should I plant trachycarpus now?

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

I will be planning on planting a windmill palm outside in a pot but in the ground.  it has gotten so warm recently and the lowest it will get according to weather is 28f.  should i do it?

[Chris Chance]

If possible I would wait till the low temperature gets a little warmer. It could be fine now but maybe wait another month and or so.

[PalmTreeDude]

I would wait until all the lows are above freezing, that is the rule I follow. Now is our time here in Virginia to plant palms. I assume it will be warm enough in another week or two.

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

18 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

I would wait until all the lows are above freezing, that is the rule I follow. Now is our time here in Virginia to plant palms. I assume it will be warm enough in another week or two.

yeah im just saying cuz i knew of someone who kept their potted washy oustide in 19 degree weather and it lived so a not potted in the ground windmill should do better in weather thats 10 degrees warmer.  

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

On 2/23/2017, 12:11:06, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

I will be planning on planting a windmill palm outside in a pot but in the ground.  it has gotten so warm recently and the lowest it will get according to weather is 28f.  should i do it?

I wouldn't.  Not until April 1, maybe later depending on the forecast.  You can have harsh freezes for a long time yet.  One night of 15 can set you back 4-5 months of growth so why push it?  Young Trachycarpus can lose the spear, or even several of the youngest leaves when large plants don't even flinch.  Even though I'm saying April 1 isn't that weeks before your average last frost date?  I was just in CT this week talking to nurseries and your warm spell is an anomaly and they are all a bit concerned with plants becoming susceptible to a big cold snap.  Even on Long Island, they consider the average last frost date to by May 5th, and they have the benefit of being surrounded by water.  So be patient.  I think it will payoff.  

[NorCalKing]

1 hour ago, Keith in SoJax said:

I wouldn't.  Not until April 1, maybe later depending on the forecast.  You can have harsh freezes for a long time yet.  One night of 15 can set you back 4-5 months of growth so why push it?  Young Trachycarpus can lose the spear, or even several of the youngest leaves when large plants don't even flinch.  Even though I'm saying April 1 isn't that weeks before your average last frost date?  I was just in CT this week talking to nurseries and your warm spell is an anomaly and they are all a bit concerned with plants becoming susceptible to a big cold snap.  Even on Long Island, they consider the average last frost date to by May 5th, and they have the benefit of being surrounded by water.  So be patient.  I think it will payoff.  

Exactly!!! It's hilarious all my friends from back east think magically this is the new norm lmao!

[cm05]

12 hours ago, NorCalKing said:

Exactly!!! It's hilarious all my friends from back east think magically this is the new norm lmao!

Really? I know everyone's loving it, but generally they're aware that we may or may not be out of the woods yet as far as cold weather goes, it's too early to tell.

This warmth is impressive but it's not unprecedented, it's been warmer than this before. However, sustained warmth is actually becoming the new norm, we haven't seen a colder than average month in quite a while. But this recent warm spell has a bit more to do with weather than it does with climate.

On 2/23/2017, 12:11:06, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

I will be planning on planting a windmill palm outside in a pot but in the ground.  it has gotten so warm recently and the lowest it will get according to weather is 28f.  should i do it?

I'd hold off a few weeks until it's clear that winter's 100% gone and by then the soil will have warmed up a bit more.

However, if your palm is already being kept outdoors, it'd probably benefit from being pot-planted now as opposed to having its rootball exposed to the ambient air temperatures. And if the temperature does plummet sometime in the near future, you can simply pull it out of the ground and bring it indoors for the night.