Chicken Little

Personal admission here. I chickened out. My intention was to abandon my tried and tested method of protecting some of my key palms(W. Robusta, B. Capitata) that I’ve used in the past and come up with some new fangled way of overwintering them.

The change is being necessitated by the upward growth of the Mexican Fan Palm, which has fronds over 8 feet tall. I just haven’t been able to come up with any workable solution for protecting the crown of the plant that doesn’t involve building one of my pathetic shanties.

My first attempt at constructing a frame out of PVC pipe - a huge aesthetic improvement over the rickety wooden structures of past winters - was a total and embarrassing FLOP. So, I’m back to the wood and plastic motif of the past.

I began construction last week, and will finish up on Saturday. Ok, this year is really maxing out my ability to cover these palms with a house-like structure, so I really need to come up with something by next winter. I'm sure my neighbors, who will have to look at this all winter long, are keeping their fingers crossed.

Mexican Fan Palm Before Winterization

I had to throw in a picture of my Mexican Fan Palm before I give it the Winter Treatment. Note that I'm 5'6". The palm and the massive grove of bananas to the left, have all but covered my ugly, 100-year-old garage. In the second picture, note the feathery fronds of the Pindo Palm to the left of the Washingtonia.

Coping Mechanisms

So what am I going to do this winter now that the Washingtonia Robusta in the back yard is taller than my garage and the pavilions I have built for it over the last 3-4 winters just aren't going to cut it anymore (due to my poor carpentry skills, largely). Picture from last winter:

I also have a really nice Pindo Palm (Jelly Palm, Butia Capitata) next to it that will need some form of protection. Ok, here is my thinking on the W. Robusta:

1. Heating cables will be wrapped around the trunk (about 3-4 feet tall) and will extend into the crown.

2. A blanket will be wrapped around the heating cables.

3. (Ok, this is where it looks like Jed Clamplett Construction Company steps in....) I'm thinking about encaging the crown - which is about 7-8 feet high - in chicken wire, covering that with clear plastic, and adorning the fronds of the crown with Christmas lights.

I will take some before and after photos and post them. It should be interesting what I come up with. Also note in the picture the gray pot to the left of the palm shack. That was protecting my nascent grove of bananas which now number in the double digits and are several feet higher than the garage. Photos are coming.

The Never Ending Summer

I haven't posted in months because there really hasn't been much to report. I did take an excursion to the highlands of Peru and saw native Queen Palms growing in Peru's Sacred Valley at about 10,000 feet above sea level. Although we were well within the tropics, I didn't expect quasi-fragile palms at that elevation. And the palms were thriving in the low-oxygen environment - and doing much better than I was.... as evidenced by the bluing of my hands and the occasion cough of blood. But I survived.

The palms in my yard are doing fine. The Washingtonia Robusta is taller than the garage, and will present a significant problem when I move to protect it this winter. The Pindo Palm next to it is probably four feet tall, and I'm also scratching my head over how to protect it.

Aside from some stress from the drought and ongoing heat (it was 91 degrees here yesterday, a record for the date) the palms are thriving. Will get some pix posted soon, and will start regular updates as they are prepared for winter.

Summer Growth Shows Its Splendor!

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the notable palm growth thus far this Summer:

Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia Robusta): This palm’s largest leaves are now taller than my garage. With 3-4 months left before the first hard freeze, this palm’s growth is truly amazing me.

Needle Palm (R. Hystrix): This well established, 3 year old palm has sent up a number of new pups this year. No sign of flowering.

Sabal Minors: The two well established S. Minors in the front yard have each sent up 5 seed stalks. They are in full bloom and are producing prodigious amounts of cold hard seed. These palms are very hardy, having spent 3 winters unprotected in a fully-exposed, sunny site.

Windmill Palms (T. Fortunei): The 4 feet tall Windmill in the front yard lost its entire central growth spear after the very low temperatures this winter, but it has been sending up new fronds like a champ. The smaller windmill in the back yard that I had declared dead, yanked from the ground and then replanted has sent up 2 new leaves and looks fine.

Pindo Palm (Butia Capitata): This palm is doing well and is being slightly crowded out by the fast growing Mexican Fan Palm.

European Fan Palm (Chamaerhops Humilis): This palm, known for its hardiness in dry climes, is doing quite well on the sun-baked banks of my front yard. Purchased by mail order this year, it appeared dead for the longest time (central spear rot – a recurrent theme) but sent up new growth in the last several weeks. I think it’s really digging this intense heat we’ve been enduring.

Saw Palmetto (S. Repens): Not a lot to say. Slow grower, and in a very shaded spot because of its neighbors.

Sabal var Birmingham: Both of these palms have only been in the ground for a year and are taking their time growing.

Mexican Blue Palm (Brahea Armata) I almost lost this palm last winter (in the house) but it’s doing quite well as the centerpiece to a pansy arrangement on the front porch.

Sabal: Being the Civil War buff that I am, I sprouted from seed a Sabal Palmetto from the battery in Charleston, S.C. It's planted in my front yard and is thriving.

