So far so good. I did transplant a new 1 gallon yucca rigida to a large pot less than a month ago. Hopefully it'll overwinter ok.

Hi CD!

Just got back this weekend from a bit of time out of town, and wow, it was wintery when I got back!

I guess we Albuquerque folk can look on the bright side. While we are challenged with this cold spell, I see our friends up in Denver are enduring a day where the HIGH won't get much past 15 degrees! Also, our friends in El Paso have seen late nights get into the mid-20s too, and even Tucson folks have had some sub-freezing nights of late, so our suffering is not alone! (Although at least the latter two cities are getting a bit more daytime comfort than us)...

At any event, to answer your question -
My plants overall are doing just fine.

--My one Mexican Fan Palm is seeing its fronds burn, which is to be expected. However, I have wrapped its trunk with burlap and a layer of water heater insulant, and that seems to really be doing the job. I expect it to make it through just fine as it did last year with less protection, and sprouting many new bright green fronds again come March.

--My three Windmill Palms are doing amazingly well, better than I even would have imagined. You can almost not even tell of any colder buring to their fronds in the least - they look almost as good as they did in fall. Granted, they are not exactly growing new fronds right now, but I don't think I would quite expect that. Just a super hearty (and beautiful) palm tree. All three are doing great.

--All of my cactus are doing great too, although while I have a few different variety, I do not claim to get all too adventurous with cacti. They are all pretty regular and normal to Albuquerque, and rather hearty here. (With the exception of one type of cacti, which I will ask a question about below).

All-in-all, my items are doing just great here in the NE Heights - I hope others are finding the same success!

I do have a few questions I would be generally interested in from other folks in conjunction with Cactus Dude's:

A) The one type of cactus that seems to be struggling with the cold is a kind I planted this summer. Not sure what the species is, but I see them somewhat commonly around town in ABQ. I planted it and it was fairly tall - about 3 or 4 feet off the ground - it looks somewhat like standard prickly pear, however, it is the kind whose pads are much bigger in size than more normal prickly pear and it is relatively "spike" (please excuse my ultra-layman's jargon) free...the pads do not have the normal "spikes" that most varieties of cacti around here do, just very small little shards.

At any event, this cactus from purchasing to planting to, oh, the start of this cold stretch, stood tall and "at attention". However, once the cold and windy days it, it "drooped" over. It has a few different "arms" of rows of pads, and now instead of growing upward, they are more drooped over near ground level. It has gotten a few small patches of white on it, otherwise though it still appears as-normal green and thick.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought by my description, some folks may know what I can do (if anything) to help it, or, if this isn't entirely common to the cold weather. It is just that this kind seems fairly common around town, so I wouldn't imagine it isn't entirely non-cold hearty for ABQ. It does not probably get as much sun exposure where it is planted by my house as I'd like.

Also...a final question...

B) For any El Paso or especiallyTucson folks who may be reading this, I'd be curious as to what this cold stretch has done to your plants (if anything). While you guys are not in it quite as bad as we are, you also have much cold-sensitive plants around you. For instance, are saguaros suffering in Tucson as a result of some sub-freezing nights of late? Or in El Paso, how are the palms holding up?

Thanks all!

adp abq and ABQPalms-

Glad to hear your plants are doing well. My greenhouse gets down to about 40 degrees, so no problems there. Even my tender South American cacti are doing great.

ABQPalms: do you have a photo of your prickly pear cactus? There are several different spineless opuntias, but the most common one in Albuquerque is Opuntia ellisiana. Another one is Opuntia ficus-indica, which is much less cold hardy, although I have seen it in one location here in town, and it seems to come through each winter with minimal damage. I have seen O. ficus-indica for sale at a few local nurseries, namely Rowland's, but also at Lowe's.

It is normal for prickly pears to become limp and shrivel during this time of the year. It's the plant's way of surviving the cold. If yours is O. ellisiana, it will bounce back in springtime. If it's O. ficus-indica, there's a very good chance it will not survive the winter. Maybe you can post a photo?

cd

Cactus Dude -

Thanks for the info!! I do not have an ability to post a photo right now, but I looked up photos online of both the Ellisiana and the Ficus-Indica, and it looks very similar to both.

Of course, now I am fearing that it is a Ficus-Indica though, especially because I did buy it this summer at Lowe's. (And due to it dropping over recently). That would be my luck.

