"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.