Metamorphosis

I just have to share two photos – taken just two months apart – of my rapidly growing, 4 year old Mexican Fan Palm (R. Robusta). The first photo was taken on Easter Sunday.

The next photo, taken last week, shows the tallest frond reaching heights nearly surpassing my garage (7 feet). This guy grows so fast that I’ll never be able to build an enclosure around it this Winter. Time for some creative thinking on my part about how I’m going to protect it.

A Tale of Two Windmills

This update has been a long time in the making, and to fully steep yourself in the issue, you probably need to scroll back through my blob a few months and update yourself on what appeared to be the certain demise of two Windmill palms. I am happy to say that on both accounts, I was 100% wrong when I declared them dead.

What is most surprising to me is the resilience of this species. If you continue to read, you will see how both of these palms were tested at two different extremes. Both looked dead – but both are very alive today and again growing .

The first update regards the Windmill Palm in my brother-in-law’s backyard (see Monday, April 16, 2007 post) in Tallmadge, Ohio, that was overcooked during the winter by his overambitious heating system and looked like an old sombrero when I saw it this April. Dead, dead, dead.

Now in all fairness, Tallmadge Ohio is about 12 miles south of the Arctic circle, so palms there do need some heating. But I think the palm pavilion got hot enough on a few of the mild winter days to cook a small turkey. My brother-in-law, although disheartened, agreed to give the palm a month or two before removing it from its site, where it had spent 3 years. Update: The palm is alive and well, and sending up new fronds.

The second update is on a small windmill that was located in my front yard (see Saturday, March 24 posting) until I declared it dead, yanked it out of the front yard (literally) and threw it in the trash. At the urging of friend from the DC Tropics group (dctropics@yahoogroups.com), I decided to give the palm a second chance and transferred it from the trash can to a nice place in my back yard.

Honestly, it set there for at least 6 weeks, with nothing but a hole in the entire middle of the central section (which I did, at least, treat with fungicide) . Lo and behold, we have a live one here. New growth has emerged (below) and it appears that this little guy is going to make it.

How Dead is Dead? Windmill Update.....

In a posting several months ago, I detailed the saga of a young windmill palm in my collection that didn’t fare well through its first unprotected winter. Its entire central spear pulled out.

So now it’s June, the leaves are still green, yet nothing is happening in the central growth section of the plant. Everything else in my yard is growing like gangbusters, except that one palm that seems to be in a time warp. Unless I see some new growth in the next few weeks (highly unlikely) I plan on declaring the poor guy officially dead and vacating him from the premises.

The Nerd That I Am

There are very few people who would get excited about this announcement, but I finally bought myself a digital, remote sensor thermometer and mounted it in my back yard. It records the high and low temperature for the year, so it’s just too cool. This purchase was mandated, inadvertently, by my next door neighbor who accidentally blew the old thermometer off the fence while pressure washing his back porch (we have very close quarters here in DC)

None of the palms in my outdoor collection need protection until the temps drop below the 20 degree F mark, but it will be fun being able to more closely monitor things this fall.

On another, and completely unrelated note, my S. Minors are blooming. It looks to be a good harvest of seed this year.

Additions to the Collection

A friend from Northern Virginia and fellow palmophile just wouldn’t let me go away from the plant tour of his property (very impressive) empty handed: I’ve added to my hardy palm collection two Sabal Louisianas and a young Windmill Palm. The Windmill palm is noteworthy because he manually crossed the well established (more than a decade old) male palm in his collection with a female palm from another local collector and produced seeds that might possibly have inherited some cold hardiness from their parent plants.

I will probably keep all three plants in containers for a few years until I can get some size on them and then transfer them into the yard.

Needle Palm

I thought I'd drop in a shot of my ever-expanding Needle Palm (R. Hystrix). I questioned its cold-hardiness after it suffered major burn the first winter, however it has never been protected and is bursting with vim and vigor: 3 new "pups" (new shoots) have emerged this year.

It's been in the front yard for 3 years now and really seems to be taking off (finally!!)

My Cup Runeth Over

I’m not quite sure what has triggered this, but the 3 S. Minors I have on site are planning on producing a plethora of seed this year. The specimen that was almost evicted by the DC Water and Sewer Authority is sending up 4 inflorescences (flower/seed stalks), its counterpart in the front yard is sending up 3, and the more feeble specimen in the back yard looks to be planning on a single.

I’ll be up to my eyeballs in seed this Fall, if any readers are interested. These Minors have really proven their cold hardiness. They’ve never been protected (not even mulched) are fully exposed to the elements – both full sun and wind – and have never shown any sign of leaf damage. That’s impressive given the on again, off again, severe nature of last winter here in the Mid-Atlantic.

And I think it’s now safe to report that the only confirmed casualty from this winter was a small windmill palm (T. Fortunei) in the front yard which was enduring its first unprotected winter in DC. In hindsight, I probably should have protected it until it put on more bulk. Live and learn, right?

