Post-Winter 2026 Results Thread

[palmofmyhand]

Hey guys just giving some updates if anyone is interested. I unexpectedly got a spear pull from one of my planted 3 gallon trachycarpus fortuneis after our snow event. I think it might be toast but it is not completely defoliated either. The other ones I have took no damage from the cold event. The three 3 gallon washingtonias I planted in the ground all had no spear pull. The biggest one looks great and so does the second biggest one. Still have green on the spears and parts of the fronds. The smallest one had no pull but has much less visible green than the other two. The christmas tree lights did infact help to keep them warm as well, and I believe aided their survival. I kept one in a pot outside and it sat in the snow, and surprisingly the spear didn’t pull but it looks like it is basically completely defoliated, think it may not come back but not 100% sure. I definitely should’ve brought it in those last 5 or so nights that temperatures dropped but was feeling lazy. Sago palms almost completely defoliated but am almost certain those will produce new flushes once it gets warmer. Will also be buying another chamaerops humilis pair and planting it here soon. I am here sharing my palm yard here in zone 8B Augusta, GA.

——————————————-

Please share below your after winter palm tree conditions and we can have this be the thread for it!

 

[Allen]

25 minutes ago, palmofmyhand said:

Hey guys just giving some updates if anyone is interested. I unexpectedly got a spear pull from one of my planted 3 gallon trachycarpus fortuneis after our snow event. I think it might be toast but it is not completely defoliated either. The other ones I have took no damage from the cold event. The three 3 gallon washingtonias I planted in the ground all had no spear pull. The biggest one looks great and so does the second biggest one. Still have green on the spears and parts of the fronds. The smallest one had no pull but has much less visible green than the other two. The christmas tree lights did infact help to keep them warm as well, and I believe aided their survival. I kept one in a pot outside and it sat in the snow, and surprisingly the spear didn’t pull but it looks like it is basically completely defoliated, think it may not come back but not 100% sure. I definitely should’ve brought it in those last 5 or so nights that temperatures dropped but was feeling lazy. Sago palms almost completely defoliated but am almost certain those will produce new flushes once it gets warmer. Will also be buying another chamaerops humilis pair and planting it here soon. I am here sharing my palm yard here in zone 8B Augusta, GA.

——————————————-

Please share below your after winter palm tree conditions and we can have this be the thread for it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The potted one, trachy and the worst washy are trunk cut candidates, you can practice on the potted one. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9zPxk5EjY

 

[palmofmyhand]

6 minutes ago, Allen said:

The potted one, trachy and the worst washy are trunk cut candidates, you can practice on the potted one. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9zPxk5EjY

 

thanks for the help, I’m actually surprised the trunk was so easy to cut with that blade it chopped right through it. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

In my experiences over the past 40 yrs, winter damage isn't fully realized until a month or perhaps two into spring. I think some of yours @palmofmyhand are worthy of attempted rejuvenation.  Part of that process is fending off inclement weather which can fuel, fungi, mold etc. Best of luck. Keep us posted on your efforts/results.

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

@palmofmyhand

Here's a video from this morning, followed by two sago palm pics. The sagos had a little protection, blanket and a tarp. 

[palmofmyhand]

51 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

In my experiences over the past 40 yrs, winter damage isn't fully realized until a month or perhaps two into spring. I think some of yours @palmofmyhand are worthy of attempted rejuvenation.  Part of that process is fending off inclement weather which can fuel, fungi, mold etc. Best of luck. Keep us posted on your efforts/results.

yea I noticed I’ve got a sooty mold problem on multiple palms, the spear on my potted and smallest in-ground washingtonia is covered in it. The bottom of the spear looks mushy but it still won’t pull out. Thanks for the luck.

[palmofmyhand]

2 hours ago, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

@palmofmyhand

Here's a video from this morning, followed by two sago palm pics. The sagos had a little protection, blanket and a tarp. 

your palms look good as new basically, nice

[Ben G.]

Well, over a month after our freeze event in Texas, one of my Sabal mexicanas spear pulled on me.