Is there any way I can tell the difference between the two? The photos of both of them just look so similar.

Thanks for your info!!! I will see if maybe I can get a photo. If it is F-I, is there anything I can do to try to save it, or is it too late?

Hmm...

I guess one way to tell is to very lightly run your fingernail across a pad (between the areoles). O. ellisiana usually has a bluish bloom on each pad. If your fingernail leaves a line across the bloom, it is likely O. ellisiana. Another way to tell is if the new pads that grew over the summer had little leaflets that curled downward. If so, then it is O. ellisiana. Also: O. ficus-indica pads are generally bigger, bulkier and thicker than O. ellisiana.

If you do in fact have an O. ficus-indica, you could try covering it somehow, but I don't know how effective this would be. I guess you could dig it up and pot it up. Or maybe even cut off some pads. After the cuts have calloused over, you can plant the pads in a container.

Good luck

cd

It's supposed to drop down to 6 degrees F tonight in some parts of the metro area! Brrrrr...

Man! that's cold (for me anyway). We're hitting the limits of zone 7 (b?)

As I sit here shivering (both literally and figuratively at the thought of what tonight may do to tender plants without gobs of protection), with it still 30 degrees in the NE Heights at 11:45am, I decided to warm spirits with some optimism over the cold:

a) It could be worse. Our friends up I-25 to the north in Denver are currently at a frigid 4 (FOUR!) degrees! Yikes! Our friends in Amarillo, TX are at a "whopping" 11 degrees, and Oklahoma City is at 20. So our 30 in the Heights right now is almost balmy compared to some other regional cities. :)

b) I make a prediction right now - this will be ABQ's coldest night of the year. So....if we / our plants can survive tonight, it'll be cake for them the rest of the year. Hopefully. (I realize January and February are still on the horizon).

c) In the Heights areas of ABQ tonight, it should likely "only" get down to 12 or 14, the single digits will likely be in higher elevations/foothills and the valley. Hey, if you live in the Heights, you can enjoy that 12 degrees on a hammock with shorts, suntan lotion, and a margarita!

OK, I've spun it the best way possible. I say protect the heck out of those plants tonight - it'll be a doozy - and pray for that warmup of Friday to get here asap!

What's the best way to protect them? A plastic bag? Xmas lights?

For protection, I have been using burlap and water heater insulation....seems to be working pretty well.

Also, old swamp cooler pads seem to help, as well as Christmas lights (although XMas lights don't do wonders...they don't get terribly warm...I only use them as "an extra")....

Anything that somewhat stifles the brunt of the wind and cold!

As I write this, it is 11 degrees F outside, and with the wind chill, 0 degrees. My greenhouse, even with heating, got down to 39 degrees F. This isn't too bad, but I think I need to invest in a good glass greenhouse.

The house around the corner from me has 3 Trachycarpus fortunei's in the front yard. I went and took a look at them this morning to see how they're coming through this arctic blast. The largest has been there for years, and it looks fine- no damage evident at all. The other two were just planted this past summer, probably from 5 gallon containers. One of them looked a little frost bitten, but otherwise healthy. The other one looked better. These palms are truly amazing.

I also went and checked out a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) that I discovered about a month ago. It too looked like it had a bit of leaf burn, but amazingly, it looks like it's taking this bitter cold with little problem. Hopefully it will make it through to Spring.

cd

Glad to hear it CD. My yucca rigida looks fine. I also have 3 new curlleaf mountain mahagany plants. They look unaffected. Not really concerned about them. Their cold tolerance is something like -30F.

My neighbor has a new trachy. I wonder how it fared.

Hi Folks -

My three Trachycarpus fortuneis - (all were planted in early spring this past year, one out of a 1-gallon size be the other two out of 5-gallon sizes) - are all doing incredibly well. To be honest, all three haven't even sustained all too much frond-burn at all, and with the exception of some frayed edges, you cannot tell much a difference between them now and in summer/fall. Obviously they are not growing like they were in the warmer months, but they certainly do not look "winter hit" at all! And to be honest, one of my bigger ones is stuck right in the middle of my front yard with no wall protection, (actually kind of a north-west exposure) and it is doing just fine despite the freezing nights lately!