Now That's Luck

As I last reported earlier this week, the S. Minor in my front yard looked like it was heading or an early demise. The four year old, productive and well established palm found itself directly in the path way of the DC water company which has been charged with removing the ancient lead water pipes which have provided this house with water for nearly a century.

I tried removing the Palm last Saturday, and ten gallons of dirt, and two broken shovels later, it wouldn't budge. I mean it was if it was cemented into my front yard. I surmised that it would take a lengthy crowbar and a whole lot of elbow grease to remove the plant, and in doing so, I'd likely kill it. So I left its fate in the non-English speaking water company workers.

Well, not exactly. I did leave them a message - in Spanish - explaining the predicament and the personal value I attached to the plant. And pleading with them to find some way around this palm.

Today was D-day, and much to my amazement, they were able to dig right up to the edge of the plant but it wasn't removed. It looks to be in fine condition, and the four seed stalks it's sending up remain in good shape.

I did however remove many of its fronds, reasoning that it would remove stress from the plant since it had endured some modicum of root damage. So the palm is trimmed, watered, and seemingly continuing to enjoy its prominent place in my front yard.

I was so thrilled with the workers at the water company that I slipped them a $20 and encourged them to purchase some good cold beers. They gladly took me up on my offer.

Windmill Palm Reveals Its Cold Damage

Pictured above is the heavily damaged, blackened and nasty – but still growing – central growth spear of my large (3 ½ feet) Windmill palm. About a month ago, I removed a completely decayed emerging spear, and all I could see was the frond that is emerging now. Make sure you note the other emerging spears that appear at least slightly cold damaged and burnt on the tops – but the operational word here is “emerging.” Indeed, the plant is alive, and hopefully, will be putting up some nice growth this summer.

I treated the entire crown yesterday with fungicide, hoping that any remaining fungal damage is addressed.

Today is my birthday, and to start the day off, I set a new personal record in the gym this morning on the dumbbell press (using 115 lb. dumbbells – a 230 pound total press). Great way to start the day. What remains to be seen is what damage the water company has done to the S. Minor, pictured below with my geriatric mutt Ranger (14 years old). The water company has insisted that it has to be removed, so let's see what's left when I get home tonight. It was set to send up 4 new seed stalks this year, and now it will likely die. I'm sad. And on my birthday too.

A Ray of Hope: Signs of Life

Much to my chagrin, early this Spring I noticed that the central spear in my prize Windmill Palm in the front yard was moldy and rotten and pulled out with the slightest of ease.

So I’ve been on pins and needles wondering if this tree – which I thought had gone through its first unprotected winter unscathed – would survive. Yesterday evening, I noticed that the half-rotten remaining spear - which would not pull out but looked like a casualty – was pushing out to the top of the plant, and the portion of the leaf emerging seems to be in good shape. Additionally, I can see the tips of two new emerging spears. So, at this point, it looks like the palm has survived.

Here are the lessons I think I can draw from this experience:

1. Although Windmills are notoriously cold hardy, this particular palm is in the front yard, receiving a full sun exposure (south facing) all day. When the cold spell finally hit south of the Mason-Dixon, the 9 degree temps we experienced likely found this poor tree in the midst of a growth spurt. - magnifying the damage to the plant.

2. I won’t be so quick to write off palms that lose their central spears.

3. I still don’t have the patience to be a real palm collector.

4. I wasn't as ready as I first thought I would be to risk losing this palm. I might partially protect it a few more years until it's fit to go at it alone.

I plan on taking some close up shots of the emerging spears tonight and will post them tomorrow.

No Dice

The fate of the S. Minor in the front yard - which finds itself in the path of the DC Water Department - remains in question (shown below, sprouting out of my head)

Now mind you that this is a rather large specimen, but I fully expected that with a combination of brute strength (I am afterall a competitive powerlifter) and the right tools, I'd be able to dig the plant out before the work crews arrive on Monday.

10 gallons of dirt removed and one broken shovel later, I decided that perhaps the palm should stay where it is, and I'd try my luck at trying to convince the water-pipe replacement crew to dig their hole elsewhere.

I am truly amazed by the size of the plant below the surface of the ground. (I must note that the S. Minor is currently sending up news fronds and a number flower stalks) and this plant is anchored in my front yard like it has been cemented in. Even after digging down 12 inches on all sides, it wouldn't budge. Even broke my shovel.

I know I could have eventually gotten it out of the ground, but I'm convinced I would have killed the plant in the process. My fall back position is to hope that (1) the city can dig around it, or (2) if they have to remove it, they'll have better extrication tools than I do.

If it survives this process, It"ll put up some impressive growth this summer.

Evicted!

While the saying that every dark cloud has a silver lining might be true, so might be the opposite. The darker side of that old saw became abundantly clear to me recently when I realized that the City’s decision to replace all of its 100 year old lead water pipes with new copper ones meant that a good portion of the palm collection in my front yard might be under the gun.