Very frustrated with this one. I had sabal palmetto and birmingham of similar size when I lived in Oklahoma that survived multiple below 0F events with just frost cloth and tarps. They burned 100% more than once, but came back without pulling a spear.

This time, we hit 20F with a little freezing rain. Now I am worried about losing one of my most expensive palm purchases. (Paid more for something slower growing and extremely well adapted to my climate)

I have never had a Sabal of any kind spear pull, so that makes me nervous. On the other hand, the damaged spears were definitely pushing up for the last month before they came out. So maybe there is something healthy in there growing up. 

How worried should I be about this? 

To add to my concern, we are set to get several days straight of rain. Should I bother trying to keep rain out? Or is it likely to matter since the air and soil temps are pretty warm here already?

[Allen]

5 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

Well, over a month after our freeze event in Texas, one of my Sabal mexicanas spear pulled on me.

Very frustrated with this one. I had sabal palmetto and birmingham of similar size when I lived in Oklahoma that survived multiple below 0F events with just frost cloth and tarps. They burned 100% more than once, but came back without pulling a spear.

This time, we hit 20F with a little freezing rain. Now I am worried about losing one of my most expensive palm purchases. (Paid more for something slower growing and extremely well adapted to my climate)

I have never had a Sabal of any kind spear pull, so that makes me nervous. On the other hand, the damaged spears were definitely pushing up for the last month before they came out. So maybe there is something healthy in there growing up. 

How worried should I be about this? 

To add to my concern, we are set to get several days straight of rain. Should I bother trying to keep rain out? Or is it likely to matter since the air and soil temps are pretty warm here already?

Do the peroxide and copper route 

[Ben G.]

5 minutes ago, Allen said:

Do the peroxide and copper route 

I treated it with peroxide this morning. I will buy a new bottle of copper fungicide though. I hadn't needed one in a few years. 😡

[palmofmyhand]

6 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Well, over a month after our freeze event in Texas, one of my Sabal mexicanas spear pulled on me.

Very frustrated with this one. I had sabal palmetto and birmingham of similar size when I lived in Oklahoma that survived multiple below 0F events with just frost cloth and tarps. They burned 100% more than once, but came back without pulling a spear.

This time, we hit 20F with a little freezing rain. Now I am worried about losing one of my most expensive palm purchases. (Paid more for something slower growing and extremely well adapted to my climate)

I have never had a Sabal of any kind spear pull, so that makes me nervous. On the other hand, the damaged spears were definitely pushing up for the last month before they came out. So maybe there is something healthy in there growing up. 

How worried should I be about this? 

To add to my concern, we are set to get several days straight of rain. Should I bother trying to keep rain out? Or is it likely to matter since the air and soil temps are pretty warm here already?

hopefully it will come back, today I decided to cut the trunks of the 3 of my potentially dead palms and found out they were all actually dead. Potted washingtonia, third in ground washingtonia, and spear pulled windmill all dead. Also had a sooty mold problem on a lot of my palms and decided to trim off all of the sago fronds. Really hoping my sagos come back, will be planting my windmill replacements. There were ants all under the soil of the third washingtonia that were working with the sooty mold bugs. Sagos were covered in mold too. Really hoping the sooty mold problem goes away and the rest of my palms including sagos have a smooth recovery.

[palmofmyhand]

6 hours ago, Ben G. said:

Well, over a month after our freeze event in Texas, one of my Sabal mexicanas spear pulled on me.

Very frustrated with this one. I had sabal palmetto and birmingham of similar size when I lived in Oklahoma that survived multiple below 0F events with just frost cloth and tarps. They burned 100% more than once, but came back without pulling a spear.

This time, we hit 20F with a little freezing rain. Now I am worried about losing one of my most expensive palm purchases. (Paid more for something slower growing and extremely well adapted to my climate)

I have never had a Sabal of any kind spear pull, so that makes me nervous. On the other hand, the damaged spears were definitely pushing up for the last month before they came out. So maybe there is something healthy in there growing up. 

How worried should I be about this? 

