Best palm for hot summers, cold winters?

[jfrye01@live.com]

I am wondering what the best trunking palm would be for my zone 6b climate...Temperatures are often in the 90s to 100s through July, August, and part of September, and we can go up to a month between rains. Winter tends to be cold, with temperatures in the 20s-30s, dropping to the teens and single digits, and rarely, probably two to three times a winter, the negatives...I was wondering what the best trunking palm for the west side of my brick house would be...keep in mind the west faces the hot afternoon sun in summer, yet in winter, this tends to be somewhat of a microclimate.

[Xerarch]

All palms will need protection in that climate, the heat isn't much a problem, it's going to be cold. I think you already posses your best bet for a trunking palm, Trachycarpus.

[jfrye01@live.com]

Alright thanks! I've been looking at protection methods, and I've thought about building miniature greenhouses to place over the palms in winter, and pull them off in spring...using this method, would it be possible to grow Pindo or maybe Washingtonia as well as the windmill?

[Xerarch]

With protection like that, people have grown all of those in climates colder than yours. I might also add Sabal palmetto to the list. I have seen trunking Washies in Tulsa OK, they were fully exposed, but I don't know if they get winter protection or not.

[jfrye01@live.com]

Yep, I've seen them in Tulsa as well. There is also a nice little Trachy growing unprotected in front of Cohlmia's at 15th and Cincinnati in Tulsa. I was there about a month ago and it had a good 5 inches of snow on it! I was there again last week and the thing still looked very healthy...absolutely NO browning at all! My dad lives near downtown Tulsa, so I am in the city quite a bit. There's more palms than one would expect if you know what you're looking for. Here in Kansas, not so much, but there are a couple in Wichita, about 20 miles away from me.

[PalmatierMeg]

Jacob, check out this topic from the European Palm Society (EPS) It's from a new member who lives in SW Poland and has a CIDP. He built this fantastic winter "house" for his beloved palm. He can open part of the roof on warm, sunny days and leave it closed when weather is foul. He has enlarged the shelter as his palm has grown. He does use supplemental heat inside the shelter to keep the temp high enough to keep the palm alive. His summers can get very hot and his winters very cold. I thought this topic might give inspiration to anyone in an extreme climate.

http://www.palmsociety.org.uk/forum/topic.asp?boardid=1&show=31&page=1&topicid=7647

[Collectorpalms]

If you have a few years, Try Sabal Birmingham. It is cold hardy to lower single digits and will get a trunk... eventually. Build a clear greenhouse over it in the winter and it will grow some in the winter too.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Collectorpalms