Now it’s really good news that they’re investing in the ancient infrastructure in my neighborhood, but after a number of conversations and some private investigating on my part, I discovered some very unsettling news about my finely landscaped front yard. Every plant – and anything else - sited between the main waterline in the street and the hookup halfway up the front yard would be removed, trampled or both by construction crews detailed to install the new water lines.

Unfortunately for the very well established and largest S. Minor (featured above, with a light covering of snow, on Easter day) on the property, its space is in the city’s cross hairs. The good news is that I’ll have 24 hours to get it out of the path of progress. The bad news is that I’m not the most patient person and often end up destroying plants I’m trying to move. I've noted that as a designated area of personal growth for me.

If all goes well, the palm will be removed, and then replanted within a 24 hour period.

At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.

Mystery Palm

Ok, I have to admit that I'm stumped on this palm. I bought it as a very small plant probably 4 years ago from home depot, and it was labeled something like "tropical." I've seen some of these growing in South Florida and in my visit to Hawaii this weekend, but I'm really stumped as to what exactly it is. I usually take it in the house when temps start dropping into the middle 20s.

Anyone willing to take a stab at this?

The Mexican fan palm in the back yard is growing like gangbusters. I've left a few of the slightly cold damaged leaves on it from this past winter, but I'm lopping them off this weekend. Prediction, it will be taller than my garage by the end of the summer, which will present some unique challenges with my cold protection strategies this winter.

Not a Scene from my backyard

For those of you who have been wondering what happened to me over the last few days, I've been in Hawaii taking my 2 1/2 year old son home to reunite with his mothers. I couldn't resist taking a few shots from the balcony of my hotel room on Waikiki beach the first morning. Other good palm shots to follow, and a few more from my collection here.

Rolling with the Punches?

I wasn’t quite ready for what I found when I walked through my front yard at dusk yesterday and noticed what looked like black mold on the smallest front coming out of my prize palm in the front yard – my 3 year old windmill palm. This was the first winter the palm went unprotected, and I was reasonably confident that it had weathered the record cold without fail. The leaves are green, there are new leaves coming out of it, but curiously, the smallest of the emerging frond is rotten. Besides that, it looks great.

Eeeks!

I’ve read numerous accounts about these palms completely defoliating and coming back, and have had numerous conversations through this blog with people who know a lot more about hardy palms than I do, and the consensus is that this one will pull through. So both of my windmills, and my European fan palm are all sans central growth spears now.

I keep telling myself that experimental gardeners need to roll with the punches. But this one felt more like a kick in the jewels. Here it is pictured on Easter Sunday with a fresh dusting of snow. It's still bright green, and looks very healthy.

My First Endorsement

I didn't start this blog to push anyone's products, but since I've highlighted many of the palms in my collection, I'd be be remiss to not mention Georgia's Tyty Nursery which has been a reliable source of affordable, and healthy hardy palms. Their palms arrive in good shape, bare-rooted and ready to go. In addition, they're guaranteed for a year.

And maybe this exposes my soft spot for southerners (both sides of my family are from the south, although I was born in Ohio) but they're just nice people, helpful people, eager to do business and please their customers. I find myself shocked to find customer service people nowadays who actually care about their personal skills and are mindful of customer care (oh my god, I think I'm sounding like an old troll.)

The palms I've ordered from them have thrived.

Sabal var. Birmingham

So it might be apparent by now that I have a bit of an eccentric side. But the acquisition of this palm was even a little extreme for me. I learmed that a nursery in Central North Carolina carried this cold hardy strain of Sabal Palmetto. The problem was that they don't ship. Sounds like the makings of a road trip, right?

800 miles (round trip) later, I was the proud owner of two S. var Birmingham. This one is cited in my back yard micro climate, protected from the direct north winds by my neighbor's garage. It did well last winter with a moderate amount of protection (plastic enclosure, no heat). It suffered no leaf damage, and I think that by the fourth winter, I'll give it a go alone. It's sending up new fronds and seems to love the location.

Anything that can survive in my back yard is indeed hardy - the soil is actually a 100 year old collection of various forms of trash, from shredded beer cans to old bottles of poppers. Certainly an ecclectic collection of urban mulch, wouldn't you say?

Windmill Al Dente, Anyone?

I was really anxious to see the results of my brother-in-law's Windmill palm after spending its third winter - fully protected - in the barren winter tundra of Northern Ohio. The 3 year old palm had fared well the previous two winters, and according to my brother-in-law (Paul) , who had taken a few peaks during the long (and still going) winter, it was doing well. Needless to say I was a little startled when I peeked inside the enclosure to see what looked like the remnants of Union General Sherman's scortched earth policy. I think the poor devil has been cooked.

It seems that Paul, in an attempt to "really" protect it this winter, packed the plastic enclosure with straw, in addition to the 100 watt bulb which burned continuously since October. There's very little green left on the once impressive specimen, and EVERYTHING coming out of the middle was wet and moldy...but firm (read: a glimmer of hope).

We unpacked the poor thing and are keeping our fingers crossed that although it looks to be cooked on the outside, there's still a little spunk left on the inside.

