LOL. I know you wasn't bashing them. I was just referring them to that, because they are still seedlings.
They have to start somewhere though I suppose. Me being barely in zone 7a, I do not ever expect these trees to become monsters, especially in my lifetime. I just hope they can survive our climate. I have not seen these trees anywhere around here before, so mine are probably firsts. Our coldest average low in mid January is 25°, but we can often drop into the teens and during harsh, unusual artic outbreaks, we have dropped to the lower single digits before, but as mentioned- not often and it is very short lived. I do not know what the coldest temperature is that they will withstand before destroying them.
I would be happy with just growing things native to zones 7b-8a. lol. I was thinking the same thing about the Spanish moss. It may have just be placed there recently. It was thick however and in several of the trees there. I wish I had of taken a photo.
Thanks for the comments on the palms I have. That is what I was afraid of about the Washingtonia. I have been told it may be the least hardy version. I really did not know what I was buying... I was just told (by another local that is growing palms in the area) that our nearest Home Depot was selling them, so I went on up there and bought it, planted it and it has flourished. On the tag, it simply stated "Washingtonia". I was hoping it was the hardier version. The info I gathered from another local palm site is that there were 2 different Washingtonias that you mentioned (one hardy to about 22° and one down to about 11° and they some type of hybrid Washingtonia (sortof a mix of the two) that would survive down to about 5°.
?
I then found out that a local greenhouse was selling the Windmill palm... of course I had to have it too. I think it will be OK, unless we have an unusually bitter cold winter. Its zoned 7b, 7a here, so it may be OK. My Sabal Birmingham is zoned 6b, so it should be fine, but I am worried about it, because it did very poorly this summer. Not much growth, but I heard this was normal for the first year. Thanks for the link on the Windmill! I will try that food and extra watering next year and hopefully it too will grow as quickly.
The Longleaf is my favorite of the pines. I am concerned about this one though. I bought it on E-bay. It is about 6 years old. I bought it from someone in eastern NC, where these trees are also very widespread. There is a farm over there that raises them. I bought it (it was potted) and planted it. Later I found out that I should have pulled away some of the roots (that were in the bottom growing in a circular motion), but I did not. I simply placed it into the hole I dug, but it too has flourished. I was told that in about 10 years down the road, the circular roots may "choke" the main tap root and kill it, or the roots may be weak and the tree may fall over. I have been told by others not to fret and it will be fine. However, I still plan on getting another and plant it the other way. We have some of these trees in the area, but not many. The largest ones I know of are about 10 years old and only about 35 ft. tall.
Thanks again!
poonther, on Oct 11 2006, 02:55 PM, said:
Hey
Storm I wasn't bashing your Live Oaks, just stating it's odd to see them w/out resurrection ferns and Spanish moss. I love folks that grow plants out of zone. I do a lot of that myself. I'm in Tally (zone 8b) but most of the plants I've planted in my yard are for zones 9a,9b and 10a.
As far as Spanish Moss goes in the Upstate of SC and the Charlotte area, I'm not sure if what you saw occurred by someone placing the moss there or if it occurred naturally. It typically grows in zone 8 and southward and usually in the area known as the coastal plain. I always thought where it grows also had something to do w/rainfall amounts (we get over 65 inches here in Tally while CLT only gets 43 inches) and high humidity year round. Yeah CLT does get mighty humid but here in Tally and in the zone from New Orleans over to Jax and up to Charleston (the heart of the Spanish Moss zone) we stay more humid on average year round. Here's a link for
Spanish Moss.
Your Washingtonians look good! Great job. When mine were that small, they got some leaf damage even here in Tally. That was a cold winter and now as adults they never seem to get damage. Yours look like they have thorns on them ??? If so then they are Robusta (Mexican Fan) and are the least cold-hardy...that's what I have. The thornless more cold hardy Filifera (California Fan) are almost impossible to find in my area. I would like to grow one of those CA fans too. Here's another link to learn the difference between the
two Washingtonias.
Your Windmill palms look good too. I've got several in my yard and I've read where they are slow to moderate growing. However I've found out w/heavy feeding w/palm food and extra watering, they tend to grow rather fast. In 5 years my Windmill next to the house grew from knee-size to now where the whole head and fronds are taller than my one-story roof. Here a link about
Windmills.
Finally Longleaf pines grow naturally in my area. I can see two in the neighbor's backyard out my window right now. They are very tall. This place just north of Tally and straddling the GA/FL border,
Tall Timbers , states they have the largest stands of naturally occurring Longleafs left. If you look closely at this site, you'll find there's even a Longleaf message board.
Keep up the good work and out of zone growing. The long-range winter forecast for your area states that you'll have average winter temps (maybe a little warmer than average) but you'll have a drier than average winter. For my area it looks to be average temps but way above average rainfall b/c of El Nino...but who knows they always seem to get the long-range stuff wrong.
Edited by Tennesseestorm, 11 October 2006 - 07:41 PM.
0
No photo of that one now.
