Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board

Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board
[ Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board ]

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Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/22/2018, 2:35 pm

First , our record snowfall of 12-14" . With the exceptions of some higher mountain elevations I was ground zero . The Weather Channel had a meteorologist here during the storm and was reporting on the storm last Sunday :

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My tent got ruined :
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Washy in early December and after a 24F :
.\

The Washy during the storm .
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Today , and it's now seen a low of 23F . I'd still call this respectable with more bronzing on the lower fronds . It's losing its Alfalfa look each day . I'd say there's slight lower frond bronzing at 25F , and little more at 24F , and about the lowest temperature it still looks respectable is 23F . I'm pretty sure 22F will fully bronze it out :

.

The big picture on that Washy is it can look decent into January , but possibly could look bad in late November in a bad year , and a fair number of Decembers . It starts growing in late February but doesn't add enough new frond mass to look like a palm until early May . It looks great from June to mid December typically . It should give me 6 months of looking good and some years maybe 7 months .
It is only an eye sore from the time the fronds get bronzed in January to the date I protect it , when I cut off those fronds , and protect the trunk .

It will actually be an eye sore longer after the milder winters where the low stays above 17F , which is the trunk hardiness , which means I won't cut off the ugly winter bronzed fronds , and the new growth will have to grow out enough in the spring above those old bronzed fronds to look respectable . The old fronds become a skirt .

Thanks for looking .
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Brian in Bremerton WA <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Brian+in+Bremerton+WA' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/22/2018, 6:50 pm, in reply to "Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Looking good Will. I would love to grow Washingtonia's here, but they would probably die at 23F. We just don't get enough heat in the summer to make them as hardy as they can be.

Thanks for the pics.

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Stan Hayward CA <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Stan+Hayward+CA' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/22/2018, 11:04 pm, in reply to "Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

You could try painting the fronds green. People paint things for short time periods all over for different plants. Dyes maybe.
I would like to see you add two more flanking it. A trio looks good and gives you extra fronds to enjoy in summer.

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Rob Cookeville Tn <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Rob+Cookeville+Tn' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 8:58 am, in reply to "Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Will, that snow was deep and beautiful in its own right but I cant believe how much snow fell. Thanks for an update, many know about your tall palms that are unprotected most of the winter.
I grew a Washingtonia Robusta for 17 years and loved every minute of it. There were good years and bad years, chainsaw trims you name it and I finally discovered a working protection method for it. The gratification of having one is worth the trouble. Im just glad you dont have to do what I did in z6b/7 haha

part of the community for 25 years

Rob Cookeville Tn since (2013)
Robz7a Cumberland plateau (2000-2013)
Rob z6b TN (1996-2000)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 10:56 am, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Nice one Rob .
I think you could do the incandescent Xmas light protection there on few nights . You can wrap them up the trunk as tightly as you think you need to , and believe me it is warm under a blanket wrapped around them , but never hot .
How trunk hardy was your Washy and was it a Filibusta ?
Thanks ,
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 11:00 am, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Thanks Stan
As big as it is getting I don't know if I want any more tender palms here . It's already getting a little tougher to protect , and it's growing a few feet taller per year . I'm a little worried about how I will protect it in a few more years .
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 11:07 am, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Interesting Brian .
I would've thought you would have a lot of Washys there .
I have a few nights a winter on average that get below 17F where I would feel like I have to protect it , and there is plenty of heat in the summer for it to put out about 25 fronds a season . I fertilize and water too .
Last winter I had 7 nights below 17F . Hopefully I'll have less or none this winter .
Thanks ,
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Lucas FL <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Lucas+FL' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 9:22 pm, in reply to "Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Wow, that washy doesn't look like it was bothered much at all.

Woodville, FL.

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Jim Wilmington DE 7a <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Jim+Wilmington+DE+7a' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/23/2018, 10:17 pm, in reply to "Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Will, I've mentioned this before in your threads, but it's hard revising my understanding of Washy hardiness. Prior to your wonderful and thorough documentation, I thought Washies were frond hardy to the upper teens and trunk/spear hardy to about 11F.

Where did I get those numbers? Through logical deduction based on others' experiences on this board and noting where Washies become commonly seen in public landscapes. They are seen along the coast in SC. And they very numerous from Savannah on south. They are a 9a tree, with a fair representation into good 8b locations. There is/was a "famous" one that was often presented here that grows/grew in Wilmington,NC. Seems to me if 17F is the fatal loss threshold, the species would have a hard time maintaining their footholds in the Wilmington to Savannah corridor. Every decade or so, temperatures in that area tend to dip into that 10F to 15F range. And no one if protecting those trees.

Your documentation is, to me, definitive. You have much more hands-on experience with Washies than I do. Thanks for sharing your results, and the pictures are terrific.

Jim, Wilmington, DE, 7a
Last 30 Years Avg. Winter Low: 7.50F
Last 20 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.35F
Last 10 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.40F
Favorite Palms: Species: Phoenix Canariensis / Genus: Sabal

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by Rob Cookeville Tn <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=Rob+Cookeville+Tn' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/24/2018, 2:35 am, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Thanks Will. It wasn't the cold alone that finally got my W.robusta, it was the moisture. My cap blew off in a bad storm and snow and ice gathered in the crown and it was all over after finding it a few days later.
The word is out that this palm is hardy to the low 20s before it expires (Gibbons & Spanner) but some will say they have survived colder and Im sure they have but duration and moisture would have played a very important part. After growing them for almost 2 decades you do see a lot from each winter.
Personally I think several hours at 22* will kill this palm unprotected. There will come a time when they can outgrow normal and easy protection care and for that reason its nice to have one coming along, several years behind

part of the community for 25 years

Rob Cookeville Tn since (2013)
Robz7a Cumberland plateau (2000-2013)
Rob z6b TN (1996-2000)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/24/2018, 2:12 pm, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Thanks Jim .
I may be conservative on the hardiness numbers . Even when my fronds are completely bronzed the petioles are green . There may be something to be said for the milder Southeast coastal areas that see some real cold during a decade but get above 32F during the day . Filiferas are also hardier than Robustas and many of the Washys on the Southeast Coast might have more Filifera in them than Robusta .
I think my Washy has a lot of Robusta in it since the trunk is relatively thin .
My Washy might be trunk hardy way lower than 17F but the fronds definitely have some burn at 25F , and 22F is about the temp that bronzes them totally .
I wish I had protected my young Washy filifera better and could check the hardiness of my Filibusta and a Filifera . My Filifera was poorly protected last winter and it never recovered after that 9 days below 32F last winter .
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/24/2018, 2:13 pm, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

Thanks Lucas .
I just hope the temps stay above 22F for a good while longer .
Will

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

Thanks Rob . n/m

Posted by WSimpson NC <iframe src='https://members3.boardhost.com/HardyPalm/info/user=WSimpson+NC' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 12/24/2018, 2:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Washy update #3 , and my record snowfall last Sunday :"

n/m

Winston-Salem
Ten year lows: 19F 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F(2021)
10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.7F ; 30 Year 12.36F
Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)

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