To add to my concern, we are set to get several days straight of rain. Should I bother trying to keep rain out? Or is it likely to matter since the air and soil temps are pretty warm here already?

it’s scary when a palm that looks that healthy has a spear pull because to me it means you never know if your healthy looking ones are secretly struggling too

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Here's mine. Needle looks great. Little frost cloth and heat cable at the base. Next my Bulgaria x Nanital. Took a bit of damage but overall looks good. It had frost cloth,heat cable and mini lights on a thermocube. Onto my Louisiana, looks fantastic honestly. Same treatment as the needle. Last is my McCurtain , looks as one would expect. Same protection as the needle and Louisiana. Our winter was relatively mild. ( I had a zone 7winter in zone 6) But I feel that even though the needle and McCurtain should be fine. If I protect they will look nice not just survive 

Anyways 

[SeanK]

Everything looks great. Will they remain uncovered now?

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Yep,barring some crazy cold front. We're not out of the woods for freezes, but the icebox single digits stuff is in the rear view. Honestly I probably could have opened them after the first week of February but I was not willing to gamble 

[Chester B]

@Ben G. that looks bad. I’ve never had a Sabal recover from a spear pull. You know what to do, and give it all summer and if it continues to go down hill or doesn’t push it’s time to call It.

Here in Houston we had the one night at 23F with no freezing precipitation and daytime highs above freezing.  This past week is when I started to see a lot of damage. 
 

Needle palms. 2/4 of damaged, one spear pulled the other cosmetic. Last year 3/4 were damaged. I’ll never understand why these keep getting called the most cold hardy palm. 

Sabal causiarum 2/2 damaged with over 50% burn

Mule palm - 1/2 damaged.  Some older fronds growing off and spear broke off but is pushing new growth 

BxJ - 1/2 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear

Butia 2/3 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear

Chamaerops humilis - bad spear pull, I ripped it out of the ground in disgust. 

CIDP - cosmetic damage to spear

Livistona nitida- 2/2 have very bad damage and fungus on about 2 fronds plus emerging spear. No spear pull and new growth is healthy.  The density of the growing point makes it impossible to see down in there. 
 

So 12 palms so far that show damage out of around 40.  Better than last year where it was 30/36. Houston must be the hardest zone 9B in the world for growing cold hardy palms. 
 

Both of my mexicana look flawless. Sourced from the palms at the John Fairey Garden. 

[Ben G.]

17 hours ago, Chester B said:

@Ben G. that looks bad. I’ve never had a Sabal recover from a spear pull. You know what to do, and give it all summer and if it continues to go down hill or doesn’t push it’s time to call It.

Here in Houston we had the one night at 23F with no freezing precipitation and daytime highs above freezing.  This past week is when I started to see a lot of damage. 
 

Needle palms. 2/4 of damaged, one spear pulled the other cosmetic. Last year 3/4 were damaged. I’ll never understand why these keep getting called the most cold hardy palm. 

Sabal causiarum 2/2 damaged with over 50% burn

Mule palm - 1/2 damaged.  Some older fronds growing off and spear broke off but is pushing new growth 

BxJ - 1/2 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear

Butia 2/3 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear

Chamaerops humilis - bad spear pull, I ripped it out of the ground in disgust. 

CIDP - cosmetic damage to spear

Livistona nitida- 2/2 have very bad damage and fungus on about 2 fronds plus emerging spear. No spear pull and new growth is healthy.  The density of the growing point makes it impossible to see down in there. 
 

So 12 palms so far that show damage out of around 40.  Better than last year where it was 30/36. Houston must be the hardest zone 9B in the world for growing cold hardy palms. 
 

Both of my mexicana look flawless. Sourced from the palms at the John Fairey Garden. 

I hate that you had damage on so many palms that you would think wood have been safe as well.

The majority of my frustration sounds similar to yours. I planted mostly very hardy palms that should be as near bullet-proof as any plant can be. I still saw damage at temps these palms can and do take without damage all around my neighborhood.

I understand that it takes a few seasons to get plants well established. I think I allowed my past experiences to fool me into thinking that these palms would be safe in their second winter with temps that  are normal zonal lows for my area. 

Lesson learned.

[Ben G.]

I don't want to be complete doom and gloom though. I have been pleasantly surprised that my Washingtonia must truly be at least mostly filifera. It has pushed out some damaged spears already, but you can't even tell it was damaged at all unless you are up close.

