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.