Two of my Mexican Palm trees have died probably due to the winter we experienced. Now my Mediterranean Palm's center is turning grey and brown in the last two weeks. Any ideas?
Your "Mexican Palm trees", Washingtonia robusta aren't hardy here anyway, so losing them is no surprize. Mediterranean palms, Chamaerops humilis require much more exact siting than the common Windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunei. First winters are critical for survival since nearly all are California imports that have never experienced a BC winter. Remove all dead plant material and apply a copper fungicide to the growth spear. Cold damage is slow to manifest itself in our climate. On a positive note, there are a good many of these palms growing and doing well. Cheers, LPN.
Actually plants come with inherent parameters that are the same regardless of cultivation origin. Something coming from the south at the beginning or end of winter might get nailed by being in a temporarily inappropriate state of growth (unripened or too advanced), but as soon as it gets in step with the northern season it makes no difference that it spent time in California, Texas or Florida beforehand - if the species or clone is hardy to 15F, it's hardy to 15F regardless of where the nursery it was grown in was located. A few Chamaerops seem to have fried down here as well. Some sites got into the teens (F).
