As you know, plants in containers (any plants) are much more cold (and heat) stressed compared to those growing in the ground. In zone 7 the ground in most winters does not stay frozen at dept for long periods.--Whereas a container can easily freeze solid at the freezing point. Even fully cold hardy plants have big problems being containerized in the winter. Sorry about your Pindo problem but I would bet it recuperates. I know some do die after this event, but others regularly do recover from this. (Have had recovery with Washingonias and Phoenix and others if I thought more about it.) Not specially sure with this species but hold on and use it as a learning experience. I had spear pull recently on my Sabal mauritiiformis--these are super tropical. This damage was done at chilly but well above freezing temps. Oh well, time will tell now. Good luck!

Hi TZ,

Now you know the limits of the potted pindo. I bet she pulls thru. Keep us posted.

Humbly my palm friend. TZ you know I really tried telling you to take her in when I caught a glimpse of her outside in your blizzard photo. But God works all things for good for those who love Him and we all benefited from the knoweldge. Doesn't everyone use a copper spray for spear pull? I heard on this site it reverses it. That's it for her, no more outside until MAY 15. She needs time to recover.

Thanks. I havent really seen too much on using hydrogen peroxide as treatment for spear pull, and have always heard to treat with copper based fungicide, but I figure by the time I find it or get it off the internet a week or more would have already gone by and I dont really know how long palms can sit there with no growing point. I googled spear pull and found out someone on this site used hydrogen peroxide for spear pull and in only 2 weeks a new spear came out.

I do think the damage was done before the blizzard so I figured there was no harm in letting it see some snow (but some snow became a lot of snow). Hopefully it makes it. The irony is that palm was going to be a backup incase I lost my pindo in the ground, but I think my pindo in the ground has a better chance of surivial than my potted one.

Of course I will update all you guys on how the hydrogen peroxide works. So my rating for this palm is a zone 9 in a pot.

Also it really looked like it was going to flush out a lot of new leaves (since I pulled out 6 spears total) so this spear pull is going to set it back big time if it recovers . This palm will go back out when temperatures are in the 40s at night and freezing temperatures are out of the picture and Im not going to risk it. Im sure we all have had damage to our plants at one time or another, but thats only bad when you give up on a plant that still has potential to come back and im not going to give up on this palm until every leaf is gone and the trunk is a mush which will hopefully not happen.

Wish me luck, Ill be hoping for the best, but everything happens for a reason!

My three Pindos which are enduring their second winter in ground are doing well unprotected with three nights down to 15. Of course, we haven't had any wet weather with this arctic blast.

YES, it will be a setback! My Washingtonia and Phoenix robellini put on a poor show for the first summer after center spear loss--leaves were smallish, maybe even somewhat deformed. But by the second year my Phoenix grow seeming twice as fast and even FLOWERED (it was/is a boy apparently)! Patience...patience. P.S. Just got my order of two Pindos (already have a large one containerized in the garage). Got it on eBay. I paid very little for them (unbelieveable really) but got two massive, beautiful palms.

Sounds like it will come back,also good that you acted fast.
I would leave it inside until you see recovery,or as Greg said-until the warmth of May.
If it is damaged from the roots you stand a good chance of losing it.Keep a close eye on the fronds,if they look healthy it probably is.If you start to lose more than 1-2 quickly you may want to cut down on the bud a little.As long as the leaves look healthy,most likely it will come back but as mentioned keep a close eye to the leaves,esp the center ones.

Good luck TZ

Njoasis...
You probably got your pindos from the same person on ebay I got it from. 9 dollars for a huge pindo palm (it says 3 gallon, but it is a very overgrown 3 gallon plant i got both my pindos from the seller). I also got my philodendron from the same seller (saw a smaller one at a local nursury and it was 3 times the price!) Im also looking into getting a european fan palm from the seller.
Hopefully my Pindo comes back well. Most of my plants usuall start the summer off really slow anyway so by the time the end of the summer comes Im sure I will at least get a full crown again.

Palms+moisture+cold=spear pull.

Hope it comes back tz. My pindos saw 14 degrees and they seem fine. The strange thing is cordyline spike annuals are still alive (a good half of them). I have a pindo seedling uprotected in the ground as a test and it seem fine. I will get a Washingtonian from that eBay seller next spring

My cordyline aka spike annuals (as many call them) are still alive too (only one looks a little burnt, but all the others are as green as they were in the summer). My spanish daggar yucca is still alive too and thats suppost to be a zone 8b-9a plant. So far the little bit of spanish moss I put on my tree is still going well too (another 8b-9a plant). My washingtonia definitely has no spear pull, so Im still extremely surprised that my pindo got spear pull after seeing the same temps. But Im sure that it will put up a fight to stay alive because it was such a strong, healthy plant.

Good luck everyone!