Boy do I ever feel sorry for Paul.

Palms in the Arctic

Well, that might be stretching it a bit, but I am heading back to my native northern Ohio (USDA zone 5b – practically the Arctic Tundra) for the weekend and am quite anxious to see the Windmill Palm my brother-in-law planted 3 years ago next to his swimming pool. As of last Fall it was doing quite well, and hadn’t been used for fuel by any of the small bands of Eskimo who inhabit the far north.

I have to add that my brother in law – who is a carpenter by trade – puts me to shame every year with the high quality pavilions he constructs around this palm. My back yard palm hut looks like something Jed Clampett would have built, and his is closer to resembling a creation by by Scotty off the USS Enterprise. Will take my camera and see if I can grab a shot or two.

Palms Can’t Grow Here!

I wanted to relay a recent conversation I had with a fellow at the gym who informed me – after finding out that I had a collection of palms in my yard – that “palms can’t grow in DC. It’s too cold.”

After offering real life examples, like my own yard, of palms that grow in DC, I also pointed out that palms exist in other parts of the world, where many knee-jerk skeptics might think impossible: Russia, Scotland, the Pacific Northwest, Northern France.

I still don’t think he believed me.

Windmill Palm Update

A younger windmill palm that had endured its first unprotected DC Winter (a cold one this year) is maintaining its green fronds but has not shown any other signs of life since losing its central growth spear. This is just an update – I haven’t given up on it yet.

But while I’m on the topic of sickly plants, my recently purchased European Fan Palm (C. Humilis) which arrived with a moldy central growth spear is starting to show signs of leaf wilt. I’m giving it one or two more weeks and then calling the nursery to send a replacement.

Easter in Alaska?

It's a good thing that I'm a very goal driven person, because it makes the fact that I've set a new personal record this Spring in pulling in the tropical plants off my front porch to avoid an unwelcomed hard freeze - I think last night marked the 6th time that's happened this Spring. Like much of the rest of the country, Spring here has been put on hold. The outdoor palms which have been fertilized already and were basking in 80 degree temperatures just a few weeks ago are in shock. The S. Minor, above, seems relatively unfazed, but is used to being bathed in a sea of mulit-colored phlox this time of year. Some of the colors are visible through the dusting of snow that arrived Easter morning. The Windmill palm below (T. Fortunei) is in the midst of sending up 2 new spears, and seems equally unfazed.

Several of the larger, cold-damaged fronds of the Mexican Fan Palm out in the back yard, were a little weighted down by the wet snow, but the plant itself is unfazed. At this point, the coldest temperature I've recorded in my back yard is 29 degrees during this cold snap, which means we suffered much less than parts of the deep South.

Sans Freeze in NW DC

Despite vastly conflicting forecasts of fwhether or not it would freeze, I hauled in a number of my most tender tropical palms from the front porch last night. They spent the night in the living room. The official low in my back yard was a balmy 34 degrees F, several important degrees warmer than predicted by the local weather guys. I think we'll get the real thing tonight, though, as this freeze is setting records even into the deep South.

To Freeze, or Not to Freeze, That is the Question!

Wow, I'm so glad I'm not a grower with a Spring strawberry crop in the field right now trying to decipher to what extent I needed to worry about this "freeze." It seems that the very guys who are absolutley convinced that the earth will be one degree warmer 50 years from now have widely divergent opinions about how cold it's going to get tonight and the next few nights, or apparently whether or not we're going to get a freeze at all. Here are two different scenarios for Washington DC low temperatures over the next few days:

The Weather Channel vs Washington's WJLA TV
Friday 33 vs 29
Saturday 33 vs 27
Sunday 35 vs 30
Monday 37 vs 31


Quite a difference in predictions. For any non-agricultural readers, there is a huge difference in the few degrees between freezing and not-freezing, at least in the plant world. One scenario has no freeze at all, the other has a hard freeze for four nights in a row. Thank god for my desk job, and heating cables for my palms.

Kamikaze Coconut

I have a 2 year old Coconut Palm that seems to be looking for a way out. Of life, that is. I think I just made an executive decision to leave it out overnight for the next three days and see if Mother Nature relieves me of this burden. If it lives through these nights of near freezing, or below freezing temperatures - hell, it deserves to live. And get an upgrade in pots.

Near Record Low Temps Approaching

So of course everything I own is outside already, including some true tropicals like my Coconut Palm, Triangle Palm, and Mystery Palm - it's a mystery because although it's rather large, and I've had it for 4 years, I'm not quite sure what it is, but will post a picture and hope to discover its identity from one of the readers. So, tomorrow after work, they're all coming back in the house. Again.

My other fear is the new and impressive growth on the Mexican Fan Palm. I'm hoping these lows don't set me back too far.

European Fan Palm Looking Terminal

Ok, I'm going out on a limb here because I promised myself to never again rush to judgement about whether or not a palm was dead just because its central spear was rotten. The European Fan palm I received, and planted in my front yard last week, had a central spear that was mushy, moldy and rotten. Didn't notice that until after it was planted. So I called the nursery that sent it to me and they recommended that I give it three weeks to see if life still remained.

