Progression of Washingtonias throughout Augusta,GA winter

[palmofmyhand]

Augusta, GA Zone 8B winter.  We just had two cold nights back to back. One was down to 23 or 24 degrees I believe and the other was down to 22 degrees. Showing progression pictures from the before the first freeze of November 11th- 26 degrees for one night , after and after these two freezes. Hopefully the rest of the winter will be gentle for these palms so I can enjoy their true beauty once again when next summer comes around. I also would like anyone else to comment below with some pictures of their palms currently holding up during this winter season. These Washingtonias seem like they may hold better than the Phoenix Sylvestrises that I had in ground last year that were completely destroyed by the end of the winter. Haven’t used any additional protection this time other than christmas tree lights.

[coconut2024]

My Phoenix Canariensis in zone 8a, southeast Slovenia, the pics were taken today as 17.12.25

[palmofmyhand]

1 hour ago, coconut2024 said:

My Phoenix Canariensis in zone 8a, southeast Slovenia, the pics were taken today as 17.12.25

looks really good!

[Ben G.]

On 12/17/2025 at 3:26 PM, palmofmyhand said:

Augusta, GA Zone 8B winter.  We just had two cold nights back to back. One was down to 23 or 24 degrees I believe and the other was down to 22 degrees. Showing progression pictures from the before the first freeze of November 11th- 26 degrees for one night , after and after these two freezes. Hopefully the rest of the winter will be gentle for these palms so I can enjoy their true beauty once again when next summer comes around. I also would like anyone else to comment below with some pictures of their palms currently holding up during this winter season. These Washingtonias seem like they may hold better than the Phoenix Sylvestrises that I had in ground last year that were completely destroyed by the end of the winter. Haven’t used any additional protection this time other than christmas tree lights.

Judging by the amount of damage, I am guessing robusta or robusta leaning. As long as they don't rot on you, they will grow out of the damage pretty quickly in the spring.

[palmofmyhand]

1 hour ago, Ben G. said:

Judging by the amount of damage, I am guessing robusta or robusta leaning. As long as they don't rot on you, they will grow out of the damage pretty quickly in the spring.

Yea according to the website they were listed as Robusta so I assume they are Robusta leaning as well. I wish they were Filifera dominant honestly but it is what it is. I really hope the rest of the winter doesn’t turn super sour so that I can enjoy that smooth out growing also.

[MarcusH]

15 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

Yea according to the website they were listed as Robusta so I assume they are Robusta leaning as well. I wish they were Filifera dominant honestly but it is what it is. I really hope the rest of the winter doesn’t turn super sour so that I can enjoy that smooth out growing also.

Don't worry about it . I have the same palm. Every winter , since I planted it in early 2022, the fronds just burn in the low 20s.

2 to 3 months after the last big freeze , this palm is going to look great like nothing happened. You should be able to grow at least 4 fronds per month back if you water and fertilize it regularly. 

My Robusta to the left. The crown already looked like this one in the picture in August.  Ive cut off some half brown fronds  at the bottom because it was hard for me to cut the grass around the trunk. Very fast growing palm. 

[palmofmyhand]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Don't worry about it . I have the same palm. Every winter , since I planted it in early 2022, the fronds just burn in the low 20s.

2 to 3 months after the last big freeze , this palm is going to look great like nothing happened. You should be able to grow at least 4 fronds per month back if you water and fertilize it regularly. 

My Robusta to the left. The crown already looked like this one in the picture in August.  Ive cut off some half brown fronds  at the bottom because it was hard for me to cut the grass around the trunk. Very fast growing palm. 

Beautiful! Thank you very much for all the help and input you have provided me.

[NC-Key-Bar]

19 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

Yea according to the website they were listed as Robusta so I assume they are Robusta leaning as well. I wish they were Filifera dominant honestly but it is what it is. I really hope the rest of the winter doesn’t turn super sour so that I can enjoy that smooth out growing also.

How are they looking now?  What’s been your coldest low?  I have some pure filiferas that look almost completely fried after 15F. They weren’t this bad this early, last year. 

