ,unless yours share a large amount of Filifera genes . Since your palms are fairly young it's impossible to tell how well they will handle your winters at this moment  Their true cold hardiness comes with age. I have one Robusta growing in the front yard for 3.5 years. It went through a few mid upper teens quite a few times during that time.  Defoliated every single year so far but came back strong.  Robustas cold hardiness is hard to determine while some might get killed in the mid teens  some others can survive single digits . Over here in Texas we can say a lot of weak Robustas didn't survive temperatures below 15 degrees back in 2021 . It's going to be a hit or miss palm for you. 

[MarcusH]

Ok I just looked up some record lows by year for Augusta . I can assure you , unless your Robustas are highly Filifera leaning , that they aren't going to make it that long.  Two to three 8a winters occur every decade in your area. That's going to be a tough challenge without protection to keep them alive.  You'll be way better off with Sabal Palmettos , trachycarpus fortunei and sabal minor if you want to be sure . 

[Allen]

20 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

Ok I just looked up some record lows by year for Augusta . I can assure you , unless your Robustas are highly Filifera leaning , that they aren't going to make it that long.  Two to three 8a winters occur every decade in your area. That's going to be a tough challenge without protection to keep them alive.  You'll be way better off with Sabal Palmettos , trachycarpus fortunei and sabal minor if you want to be sure . 

This^^^^But could survive a few years depending on weather looking at your temps

[jwitt]

With the lack of hurricanes, I am going to go out on a limb and say the SE is in for some winter.

Unprotected, I say they are goners

[palmofmyhand]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Ok I just looked up some record lows by year for Augusta . I can assure you , unless your Robustas are highly Filifera leaning , that they aren't going to make it that long.  Two to three 8a winters occur every decade in your area. That's going to be a tough challenge without protection to keep them alive.  You'll be way better off with Sabal Palmettos , trachycarpus fortunei and sabal minor if you want to be sure . 

Thanks, I have 6 trachycarpus fortunei, a chamaerops humilis pair, and four sago palm cycads that I am sure will all be great as well. I have seen a handful or so of washingtonias in my Augusta area that are pretty big as well. I was really hoping I could leave them unprotected but I am thinking I really might have to use protection methods. I had four phoenix sylvestris die after this last winter while unprotected and got them comped under warranty. We had a rough winter this time but I was really hoping we could get lucky with a light one this year.

[MarcusH]

1 hour ago, palmofmyhand said:

Thanks, I have 6 trachycarpus fortunei, a chamaerops humilis pair, and four sago palm cycads that I am sure will all be great as well. I have seen a handful or so of washingtonias in my Augusta area that are pretty big as well. I was really hoping I could leave them unprotected but I am thinking I really might have to use protection methods. I had four phoenix sylvestris die after this last winter while unprotected and got them comped under warranty. We had a rough winter this time but I was really hoping we could get lucky with a light one this year.

There's nothing wrong with zone pushing.  The question you have to ask yourself is what am I going to do with the palm when the time comes when the palm simply gets too tall to protect?  You aren't going to dig out a 10 foot trunk with a shovel by yourself! You know I see a good number of people on here zone pushing small palms like Butia Oderata etc but Robusta grow extremely tall in a short time .  I planted one when I had no knowledge about palms and I regret it. I do see a lot of Robustas growing around here and they survived Palmageddon in 2021 but I can't tell you if mine can survive our extremely cold rare artic blasts yet . I'm already willing to pay for removal in case it gets killed one day . After the time talking to people here I gained more knowledge and now I'm at a point where I only grow palms that can handle at least a zone and a half lower.  Trachycarpus fortunei is a beautiful palm . I'm growing two so far but thinking of planting a third one. 

[MarcusH]

I bought this palm 3.5 years ago and she was smaller than yours.  Defoliated every year.  Just showing you how fast they can grow .  I put a water bottle in front of the trunk for comparison.  Trunk is getting really fat .

[NC-Key-Bar]

They will be fine.

[JohnAndSancho]

It depends on how cold it gets. 