Now I'm an optimist, and very hopeful for this plant, but a few of the other fronds have since pulled off, and the leaves themselves seem to be shriveling. I don't think it's looking particularly positive for this palm, but time will tell.

On another note, leaving for a quick business trip today to Denver. Have read about some of the hardier species of palms growing in the high plains of Colorado, but have never seen anything of the sort in Denver. Will keep my eyes peeled and camera ready.

"K Mart" Skin

The problem with being a fair skinned, blue eyed, red haired, freckle-faced, hyper-active kid who was born before sun screen is that I can't count the number of bad sunburns I've had. Decades of blistering burns, accompanied by various rashes, etc., has lead me to a phrase to describe my brand of skin: K-Mart. It's indeed the blue light special skin.

And how this relates to palms is that it's often surprising to me how easily certain species of tropical palms sunburn after being liberated from the far corners of my house after a long winter's break. In fact, my skin seems to do better in the early Spring sun that some of my palms. I have a very nice Triangle palm, for example, that got so burned after spending the first day towards the front of my porch that it's now resting completely out of the full sun. There are actually scorch marks on the the portion of the frond that received the direct sun. (It reminded me of scene from "Interview with the Vampire" when the two female vampires are tied together and forced to face the rising of the sun: they both burst into flames and are left as a pile of ashes).

So they'll spend about a month acclimating and then get plunged into the grandeur of the full sun. K-mart palms?

Got Milk?

I’m batting 1,000 at my attempts to germinate coconuts (in the fairness of full disclosure, the stat. sounds more impressive than it is: I’m 2 for 2) but this next attempt is with a twist. It seems that the two coconuts I secreted back from Hawaii this past winter are now dry inside. No splashes, slurps, or sloshes. Sans milk.

So I might be putting my 100% germination record to the test when I try and hatch these two nuts later this Spring. The plan is to follow the tried and true method: Soak them for a month and then plant them half emerged in a dirt/sand combo stew, resting on a reliable pair of heating cables. And then waiting, for months, to see if anything stirs.

Will the lack of milk in the diet leave these nuts germinationally challenged? Inquiring minds would like to know....

A recurring theme?

I hurried home after work yesterday to liberate my mail order palms from the confines of their large rectangular box. I talked myself into sticking the European fan palm in a prominent position on the slope of my front yard, which faces south and takes the full sun all day long. After the plant was sited, I was surprised to find that its central growth spear was rotten and pulled out with a gentle tug. Except for that, the plant looks great.

Now the former Dave would have ripped that sucker out of the ground. But the new and slightly more educated Dave has decided to give it a month or so and see what happens. The rest of the palm looks healthy, and perhaps a new bud will arise. If not, it's guaranteed for a year, so nothing's lost. And it looks soooo good in my front yard.

Il est arrivee!! (It has arrived)

The title of this post was actually plagiarized (how many public affairs folks admit to doing that) from a book given to me the Summer I worked as a farm hand on a dairy farm in Northern France (Normandy). The book is bout D-Day, and the landing of the Americans, British and Canadians on the beaches of Normandy.

But that was the first thing that came to mind when a large package arrived today at my office containing my Chinese Fan Palm and European Fan Palm. I'm now renegotiating with myself to try and decide where I'm actually going to put them. The big calculation is based on just how many pavilions/huts I want to construct this fall. At this point, I'm edging towards declaring the Chinese Fan Palm an addition to my indoor collection and plopping the European Fan Palm out back. I figure I could place it close to my Pindo Palm and they could share their digs for the winter.

Too Quick to Throw in the Towel?

My previous entry details my decision to "declare dead" the smaller of two windmill palms that has lived in my front yard for 3 years and has just gone through its first unprotected winter. A fellow palm enthusiast read that post, and kindly pointed out that I might have thrown in the towel on the poor devil a little too soon. Now it was more than just a few years ago that I took my single agronomy class at Ohio State - and I can state without any hesitation that we spent zero time on the horticultural needs of palms - but I've always thought as a monocotyledon, when the central growth spear of a palm was dead, the palm was too. Maybe I should check my transcript to see if I actually passed that class or not.

It seems that there are many instances of young windmills losing their central growth bud and recovering from what I thought was a fatal incident. Could it be that the poor windmill in my trash can was still alive? This thought haunted me. So I vowed that if I could find the garbage bag that held that poor little devil, that I'd put it back in the ground and give it a fair chance to live.

So here's a shot of two things in my life that are pictured here because in essence, they've shared a similar fate. On the right is Ranger, who was rescued from the dog pound 14 years ago. On the left is the small windmill, which was rescued from my trash can 6 hours ago, and repatriated back to mother earth. If windmills have at least some chance of recovering from the loss of the central spear, this one's going to get a shot. And I'd like to thank my fellow palm lover in advance, for calling this to my attention before the trash man arrives on Tuesday.