I also had several Chamaedorea radicalis seedlings that I started last summer come through easily. I didn't plant them until August. I gave them no protection and they have no overhead canopy either. 

They did fry in the freezing rain as I expected. Every single one of them is pushing out new growth with no intervention from me. I can't recommend these palms enough. I had my mature specimen in the ground for multiple Oklahoma winters with only unheated coverings during snow. It always came back from any damage by June.

[KPoff]

On 3/1/2026 at 9:58 AM, palmofmyhand said:

Hey guys just giving some updates if anyone is interested. I unexpectedly got a spear pull from one of my planted 3 gallon trachycarpus fortuneis after our snow event. I think it might be toast but it is not completely defoliated either. The other ones I have took no damage from the cold event. The three 3 gallon washingtonias I planted in the ground all had no spear pull. The biggest one looks great and so does the second biggest one. Still have green on the spears and parts of the fronds. The smallest one had no pull but has much less visible green than the other two. The christmas tree lights did infact help to keep them warm as well, and I believe aided their survival. I kept one in a pot outside and it sat in the snow, and surprisingly the spear didn’t pull but it looks like it is basically completely defoliated, think it may not come back but not 100% sure. I definitely should’ve brought it in those last 5 or so nights that temperatures dropped but was feeling lazy. Sago palms almost completely defoliated but am almost certain those will produce new flushes once it gets warmer. Will also be buying another chamaerops humilis pair and planting it here soon. I am here sharing my palm yard here in zone 8B Augusta, GA.

——————————————-

Please share below your after winter palm tree conditions and we can have this be the thread for it!

 

@palmofmyhand how does the chamaerops look so good? It looks unfazed.

[palmofmyhand]

1 hour ago, KPoff said:

@palmofmyhand how does the chamaerops look so good? It looks unfazed.

this year was the second time they had snow sitting on them. They basically are invincible to teen temperatures while at that size, at least in full sun where I’m at, and the ones I’ve got. Worst thing about them is that they grow very slowly, wish I planted some more initially.

[jwitt]

@Ben G.

Seeding or seedling planted in the ground is key. All about the roots on these guys.  Even a five month filifera will outgrow an 18" liner bag.

[KPoff]

1 hour ago, palmofmyhand said:

this year was the second time they had snow sitting on them. They basically are invincible to teen temperatures while at that size, at least in full sun where I’m at, and the ones I’ve got. Worst thing about them is that they grow very slowly, wish I planted some more initially.

@palmofmyhand ah I see you are in Augusta so now I see why the chamaerops look so good. I live in an 8A zone in west Texas and have got them through two winters now but have had to throw frost cloths and tarps over a few days each year. This year we got real cold (7a minimums) and stayed below freezing for 90 hours. I’m sure they would have looked rough if I didn’t cover them. I didn’t use heat though. They seem to grow as more of a bush here because a cold winter will come every 3-4 years and kill the big trunk and then they grow back from the suckers. Yours are beautiful though.

[palmofmyhand]

1 hour ago, KPoff said:

@palmofmyhand ah I see you are in Augusta so now I see why the chamaerops look so good. I live in an 8A zone in west Texas and have got them through two winters now but have had to throw frost cloths and tarps over a few days each year. This year we got real cold (7a minimums) and stayed below freezing for 90 hours. I’m sure they would have looked rough if I didn’t cover them. I didn’t use heat though. They seem to grow as more of a bush here because a cold winter will come every 3-4 years and kill the big trunk and then they grow back from the suckers. Yours are beautiful though.

yea I am lucky to have this climate even though I wish I had a zone 9 instead to grow some date palms and different stuff too. We always cut the suckers off when they pop out but yea I hear you, it sucks when you have to do all that extra work to protect them when other people don’t have to do it at all.

[KPoff]

9 hours ago, palmofmyhand said:

yea I am lucky to have this climate even though I wish I had a zone 9 instead to grow some date palms and different stuff too. We always cut the suckers off when they pop out but yea I hear you, it sucks when you have to do all that extra work to protect them when other people don’t have to do it at all.