Just for the record, I have used hydrogen peroxide on multiple spear pull occasions with good results. It has not worked every time to bring a palm back, but in those cases root damage may have been a factor. From what I understand, copper fungicide is a carcinogen (causes cancer), so peroxide seems to be the much more accessible, affordable, and safe answer.

Pindos are slow to recover from spear pull, so be patient. Mine took probably a month and a half to push up a new spear after it pulled.

Thanks islandbreeze. Im glad it worked for you, and wouldnt want to use anything unsafe.

We all eagerly await your results :)

I also read hydrogen peroxide works well and look forward to recovery. Like Jim said its depending on the roots at this point.

I did not think the blizzard snow was the biggest problem for the potted pindo, but the combined prolonged cold and precip. During much of the blizzard the metro area dropped to 21* preceded and followed by artic air driven at 50 mph. Good news, the long range forcasts for our area shows temp moderation next week.

"Palms+moisture+cold=spear pull."

Add frozen roots in there somewhere.

I think the roots are still alive and well even though the pot was almost completely frozen. If I dont see a spear coming up this time next month then I will probably dig a little and see if the roots are alive, or a mush. Ill post some pics the second I see new growth!

Next weeks forecast looks much better, high 30s, maybe some low 40s. Finally at average, at least for a while. Im sure we will get at least 2-3 more arctic blasts before winters end, fortunately I think florida will be safe for the rest of the winter once this blast finishes. Im looking forward to maybe giving my palms some air if temps get to 40. They have been in their protection with there lights on all day long for a week as of today.

I'm generally an optimist when it comes to palms recuperating. Only because I've seen it before almost chucking SOOO of them into the compost heap. So, I'll go out or order up another only to have junior and a much larger resurrected mama.--Thus the palm population explosion around me. Currently nursing a tropical Sabal species (not among the hardy ones that are normally grown and discussed on this forum). I thought it was dead as the center leaf pulled. It's reduced to one leaf but I was looking at it today and the leaf looks good and I bet it too will recuperate. But then again, I just got some smallish blue Mediterranean fans. I planted them up a few days again and they're dead already.--Came bare rooted! I once lost a Phoenix canariensis perhaps due to overwatering (it had been a very wet summer), so I planted some canariensis seed--now I have 6-7 large canariesis palms. I try now to take the occasional losses in stride.

I really do hope mine comes back. So far no signs of growth, but it has only been 3 days, and I probably wont see any form of growth for a month or more even if it is alive.

I have a question though. It is a bit dry, do you think i should water it? its in the house so I dont have to worry about the water freezing it, but I was wondering if even the roots getting wet would promote rot.

Thanks in advance, and njoasis- I hope your sabal comes back well!

I would water it thoroughly if dry. Most palms really have little tolerance for arid conditions. Those that grow in arid areas (Washingtonias and Phoenix for example), set down really deep tap roots to get into subsurface water. I can't really see it rotting in the house as (I hope) your house is reasonably warm. Just refrain from watering again until it dries. Obviously, increase watering if it commences new growth.--Which it will, eventually, unless there was root damage.

Thanks.

The newest leaf just completely died off. I added more Hydrogen peroxide and will be watering it a little and giving it just a little plant food. Hopefully it comes back, I think there probably a 60% of it dieing, 40% of it living, but Im all for beating the odds! Wish me luck.
On wednesday Ill be uncovering my outdoor palms so they get some air, and will be checking for damage and spear pull.

Hi TZ,

She still has a chance. I bet the pindo palm is still in some shock and needs quiet time. If she's been watered or soil is moist, slightly letting her dry out is longer is better is a good guess. They do not like it too wet.

Thanks!
I didnt water it yet, but since it isnt really really dry I think it can manage without water for a few more days. I will water it probably the second I see any new growth though. We shall see how things go. Im hoping my outdoor pindo (and all my other outdoor palms) have better luck, Ill update how they are doing later this week.

Good luck!

Hi TZ,

Since it hasn't been record cold and you have used lights and protection, your pindo palms will be fine since you been reporting good temps.

I have kept the lights on in my enclosures the past three cold days. Now that temps are going up, I shall turn the lights off during the day so I do not to overheat them.

A nursery specialist told me in order to protect palm trees during a freezing weather one should spray the with water during cold events. That does not make sense to me. He told me that is how they protect fruits harvest in Florida during hard freezes.

Spraying the palms with water in freezing weather in Florida is OK for oranges and strawberries, NOT palms. Especially in colder zones.

Spraying fruit with freezing water is different because it makes the cold have to freeze more and more layers of material (in that case, ice) before it reaches the fruit (which is the main thing they are protecting, the actual tree can handle most Florida cold snaps pretty well). The duration of freezing weather is short and the ice would melt soon after the sun rises. Plus those plants arent growing and if they are, they dont only have one growing bud (they can always die back, if a palms growing bud dies, its the end for it). Thats why palm trees are not covered in water in Florida right before a freeze, but citrus and fruits are. The nursery person was right about the fruit in Florida, but not about palms.
Good luck!
-Alex