The Fatality List Is Ugly

The carnage from this past winter with our extreme cold temps (8 degrees F) is showing its ugly head. The dead include:
1. Two European Fan Palms, in semi-heated pavilions
2. One Saw Palm, in pavilion

The extensively damaged:

1. Mexican fan palm. Completely defoliated, but greenish in the central spear area.
2. Windmill palm: A lot of leaf damage, but continued to grow throughout the winter.

Not phased at all:

1. Sabal Birmingham
2. Sabal Minors
3. Sabal Palmetto
4. Needle palms.

The Ugly Reality of a Cold Winter

The damage of this cold winter is starting to show its ugly face in my front and back yard, where temperatures reached 9 degrees F one night. This is the first single digit reading at my house in at least 5 years. Despite the heavy protection, I'm not sure if the Mexican Fan Palm Survived. The central spear is fried, but not mushy. It hasn't pulled out yet, and appears to be green deep down. Despite being enclosed in plastic, the feathery leaves of the Pindo Palm and European Fan Palm are badly burnt. The Chinese Windmill Palm, in the front yard, has some leaf damage but is sending up a new leaf nevertheless. The Sabal Minors: unfazed.

What Lies Beneath?

I've been looking at my W. Robusta, wrapped in blankets and plastic (and heating cables) and despite the efforts, all I see is dead fronds. When I peel back the plastic, I smell dry, dead leaves. I'm not sure if I'll have anything left of my Mexican Fan Palm by the time this winter is through with us. It got down to 9 degrees in my backyard, which is certainly cold enough to kill the palm. Sans winter protection, that is. The question that won't be answered until March 15th when I unwrap the palm is whether or not this protection was sufficient. I guess I need to enjoy the winter and know that time will tell....

Before the Freeze

Well, tomorrow it'll be November first, and not a sign of a pending freeze, with the Weather Channel giving us the clear sign through the 9th of November. But a freeze will certainly come, and the fruiting bananas will die, and the shelters on some of the less cold hardy palms (W. Robusta, B. Capitata) will go up. But before the freeze, one last photo of this year's growth.

S. Minor Thrives in the DC Sunshine

The S. Minors that I planted four years ago - and have never been protected - have again produced a prodigious amount of seeds. It appears the squirrels did an efficient job of scattering the seeds from last year, as my front yard is littered with S. Minor seedlings. The leaves are huge, and beautiful, as you can see from the pix. I have two of the stately palms at the front two corners of my yard.

Chinese Windmill Palm

The 5 and a half feet tall Trachycarpus Fortunei in my front yard has sent up at least 20 new fronds this year and seems well prepared for the upcoming winter. The trunk has thickened considerably this year which should provide it with the needed protection from the cold. This palm has not been protected - not even heavily mulched - in 3 years. Prior to that, I did provide a plastic-sheeted covering around it to allow it to attain a good enough size to tolerate the zone 7 cold we get here.

The Last Few Weeks Before the Freeze

Here are a few shots of my back yard taken yesterday afternoon. First, the W. Robusta is impressive, and will be quite the challenge to protect this year.

The next shot is my Pindo Palm, which unfortunately finds itself squeezed between the Mexican fan palm on its right and the grove of fruiting bananas on the left.

The last photo, for the hardy banana lovers out there, is my Muso Basjoo, which just started bearing fruit (close up shot) this week.

See the budding flowers and small bananas?

The Fall Is Upon Us

I'm planning on taking pictures in the next day or so of two remarkable things in my back yard. My Washingtonia Robusta is well over 12 feet high, and the idea of protecting it from the cold this winter is a big daunting. But, as odd as this may sound, on one of my recent trips to Hawaii I actually sat next to a guy who worked for the company that protected fragile palms in the Virginia Beach area for years. He was very well versed in the "shoulds" and "should nots" of palmestry and I gained a lot of savvy from the conversation.

Additionally, the Muso Basjoo hardy bananas, which have reached 12'-14' feet in my back yard, have began fruiting. I'm hoping our first freeze holds off until late October so I can see how well the bananas ripen. Pix are soon to follow.

Washintonia Robusta Shows Its Stuff

The four year old Washingtonia Robusta in my backyard is really starting to mature into a nice sized, beautiful and commanding palm. I intentionally planted it at an angle so that it would grow out and away from the garage, allowing for more space for the massive leaves. I sited is close to garage hoping that the barrier would provide a slight microclimate for the young plant. Well, with lots of protection and ample fertilizer, it's doing quite nicely. This photo was taken today. To give an idea of it's size, I'm 5'6" 1/2 (when you're this short, you always include the 1/2 inch).


The bananas, Muso Basjoo, which can partially be seen to the left, are magnificent. They have to have hit 12 feet by now, and I'm really hoping for some bananas. Unfortunately the size of the W. Robust on the one side, and the bananas on the other, is resulting in a mostly shaded siting for my Pindo Palm, which also is chugging along.

Out for the Spring

DC PalmCentral is back online. For those of you longing for the warm months, I've attached one of the last photos I took of my backyard before the first hard freeze last Fall. Note the bail of straw to the right of the photo was going to be used to protect the grove of bananas that had reached about 10 feet tall last year. The Washingtonia Robusta (large palm on the right by the frence) had a plastic, heated pavillion built around it and survived without a hitch.

I removed all of my palm pavilions from the winter and the front and back yard are edging towards full growth. No damage to any of my palms this winter, although it appears that the low in my backyard only reached 14 degrees F, which wouldn't cause damage on most of my outdoor collection. I will post some photos of the back yard taken this winter soon, and then an update showing the Spring growth.

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.