COLD HARDY PALMS Latest Topics

Getting ready to germinate Parajubaea torallyi microcarpa seeds

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 16:43:42 +0000

By far the most difficult seeds I've ever had to clean. Germinating tips welcomed!

Palms with snow

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 17:04:16 +0000

I know there are older threads with similar themes, but hopefully we can get this forum moving again. Post your pics before the snow melts.

Bridgeport Sabal Palmetto CT Notable Trees

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 14:42:47 +0000

I was on youtube yesterday night and found possibly the most northern semi longterm Sabal Palmetto on the east coast. The video referenced CT notable trees so I went to the site and found out more about the palm. I am still dumbfounded. It sprouted from seed in 2005 and was planted in its current location in 2009. It is still alive considering the video was made this fall. I am absolutely dumfounded at how this palm is still alive and doing well at that. it doesn't look like it even gets any protection during the winter when I looked at old streetviews.

Here is the CT notable trees information about the palm. there is also a Windmill palm on the site.

http://oak.conncoll.edu:8080/notabletrees/ViewTreeData.jsp?selected=226219

Here is the streetview

https://www.google.com/maps/place/30+Hazel+St,+Bridgeport,+CT+06604/@41.1634148,-73.1873538,3a,15y,20.89h,86.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sh4YsY45yEbGV8bxG0xhKEQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e80e09479c1c85:0x692aa48115172c84!8m2!3d41.163864!4d-73.1871908

Here is a Link to the Video I referenced

I am still dumfounded and am now planning a trip to bridgeport

Spring 2026

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 04:38:11 +0000

I know this is kind of early but has anybody planted anything yet? i'm dying to plant stuff right now but it's way too early. If So please send pictures i would love to see them!

Washingtonia Filibusta

Thu, 06 May 2021 16:16:46 +0000

I've been thinking of growing a new palm tree from seed and was wondering how well the washingtonia filibusta does in North Carolina zone 8A? and does anyone have any Filibusta seeds because I have looked everywhere!

Texas Palms

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 18:47:43 +0000

This forum is all about Texas palms. Opinions are welcomed !

Palmetto in the Atlanta Metro

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 14:42:22 +0000

Approx 15 years at the Santa Fé mall NE of Atlanta.

Butiagrus seedling leaflets

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:51:48 +0000

Since last year I have some butiagrus seedlings sprouting. And one of them has a very narrow thin leaflet. It is a cross between B. Catarinensis and S. Romanzoffiana. Is this common variability?

Below compared to a normal butiagrus seedlings sprouting with.

Sabal Palmetto Bridgeport CT is Thriving

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:32:20 +0000

This Sabal palmetto 'BRIDGEPORT' has been outside with only minor protection in zone 7 Bridgeport and has made it to the Connecticut notable tree database

https://oak.conncoll.edu/notabletrees/ViewTreeData.jsp?selected=226219

I believe it to be one of the most northern Sabal palmettos to survive outside since 2009 without external heat

it indeed is a champion tree

It is in an incredible microclimate:

1. the long island sound on 3 sides

2.Near a large dark brick building built in the 1960s which radiates heat all winter

3.protected from the North wind

4. Mummy wrapped

5.planted close to the foundation,and te old building probably osses some heat to keep 1 -2 feet from the building from freezing too deeply

DrZnaturally

Has anyone skinned a needle palm before?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 22:38:29 +0000

I know dumb question and people probably prefer the look but same thing with windmills and they skin them. I probably won’t skin mine unless I get an extra but mostly just curious. Thanks.

Can someone tell me what this is...

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:34:53 +0000

I live in East Tennessee. I have 2 windmill palms and every year when the weather starts turning colder, I winterize them inside a structure wrapped with plastic sheeting and a couple of heat lamps that kick on when the temperature drops below 35. It's always worked out well, but I just started taking the structure down today and noticed this was growing out of one of the palms. From what I can tell, everything looks ok so far, but I'm not sure what this is?? Forgive my ignorance, please.

Is this bad? Is it due to something I have done wrong? Can I just cut it off and be OK? The tree is probably 8 years old and I've never seen anything like this.

Thanks!

Trouble with Pindo palm in Houston TX

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:41:45 +0000

Hello, last spring we purchased 2 Pindo palms from the same vendor. We planted them about 20' apart so their should be no difference in soil conditions. One of the palms is dark green and healthy. The other one has yellowish colored stems and the frown tips start to dry out and then eventually it moves to the entire frown until they turn grey and die. I have tried spraying it with liquid copper for about 5 consecutive weeks and sprinkled some granular palm fertilizer around the base. While the dying frows has slowed somewhat, over the winter, the tree doesn't seem to be recovering.

Has anyone seen this condition before? Is it a fungal infection? It is possible to save this tree or should I just take it out and start over? I don't want to watch it die for another 2 years and then have to start over then. Thanks for any help.

Canary Island Date Palm in October (Southern Posavje, Slovenia)

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 09:25:31 +0000

Hey! It's 5th October and the weather is becoming cooler but no frost, we did get 0C this morning just for an hour but it is warming up and will get to 18C today. Until November, it's forecasted to not get below freezing, maybe even not until early December. Today, i mulched the roots with dry grass and bark but I'm not planning to protect it with fleece until frost.

It grew 4 leaves this summer which is great.

Here are some pics of the palm:

Post-Winter 2026 Results Thread

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:58:04 +0000

Hey guys just giving some updates if anyone is interested. I unexpectedly got a spear pull from one of my planted 3 gallon trachycarpus fortuneis after our snow event. I think it might be toast but it is not completely defoliated either. The other ones I have took no damage from the cold event. The three 3 gallon washingtonias I planted in the ground all had no spear pull. The biggest one looks great and so does the second biggest one. Still have green on the spears and parts of the fronds. The smallest one had no pull but has much less visible green than the other two. The christmas tree lights did infact help to keep them warm as well, and I believe aided their survival. I kept one in a pot outside and it sat in the snow, and surprisingly the spear didn’t pull but it looks like it is basically completely defoliated, think it may not come back but not 100% sure. I definitely should’ve brought it in those last 5 or so nights that temperatures dropped but was feeling lazy. Sago palms almost completely defoliated but am almost certain those will produce new flushes once it gets warmer. Will also be buying another chamaerops humilis pair and planting it here soon. I am here sharing my palm yard here in zone 8B Augusta, GA.

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Please share below your after winter palm tree conditions and we can have this be the thread for it!

Solar eclipse jubaea x butia settling in

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 21:03:26 +0000

I planted this jubutia and butia on 4/9/24 literally during the solar eclipse. They were busting out of 7 g pots I had them in so I decided to give them a shot in the ground. They are a little exposed out in the yard but I plan on winter protection probably mid Dec thru early Feb here in NC foothills solid 7b sketchy 8a. Gets lots of sun all day. Hot and humid summers. Had to mound up the butia a bit because of rocky soil where I was planting. Looking forward to watching them thrive here. The first pics are recent and the last ones are when 1st planted back in April. Both are pushing out a huge spear so I guess they’re happy for now. Thoughts tips and advise always welcome and appreciated

Zone 8 - Raleigh, NC - Home Garden

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:37:24 +0000

I started my “palm garden” in 2024 after moving to a new home. I wanted to make a thread to share some pics and posts as I go.

first, my hurricane cut palmetto. Fully unprotected. Showing hurricane cut pics after install, and 1 year out. Home weather station read 12.9F this year as the low. Maybe 5 times total sub 20F. Honestly, most the brown on it was there at end of summer. Very little damage noticed.

second group - 1 year of growth on my L. Nitida. Now in-ground as of March.
will show my other nitida later.
I love these things, and want them to work so bad. Fingers crossed.

Then, some windmills. Palmettos are my love. so the windmills feel like “yogurt, when I really want ice cream”. Ya know?
Being zone 8, windmills are plentiful in the area, and do well here. I didn’t always love them, but they are growing on me, for sure (literally).

working on a Z9 garden now. Mostly doing some robustas and cycads. And an CIDP I ordered from Etsy. I also have a ton of Oleander blooming. And others In the mix.

Comments and critiques are very welcome. I tried to share info to answer the sort of questions I had last year.

Palms in Idaho zone 7a

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 02:52:43 +0000

Hello all! Just thought I'd use this to share my adventures in trying to grow these plants here. My climate is a high desert with hot summers and coldish winters. Although most winters are relatively mild (last winter was a solid 8b at my house), we do get a few every once in awhile that go beloew 0.