Also is a shot of my Mexican fan palm, with an image of me (5'7") to give you an idea of its height. It has certainly surpassed my ability to build rickety structures around it to protect it in the winter.

The Casualties of Winter

I'm been hoping that the smaller of my two Windmill palms had survived its first unprotected winter. The half emerged spear was shriveled and looked bad, but firm to the tug. A smaller, yet emerging spear tip was firm to the touch as well. It must have just taken some time for the rot of death to work its way in, because today, after watching a complete dearth of growth even after the Spring warm-up, both spears yanked out easily and were completely rotten. I must say that I wasn't entirely surprised - the palm has never been extremely healthy, and I knew that if I was going to lose a palm this winter, it would be that one.

Never to allow myself to dwell on the negative, I removed the dead comrade and replace it with a very small European fan palm and a two year old Sabal palmetto sprouted from seed taken in Charleston harbor, S.C. Thought it would be an appropriate tribute to my ancestors having a Confederate palm in my front yard.

One other casualty was a small Royal Palm (Roystonea regia) which must have succumbed to the cold because of its proximity to a north facing, rather drafty outside wall this winter. I was a little surprised by its death.

I'm awaiting the arrival of a large European Fan Palm, and a Chinese Fan Palm, which will fill out the bed in my back yard. The plan is to expand that bed in May, and start trying to figure out how I'm going to protect the quickly growing specimens in the back yard this winter.

Also made contact with some folks who are hardy fan palms here in D.C. Will be nice to have someone to discuss these things with.

The Full Monty

I thought I should post a list of the palms I have at my house, and in my yard. Most of these are outside plants, and get a varying degree of protection in the winter. However, a few obvious ones, like the Coconut Palm, are Summer only outsiders.

Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus Fortunei)
Sabal Palmetto (for Civil War buffs, these are sprouted from seed gathered at The Battery in Charleston, S.C.)
Sabal Minor
Sabal Palmetto var. Birmingham
Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix)
Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia Robusta)
Pindo Palm (Butia capitata)
Saw Palm (Serenoa repens)
European Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis)
Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera)
Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
Triangle Palm (Neodypsis decaryi)
Mexican Blue Palm (Brahea armata)
California Fan Palm (Washingtonia Robusta)

Sometimes, It Just Screams For A Road Trip

I guess it's the palm version of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but early last Spring, I decided that I needed to take a road trip to Central North Carolina to purchase a Sabal Palmetto, var. Birmingham. Actually I bought two. And God did I drive...the round trip was 750 miles total - which of course I did in a day.

One's in the front yard, the other's in that back, and both did well this winter with plastic protection and the slightest bit of heating. Neither had any cold damage, and both are pushing up new fronds right now.

The hope is that these palms might have inherited some of the cold tolerance of their parent plant, which survived many a cold night in Birmingham, Alabama. The plan is to protect them through two more winters and then give it a go sans heat. Will enclose a photo or two in another posting.

Outside time, again

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. Be that definition, the fact that every year, without fail, I haul all of my indoor palms and tender tropicals out of the house (all 3 stories of it) and onto the front porch - smugly exclaiming that DC has seen its last hard freeze of the year - only to recant that statement a few days later and haul everything back into the house again.

This week, that included a Triangle Palm, a Burmese Fishtail Palm, a Mexican Blue Palm, and a Calamondin (citrus) bush laden with ripe fruit. As I schlepped all of that plant material back into my house, I mumbled to myself, "you really deserve this, Dave, you idiot."

OK, so I've recalculated my long range forecasting, and have again projected no more hard freezes for DC until late October or early November. So, everything's back out on the front porch, one more time.

I've never been known as a patient man. The positive side of this equation, since I am always the optimist, is that hauling all of that heavy plant material must have some positive effects on my strength training. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Palmicide in Ocean City

Being that today is the first day of Spring, I thought I would take the opportunity to ruminate about something that I've witnessed every year at the local beach: Palmicide.

What I'm talking about is the massive annual importation of Coconut Palms to add a taste of the tropics to the resort community of Ocean City, Maryland. Now being a major palm fan, I must say that it's nice seeing these majestic trees dot the resort every year. And these aren't small trees, they're 15-20 year old, established palms that have likely been grown in deep South Florida. However, it does leave me feeling a tad bit sad knowing that they'll be dead as a doornail after the first hard freeze. Hundreds of them, looking like ragged match sticks for the rest of the winter until the new batch arrives in late April.

It's not like the Ocean City administrators could be thinking that they'll take a gamble and see if they strike it lucky and the palms might survive a winter or two before a really cold spell arrives. I've lived in Florida and can tell you that Coconut Palms can't even survive a winter in Orlando. Ocean City? What, are they smoking the palm fronds?

My main point here - and I guess this is one of my soapboxes (I'm a man with many) - is that a little research would tip them off to palm trees that would perhaps have A CHANCE of surviving a winter there. Ocean City, Maryland is in USDA zone 7B, meaning Sabal Palmettos would have a fighting chance (there are some very well established plants about 150 miles down the road in Virginia Beach), as would Windmill Palms, European Fan Palms, or even some nice S. Minors. But Coconut Palms?

