Picked a bad winter to start my first sabal minor and needle palm in the ground...

[OriolesRock100]

I planted a sabal minor and needle palm in the ground this winter, and it seems I may have gotten a bit unlucky with my timing 😅 This has been the coldest winter for us since the year 2000, and unlike last year, where the lows were mostly short arctic blasts, the temps this year have stayed low (in the teens with occasional lows in the single digits) for weeks. We are finally back to having highs above freezing... I decided at the start of the winter to protect them with just a plastic home depot bucket over the sabal minor and a frost cloth over the needle palm to keep moisture out (needle palm too big for home depot bucket). I was hoping the temperatures weren't going to be as much of a worry as they have been... I have not checked on them yet since they got buried in 10" of snow and ice (now down to 6") a couple weeks ago. I'm hoping maybe all that snow and ice has helped to insulate them and keep them alive. Do you guys think they will make it through the winter? Hoping for the best!

[mrjc]

same with me! my first year growing any palms in the ground had to be a record breaker? I guess its a good test but id rather have the test when the palms are bigger. i think they will make it because 1 snow is a very good insulator and two they both are supposed to take colder temps.😁

[kinzyjr]

Hopefully they make it.  Those species have survived lower, but the duration matters as well.  I personally love seeing Sabal minor and Rhapidophyllum hystrix migrating up the coast and hopefully establishing.  Keep the rest of us up to date!

[Las Palmas Norte]

12 hours ago, OriolesRock100 said:

...I was hoping the temperatures weren't going to be as much of a worry as they have been...

The other part of that old saying, "prepare for the worst.". Once you get that part nailed down, your success rate will be as good as your weather chart. Standing by for the reveal. Good luck.

[OriolesRock100]

Well since it is a balmy 50°F right now, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to at least take a look at the sabal minor. I know it's hard to see in the picture since lighting is dark, but it looks really good, I don't see any foliage burn or anything (I know sabals have very hardy fronds, so that doesn't necessarily mean we are out of the woods). The center "spear" which is basically a half-opened frond felt solid and looked flawless. I didn't uncover the needle palm because it is still half-covered with snow that I didn't want to get in the crown and melt then freeze again. The pup which is very tiny - 1 strip leaf and a spear - managed to get outside of the frost cloth (don't know how long it has been that way), and it seemed solid and didn't show any foliage burn, so I think that's a good sign.

On the other hand, should I look to uncover these for a while starting Monday? The forecast says we are supposed to get rain/snow around freezing tomorrow overnight, but then temps look pretty good for about a week. I think it would be good for them to uncover and get some fresh air/sunlight. My concern is with all the snow that it could melt and get water in the crown which could refreeze when temps go back down below freezing (this is an unseasonable warm up). Curious what you guys think would be best. Pic below of 10 day forecast in apple weather app.

Sabal Minor:

Needle Palm:

Forecast:

[PAPalmtrees]

7 minutes ago, OriolesRock100 said:

Well since it is a balmy 50°F right now, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to at least take a look at the sabal minor. I know it's hard to see in the picture since lighting is dark, but it looks really good, I don't see any foliage burn or anything (I know sabals have very hardy fronds, so that doesn't necessarily mean we are out of the woods). The center "spear" which is basically a half-opened frond felt solid and looked flawless. I didn't uncover the needle palm because it is still half-covered with snow that I didn't want to get in the crown and melt then freeze again. The pup which is very tiny - 1 strip leaf and a spear - managed to get outside of the frost cloth (don't know how long it has been that way), and it seemed solid and didn't show any foliage burn, so I think that's a good sign.

On the other hand, should I look to uncover these for a while starting Monday? The forecast says we are supposed to get rain/snow around freezing tomorrow overnight, but then temps look pretty good for about a week. I think it would be good for them to uncover and get some fresh air/sunlight. My concern is with all the snow that it could melt and get water in the crown which could refreeze when temps go back down below freezing (this is an unseasonable warm up). Curious what you guys think would be best. Pic below of 10 day forecast in apple weather app.

Sabal Minor:

Needle Palm:

Forecast:

I agree this winter has been terrible. We actually had a low of -10!!!!!!!!!! At my location  And some other nights that were in the negatives. All of my palms went unprotected except a few but the protection I gave probably didn't help a lot and a lot of them are really damaged but they survive. I did upload a YouTube video of how they look so if you want to watch it I'll post the link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVtWDw6qQ1Q

[OriolesRock100]

Finally looks like we are clear of freezing temperatures for at least the next week (hopefully for the season). After the freezing rain we got this morning, I just uncovered my sabal minor and needle palm. It is still raining, but around 40 degrees F now, and it will only go up from here. Both look like they're probably going to make it. Both have firm spears, even the needle palm pups somehow - they were outside the protection sometimes. The sabal minor looks perfectly fine, as if nothing even happened; my only concern is it looks like there's some fungus or something that grew next to it in the mulch (see second picture). I'm planning to spray the entire area with copper fungicide, should I wait for it to warm up a bit or just do it today? The needle palm looks like it took a bit of frond damage unlike the sabal minor, which isn't all that surprising considering it only had a frost cloth for protection, but I think it looks good otherwise. Still have to dig out the rest of the trunk from the mulch, but that can wait until it's not so cold 😅

[OriolesRock100]

10 day forecast for reference: