Posted by richtrav on 3/11/2011, 8:11 pm, in reply to "Re: "Obtusa" obtusa is slightly more tender in South Texas"
38.120.10.199
I should have noted in part one that these observations are all for the southernmost tip of Texas (McAllen-Harlingen-Brownsville)
Eucalyptus camaldulensis (typical form) - variable performance in the area, mostly uninjured though a surprising number of trees had quite a bit of foliage scorching
E. camaldulensis (Lake Albacutya via Simpson Timber) - these seemed to do slightly better than typical camaldulensis, no scorching noted, some minor leaf spotting in containers
E. camaldulensis var obtusa - as of a few weeks ago these were in pretty good shape, I have not been by to look at any since
E. camaldulensis var subcinerea (Flinders Ranges SA) - small plants in containers, no scorching perhaps a few spots on the leaves but better than most any other euc
E. camaldulensis var subcinerea (Charleville Qld) - same as Flinders Ranges
Eucalyptus campaspe - one plant in a container had some tip drying, no serious damage but obviously not as hardy as some other eucs
Eucalyptus citriodora - no injury noted to specimen trees here. They used to be more common 5-10 years ago but most are now gone, many blew over in Hurricane Dolly and apparently have no ability to resprout. I have none in containers
Eucalyptus coolabah/microtheca - most plants seen have none to negligible injury
Eucalyptus gillii - a few small plants in containers did very well, nearly no damage. Not yet tested in the ground
Eucalyptus kruseana - similar to gillii, perhaps slightly more tip damage but a showy plant in a container. It also has not yet been tried in the ground
Eucalyptus papuana - a large tree I planted about 14 years ago north of Brownsville did very well, no injury noted. It is a strong grower that is given no care on a rather black clay soil. It sometimes turns slightly chlorotic but corrects itself after a few months. Better than E. citriodora
Eucalyptus pilligaensis - one tree in Weslaco, no damage noted, it appears moderately suited to the area but not especially attractive
Eucalyptus pruinosa - two small plants in containers, some foliage scorching but no stem damage
Eucalyptus setosa - a small plant in a container, similar to pruinosa in performance
Eucalyptus socialis - several small plants in containers, they look as good as camaldulensis subcinerea and have had no nutrient deficiencies here yet
Eucalyptus tereticornis - honestly I have trouble telling old trees apart from camaldulensis, if they have more robust looking leaves and more rough bark at the base I suspect they may be this species. The ones that look like this generally performed like "normal" camaldulensis. There are a few trees with wider leaves that I suspect may be rudis or at least have some rudis in them. Again there is little difference in their hardiness. I have none growing in containers
Eucalyptus terminals - two plants in containers, one grown harder is uninjured while another given extra water and more favorable conditions appears to be completely dead, no signs of resprouting even from its small lignotuber
Eucalyptus thozetiana - several plants in containers, they are quite attractive and grow vigorously here. They suffered foliage scorching both last winter and this year but damage is only cosmetic
Eucalyptus victrix - one plant in a 5 gallon container had some foliar burn. It is not as tough as most other forms coolibah
Eucalyptus viridis - a few small plants in 1 gallon containers, these suffered a surprising amount of injury with foliage scorching and some stem desiccation. I expected more from plants native to Victoria
Eucalyptus woodwardii - one fairly large plant in a 5 gallon container had some foliage and stem injury but should be OK. One nice specimen was completely killed in last year's radiation freeze in a warmer part of San Antonio
Eucalyptus grandis-robusta-sideroxylon-erythrocorys - there is a nice parklike planting of many of these trees at a small private golf course east of McAllen. From a distance it appeared they fared pretty well. The only reason most survive is the owner's fastidious care given to the trees; he annually drills the trunks and inserts iron pellets to keep them from developing chlorosis. I once gave him an E. sargentii to try but he said it also turned yellow
Eucalyptus X - I have noticed this unknown eucalypt in Harlingen, probably some sort of red gum, for at least the past 10-15 years. It has never had any care and never had any problems, but then it has not really grown that much either. It has a tall straight growth habit with a white trunk but is completely unlike camaldulensis obtusa
Eugenia (Syzygium) paniculata - small plants that are occasionally grown here as poodled specimens do not appear injured from a distance
Ficus macrophylla - this is an amazing plant, one rather large plant in Brownsville surviving the winter with no injury. All other large Ficus in the neighborhood were totally scorched by the February freeze. This is a very good ficus if you have lots of room for the root system. Morris Clint had a large tree in his yard prior to the 1983 freeze, when it was killed to the ground and was taken out the following summer. The main trunk could probably survive pretty much any freeze if it were planted in a protected site (as seen at Walt Disney World)
Ficus platypoda (Alice Springs) - a surprisingly tender fig, they were frozen back to the base by a light freeze in December 2009 and have been wintered in the greenhouse ever since. In spite of their tenderness they are able to very quickly recover from cold damage
Ficus rubiginosa - another very good fig, there are a number in the area and have no problem with this kind of cold, even in containers. Sometimes large trees will die out in summer, I suspect from some form of root rot. There is a tree at the Brownsville Zoo that froze back to the main trunk as a juvenile in 1989 and is now a nice tree. That tree was the only tropical fig I know of that did not freeze completely to the ground here in 1989
Grevillea robusta - no injury, these handsome trees do well west of Harlingen if the soil is sandy enough. Several trees froze back to the main trunk in 1989
Livistona australis/decipiens/lanuginosa/mariae/muelleri/nitida - all of these did fine in the winter, though muelleri sometimes gets dried lower leaves in winter. Decipiens (now decora) and nitida can be impressively fast growing in good conditions. A few decipiens and something like mariae or lanuginosa survived the '89 freeze. Nitida surely would have too if any had been planted out at the time, they did well this past winter in San Antonio and are apparently the hardiest of the lot
Lomandra hystrix - one plant in a container is fine. It is the only lomandra I have been able to keep alive through the summer, its worst problem being slight tip burn if the mineral content in the irrigation water gets too high
Lysiphyllum sp - a small leaf orchid tree, almost certainly Australian, it is easily grown here and mostly tolerant of cold but can get some burn in winters like this. There were some specimens here that were killed to the ground in the 1980s
Melaleuca argentea - this beautiful paperbark has yet to be challenged by cold (first introduced around the mid-1990s). Plants in containers had slight foliar burn but no stem injury
Melaleuca bracteata - a very well adapted and easily grown tea tree, it has done well since 1997 north of Brownsville. Plants in containers and a younger tree in the ground in Harlingen had very slight tip bronzing but this is one of the very best performing Australian plants for our area
Melaleuca glomerata - a few plants in the ground and in containers did not appear affected by cold but have never been totally happy here and do not grow much
Melaleuca linariifolia - similar in appearance to M. bracteata but sometimes looks a little on the chlorotic side. Bracteata seems the better adapted plant
Melaleuca quinquenervia - not common but not rare either, most forms here did OK though a few have dropped leaves and look sparse
Melaleuca tamariscina - this very unusual looking plant was undamaged in containers
Myoporum montanum - one plant in the backyard was undamaged. Apparently hardier than Eremophila. I tried a M. parvifolium a couple years back only to watch it slowly disappear over the summer
Peltophorum pterocarpum - these have yet to leaf out, they may take some stem damage. Not as hardy as P. dubium, africanum, or an undetermined species which I have only seen locally that blooms much of the year
Pittosporum phillyraeoides (angustifolia) - all plants I know of here came from a source in S Qld. One I planted in 1997 has been extremely happy and grown steadily over the years. It has never been injured by cold down to the upper 20s, including this year. One advantage is that it does not seem all that anxious to grow much during the winter if not overwatered. Occasionally it sends out root suckers but I have not been able to root them. Young trees grown in containers were not damaged. Somewhat similar to Acacia salicina but slower, better adapted and longer lived
Schefflera actinophylla - these common trees always look terrible after freezes and this year is no exception. I believe damage may be more serious as they have yet to show any signs of life (they eventually will recover, even if it is from the ground)
Senna artemisioides (formerly nemophila and phyllodinea) - a plant of nemophila grown dry in the ground was not injured and now is in bloom. Plants which were irrigated this year are now dead, with some sort of dieback getting to them before winter came along. Watering here seems to be the kiss of death for these plants and they are difficult to keep alive in a container for more than a year. It might be worth it to try some from more humid areas
Wodyetia bifurcata - a common palm here, many small plants appear totally dead but the larger ones look to be throwing out new spears