 

My cashapp is $JohnAndSancho and this answer is correct lol 

[Hu Palmeras]

47 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

No hay nada malo en empujar la zona. La pregunta que debes hacerte es ¿qué voy a hacer con la palmera cuando llegue el momento en que simplemente crezca demasiado para protegerla? ¡No vas a desenterrar un tronco de 10 pies con una pala tú solo! Sabes que veo un buen número de personas aquí empujando la zona de palmeras pequeñas como Butia Oderata, etc., pero las Robusta crecen extremadamente altas en poco tiempo. Planté una cuando no tenía conocimientos sobre palmeras y me arrepiento. Veo muchas Robustas creciendo por aquí y sobrevivieron al Palmageddon en 2021, pero aún no puedo decirte si la mía puede sobrevivir a nuestras raras ráfagas árticas extremadamente frías. Ya estoy dispuesto a pagar por la eliminación en caso de que muera algún día. Después del tiempo hablando con la gente de aquí, adquirí más conocimiento y ahora estoy en un punto en el que solo cultivo palmeras que pueden manejar al menos una zona y media más baja. Trachycarpus fortunei es una palmera hermosa. Estoy cultivando dos hasta ahora, pero estoy pensando en plantar un tercero. 

Jubaea Chilensis my Friend

[palmofmyhand]

30 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

It depends on how cold it gets. 

 

My cashapp is $JohnAndSancho and this answer is correct lol 

😂

[palmofmyhand]

27 minutes ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Jubaea Chilensis my Friend

I would love to buy a potted Jubaea Chilensis but nobody is cultivating them to the point of having them up for sale in a 3 gallon size that’s readily available. I wish somebody started a big Jubaea Chilensis growth project and started mass producing them that would be pretty cool.

[Hu Palmeras]

You should get a large one and protect it during the winter by transplanting it into the ground. This way, it will establish itself very well. These palm trees are for cold weather, but they must take root very well.

[KPoff]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I bought this palm 3.5 years ago and she was smaller than yours.  Defoliated every year.  Just showing you how fast they can grow .  I put a water bottle in front of the trunk for comparison.  Trunk is getting really fat .

@marcus couldn’t you find a filifera to plant? I would think those would absolutely thrive in San Antonio and even the arctic blasts there wouldn’t faze it much. If they can thrive in west Texas zone 8A they should do great there.

[MarcusH]

19 minutes ago, KPoff said:

@marcus couldn’t you find a filifera to plant? I would think those would absolutely thrive in San Antonio and even the arctic blasts there wouldn’t faze it much. If they can thrive in west Texas zone 8A they should do great there.

Yes, they thrive in San Antonio and there are a lot around.  Currently I have 4 planted in the ground.  Here's one I grew from seed 3 years ago. It's the one to the left.  The other ones grow in the backyard.  I also grow a couple of Trachycarpus fortunei and Butia Odorata in the backyard. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Robustas are iffier than filibustas and filiferas. My robusta grew gangbusters for me in my sweltering summer climate. Filiferas prefer dry climates which GA is decidedly not. I suggest a filibusta with predominantly filifera genes.

Donate my $1 to John

[OutpostPalms]

Washingtonia are happiest in 9A+ but can handle average 8B winters with some damage. When you get a 8A winter they might be in trouble. That said there are many survivors during 10F temps last winter along the northern gulf coast and that surprised me a bit especially since it was a wet/snowy event. 

[palmofmyhand]

On 10/6/2025 at 7:04 PM, MarcusH said:

I bought this palm 3.5 years ago and she was smaller than yours.  Defoliated every year.  Just showing you how fast they can grow .  I put a water bottle in front of the trunk for comparison.  Trunk is getting really fat .

After checking your yearly lows out there in San Antonio that gives me more hope of survival unprotected although I am still considering the christmas tree lights method. Beautiful palm by the way.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

I say go for it. Won't last forever, but plenty of examples around Augusta of Robusta that have survived semi long term. Sadly I believe most of these are dead now.

 

 

[SeanK]

Guaranteed the foliage will burn. That's why you should cut it and as a minimum, wrap. Wrapping can keep the bud dry.

[Las Palmas Norte]

40 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Guaranteed the foliage will burn. That's why you should cut it and as a minimum, wrap. Wrapping can keep the bud dry.

... and insulate from any winter extremes that may occur.