@palmofmyhand I know they are technically rated 8A but probably realistically an 8b/9a plant. Northerns always hit us the worst.

[Chester B]

16 hours ago, Ben G. said:

I hate that you had damage on so many palms that you would think wood have been safe as well.

The majority of my frustration sounds similar to yours. I planted mostly very hardy palms that should be as near bullet-proof as any plant can be. I still saw damage at temps these palms can and do take without damage all around my neighborhood.

I understand that it takes a few seasons to get plants well established. I think I allowed my past experiences to fool me into thinking that these palms would be safe in their second winter with temps that  are normal zonal lows for my area. 

Lesson learned.

Getting them established is key, but is very hard to do when you don't have average winters.  The three winters that I have been here have been have all been below my  zone - 23/24 was 8B, 24/25 was 8B and 25/26 was 9A.  Not so good considering I'm supposed to be a 9B zone.  The crazy thing is that I did in fact protect the majority of my palms last year and this year because I am trying to get them established.  Comments below in red

Needle palms. 2/4 of damaged, one spear pulled the other cosmetic. Last year 3/4 were damaged. I’ll never understand why these keep getting called the most cold hardy palm.   - Not Protected

Sabal causiarum 2/2 damaged with over 50% burn - Fully  Wrapped in Frost cloth

Mule palm - 1/2 damaged.  Some older fronds growing off and spear broke off but is pushing new growth  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

BxJ - 1/2 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Butia 2/3 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear - Trunks and spears wrapped in frost cloth

Chamaerops humilis - bad spear pull, I ripped it out of the ground in disgust.  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

CIDP - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Livistona nitida- 2/2 have very bad damage and fungus on about 2 fronds plus emerging spear. No spear pull and new growth is healthy.  The density of the growing point makes it impossible to see down in there. Fully wrapped in frost cloth

The rest of the Sabals, Washingtonia, Trachycarpus, Serenoa and of course Chamaedorea radicalis were unharmed.  The radicalis were not protected and were the only palms I've had the last two winters that I had a 100% success rate with.  Even my Chamaedorea microspadix outperformed many of the truly cold hardy palms.    On paper none of the palms I listed should be bothered by 23F and around 12 hours below freezing.

 

 

[Allen]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

Getting them established is key, but is very hard to do when you don't have average winters.  The three winters that I have been here have been have all been below my  zone - 23/24 was 8B, 24/25 was 8B and 25/26 was 9A.  Not so good considering I'm supposed to be a 9B zone.  The crazy thing is that I did in fact protect the majority of my palms last year and this year because I am trying to get them established.  Comments below in red

Needle palms. 2/4 of damaged, one spear pulled the other cosmetic. Last year 3/4 were damaged. I’ll never understand why these keep getting called the most cold hardy palm.   - Not Protected

Sabal causiarum 2/2 damaged with over 50% burn - Fully  Wrapped in Frost cloth

Mule palm - 1/2 damaged.  Some older fronds growing off and spear broke off but is pushing new growth  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

BxJ - 1/2 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Butia 2/3 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear - Trunks and spears wrapped in frost cloth

Chamaerops humilis - bad spear pull, I ripped it out of the ground in disgust.  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

CIDP - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Livistona nitida- 2/2 have very bad damage and fungus on about 2 fronds plus emerging spear. No spear pull and new growth is healthy.  The density of the growing point makes it impossible to see down in there. Fully wrapped in frost cloth

The rest of the Sabals, Washingtonia, Trachycarpus, Serenoa and of course Chamaedorea radicalis were unharmed.  The radicalis were not protected and were the only palms I've had the last two winters that I had a 100% success rate with.  Even my Chamaedorea microspadix outperformed many of the truly cold hardy palms.    On paper none of the palms I listed should be bothered by 23F and around 12 hours below freezing.

 

 

That's quite the damage at that temp.  A little shocked

[Chester B]

1 minute ago, Allen said:

That's quite the damage at that temp.  A little shocked

This is one of the things that I try and tell people, that every cold event is different.  Just because your palms survived at a certain temperature before doesn't mean its guaranteed that it will again.  The conditions before, during and after the cold all matter.

I'm so used to having palms damaged at temps that on paper they should have no issues with.  In Oregon it was different because of the dampness in winter, and slow or minimal daily rebounds.  Here in a hot southern zone 9B you would think this would be an optimal zone 9B with high daily rebounds, and good solar radiation.  I am very far south.  What I think hurt me this time was that everything was actively growing.  Our winter had been in the 70s and 80s and then one blip and back up again.  It wasn't only  palms that were damaged, but other plants too.  However they have better mechanisms for recovering from cold damage.  I have a Stellar Ruby Magnolia that is rated to zone 7a, it was mostly burnt.  Last year it took 19F during its first winter in the ground and was fine, this year its much bigger and it got fried at 23F and actually showed signs of damage from our first frost at 29F.

[Allen]

14 minutes ago, Chester B said:

This is one of the things that I try and tell people, that every cold event is different.  Just because your palms survived at a certain temperature before doesn't mean its guaranteed that it will again.  The conditions before, during and after the cold all matter.

I'm so used to having palms damaged at temps that on paper they should have no issues with.  In Oregon it was different because of the dampness in winter, and slow or minimal daily rebounds.  Here in a hot southern zone 9B you would think this would be an optimal zone 9B with high daily rebounds, and good solar radiation.  I am very far south.  What I think hurt me this time was that everything was actively growing.  Our winter had been in the 70s and 80s and then one blip and back up again.  It wasn't only  palms that were damaged, but other plants too.  However they have better mechanisms for recovering from cold damage.  I have a Stellar Ruby Magnolia that is rated to zone 7a, it was mostly burnt.  Last year it took 19F during its first winter in the ground and was fine, this year its much bigger and it got fried at 23F and actually showed signs of damage from our first frost at 29F.

What color frost cloth did you use and how long was it on?  Sometimes unheated frost enclosures can trap cold and not allow the sun to warm the plant

[Chester B]

3 hours ago, Allen said:

What color frost cloth did you use and how long was it on?  Sometimes unheated frost enclosures can trap cold and not allow the sun to warm the plant

White and green.  Ones in green got burnt a bit from afternoon sun, as we went hot two days later and then were supposed to drop back down but it never happened.   Frost cloth was on for a few days.  The frost cloth was all the way to the ground with bricks and rocks to hold in place, mulch piled over the edges, and the cloth or bags were slightly wider than the base of the palms, to allow for radiational heat from the ground.  I have been protecting palms for over a decade so do have experience.  My Bismarckia was the only one that had supplemental heat, and it took damage to exposed fronds but everything else came through fine.  I'm almost of the opinion that frost cloth is waste of time for palms without supplemental heat. 

Frost cloth was put on when we were still warm.  The air was warm and so was the soil.  We were in the 70s before this hit.  I truly believe it was the lack of a cool down that causes all the damage here.  All of my perennials were still blooming.   The plants don't get the signal to stop growing.   Texas weather is very Bipolar.

[amh]

My minimum temperature was 13F this year, accompanied by freezing rain. My results were as follows.

Chamaerops humilis (unprotected): No damage, actively growing.

Chamaedorea microspadix (unprotected): Burning where ice accumulated, but actively growing. No damage to leaves that did not ice over.

Chamaedorea radicalis (unprotected): Burning where ice accumulated, but actively growing. No damage to leaves that did not ice over.

Sabal minor (unprotected): No damage.

Sabal miamiensis (unprotected): No damage.

Sabal miamiensis Leu garden hybrid (unprotected): No damage.

Sabal uresana highlands form (unprotected): No damage and actively growing.

Sabal uresana green/silver form (tarp wrapped around the spear base): No damage and actively growing.

Brahea dulcis (covered by a tarp): Minor discoloration, but actively growing.

Cycas revoluta (unprotected): Exposed leaves are burned, normal for temperatures below 14F.

[Allen]

22 minutes ago, Chester B said:

 I'm almost of the opinion that frost cloth is waste of time for palms without supplemental heat. 