I'm not sure how many people in Idaho try to grow these, but I've seen a few get good results with windmill and a couple other varieties.

Right now I have a needle palm thats been in the ground for a year, along with a recently planted waggie and windmill. The windmill and waggie are on the south side of the house, a couple of feet from the foundation.

I don't expect to winterize the needle much, but how much should I expect to do for the windmills?

And here's a couple of pics of the needle:

Is Chamaedorea pochutlensis a potential "cold hardy" palm?

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 03:10:46 +0000

This is by far my favorite Chamaedorea sp. because it's a Chamaedorea costaricana mimic. I have 3 seedlings and noticed that along with Chamaedorea microspadix they grow during and seem to like fresh (11⁰C - 17⁰C) days. Due to its rarity, there's not a lot of information about its cold hardiness. This palm extends its range into the mountains of the Mexican state of Durango, which have a slightly cooler climate than the Chamaedorea microspadix and radicalis habitat. There's some very big old clumps in the Huntington Botanical Gardens in California that for sure survived the 2007 freeze. Does anyone else grow this species? I'm motivated to plant two in the ground when the base starts getting thicker.

Chuniophoenix hainanesis

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 03:19:48 +0000

after the freezes, we saw many cold nights and 21 ° and 22 ° F lows---palm doesnt look bothered at all

Butia Odorata Seedling Spear Pull

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 17:28:11 +0000

Hello all, had my first (and hopefully looking like only) casualty from this winter. Had a butia seedling just spear pull today, which kind of stunned me because it has not seen below 30°F, and has not been below freezing for more than a couple hours (maybe like two or three light freezes the entire winter), being pampered in my garage. It saw the same exact conditions as a CIDP and Washingtonia robusta (among other more hardy things) which are both happy as can be right now, so the only explanation I have is that the rain we received the day before the last 31°F night it saw must have froze in the crown and did it in. The spear did not have much rot on it at all, so my question is this - how good of a chance does it have of recovering from this? It's only a year-old seedling, so my guess is a spear pull is devastating to its growth. However, I also saw almost no rot on the spear and just applied copper fungicide, so I think I caught it pretty early before any major infection. I hope I don't have to start over since these are hard to germinate and grow so slowly (and are pretty expensive to find online).

Metal Rodent Guard Bands

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:26:23 +0000

Does anyone know of a retailer for rodent guard bands?

Quest for Bluest Butia

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 22:27:29 +0000

After the loss of my giant live oak, I’ve been replanting the area, which is now in shockingly harsh full Alabama sun. The spot previously occupied by a Trachycarpus fortunei that bit the dust is now available. (I was told by a landscaper that windmills, especially the young ones, are iffy in this 8B climate, with the combination of sustained heat and occasional droughts.) Anyway, I’ve decided to replace it with a butia, the bluer ( or silvery, if you prefer) the better. Butias are slow, but they do well here. I’m OK with the odorata, but open to suggestions for other butia species/hybrids that may put on size a little faster, and sources that supply them. I’d be happy if it eventually looked like this one, thriving on neglect in a dicey part of town:

I’m giving myself until March to find that special butia, and then, if all else fails, I’ll go the conventional route and choose the best-looking odorata from a local supplier. Worst-case scenario would be a big box butia, but that’s okay, too. Your thoughts?

Trachycarpus Princeps new form x Princeps

Fri, 31 May 2024 19:39:11 +0000

Hi everyone,

I recently bought this seedling and I was wondering if anyone else is growing this hybrid.

I would love to see how it would look over time.

Viability of needle palm seeds from a hermaphroditic plant

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 04:05:11 +0000

Pretty much what it says. I'd already posted on the topic in an old thread over in the discussing palms worldwide forum. Not a lot of traction. Guess needle palms aren't very sexy compared to all the exotic stuff most of them can grow. Figured I'd ask here, anyway this plant has produced male flowers in the past. Don't recall seeing them last year tho. I float tested several, they sank. I split one with a set of pliers and I think that's an embryo in the image but it could just be seed material damage? Just looking for some opinions, it produced seeds last year but nothing like this. 5 years in ground from a 3 gal purchased from NEohio palms.

Miracles never cease in these parts

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 22:25:12 +0000

And no, the unprotected 7f these saw was not my concern. Will let this "stew", more to the story in due time