[MarcusH]

22 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

After checking your yearly lows out there in San Antonio that gives me more hope of survival unprotected although I am still considering the christmas tree lights method. Beautiful palm by the way.

Thank you. She gets good care.  With Robustas you never know what you get but the vast majority are Filibustas nowadays unless you can buy them local somewhere where you see pencil thin Robustas with gloss green fronds. I'm not sure if pure Robustas have any fiber on their fronds I guess someone else could chime in.  I know mine is a Filibusta with some Filifera in it.  The fronds burn in the low 20s but the crown grows back so quickly.  

[ryjohn]

Yes… easily.  Based on my experience in (harsher) 8B north Louisiana 

[ChrisA]

Hey Henry, 

 

Just checking in to see how your robusta are fairing following the last cold front. San Antonio got down to 20F (some areas in the upper teens) the weekend before last. We’ve got some bronzed fronds and cosmetic damage, but so far so good for the robustas. My filifera are also somewhat damaged as we received freezing rain which coated every surface. The forecast is looking up for the next week so we’ll see if more damage shows as we get back into the low 80’s.

[palmofmyhand]

5 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Hey Henry, 

 

Just checking in to see how your robusta are fairing following the last cold front. San Antonio got down to 20F (some areas in the upper teens) the weekend before last. We’ve got some bronzed fronds and cosmetic damage, but so far so good for the robustas. My filifera are also somewhat damaged as we received freezing rain which coated every surface. The forecast is looking up for the next week so we’ll see if more damage shows as we get back into the low 80’s.

good to hear yours are doing okay, the ones I’ve got are mainly brown all over but the spears still have green at least at the bottom parts of them. I think at least two of them will survive but not too sure about the last one, the spear feels less firm but I am not going to attempt to pull it either, although you can still see green on it as well. The first one, the biggest, is holding up the best though out of them. We had about a couple inches of snow just hit us within the past week and it really wasn’t good at all.

[palmofmyhand]

5 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Hey Henry, 

 

Just checking in to see how your robusta are fairing following the last cold front. San Antonio got down to 20F (some areas in the upper teens) the weekend before last. We’ve got some bronzed fronds and cosmetic damage, but so far so good for the robustas. My filifera are also somewhat damaged as we received freezing rain which coated every surface. The forecast is looking up for the next week so we’ll see if more damage shows as we get back into the low 80’s.

also had one in a pot which I left outside for these last freezing nights like an idiot and that one I’m sure is probably dead.

[Allen]

1 minute ago, palmofmyhand said:

also had one in a pot which I left outside for these last freezing nights like an idiot and that one I’m sure is probably dead.

Probably all going to die of rot without intervention

[ChrisA]

The palm in the first photo of your first reply does not look too bad.  I’d be wary of the palms whose petioles have turned to straw.  Definitely be watching the spear and take Allen’s advice.  I’d suggest marking a line with a sharpie across the opening frond and the newest spear to see once you get some pushing going. Definitely watch for rot and treat accordingly, they’re tough palms and can grow out of it if the rot does not meet the meristem. 

Here are some photos of mine from today.

 

[palmofmyhand]

20 minutes ago, Allen said:

Probably all going to die of rot without intervention

I’m going to take my chances and leave them alone, they don’t look like they are rotting, and I tugged on the spears and they are still firm even in the potted one. I think they will be making a comeback. I am very hopeful about them.

[palmofmyhand]

15 minutes ago, ChrisA said:

The palm in the first photo of your first reply does not look too bad.  I’d be wary of the palms whose petioles have turned to straw.  Definitely be watching the spear and take Allen’s advice.  I’d suggest marking a line with a sharpie across the opening frond and the newest spear to see once you get some pushing going. Definitely watch for rot and treat accordingly, they’re tough palms and can grow out of it if the rot does not meet the meristem. 

Here are some photos of mine from today.

 

yours look great, here is a larger one a couple neighborhoods away from mine that looks better than mine

[ChrisA]

They will gain some hardiness with size! Also I think it’s worth mentioning that with radiation Al freezes the air can be quite a bit colder a few feet above the ground versus 15 or 20 feet up, or higher.

its ideal if palms receive protection of some sort for the first 2 to 3 winters so they can grow in girth and height.