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4 Lessons Learned from Last Years Winter Damage to my Tropical Backyard Resort

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I’ve finally had to accept reality. For the first time ever in the history of my Backyard Resort, I lost 2 large fan palm trees here in Dallas due to damage sustained last winter. I’ve been watching one of them that still had signs of green, but the grim reality is that is is gone. That palm was close to 30 feet tall and had been in the ground for at least 12 years. I planted it when it wasn’t more than knee high. I lost banana plants and several other things that had been thriving for years too. Believe me, it’s been a kick in the gut.

However, yesterday as I was lounging by the pool with a really un-manly tropical drink, I decided to just not sweat it. My self-therapy is telling me that as much enjoyment as I get out of my backyard resort year in and year out, I should be willing to accept a little heartache now and then. I knew from the start that, with my severe case of zone denial, a freak winter like we had last year could cause me grief, and one finally did. But, it could have been worse. Sure, I lost a couple of beloved palms, but I have 5 more that came through just fine. Banana plants are inexpensive and easy to replace. I felt better already …. and decided to go make another Mai Tai …

I then decided to take a step back and look at this as yet another backyard resort learning experience. So (another sip), I started jotting down what I had learned and how might I do things different to keep it from happening again. Here are a few things I came up with ….

Use the fan palms in areas that have some natural protection … micro climates. Use Windmill palms and Sabal Palms, both of which appear to be absolutely bullet proof, as major palms (foundation tropical).
When I know abnormally cold temps are coming… and I did know … take the time to go out and water everything thoroughly. It matters and can help get them through. I make this point in the Backyard Resorts Ebook, but didn’t follow my own advice last winter. I had before, but I know last winter I just got lazy. Any guarantee it would have saved my big palms?? Nope, no guarantee, but it just might have and then I could have been writing about how smart I was ….
Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more. Now, I’m almost 100% sure I could have saved ALL my bananas with this one. A thick layer of mulch would have been a game changer. Again, the Backyard Resorts Ebook makes this point over and over and I’ve written an entire article on banana protection in the winter! What did I do … I got lazy and didn’t take this simple little step. ( At this point, I went in to make another Mai Tai, a little stronger this time)
Don’t let 3 or 4 mild winters lull you into thinking that normal (or worse than normal) winters aren’t going to happen. They will. Do the basics and things will likely be fine. Don’t …. and, well, you could be lamenting your sins just like me. But the Mai Tais sure are good ………

So, there are 4 simple lessons that I’ve learned or, more correctly, reinforced when it comes to my backyard resort. Does this take anything away from the joy I get from mine? Nope, not at all. It just reminds me to do the simple stuff that I know needs to be done to keep my Backyard Resort thriving. Winter cold is our only enemy … and it is an enemy that, with a little effort, can be vanquished.

Any war stories, or success stories from fellow Backyard Resort’ers??

Cheers …

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Tags: Banana Plants Winter Care, palm cold damage, Tropical Backyard
Posted in Dallas Tropical Landscaping, Winter Hardy palms, Winter landscape maintenance and care | No Comments »

Nature Plays a Dirty Trick – Dead Palm Trees in Dallas

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later. Here in the DFW area, we just had one of those once every 50 year winters where it was very cold, very wet, for a very long time. I saw temps for days below 20 degrees, falling all the way to the low teens. We had 6 inches of snow … TWICE!!! We’re really just now starting to feel spring/summer, and that means I can take stock of the damage, and folks it’s not pretty.

My big kick in the gut was the loss of a 12 ft California fan palm. It’s a clear goner. A sharp tug on what was left of the cone told the tale when it pulled completely out. It had been in the ground for 7 or 8 years so who would have expected that. And, I see plenty of other Fan palms all over the city whose owners I’m sure are hoping for the best, but if they’re not showing signs of life by now, they’re goners. Gotta face reality.

More bad news … I probably lost half my banana plants. The ones that did survive are just now starting to come on strong. Now, I have to admit something on the bananas …. I talked the talk (See Banana Plants in the Winter), but I didnt walk the walk. I’ve gotten so spoiled with mild winters for the last few years that I didn’t do the basics, like applying that thick layer of mulch going into the winter … and it cost me. If I had just followed my own advice I probably wouldn’t have lost a single one. Get lazy and you can definitely get caught …

Everything is very slow to come back this year, but other than the above at least it is all coming back. Windmill palms, of course, showed ZERO ill effects (See this article for a good discussion on cold hardy palms). My 40 ft Mexican Fan Palm pulled through. My big Sago Palm made it. It looks like all the Ginger made it and, to my great surprise, an Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia) I had in the ground is coming back. I did take the big potted plumeria into the garage, so no worries there.

I suppose it could have been worse. I’m bummed out over the losses, but I guess this is just one of those times when nature plays a dirty trick on we Backyard Resorters. Was the terrible winter an anomoly? Probably. Is there anything practical I could have done to save my big California Fan Palm? Probably not. There ….. I feel better now. I’ll just plan on enjoying my slowly recovering backyard resort for our first 90 degree weekend ….