Suburban Portland Palm Trees vs. Biggest Snow Storm in 60 Years

[dvdmsy]

On my trip back to Portland's southern suburban hub of Wilsonville I had planned on taking some shots of the region's newest garden denizen, the palm tree. They seem to have sprouted like mushrooms thanks to the ever increasing California influence and the general warming of the already temperate Willamette Valley. Then came the biggest storm any Portlander born after 1960 can remember. This put an interesting spin on the project.

First, Mt. St. Helens with Mt. Rainier, head in the clouds


Mt. Hood and the top of the Wells Fargo Center


Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetary and Oregon's tallest structures (though rightly not considered so because they're not free-standing)


The Willamette River from The Charbonneau District of Wilsonville


The palm trees don't like it








It snows again...





...and again. I want to go back to balmy Brooklyn.




Between cross-country skiing (seriously!) I decide to make an ice tower...


...and I make a friend.


That brick wall is the urban growth boundary. Peeking over the Cascade foothills on the left side of the photo is Mt. Jefferson. And on the other side of the mountain, the sunny high-desert.


Some bonus shots. I flew through SFO on my way to PDX.

[alexjon]

Great photos!

[OhioGuy]

Nice!

[stepper77]

Love that shot of Oakland and SF. Great photos!

[Buckeye Native 001]

Palm trees + snow: Strangest damn thing I've ever seen

[Top Of The Park]

thank god there isn't climate change or it would be really weird...

[urbanlife]

19 inches of snow is what they are saying we got as a total. If I remember correctly it was the most december snowfall that we have gotten since something like 1948, when Portland got 22 inches of snow.

(now keep in mind, those numbers are the airport numbers, the hills got alot more than 19 inches). Thankfully it is now 50 degrees outside and the snow is melting as fast as it can.

[TXLove]

nice shots!!!!

[Metro-One]

We got many similar shots up here in Vancouver BC of snow on Palm Trees, just like in Portland they have become the gardening craze over the last 20 years. Metro-Vancouver is only 2cm (half an inch) away from its snowiest December ever (normally december is rain). Bottom line, this year sucks! Awesome photos by the way!

[arbeiter]

The palm tree thing is kind of big here, too. I'm all about it, though, I think it's silly to suggest that we can plant other non-native species but not palms because they remind us too much of Florida or something. In the rather temperate city of Melbourne they have them everywhere. It's kind of an ironic testament to the fact that it's really not that hard to survive in this damp climate after all. They're also really popular in southern England, the town of Torquay (pronounced like Turkey almost), which is where Fawlty Towers took place, is absolutely up to pussy's bow in palm trees along the lido.

Anyway, cool pix.

This is the most blizzardy palmy picture I have.

[DubbaG]

It's just like they say, the heart of rock n' roll is the beat, yeah.

Sweet shots here Ambassador 10.

I'm especially loving the clear, crisp view from Council Crest.

And this one.


And this.


And your killer ice tower. No wonder we're friends.

[arbeiter]

God that picture reminds me how ugly Treasure Island is. That is T.I. right?

[ady26]

I love the aerials one!

[denveraztec]

Snow on palm trees looks cool!

[Hoodrat]

Originally Posted by dvdmsy

]

The palm trees don't like it

I think they might be just fine...

These three photos provide a good example of the three most common "palmy" plants commonly grown around the PNW.

The big grassy ones in the 1st pic are New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). They are generally hardy to 15 F. or so, but will grow back from a slightly harder freeze. They get big, fast and are cheap enough to replace if you lose one.

The second pic is Cordyline australis. It's also from New Zealand, and is usually sold as a "Blue Dracaena" even though that's an incorrect name. It's cheap and plentiful, seedlings are often used in as the "grassy accent" centerpiece in mixed planters and baskets. If planted in the landscape, they grow really fast (the one pictured is probably only 3 or 4 years old). They're about as hardy as the N.Z. Flax. In San Francisco, these get to be 35 foot trees, but in the northwest they get killed to the ground every 10-20 years, but they usually re-emerge due to a deep carrot-like taproot that escapes the freeze.