My Mexican Fan's fronds have readily burnt, but honestly, that isn't a surprise in the least. I have protected it thoroughly, and the tree itself is doing just fine. By March, beautiful green fronds should be sprouting again. [Good indicator of how bounce-back versitle Washingtonias are in Albuquerque - there is a 4-foot one in front of Rudy's on the West Side in a cooler section of town, being near the river/Corrales. Its fronds always look browner and deader than can be by Jan./Feb., but check it out in April....tons of huge, green fronds everywhere!].....

At any event, I believe that Windmills are just super-tough for some cold nights as mine have proven, and Washingtonias here just need some good protection (and the realization that the fronds will be burnt from Dec. - Feb.)...

hey Cactus Dude, where is this date palm that you speak of? is it pretty big or still small? would love to know more.
thanks

Superman-

It's planted on the side of a motel on Central Ave. called University Lodge. The motel is just about a block or so east of Carlisle, on the north side of Central. The palm is planted on the south side of the building in a little strip of dirt between the motel and the sidewalk. I'm no palm expert, but I looked at it up close several weeks ago, and it looks very much like a true date palm, i.e., silvery gray leaves. It's not very large, maybe 3 feet tall. If you get a chance, check it out.

cd

oh yes, I believe I've seen that one... I think its the one thats on Central, just west of I-25.. does that sound right?

Superman-

I know the one you're thinking of, but that's a different palm. I believe that one is a P. canariensis, and it took a beating last winter, but it's still there. The P. dactylifera is basically in the Nob Hill area, just a block or two east of Carlisle Blvd.

cd

Brrr up here in the Sandia Foothills, too!

The very common cow's tongue prickly pear, Opuntia linguiformis (how I learned it) seems to flop over in most of Albuquerque during most winters, but this year it happened earlier than I have seen. It may still get colder, though hopefully not too much! I think the coldest period here statistically are the first 2 weeks of January, both for average temperatures and for record lows.

We are definintely having a chilly December, but I have seen it colder than this. It is still doing no real damage to local and regional natives from other high desert locales, though this might not be the year to try the more tender plants that stop at El Paso...

Now date palms...that should be interesting if this cold lasts or gets a little lower! I have to check out the one near Nob Hill you all mention.

I heard on the local news the other night that they are projecting a warmer than average January, but I think that's what they had predicted for December, so we'll see...

I went and took a look at the date palm a few days ago (I live close to it), and I must say the cold has taken it's toll. I didn't get to actually stop and look at it, but it looked fairly frost bitten as I drove by. I wonder how the saguaro in the South Valley is holding up, as well as the olive tree downtown. Maybe this weekend I'll go and have a look at both.

cd

Cactus Dude / Superman (and any others who may be interested)

Old post, I know (as evidenced by us discussing a cold stretch in Albuquerque, considering now how mild it has been for the majority of Jan./Feb.!), but I thought since weÂd talked about it, this little news here may be somewhat of interest at least.

A few days ago, I drove by the date palm that Cactus Dude saw a number of times on Central Ave. And while I cannot say for sure, I got out and inspected it up-close, and I think itÂll be just fine come spring!

Cactus Dude was right about it being pretty darn burnt (and considering he posted that in January, when I saw it it likely even looks worse), however, if you get up close to it, the "vital" parts  the trunk and the frond beginnings  all still look very healthy and just fine. In fact, some of the fronds that are more protected by the back wall it is against still are not too burntÂ.the fronds sticking out in the open are burnt badly, but like the Robustas and Filiferas, I think itÂll come back just fine in the spring, because the trunk and essential parts are still just plain healthy.

I think going for it, even being a date palm, is that it is in a prime thermal belt portion of ABQ Â near UNM Â it is south-facing right against a south-facing wall, and it isnÂt terribly tall yet, so it isnÂt highly extended out into the elements.

At any event, I agree with Cactus Dude that it is a true date palm, and in my novice eyes in inspection, I think itÂll be doing just fine come spring again, which isnÂt too far away!

Thanks for the update abqpalms. I haven't been by that palm in a long time, so I didn't know how well it was doing. It will be interesting to see how quickly it recovers in spring. I've enjoyed the mild weather, but like everyone else, I just wish we'd get some precipitation. It's nice to see the days are starting to get longer. With all the warm temps, several of my cacti in the greenhouse are blooming. I really hope we get some good rains this summer (or before then).

Take care.

cd