Cold hardy palms

[Texeltropics]

I started this post to see how many people there are that grow palms in cold areas (zone 7/8)

Lets share some experienses here..

I grow Trachycarpus species like fortunei and wagnerianus. Tried some other ones too. like manipur and princeps. They did not survive. If i want to have them again i will have to protect them. I also tried Jubaea and its the same story..not cold hardy enough to survive when young.

Butia capitata, Butia eriospatha, Trachycarpus Kumaon, Trach. manipur. I want to start again with all these species. And protect in winter. Last winter where extreme cold...-18 celsius. This winter -8.

How about other people from these zones...

[buffy]

Where do you live?

[Texeltropics]

Holland...in the north on the island Texel

[Caryota_gigas]

Those are some cold temps! Well done on growing anything!

[Benjamin D.]

The only palms I have in the ground here in zone 8a are Butia capitata and Sabal minor. I will probably try some more eventually... I do have a potted cycad collection that has spent this winter in the garage.

Sabal minor is of course bulletproof (although I think it wants more shade). The Butia had 1/3 foliage damage when we went down to 12 degrees (about -11C?). It was protected with some frostcloth around the trunk, some lights, and a tarp. But that is a very rare event. This winter hasn't even gone below 19 or 20.

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

VERY impressive!!!

[WestCoastGal]

Not as cold of a zone as you but we got down to the mid-20s this winter and have historical lows even lower, so we've made the decision to have our main core of palms to be cold hardies. We don't have much in the way of canopy protection and probably won't. Currently we have two mules, a butia and a trachycarpus fortunei. Getting ready for planting out rest of beds this spring. Those being considered right now include T wagnerianus, C humilis vulcano, C humilis (multi-trunk), possibly a Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Nannorrhops ritchiana. Still working on the list.

[Flow]

Hi!

I live in northern Switzerland so I guess the temperatures are about the same as yours, the coldest it got here in the last ten years was about -16.

I have a Jubaea, a Waggy, a Ch. humilis and a R. hystrix planted out and loads of other palms in pots but not enough space :-) They're all on a south side and the Ch. humilis and Rhapidophyllum are quite close to the south wall of my house. This winter none of them has needed protection but normally there's always a couple of days where they need protection but it's worth it.

I also have quite a few other exotics which haven't needed protection so far including Arbutus unedo, some yuccas and agavae (with rain cover) and Eucalyptus dalrympleana..

I'd love to experiment with Sabal Birmingham and Brazoria but it is almost impossible here to get your hands on a decent sized specimen (or at least on one that has split leaves) so in the moment I'm growing them from seed which takes about seven hundred years in our climate;-)

[Jason in Orlando]

That's great Esther, two of my favorite things in one place; palms and snow!

[realarch]

Great photo Esther, that is one tough palm.

[tjwalters]

I know I've answered a few posts here regarding cold-hardy palms. I'm in the mid-Atlantic zone 6b/7a and have been growing a few of the hardier palms for many years. Rhapidiophyllum hystrix and Sabal minor need no protection here, especially if situated well, but I also grow, and sometimes lose when I don't protect, some of the different varieties of Trachycarpus fortunei (wagnerianus, Naini Tal, etc.) I also grow a lot of potted palms - some of which flower and set viable seeds.

A few of my outdoor palms:

Sabal minor - note the infructescence and all the volunteers:

My largest needle (that's a yardstick for scale):

Trachycarpus fortunei 'Naini Tal' barely visible behind the purple elephant ears (or maybe it's one of my Sabal minor 'Louisiana' - I have a few of those in there, too). Need to get a better picture.

[JakeK]

Tom - what protection if any do you use for the Sabal minor and the needle palm? I must say that they look great. My local microclimate is just a tad colder than yours, but there are some areas nearby that are definitely 6b/7a. I had a needle growing for about 5 years. I would wrap it during the coldest nights, but I finally got lazy and didn't protect it thinking that it was big enough and then we had a nightmare February where we didn't get above freezing for 19 days straight and that killed it.

[Texeltropics]

i see a lot of palmspecies comming by that i tried before. We used to have winter with temps not lower than -1 and -2 celsius for years and years...but the last 3 winters are killing. I even had a phoenix canariensis in my garden in full ground. I grew it for several years and it was one of my favourites. But it died when the winters start getting colder.

The same story with my beautifull Chamaerops humilis. A beautifull palm...dead.

i decided to grow only the cold hardiest ones because i did not want to built my garden full with tents etc. But now i have changed my opinion a bit. Because as a palm freak i just want to have more species in my garden than only the T. fortunei and the T.wagnerianus. I need to protect in winter...but i want to give it a try again. I want palms!

[tjwalters]

Tom - what protection if any do you use for the Sabal minor and the needle palm? I must say that they look great. My local microclimate is just a tad colder than yours, but there are some areas nearby that are definitely 6b/7a. I had a needle growing for about 5 years. I would wrap it during the coldest nights, but I finally got lazy and didn't protect it thinking that it was big enough and then we had a nightmare February where we didn't get above freezing for 19 days straight and that killed it.

