Too Cold!!!

11 years ago

Hi. Well I live in the desert halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. I have had some cold nights dipping down to 17F. I had planted a small triple Pygmy Date palm last Spring with the trunks being about 3" tall. Looks like their fried but the spears are tight. I guess I will have to see later on if their still alive. I also have a Queen palm I planted last September. It has lost most of its leaves. The spear is still green so again, I will have to see what happens. These palms grow quickly and I was surprised how much thicker the trunk became from the time I bought it. I also planted a Brahea armata that has 8" of trunk and about 4" across. This palm shows no damage whatsoever!!! I also have a good size Canary Island Date in my front yard. It has about 4' of trunk and massive leaves. It looks completely undamaged. Looks like a warming trend beginning here so I will do an update. I know many of you deal with low temperatures all the time, but I really didn't think it would get that cold out here.

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Comments (7)

us_marine
11 years ago
I hear ya about that cold, pretty mcuh all of the west was hit by it... We dropped down to mid 20f's. And yup :) Can't wait for the warm up we are supposed to get as well. lol

Idk how your Pygmy date will do. That may have killed it although I have seen them come back from bad freezes. The queen has a pretty good chance of recovering. How does the newest frond/spear look?

- US_Marine
Bob_in_AZ__Z9
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi. The Queen looks like its going to make it. There is only one half grown leaf left on it and that one is pretty damaged. The other larger leaves snapped near the trunk. There is an emerging leaf that looks good and the 6" spear looks good. I had bought the Queen at Lowes for $15 and there was a ticket on it that said it was grown by a nursery in Tonopah,AZ. The Pygmy dates will require some time to see if they are dead I think. I had a feeling that they were too small to plant out. I noticed I never see any small palms here as I suspect they get Winter killed. It might also be that seedlings don't make it here because of lack of water. There is a very small Washingtonia under some shrubbery up the street that had to have grown from seed. I did however see some true date palms naturalizing in Casa Grande,AZ which is just a few miles away.
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theseventhlegend
11 years ago
Did you protect your palms? Your Brahea & Canary should be find but the Pygmy Date & Queen could be in trouble. 17 is almost certain death for these 2.
tropicalzone7
11 years ago
I've heard of pygmy palms surviving brief dips below 20F, but I wouldnt get your hopes up. It might come back though so definitely wait till late spring/ early summer!
The queen palm should make it, depending on how old it is. Braheas are a great choice in your climate. They laugh at cold and heat and IMO are more beautiful than queens and pygmy palms!
-Alex
Bob_in_AZ__Z9
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi. Ya the Brahea looks good. Still looks the same and was unphased by the cold. It hasn't grown much but it hasn't been in the ground very long. I understand they are slow growers anyway. The leaves are very tough and I hardly have to water it. The Queen palm looks like it will make it. The temperature is 70F today and is forecast to be in the 60s the rest of the week. The Pygmy palm looks pretty fried... The leaves have an army green color to them but the spears are tight. There are 2 Pygmys up the street that are smaller that look fried as well but the bigger one has a deeper green color than mine. Time will tell if these palms made it or not. I will let you know though.
us_marine
11 years ago
My bets are on the Queen.

How long will temps at/near 70f stay? The longer they stay the better. That will be a good thing for those Pygmy dates if they still have fight in them.

- US_Marine
Bob_in_AZ__Z9
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi. Well the Brahea and Queen get some shade this time of year. For most of the year, they are in full sun. It's just after 7PM here and it's 57F and it might stay above freezing tonight. Yesterday I went by some mature Queens and a 7 footer and they looked fine. My Quuen has about 2 and a half feet of trunk with about an inch and a half diameter near the spear. There is a little robusta next door with about 4 inches of trunk that looks undamaged. As it has been said many times, the bigger a palm is,the more likely it can handle cold temps and have a shot at surviving.