Ok. I feel better now.

Tomorrow: "Climate Crisis Action Day"

March 20th has been declared "climate crisis action day" by a laundry list of credible and quasi-credible (and some not so credible) groups. Tomorrow, concerned citizens will converge on the nation's capital to express their concern about human-fueled global warming. What's ironic here is that while they'll be protesting rising global temperatures, the sensitive palms in my back yard will remain wrapped in blankets, and heating cables, on the first day of Spring. I'm not here to say that the 8 billion humans who inhabit our planet aren't affecting the environment, but I'm curious to see how Al Gore, who is testifying before Congress today on this very topic, explains why temperatures are also rising on Mars, Jupiter and Pluto.

On another note, I've purchased two new palms. One, the European Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) will be placed on the slope of my south facing front yard. This is a location that is very exposed, and dry - which should be suitable considering the natural range (arid Mediterranean regions) of this cold hardy palm. The specimen will likely need to be protected for at least 3 winters before I give it a try on its own.

The second palm is a Chinese Fan Palm ( Livistonia chinensis) - which will be placed in the back yard and will need full protection every winter, as its cold-hardiness is rather limited (probably much below 20 degrees F will do it in). The first Palm I ever purchased was a Chinese Fan Palm - probably about 25 years ago, so this will be a valuable addition to my collection, and a living tribute to a hobby that's been with me my entire adult life.

Here's the makeshift greenhouse I constructed last winter to ensure the survival of my prized Mexican Fan Palm. The Mexican Fan Palm is such a rapid grower that it will likely be taller than the garage next year...necessitating some creativity on my part when it comes to heating...

Today, I hit the Proverbial Wall

Most are used to hearing that term when it comes to training for a long, strenuous event, like a marathon, or in my case, benching thousands of pounds in an attempt to exceed a plateau and reach a new level of strength...but the wall I'm talking about, is Winter.

Now I'm a big fan of winter, and cherish those cold blustery days, especially weekends peppered with snowfall and comfort food. However, last weekend, having experienced our first warm temperatures of the year, I disassembled and destroyed the palm pavilion in my back yard (I'll write more about that later) cut back the dead leaves, fertilized heavily, and banked on the beginning of Spring.

The problem is that the long range forecasts were wrong, and winter has returned for a real slap in the face, with cold blustery winds and lows in mid 20's. One of my prize palms, a Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia Robusta) is nearly as tall as my garage, and is now fully exposed to the cold winter chill. Now these temperatures should not pose a life threatening event to the Mexican fan palm, but not being able to live with myself if it did, I've taken late winter emergency steps and have wrapped the trunk in heating cables and old blankets. I'm protecting the main central core from the extreme cold, and have accepted the fact that I'll likely lose most of the leaves.

I've read that these palms can withstand blasts well into the lower teens, but I'd be much more complacent if this specimen was just a bit older.

It's a bit embarrassing revealing this poor specimen in what looks like something constructed by Jed Clampett (old enough to remember the "Beverly Hillbillies?") but there it is. It's actually a very pretty palm when it's not battling the Cold Miser. Since I've flashed a shot of this bed, I'll add that sharing this space, but decidedly hard to see, is a four foot tall Pindo Plam (Butia Capitata), two smaller European Fan Plams (Chamaerops Humilis), a Saw Palm (Serenoa Repens) and a Sabal Minor. None of these palms are even noticing the cold, and are faring quite well unprotected.

Chinese Windmill Palm - unprotected yet unscathed

I purchased a 5 gallon Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus Fortunei) three years ago and planted it in a prominent area of my South-facing front yard. These palms the most cold hardy of the arboreal palms, but need to be well acclimated and stable before their legendary cold hardiness can be tested. These palms are from the foothills of the Himalayas, are in the fan palm family, and have been grown for decades in parts of the world not known as palm-friendly. One example I've seen with my own eyes are several impressive specimens growing in Edinburgh Scotland and near Isle of Skye, Scotland. They have also been seen in the Crimean peninsula of southern Russia, along the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

But I stray. After building an extravangant winter protection system for the palm for the last three years, I declared that this winter, it was officially established and would go the test of Old Man Winter alone. Except for some mulching, the Palm fared beautifully, not showing any cold damage despite the lows in Northwest DC ranging on several nights from 7-9 degrees Fahrenheit. It's in the process right now of putting up three new fronds, and almost seems to be doing better than the winters when I protected it (I have a theory about that -- I think the combination of south facing location, heating cables and a plastic shelter sent some of the temperatures inside the palm hut to dangerously high levels on the first couple of warm spring days.)

It has a smaller counterpart in very close proximity, and the jury is still out on how well that one did. There's some obvious leaf damage in the emerging frond, but it's firmly attached and doesn't pull out (a clear sign that the Palm has perished)

The larger specimen, featured here, shows its beautiful characteristic furry trunk, and it light green fronds.