Return to the Southwestern Gardening Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
Posted by cactus_dude Tucson (My Page) on Thu, Jan 19, 12 at 15:31
| Hi everyone, I recall there were a fair number of palm tree enthusiasts in Albuquerque and I was just curious as to how your plants fared after last year's winter from hell. I was home for the holidays last month and it looks like the fairly large Mexican Fan Palm in front of Rudy's BBQ on Coors Rd. was completely removed. There was a pretty nice Phoenix dactylifera growing next to a motel on Central Ave. and that's completely gone too. I didn't get a chance to take a look at the big California Fan Palm growing in front of that builiding (I think it's a landscape architecture firm) near Central and San Mateo. Hopefully it's still there.
I heard a lot of the palms down in Las Cruces were completely lost but I don't know if that's true. We too got hit with record freezes here in Tucson last winter. A lot of the Phoenix palms are still showing freeze damage to the old fronds, but the new growth is looking good. The Washingtonias and Chamaerops did a little better.
cd |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| You know, I'm wondering the same thing, and I'm only an hour away from Albuquerque but just have not had a chance to do the sleuth work when I've been down there. I did notice figs and pomegranates that were killed back basically to the ground. Around Santa Fe (where lows were in the -15 to -25 range) I saw a few dead "palm" yuccas (Y. faxoniana), some dead agaves, damage on mesquite, mimosa, etc... but that's about it. All apricot and peach flower buds were killed, and late spring frosts zapped most of the apple, pear, cherry, plum blossoms. I too would love to get some reports from places like Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences (which had some beautiful Washingtonias), Alamogordo, and El Paso. By the way, Tucson is really a nice city, with beautiful landscaping and a gorgeous natural setting. |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| Hi fabaceae, Wow, lows in the -15 to -25 range? Ouch! I know what you mean about the beautiful Washingtonias in T or c. It'd be a real shame if they were lost. Sierra Grande Lodge has some really nice W. filifera specimens. Yep, Tucson does have some beautiful landscaping. I love that we can grow so many differents species of palms here as well as cacti, olives, citrus, etc. And the Sonoran Desert is incredibly beautiful too! I feel very lucky to be here. cd |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| Here in Los Lunas, 20 miles south of Albuquerque, we had three nights of subzero temps last February with a low of -15 on Feb. 3rd. I have a small 10-year-old Sabal minor in my backyard that suffered no apparent damage. It's one of those famous McCurtain County Sabals from Oklahoma that are supposed to be exceptionally cold hardy. I wonder how those beautiful Trachycarpus palms in the courtyard of the Sociology building at UNM in Albuquerque fared. My fig tree, which saw -25 in 1971, was cut to the ground last February, but made excellent regrowth in summer and even gave a few fruits. And Poncirus trifoliata flowered and fruited better than ever after that ordeal. I did lose all the Buddleyas except B. alternifolia and a lot of roses. |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| Thanks rdr115 for the report. It's really encouraging about your sabal palm and fig. Believe it or not, but according to the new 2012 USDA hardiness map, you're only a half zone warmer than Santa Fe (7a versus 6b). This is what I've always believed looking at lots of climate data, and even TV weather forecasts that show the cold air drainage into sections of the Rio Grande Valley. Accordingly, T or C is warmer than Las Cruces, and the very warmest sections of the state are the mountains of Dona Ana, Sierra, and Luna counties, placed in 9a. I noticed long ago that T or C has the longest frost free growing season in the state... and I'm not sure how cold it got down there last Feb, but maybe there's hope for those nice old palms after all. |
Many lived
| | |
| [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/2011-11-10111035.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/2011-11-10111934.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/2011-11-10112039.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/2011-11-10112147.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/2011-11-10112100.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/DSCF0205.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/jmwittko/DSCF0201.jpg[/IMG] |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| Sorry-not sure how to post pixs, but most filifera and trachies survived. |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
Thanks jwitt, for those photos. I'm very impressed that so many palms survived...
By the way, where are the majority of those pics taken? I've been palm hunting whenever I go to ABQ for a number of years now, but have only seen a handful of trachies and small fans, not those big beautiful ones in your pics. I also saw the famous date palm along Central, which apparently succumbed to the cold after growing well for a few years. |
RE: How are palm trees in ABQ doing?
| | |
| Most of the palms in the pics are on ABQ's westside and even Corrales(colder zone=6b). Most trachies recovered also, but they were pretty foolproof before the Feb event, so I really don't photo them. Amazing on the washingtonia since they survived 30+ consecutive hours below 7f!!. Although one washingtonia did'nt leaf out until almost 4th of July, it did survive. I believe size on washy's greatly increases hardiness and solar radiation(mass). |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Southwestern Gardening Forum
|
|
|