None of my needles nor S. minor palms receive any protection at all. Though I've seen temperatures as low as -8.4F (-22C) here, our winters usually don't, but can, go below 0F (-18C). Our summers are generally long, hot and humid, which really helps these particular species. You might try again, locating your palms where the snow melts first in the spring, and preferably against a south-facing wall where things will really heat up during the summer. Sabals and young needles are small enough that they are relatively easy to protect during the coldest parts of winter, too.

I should add that I do have one S. minor palm that is fairly exposed and does get some leaf burn from our colder winters. I should probably put up a burlap wind screen for it during the winter. Here it is - only has a couple decent leaves on it:

[Jimhardy]

Beautiful pics you guys!

I have way to many palms here in z5 Iowa

[Texeltropics]

Beautifull pictures Tom and Jim...

Jim whats the climate in Iowa..i can hardly imagine a zone 5 climate and such a garden!

[Ken Johnson]

I cant believe what I'm seeing in the pictures here. These are palm gardens far to the north of where we EVER think of palm gardens to be!

Holy Mackerel!

[Alicehunter2000]

Esther, I know you are curious as to how many people might respond to a thread called "Cold Hardy Palms" because of the recent discussions of starting a Cold Hardy subforum. I always normally check these threads, although maybe not responding to them. It is always informative to look and see what temps certain species can handle as well as the climate protection structures. Always impressed at these gardens.

[Ken Johnson]

There is a huge nursery here in South Miami-Dade County that specializes in cold hardy palms. They know that the cold hardy market exists and that people will plant them outdoors as well as use them indoors. From the 100,000's I have seen them shipping I suspect we will soon have more cold hardy palm freaks!

[Funkthulhu]

JIM!!!

Those look great! I'm keen to see what they look like when you uncover them in a couple months. You give me hope!

-Erik

[Ken Johnson]

Who grows Brahea?

[sonoranfans]

Those are some great cold hardy gardens there. I can appreciate the challenges that you folks have taken on. I lived for 10 years in the arizona desert and I thought that was challenging, but nothing like what you have there in the northern lattitudes. I'll bet there arent many gardens around like yours up there...

[Texeltropics]

Brahea needs a lot of warm weather to have a change to survive a winter like here. And it needs protection.It has to keep dry when cold.

I tried Brahea armata but it died too...to bad because it is a great palm...

[sonoranfans]

Brahea needs a lot of warm weather to have a change to survive a winter like here. And it needs protection.It has to keep dry when cold.

I tried Brahea armata but it died too...to bad because it is a great palm...

Possibly the lack of heat there is an issue, but armata isnt the best bet, try brahea clara or brandegeei. Clara isnt as cold hardy, but seem to take the cold and wet much better than armata.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

I would love to try some Brahea here in my sandy frost hole. Anyone know where to acquire some here in FL?

[Ken Johnson]

I would love to try some Brahea here in my sandy frost hole. Anyone know where to acquire some here in FL?

That is a good question.

I know they are rare even at FTBG!

[sonoranfans]

I would love to try some Brahea here in my sandy frost hole. Anyone know where to acquire some here in FL?

That is a good question.

I know they are rare even at FTBG!

I guess I am a rare palm collector.... for florida anyway... I bought 2 brahea clara strap leaf seedlings from tejas tropicals in texas about 2years ago. I potted them up and waited a year to plant in the ground. they are doing really well, dont seem to mind the humidity/rain in summer here. Keith if you have the patience and can protect them for say 2 winters go here:

http://www.tejastropicals.com/brahea-clara-icy-blue-2.html

I would not put them in the ground till some spring when they are root bound in say a 5-10 gallon size. they are relatively fast and mine are more blue than the big one in the pic...

Edited February 25, 2013 by sonoranfans

[swolf]

I would love to try some Brahea here in my sandy frost hole. Anyone know where to acquire some here in FL?

Hi Keith. FYI, I have a few of the 'Super Silver' variety. They seem like good growers, but the cold hardiness feedback hasn't been as good as hoped. So I plan to sell a few of the extras that I have (3-5 gallon but not yet turning silver). PM me anytime about these.

Steve

[JasonD]

Holland...in the north on the island Texel

Texel is a beautiful island!

[tjwalters]

Here are some pictures from this weekend. Palms are more visible with the tropical annuals gone. None of these has been protected. The Sabals and needles have been in for quite a few years and the Trachy shown was put in last year.

Trachycarpus fortunei 'Naini Tal' and Sabal minor 'Louisiana'

A small needle flanked by a couple of S. minor palms:

Trachycarpus fortunei 'Naini Tal':

A couple more small needles. These were planted at the same time and were the same size.

[tjwalters]

Here's a Trachy (regular, I think, though it shows the serpentine trunk characteristic of Naini Tal) that has been in for several years and has not been protected. It suffered spear pull last winter and I had to cut it back a bit to expose living tissue. As can be seen from the picture, it has recovered nicely.

[sonoranfans]

Very nice garden tom, you are really doing some impressive zone pushing...

