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Palms in Idaho zone 7a


ColdBonsai

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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:

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You will most likely need to winterize the waggie and trachy most every winter to avoid disaster down the road. 

 

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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6 minutes ago, Allen said:

You will most likely need to winterize the waggie and trachy most every winter to avoid disaster down the road.   Depending on size under 10-12F will do alot of damage and small ones can spear pull even 21F or under.  Rare Ice storm formation (not snow) can also be trouble.  I would suggest adding sabal minor to your mix.  

 

 

Edited by Allen

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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16 hours ago, Allen said:

 

Thanks Allen! That's extremely helpful. I'm not kidding myself about my zone but hopefully I can get away with some sort of lights/cover combo.

Fortunately I don't have to deal with much frozen precipitation. I think January is our wettest month but we still average under 1.5 inches of precipitation. I'm usually battling bone dry ground in winter as opposed to snow/sub freezing temperatures.

Edited by ColdBonsai
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I looked at your weather history and it looks like you are similar to me and many years around mid Dec you have a cold event.  I'd wrap your Trachy/waggie palms in a box/wire method with lights and a thermocube in Dec/Jan the first time I saw temps forecast 15 or under and leave it till early March.  I'd just mulch the needle unless you saw temps under 0F if it's established and doing ok.

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Needle Palms continue to amaze me! I used to live in Western Montana. I think that Boise is a half or full zone warmer than Missoula. Nevertheless, I would never have thought that a small palm could make it in the ground over even a single Boise winter.

That's a good looking Rhapidophyllum.

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  • 3 months later...

Here's a little end of summer update. I think the needle palm put on some good growth (so did the musa basjoo lol)! Also included a pic of a small waggie palm I have as a foundation planting. Maybe its too small to overwinter, but it'll be an experiment + get good protection.

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Needle looks healthy enough to take the cold.  They are both looking good!

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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  • 9 months later...

I’m in Caldwell just outside boise area and I have 3 small windmills that were poorly protected but they did have some warmth from Christmas lights. Spear pulled all 3 but all the fronds were still green and solid and new growth seems to be coming in faster. Trachy’s really do seem to surprise me. Going to get a nice little xeriscape section on the side of the house. One thing I’ve read into trachy’s is ones that are in lots of sun tend to grow shorter but with thick stubby trunks and thick foliage but ones with lots of shade grow taller faster. I prefer a nice stubby thick trunk. They are not just hardy to cold but to hot dry sun to.

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  • 2 months later...

Happy with the growth on my waggie this year. The needle and regular trachy didn't do much, but they're still healthy. Got a new sabal minor in the ground too... but it has a long ways to go.

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