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I'll bet all those palms pictured just died. The DC area has been frigid for the last few days. Highs in the teens!
And you would surely lose that bet. Some of those palms pictured in Washington D.C. and surrounding areas have been here for 10-20 years, and have survived temps down to 0F. Just a few weeks ago, we were in single digits for two nights, with highs the days between in the low to mid teens. We were below freezing for 5-6 straight days. Little to no damage.
There are more palms in DC that I did not post in those pics. There are some in and around downtown Washington, just off of the National mall. Here are a few pics taken just this past sunday 2/1/09. These have been here since 2001, unprotected... and, have gone to seed several times.. and have hundreds of seedlings growing near by.
Each photo's description is above the photo.
Trachycarpus Fortunei in front of the National Air and Space museum. I believe this and all the other palms in this very large "planter" have been there for 8 years. This palm is mostly hidden from view from the street during the warm months as it is surrounded by a forest of Musa Basjoo that come back each spring, and usually grow as tall as, or taller than the palm. It is about 15 feet tall, and in my opinion needs to be "cleaned up" just a bit. It appears it has been several years since it last went to seed. This palm is unprotected, however it is on the south side of a HUGE building that is a couple city blocks long.
View of the same palm, from across Independence Avenue.
Two larger Rapidophyllum Hystrix right next to the large Windmill. Also farther down you can see a "grove" of larger Sabal Minor. Again, all of these palms remain unprotected throughout the winter months. All of these palms have set seed, and there are hundreds of seedlings in this planter, and the surrounding planters and some in the ground around trees.
View from the opposite end of the same huge planter. Closest to the camera is the "grove" of larger Sabal Minor. Im not sure how many plants are in it, but I would guess somewhere around 15-20. Its pretty thick. In the distance is the Windmill. There are Sabal Minor seedlings spread all over the place, and in many of the near by planters as well. There are also Needle palm seedlings mixed in. Some of the seedlings appear to be at least a couple years old now and a few that are starting to produce fan leaves. You can see in the foreground all the babies. They look like large blades of grass, and those are just the ones that sprouted close by the mother plants.
So there you have it. I would definnitely NOT bet against palms not only surviving, but even thriving in Washington D.C., espeically down town. Down town, and the very close in cities such as Alexandri, and Arlington VA which are right along the Potomac, are basically a cold zone 8a, and in some protected microclimate areas probably are a warm 8a. Most of the areas outside of the areas listed here, are a 7b, inside the beltway. Farther north and west, is where you run into zone 7a.
Pretty cool. What do you think the chances are of a windmill palm surviving a DC suburb winter that is 30 miles west of downtown DC? I guess that would be either zone 7b.
Pretty cool. What do you think the chances are of a windmill palm surviving a DC suburb winter that is 30 miles west of downtown DC? I guess that would be either zone 7b.
I think they would be pretty good, but you would probably have to protect it some on the coldest parts of winter. The one pic of the tall windmill next to the house is in sterling, VA, which is fairly far out and west/ northwest of DC, so that too is in a much colder suburb. Far as I know it lives there unprotected.
Keep in mind though, SITING is everything as well. You want a south facing wall of a building. The taller the building the better, and red brick is even better. South facing walls tend to create microclimates, as well as protect the palms from the very harsh, gusty nortwest winter winds. I believe that palm that is in sterling VA is up against the south wall of a home.
Cool..thanks. Like you said, where it's planted is key. South facing wall of course is best. Protection is good too on the coldest times, but it's kind hard to protect a 20 foot palm tree - so a tall south facing wall is best.
I actually have a neighbor (in NoVa) who's growing palms. They're about 10 feet tall now, but they don't look like they're doing well this year. They've always been unprotected, and they've looked pretty green the past several years. But this year they're looking kind of brown and yellow. I'd be curious to see what they look like this summer after recovery.
Cool..thanks. Like you said, where it's planted is key. South facing wall of course is best. Protection is good too on the coldest times, but it's kind hard to protect a 20 foot palm tree - so a tall south facing wall is best.
I actually have a neighbor (in NoVa) who's growing palms. They're about 10 feet tall now, but they don't look like they're doing well this year. They've always been unprotected, and they've looked pretty green the past several years. But this year they're looking kind of brown and yellow. I'd be curious to see what they look like this summer after recovery.
Even here in Columbia some of my Palm Trees get brown during the winter, but they come back nicely with new green fronds during the summer and I trim the brown ones away.
I actually have a neighbor (in NoVa) who's growing palms. They're about 10 feet tall now, but they don't look like they're doing well this year. They've always been unprotected, and they've looked pretty green the past several years. But this year they're looking kind of brown and yellow. I'd be curious to see what they look like this summer after recovery.
I know. I have a Windmill palm that I have had for about 5 years. Its only got some minor browning over the past 4 winters, but this winter has been exceptionally cold, with temperatures dropping to 5° TWICE in January for morning lows, which was about 23° below average even in mid January. Needless to say it has suffered this winter, with alot of frond damage, but I am told it will recover fully... it just looks dreadful. My Needle palm is perfect... they are much hardier. I have Sabal Minor seedlings... some browning, but the bases are still green. I hope they are OK.
I need some advice on my palm tree. We live in Simpsonville, SC and we had our Palm Tree planted in our yard in September 2007. About 3 months ago it started to turn brownish/yellowish. Here are some pictures. Do you have any advice? I have fertilized it every May & August like the told me.
If someone can help me please send me your email address so I can email the pics to you.
Thank you!
Amy
Quote:
Originally Posted by nadpsa81
Sabal Palms/Cabbage Palms or South Carolina Palmetto Trees as they are commonly called here in South Carolina are not expensive and they will grow in clay just as they grow in sand. This tree is very hardy and from Greenwood to the coast, anybody can have this trees in thier landscape. I am in North Augusta and I have 15 Sabal Trees in my yard. A friend of mine has over 40 Sabals in his yard with aprox. 200 Windmills also. He and his wife have been adding tropical palms and plants to thier yard for the last 15 years. This includes Pindos, Sabal Minors, Washingtonias, Needles, European Fan Palms, Saw Palmettos, Sagos, Banannas and Elephant Ears. We started a company in the North Augusta/Augusta/Aiken area, called "A Palm For You" and we will deliver and install a 6-20 foot Sabal Palm for $300.00. We have a nursery in North Augusta that has any tropical tree and plant that will grow in this area in stock. If you are interested in getting any tropical plants/trees or have any questions regarding the care or design of these plants in a landscape design, please feel free to call us at 803-341-0186 and ask for Robert Bell.
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Pindo Palms