[Hammer]

Never get tired of seeing pics of your yard Jim! You may have listed them in a previous post but I don't remember. What palms are you currently growing?

[Ken Johnson]

Brahea in my farm.

[Josh76]

What type of Brahea is that Ken?

[Ken Johnson]

What type of Brahea is that Ken?

I can never remember because it is the only one I have...lol...can you believe it?

[Ken Johnson]

Is mine the same a Jack's? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/35959-recent-photos-mostly-palms/

[sarasota alex]

I have a Brahea armata seedling that for whatever reason is doing great in my yard. Several seeds germinated for me about 20 months ago. I potted them up. Then I decided to try one in the ground. At the tender age of about 4-6 month I took it out of the pot and I planted it in the ground. It was very slow. When Debbie came with all that rain I though I would lose it for sure. I mean it was barely a year old from seed and the ground was the wettest that it's ever been. But it simply took off. Then once in the late summer and once in the early fall, landscapers (hired by the subdivision) sliced through it with a weed wacker. Once messing up the leaves and once severing two of the roots. Once again it pulled right through. It's now got 2 palmate leaves. I never thought it would make it. All but one I had in pots are dead.

[stevethegator]

Hello all, in honor of this topic and "lurker appreciation" I figured it was finally time to come out of the shadows! I've been following the site for quite some time and have learned SO much about palms it is unbelievable.

I was raised in Boca Raton Fl (zone 10b), went to school in Gainesville, Fl (9a/8b), and currently live in Atlanta, Ga (8a/7b). I have grown palms in all of these locations and can share a few observations, particulary regarding the Atlanta 'palm scene'. Hardy palms really are starting to take off around here, thanks to recent availablility in the big box stores they're actually quite common!

Trachycarpus fortunei are ubiquitous and look WAY better here than they do in Gainesville; they really do seem to prefer a colder climate. Very full, dark green foliage, with no yellowing unless they're overpruned. I think it helps that the Atlanta climate and clay soils are very similar to their native Asian habitat. Also, most of the city is around 1000' in elevation, so we get cool nights, even in the heat of summer.

Sabal Palmetto grows here as well, there are some very tall specimens down the street from me that have been there for over 25 years. However, Atlanta is probably the extreme limit for where these can be grown without protection, as they develop a slight bronzing to the leaves during winter and look kind of ratty to me.

Butia 'Capitata' (Odorata?) seem to do fine, with many old plants around, but definitely not as large as the ones you'd see further south!

My biggest suprise success has been with Chamaedorea microspadix, this thing has more than doubled in size in one growing season in a pot on my patio, and is probably the fastest palm Ive ever grown anywhere other than Roystonea Regia.

The Atlanta botanical gardens has several other species, including some large Washingtonia 'filibusta'. Sabal minor and rhapidophyllum are native to just south of here and of course have no issues with winter temps. I'm convinced you could probably grow a phoenix dactylifera in the city (massive urban heat island) if you could find a way to keep it dry during the winter.

Anyway, I hope this was informative, I'll post some pics of plants around town, and the garden I helped develop at my parents house in South Florida when I figure out how!

[Ken Johnson]

Hello all, in honor of this topic and "lurker appreciation" I figured it was finally time to come out of the shadows! I've been following the site for quite some time and have learned SO much about palms it is unbelievable.

I was raised in Boca Raton Fl (zone 10b), went to school in Gainesville, Fl (9a/8b), and currently live in Atlanta, Ga (8a/7b). I have grown palms in all of these locations and can share a few observations, particulary regarding the Atlanta 'palm scene'. Hardy palms really are starting to take off around here, thanks to recent availablility in the big box stores they're actually quite common!

Trachycarpus fortunei are ubiquitous and look WAY better here than they do in Gainesville; they really do seem to prefer a colder climate. Very full, dark green foliage, with no yellowing unless they're overpruned. I think it helps that the Atlanta climate and clay soils are very similar to their native Asian habitat. Also, most of the city is around 1000' in elevation, so we get cool nights, even in the heat of summer.

Sabal Palmetto grows here as well, there are some very tall specimens down the street from me that have been there for over 25 years. However, Atlanta is probably the extreme limit for where these can be grown without protection, as they develop a slight bronzing to the leaves during winter and look kind of ratty to me.

Butia 'Capitata' (Odorata?) seem to do fine, with many old plants around, but definitely not as large as the ones you'd see further south!

My biggest suprise success has been with Chamaedorea microspadix, this thing has more than doubled in size in one growing season in a pot on my patio, and is probably the fastest palm Ive ever grown anywhere other than Roystonea Regia.

The Atlanta botanical gardens has several other species, including some large Washingtonia 'filibusta'. Sabal minor and rhapidophyllum are native to just south of here and of course have no issues with winter temps. I'm convinced you could probably grow a phoenix dactylifera in the city (massive urban heat island) if you could find a way to keep it dry during the winter.

Anyway, I hope this was informative, I'll post some pics of plants around town, and the garden I helped develop at my parents house in South Florida when I figure out how!

Thanks for joining us!