Galveston’s majestic palm trees could be another casualty of Texas’s four-day freeze last month.
The cold snap that left millions of Texans without power and caused burst pipes across the state has also had a pronounced effect on local vegetation. Weeks after the freeze, with the winter weather now normalizing to mild temperatures for the region, many trees in Galveston remain in a torpid state — with brown leaves, broken branches and a general hang-dog appearance.
“Your queen palms, Japanese blueberry trees, citrus trees, olive trees — there’s probably a 90 percent chance that those are just really not going to come back,” said Orvis Himebaugh, owner of Tree Worxx, a company that specializes in tree servicing in Galveston County and the Houston area.
Galveston’s iconic palms, synonymous with the island’s laid-back ethos, bore the brunt of the impact from the harsh weather. The lofty trees — there are more than 20 species of palms on Galveston Island — are surprisingly resilient, able to withstand the region’s volatile climate from hurricanes and tropical storms to the occasional frost. But the sustained subfreezing temperatures and vicious winds in February proved too severe for the trees to overcome.
Himebaugh said the palms on the island’s West End were hit particularly hard by the freeze, as there are fewer buildings on that part of Galveston to shield the trees from being pummeled by arctic winds. He added it will take up to two months to determine whether any of the damaged trees will perk up.
In Houston, where palm trees are also flagging from the spate of cold weather, the official prognosis is that it’s too soon to tell which will survive. Jeremy Burkes, division manager of urban forestry for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said it could take anywhere from six months to a year for trees to make a full recovery.
“It (a palm tree) is completely brown, there’s a good chance that it may not make it,” Burkes said. “But if there’s any, any sign of green, then we’re hopeful that the tree is going to thrive and come back.”
As the story notes, there was some variation in the damage to the Galveston palms based on geography – some places had more wind than others, which magnified the effect of the freeze. Houston palm trees generally did better than those in Galveston. There’s one on my street that appears to have ridden it out. We won’t know for a few months if the damage is permanent or if some of these trees can recover. Just another thing to worry about.
I lost my avocado trees, despite wrapping them with Christmas lights (the old style kind that generate heat) then wrapping blankets and plastic sheeting over them. My oleanders, that I did not wrap, also appear dead, but I’ll wait to see if maybe they come back. A friend managed to save his citrus trees, but the were much older and well established. He used propane heaters by the base of the trees, and covered the trees with blankets and plastic sheeting. I would have been afraid of a fire hazard, but it apparently worked for him.
Winter kills.
Bill, there’s a chance your avocados will sprout from the base. Give them a month or two.