Frost cloth was put on when we were still warm.  The air was warm and so was the soil.  We were in the 70s before this hit.  I truly believe it was the lack of a cool down that causes all the damage here.  All of my perennials were still blooming.   The plants don't get the signal to stop growing.   Texas weather is very Bipolar.

If possible if there is no ice it is best to take off unheated frost cloths during day so sun can warm plant but still your temps weren't that bad so I'm still a little shocked

[Chester B]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

If possible if there is no ice it is best to take off unheated frost cloths during day so sun can warm plant but still your temps weren't that bad so I'm still a little shocked

Our daytime highs were well above freezing, sunny and dry.  No way I could take them all off and put them back on, it took 8 hours with my wife helping so I left them on.  We had one cold day at 36 and the rest were in the 60s and 70s with only two nights below freezing at 23 and 26.  

Next year I'm not protecting anything other than the Bismarckia and newly planted small ones.  Some of the palms will be going into their 3rd winter, and if they can't handle a brief dip to mid 20s then too bad for them.  Aside from the Bismarckia all of my palms are rated for growing well below my zone.  I'm trying to be conservative and still getting burned.  The good news is that beside the one Chamaerops it looks like all will survive and have plenty of time to put on some good growth.  The period between our average first and last frost date is 2 months, but each year I've had about 330 growing days.

[Xenon]

8 hours ago, Chester B said:

Getting them established is key, but is very hard to do when you don't have average winters.  The three winters that I have been here have been have all been below my  zone - 23/24 was 8B, 24/25 was 8B and 25/26 was 9A.  Not so good considering I'm supposed to be a 9B zone.  The crazy thing is that I did in fact protect the majority of my palms last year and this year because I am trying to get them established.  Comments below in red

Needle palms. 2/4 of damaged, one spear pulled the other cosmetic. Last year 3/4 were damaged. I’ll never understand why these keep getting called the most cold hardy palm.   - Not Protected

Sabal causiarum 2/2 damaged with over 50% burn - Fully  Wrapped in Frost cloth

Mule palm - 1/2 damaged.  Some older fronds growing off and spear broke off but is pushing new growth  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

BxJ - 1/2 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Butia 2/3 damaged - cosmetic damage to spear - Trunks and spears wrapped in frost cloth

Chamaerops humilis - bad spear pull, I ripped it out of the ground in disgust.  Fully wrapped in frost cloth

CIDP - cosmetic damage to spear Fully wrapped in frost cloth

Livistona nitida- 2/2 have very bad damage and fungus on about 2 fronds plus emerging spear. No spear pull and new growth is healthy.  The density of the growing point makes it impossible to see down in there. Fully wrapped in frost cloth

The rest of the Sabals, Washingtonia, Trachycarpus, Serenoa and of course Chamaedorea radicalis were unharmed.  The radicalis were not protected and were the only palms I've had the last two winters that I had a 100% success rate with.  Even my Chamaedorea microspadix outperformed many of the truly cold hardy palms.    On paper none of the palms I listed should be bothered by 23F and around 12 hours below freezing.

 

 

It's like we live in alternate realities. I'm not seeing anything remotely like the damage you're describing. I drive by tons of mostly abandoned Chamaerops and Butia every day and there isn't a scratch on any of them. Maybe the frost cloth is hurting your palms? 

All no protection:

Livistona nitida - zero 0.0% burn on all leaves except for spear pull on 2 newest leaves, already pushing up growth. 

Livistona decora - 16-18 inch high seedlings, slight tip burn on a few

Livistona chinensis - mostly undamaged

Sabal rosei - no damage

Sabal causiarum - no damage

Sabal guatemalensis - tip burn to 30% burn on older leaves

Bismarckia - mostly defoliated but pushing growth

Queens x2 - one is only 30% burned, another is mostly defoliated but pushing growth

Chuniophoenix nana - defoliated but pushing growth

Bonus Lytocaryum hoehnei covered with a cardboard box (no heat) - no damage

 

 

[palmofmyhand]

Looks like my 2 good Washingtonias might just make a steady recovery, almost certain the first one will but iffy about the second one as it has white at the bottom of the spears but won’t pull. Replaced the dead windmills in new spots with better holes this time. Good luck to everyone else, apparently we will be seeing the 30s again later this week hopefully not below freezing though.