The last pic is Trachycarpus fortunei, a.k.a Windmill Palm. They are from China. This is by far the most famous "cold hardy" palm, and is commonly seen planted in much of the UK and Europe, Japan, parts of S. Russia...In the U.S. it's commonly seen in Atlanta, Dallas, coastal areas around Chesapeake Bay. This palm is generally considered hardy to 5 F or a little lower.

[Touray]

Wow I wish people from California would take their ugly hardy palms back with them. Regardless great pics!

[dvdmsy]

Originally Posted by Hoodrat

I think they might be just fine...

These three photos provide a good example of the three most common "palmy" plants commonly grown around the PNW.

The big grassy ones in the 1st pic are New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). They are generally hardy to 15 F. or so, but will grow back from a slightly harder freeze. They get big, fast and are cheap enough to replace if you lose one.

The second pic is Cordyline australis. It's also from New Zealand, and is usually sold as a "Blue Dracaena" even though that's an incorrect name. It's cheap and plentiful, seedlings are often used in as the "grassy accent" centerpiece in mixed planters and baskets. If planted in the landscape, they grow really fast (the one pictured is probably only 3 or 4 years old). They're about as hardy as the N.Z. Flax. In San Francisco, these get to be 35 foot trees, but in the northwest they get killed to the ground every 10-20 years, but they usually re-emerge due to a deep carrot-like taproot that escapes the freeze.

The last pic is Trachycarpus fortunei, a.k.a Windmill Palm. They are from China. This is by far the most famous "cold hardy" palm, and is commonly seen planted in much of the UK and Europe, Japan, parts of S. Russia...In the U.S. it's commonly seen in Atlanta, Dallas, coastal areas around Chesapeake Bay. This palm is generally considered hardy to 5 F or a little lower.

You're obviously a botonist. Thanks for this. What I would really love to photograph are the cacti of the Pacific Northwest. As you probably know, more than half of Oregon is desert. I've lived in Arizona and seen the Mojave and most of the deserts of Nevada and California. I may be biased, but I think the Oregon desert is the most beautiful. There are volcanoes, sand dunes, and even cacti. They also grow in Washington and Idaho (technically, there are wild cacti in all 50 states, believe it or not).
If anyone can beat me to it (since I live in Brooklyn, NY) I'd love to see a photo thread of cacti in the deserts east of the Cascades.
Points in Harney County in Southeastern Oregon are the farthest from an Interstate freeway in America which is probably why there is very little documentation of the cacti there. As far as I know, the John Day area (North of Harney) have the most.

[arbeiter]

Originally Posted by dvdmsy

You're obviously a botonist. Thanks for this. What I would really love to photograph are the cacti of the Pacific Northwest. As you probably know, more than half of Oregon is desert. I've lived in Arizona and seen the Mojave and most of the deserts of Nevada and California. I may be biased, but I think the Oregon desert is the most beautiful. There are volcanoes, sand dunes, and even cacti. They also grow in Washington and Idaho (technically, there are wild cacti in all 50 states, believe it or not).
If anyone can beat me to it (since I live in Brooklyn, NY) I'd love to see a photo thread of cacti in the deserts east of the Cascades.
Points in Harney County in Southeastern Oregon are the farthest from an Interstate freeway in America which is probably why there is very little documentation of the cacti there. As far as I know, the John Day area (North of Harney) have the most.

I have some pictures of the petrified forest, and lots of Wenatchee. I used to live in Brooklyn, what neighborhood?

[dvdmsy]

Originally Posted by arbeiter

I have some pictures of the petrified forest, and lots of Wenatchee. I used to live in Brooklyn, what neighborhood?

I'd love to see your photos. I've lived in Williamsburg / Bushwick and most recently the border of Bushwick and Ridgewood. My immediate neighborhood is Mexican and Polish. I'm pretty sure that I'm one of just a handfull of Americans living here.

[erasercut]

That pic of Mt Hood is amazing.