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That sounds interesting However, they would grow in the mountains naturally if the climate supported it I am a fan of spruce trees
True enough and this was in the Vale d'Aosta. But this palm was located halfway up a very, very high mountain. And even the city itself, located in the base of the valley, receives a lot of subzero temps with the obligatory snow. In short, it was a far cry Zone 7 winters.
It what sparked my interest in hardy palms. My ex's father got out a book and told me that they were from mountainous areas of China. I thought why not DC and the rest is history.
Is this a windmill palm? If so, Ive seen several people plant them in Chicagoland area.
Looking at it carefully I would say it looks like a Chusan Fan Palm
(Chinese Fan Palm)
It's "sort of" hardy... I don't think it can survive a normal Chicago winter
I had a few I bought at Home Depot ...they all eventually died on me
I wouldn't buy them again (they were very cheap)
A Windmill Palm is a much better choice ...looks better and much hardier
Remember my nice looking Windmill palm a few post up? That was in October. I took this photo a few days ago.... this was after the dreadful freeze we had back in January. It dropped to 5° here two nights in a row in January (which was 22° BELOW average for that time). It had not got that cold here in YEARS and definitely nowhere near that cold the past 5 years I have had this Windmill. It had NEVER did this before... even when it got down to 8° one morning in 2007.
I am told it should be just fine... should I cut these dead fronds off now? Or?
FWIW, my Needle palm did fine, as did the Sabal Birmingham, Sabal Louisiana.
Well do not despair yet.... give them a fighting chance.
I have heard there are different species... some hardier than others and you may be in a microclimate.
update on the chinese fan palms, im pretty sure they are dead, the spears pulled out of all of them after the fronds turned brown when temps got down to 2 degrees one night. i just ordered a saw palmetto and pindo palm, hopefully i will have more luck with those...
update on the chinese fan palms, im pretty sure they are dead, the spears pulled out of all of them after the fronds turned brown when temps got down to 2 degrees one night. i just ordered a saw palmetto and pindo palm, hopefully i will have more luck with those...
Well, I hope not. Someone once said they had the spear pull out and new one came out not too long after. See my Windmill above? I was sad when it turned out like that, but some green still remains on some of the branches, so I am hoping to see a recovery. I just wish I knew if I should now cut off the old fronds or not?
Also I have a Needle palm that supposedly can survive temps as cold as -25°. Well, it seems like alot of the fronds on mine have recently started turning brown and only about 30% of it is still green. It got down to 5° at my house a couple of mornings in January, bu that should not have hurt it. It was fine for weeks after that. Its also getting enough water.... I dont know whats going on with it.
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
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Tennessee,
Yeah, id say they took a really big hit this winter..but all may not be lost..
While the Fronds are totally cooked..how does the spear look just below where it emerges..does it appear like it will easily pull when you attempt to gently give it a tug?..if it comes out easily, the palm could be lost..Still, many have reported palms surviving crown damage, though it will be a slow recovery..How does the trunk feel?..firm??..good sign; Mushy or kind of shriveled looking??..not so good...
As for the fronds..take off some of the lower ones..leave those which still have alot of green in the stalks as they can still benefit the tree..
If you notice the spear starting to pushing out, this is also a good sign,especially if you see green in any growth which emerges...
A simple way to gauge this is to mark the newest spear(s) with a black marker and watch to see if this "line" makes any upward/outward advancement..I do this with all palms i plant to get an idea on how they are establishing themselves in their new home..The king palm i placed in the ground back in January has pushed nearly a foot of new growth to the newest emergent spear..which tells me that it is adjusting well..
If after several weeks you see no movement in the newest spear..thats a definite sign that you may have lost your specimen...
Provided that it starts to push new growth..as id anticipate it should,..even after a pretty brutal looking hit,..this is when removing all of the dead fronts should be done..Your goal right now is to allow nature to get the tree going again,.and not do anything which might risk stressing it in any way...keep me updated..
Thanks SI33 for that data... I will do all of that.
I hope its not lost... its survived 5 years here, it would be a shame to see it go now. Strange though, it never got below 5° and I was under the impression these would easily survive 0°... maybe it will... time will tell.
Not sure whats going on with my Needle palm... maybe its not as hardy as most of the others? It was 30° milder than its supposed coldest surviving temperature.
Thanks SI33 for that data... I will do all of that.
I hope its not lost... its survived 5 years here, it would be a shame to see it go now. Strange though, it never got below 5° and I was under the impression these would easily survive 0°... maybe it will... time will tell.
Not sure whats going on with my Needle palm... maybe its not as hardy as most of the others? It was 30° milder than its supposed coldest surviving temperature.
Thanks again.
Dude, I told ya to give it some protection. I hope it survives. If not, a good excuse to get a new one.
Keep us updated- good luck.
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However, they would grow in the mountains naturally if the climate supported it
I am a fan of spruce trees