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

It's like we live in alternate realities. I'm not seeing anything remotely like the damage you're describing. I drive by tons of mostly abandoned Chamaerops and Butia every day and there isn't a scratch on any of them.

If you had told me what the weather would be like and the location I would’ve never thought there would be this damage.  I don’t know what to say about it really, just reporting what I’m seeing.  I thought I had some damage to the Bismarckia fronds and the Sabal causiarums only. I felt good and then this last week I started seeing damage on so many palms.  I forgot to mention I also lost a Brahea moorei. That one showed damage right away and went downhill quick, even though it survived 19F last year. 

I also saw Katy got like a tenth of an inch from the storm on Saturday night and I got 4.5” with the additional rain on Sunday.  Totally opposite. 

I expect next year most of these palms will be established enough that I won’t be seeing this again.  But who knows I feel you can never predict how palms will do over winter. 
 

Further to your point all the palms around me and Houston for the most part look great. It’s only when I get up to Tomball that I see damage from this past winter. 

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

If you had told me what the weather would be like and the location I would’ve never thought there would be this damage.  I don’t know what to say about it really, just reporting what I’m seeing.  I thought I had some damage to the Bismarckia fronds and the Sabal causiarums only. I felt good and then this last week I started seeing damage on so many palms.  I forgot to mention I also lost a Brahea moorei. That one showed damage right away and went downhill quick, even though it survived 19F last year. 

I also saw Katy got like a tenth of an inch from the storm on Saturday night and I got 4.5” with the additional rain on Sunday.  Totally opposite. 

I expect next year most of these palms will be established enough that I won’t be seeing this again.  But who knows I feel you can never predict how palms will do over winter. 
 

Further to your point all the palms around me and Houston for the most part look great. It’s only when I get up to Tomball that I see damage from this past winter. 

I hope you are right. I am in the same boat with most of my plants on their second winter in ground. By next year, they had better be settled enough to handle the low twenties. 

I was out mowing today and I checked the spear on my other Sabal mexicana. Now it pulled too.

Two weeks ago, I would have said they were fine, now I am treating them with fungicide and wondering if the current course is riskier than trunk cutting them and waiting the painfully long time it would take for them to look normal again.

 

[amh]

30 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

I hope you are right. I am in the same boat with most of my plants on their second winter in ground. By next year, they had better be settled enough to handle the low twenties. 

I was out mowing today and I checked the spear on my other Sabal mexicana. Now it pulled too.

Two weeks ago, I would have said they were fine, now I am treating them with fungicide and wondering if the current course is riskier than trunk cutting them and waiting the painfully long time it would take for them to look normal again.

 

Check for holes in the ground around the base of the trunk.

[Ben G.]

23 minutes ago, amh said:

Check for holes in the ground around the base of the trunk.

I will check it out tomorrow. If holes are present, what should I be looking for that would cause them?

[amh]

1 minute ago, Ben G. said:

I will check it out tomorrow. If holes are present, what should I be looking for that would cause them?

If there are holes present, you will be looking for ox beetles.

The damage to your sabals does not look like cold damage to me.

[Chester B]

10 hours ago, amh said:

If there are holes present, you will be looking for ox beetles.

The damage to your sabals does not look like cold damage to me.

That's a good point,  I'm not sure why I hadn't though of that.  Last winter my hybrid Livistona went through winter and seemed fine, but started to go downhill fast and spear pulled like this.  The previous summer it had a quarter sized tunnel opening at the base and to me it looked like a hole from an underground mammal.  I covered it a few times but it would come back, and the I covered it with a rock and a new hole appeared elsewhere.  The palm ended up dying and when I removed it, it had a large hole bored into it, so it was being eaten from the bottom.  After I learned on here it was likely an ox beetle I have been vigilant ever since.  I did find enormous beetle larvae in that garden too, so it all made sense.  They first started showing up around April last year and I would have to check on the palms every morning, and would find new holes every few days and flood the beetles out and destroy them.  This lasted for around 6 weeks and then no more holes after that.

So @Ben G. do you remember any holes at all last summer?