[palmofmyhand]

20 hours ago, NC-Key-Bar said:

How are they looking now?  What’s been your coldest low?  I have some pure filiferas that look almost completely fried after 15F. They weren’t this bad this early, last year. 

Still holding up, a little concerned about the future of the third one. I believe we have only seen 22 degrees so far. 

[ChrisA]

I think your third one is going to be fine given the frond damage it has sustained. The damage I can see is just cosmetic to the fronds. I’d start to worry if it gets cold enough that the base of the petioles turn yellow and dry! I’d just keep an eye out for any spear rot. It looks just like 1 of my 2 Robusta looked after last winter’s low of 21 or 22 here in San Antonio. Knock on wood, but I looked at the AccuWeather forecast and so far there is nothing obnoxiously cold on the horizon! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for all our sakes.

[MarcusH]

On 12/27/2025 at 6:03 PM, palmofmyhand said:

Beautiful! Thank you very much for all the help and input you have provided me.

Update.  It's been a little over two months since my palm was completely defoliated.  Spear was damaged on top only.  This picture is from today 

[NC-Key-Bar]

On 12/28/2025 at 4:55 PM, palmofmyhand said:

Still holding up, a little concerned about the future of the third one. I believe we have only seen 22 degrees so far. 

How did they do?  I wrapped my robustas, and they have sprung back to life quick. But lost some young filiferas. 

[palmofmyhand]

16 hours ago, NC-Key-Bar said:

How did they do?  I wrapped my robustas, and they have sprung back to life quick. But lost some young filiferas. 

The first two of them ended up surviving. Freeze damage combined with sooty mold and rot took out the other two. The first one bounced back super fast, it couldn’t wait to burst out new fronds. It was still pushing out growth throughout the winter, making big fronds too. The second one is putting out small sized fronds and is struggling a bit with ants on it that I have been trying to get rid of, same pest problem I’ve been having with the other palms also. Sprayed the thing with fungicide also. I’ve been using ant traps nearby too. My two largest windmill palms also got sooty mold and rot problems, both had spear pulls and I poured peroxide in the holes recently and they still fizzed. It looks like this biggest Washingtonia has some strong genes or is lucky because it is the only palm I planted last year that is very healthy at this point.

[MarcusH]

2 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

The first two of them ended up surviving. Freeze damage combined with sooty mold and rot took out the other two. The first one bounced back super fast, it couldn’t wait to burst out new fronds. It was still pushing out growth throughout the winter, making big fronds too. The second one is putting out small sized fronds and is struggling a bit with ants on it that I have been trying to get rid of, same pest problem I’ve been having with the other palms also. Sprayed the thing with fungicide also. I’ve been using ant traps nearby too. My two largest windmill palms also got sooty mold and rot problems, both had spear pulls and I poured peroxide in the holes recently and they still fizzed. It looks like this biggest Washingtonia has some strong genes or is lucky because it is the only palm I planted last year that is very healthy at this point.

Looks good.  Washingtonias are so easy to take care of and they even don't mind being neglected either.  In full sun, regular watering and fertilizing , they grow extremely fast in my experience.  Most rewarding palm in colder growing zones.  

[palmofmyhand]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Looks good.  Washingtonias are so easy to take care of and they even don't mind being neglected either.  In full sun, regular watering and fertilizing , they grow extremely fast in my experience.  Most rewarding palm in colder growing zones.  

Yea I’m pretty surprised they held up better than the windmill palms, but I did use christmas tree lights which helped a bit. Yours looks great too.

[palmofmyhand]

5 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Looks good.  Washingtonias are so easy to take care of and they even don't mind being neglected either.  In full sun, regular watering and fertilizing , they grow extremely fast in my experience.  Most rewarding palm in colder growing zones.  

I’m hoping my trunks will start fattening up like yours, but that could take many years, if they even last that long.

[Allen]

On 4/21/2026 at 4:40 PM, palmofmyhand said:

Yea I’m pretty surprised they held up better than the windmill palms, but I did use christmas tree lights which helped a bit. Yours looks great too.

The windmill will do better than washy for you once full size