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Anyone else growing palms in a (northern state USA) zone 6b climate?


PAPalmGrower

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I live in south-central Pennsylvania in a (northern state USA) zone 6b.  I mention "northern state" because we experience extended periods of cold temps in winter and do not receive much relief from milder spells being mixed in, like a "southern state" zone 6b might.  Those milder spells in winter could help a palm recover from a brief dip to very cold temps.  Here, snow may fall and stay on the ground for up to a month without melting.  Some years, the soil is frozen for weeks in shaded areas and occasionally winter days do not rise above 14 F (-10 degrees C), although this is rare.  The coldest nighttime temperature I have observed over the past 15 years is -5 degrees F (-21 degrees C).  This past winter the overall low was 9 degrees F (-13 degrees C)

I've been growing rare and unusual plants in various locations around the world for the past 30 years.  About five years ago I became interested in cold hardy palms.  In my garden, I have two of the regular Sabal minor (dwarf palmetto) planted in the ground. Surprisingly, these came through last winter with no harm even though they were completely unprotected.  We had stretches up to 120 hours below freezing and some single digit temperatures.  I will watch these and protect them if extreme cold is predicted next winter.

I am growing all my other palms to larger sizes in pots before attempting them in the ground.  I have been experimenting with different protection techniques that involve bubble wrap, burlap, the heat-producing old fashioned C9 and C7 holiday lights, and Thermocubes (power on at 35 F and off at 45 F) on my broad-leaved evergreen shrubs (gardenias and camellias) and will transfer these techniques to my palms after they're planted.  I've even had success just with simple bubble wrap enclosures that warm the plant during the day without supplemental heat (overheating is unlikely as high temperatures in the winter are uncommon).  I have also identified the best microclimates around my yard.  For instance, the soil does not freeze within about 8 feet from the south and southeast sides of my home.  The area underneath my elevated deck and surrounded by tall trees is up to five degrees F warmer than the surrounding yard on still winter nights.

My potted palms include: Nannorrhops ritchieana (2), Nannorrhops ritchieana var. 'Silver', Nannorrhops ritchieana var. 'Kashmir' (5), Serenoa repens, Serenoa repens var. 'Georgia Silver', Trachycarpus takil, Trachycarpus princeps, Trachycarpus fortunei, Trachycarpus fortunei x wagnerianus (3), Chamaeropis humilis, Chamaerops humilis var. 'Cerifera', Butia capitata and Rhapidophylum histryx.  Currently, these are in good sized pots that get brought inside after the nights start getting below 19 degrees F (-7 degrees C) and the days stay below freezing. To date, they have not been bothered by temps above these in their pots. The Trachycarpus fortunei has even stayed out in its pot to 16 F without issue.

Anyone else having success with palms with minimal protection in a northern, inland, zone 6b climate such as in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, etc.?  I've seen people growing windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) in Pennsylvania and Nebraska by using huge heated and insulated boxes to protect them over the winter.  I'd be interested to hear about more simplistic methods that might also be working.

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1 minute ago, hbernstein said:

You should repost this in the Cold hardy Palms forum on this website.

@hbernstein - thank you for the suggestion!  I will do that.  Much appreciated!

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