Should We Whine When Freezes Kill Our Too Tender Palms?

[wisgrdnr]

As you might be aware, dear TWG readers, most of the Gulf Coast & the Florida Peninsula have just gone through six days of substantially lower than normal temperatures, due to the high pressure "locked on place" over the eastern part of the USA which is resulting in the Jet Stream of high altitude winds stationary in an amplified position.

RESULT: an Arctic cold wave that we haven't experienced around these parts since back in 1989-90 and again, in 2001.

This hasv allowed/is allowing impressive amounts of Arctic air to be delivered to most SE USA neighbourhoods. It will again be ravaged by this cold from the above pattern of the Jet Stream from January 7th-11th (then this near freezing weather pattern SHOULD be "it" for a while, at least!!)

This same area has been incredibly lucky with regard to winter's chill over the past 8 to 10 years, and many gardeners thought, hmm? I'll try a licuala, foxtail, royal, coconut, caryota, cyrtostachys, or similarly "cold hating" tropical palm species.

It's GLOBAL WARMING: I think that I'll plant palms & other tropical plants from Zones 9A-B, 10A-B, and/or 11A-B.
It wasn't a terribly misguided strategy because the temperatures in these past ten or so years, were fairly accomodating to these tender palms, etc. (with some makeshift protective measures for those exceptionally chilly nights & mornings.)

Now, these same areas have gotten back to not historically atypical January "blue-Northers," as Texans call them, and many palms are looking pretty lousy right now (and will look worse in the next six, or so, weeks.)

Do these "palm lovers" have a right to complain about how horrible this weather has been, and blame it for their landscapes' flamethrower "look" aftermath?? Or, should they just "toughen up;" wait till spring 2010 arrives; assess the damage, and replant with maybe hardier palms & other less cold-intolerant plants??

I say, "bite the bullet" and accept nature as the ultimate "decider" (as ex-Prez George Bush would call it; ) and remove palms and shrubs that unfortunately, "didn't make it" and react reasonably when warm weather arrives!

(Does Orlando, FL really look worse without growing coconuts, or Houston, TX look worse without growing foxtail or Royal palms??)
These same two cities never looked that desolate before this adventursome planting spree began in the 1990's.



What do you think?? How would you react (or how DID you react) when this frosty air was bestowed upon YOUR landscape?

Share your thoughts as they take enough form, to give a non vitreolic response!

This is a logic question, not an emotional one!

Paul, The Palm Doctor!
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www.palmdoctor.com & www.tropicriverwoods.com

[mac]

I like to be pragmatic-I can't resist a bit of zone bending-especially when you can get away with growing something too tender for your area for years on end till finally they bite the dust.I recently spent some time on the east coast heading down to Deerfield Beach-Pompano Beach and was suprised at all the very tender material growing as far north as Cocoa Beach I remember way back in the '80's witnessing badly frost damaged coconuts in Fort Pierce but they sure looked nice last week-here is a shot of them-

[ErikSJI]

I would say: "bite the bullet and plant a Mule palm (hybrid Butia X Syagrus romanzoffiana) next time."

Eric
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Erik. Mule palm nursery.

[mac]

Yep-those Mules are really beautiful- years ago I enjoyed looking at one several times a week near my apartment in Gainesville (back in the late '70's when I was a student at UF). They certainly have a lot of the character of Coconuts without the nuts to clean up and a whole lot hardier too boot.

[JayinFlorida]

I lost my 6' silver Bizmarkia this year. It couldn't handle our 16.7* low. I dug it up last week.

I have even had a lot of my Serenoa Repens pop up with spear pulls. I have treated them with peroxide and am hoping that most of them will fully recover.
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Zone 9