Giant Windmill Palm Moved From National Air and Space Museum to Smithsonian Castle

[Alex High]

Hello all,

D.C. may not be the most palm-filled place of all, but there are certainly quite a few palms around town if you know where to look. When palm lovers think of D.C., there are usually two palms that come to mind. The massive 11+-foot-tall needle palm at the National Arboretum which is over 50 years old, and the huge windmill palm at the Air and Space Museum, which was planted at the Air and Space Museum in 2000 and is over 15 feet tall. There are quite a few other notable palms throughout the city and surrounding areas, but these are two of D.C.'s finest. And recently, within the last two months or so, the massive windmill palm at the Air and Space Museum was dug out moved to the Smithsonian Castle. When I drove by the museum I was shocked to see it missing, but I remembered a number of months ago a viewer on YouTube said they spoke to a gardener a number of months ago at the Air and Space Museum who said that they may be moving the palm to the Smithsonian Castle in a year or two, and a year or two from then would be about now, so I hurried over to the Castle to see if the palm was there and indeed within seconds I spotted it towering over the surrounding Enid A. Haupt Garden near the main entrance to the Castle from the garden. It is protected by the large walls of the Smithsonian Castle, much as it was protected by the walls of the Air and Space Museum, so it is certainly a similar micro climate, a listed 7b and some say an 8a although I'm not so sure about that. In any case, here is the palm before and after being moved. I wanted to let you know so that if you are in D.C. and go to the Air and Space Museum and see that the Trachy is gone, you don't have a heart attack like I nearly did. The bottom line is that I am extremely happy to see that they did not remove the palm and it appears to be doing well, they did a good job with the transplant. The Smithsonian knows what they're doing, they have lots of hardy palms planted around several of their museums, and they put the windmill it in a good new spot. They also moved the palm at just the right time of year, right after winter is over so it has spring, summer, and fall to become established like it had in the previous location before winter. Thanks!

In January and February, prior to being moved:

On Saturday, in their new location in the Haupt Garden next to the Smithsonian Castle:

 

[aabell]

I like this decision, the old location was strange and I'm sure most people did not notice or appreciate it.  Will be sure to check it out at the castle next time I'm in DC. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Wish those palms had been there when I lived in the area.

[jwf1983]

Awesome news.  My wife and I drove by the Air and Space Museum last Saturday and I was going to point it out, but couldn't find it while we drove by.  I wondered what happened.  Glad to here it was relocated.

 

Other palms in DC...  We have 1 Windmill Palm a few years old, and 3 Sagos.   2 of the Sagos we've had for about 3 years.  The other Sago we've had for almost 6 years now.  All remain out on our patio off of Connecticut Ave NW year round.  They are healthy and growing.  Minimal impacts, if anything from the winters outside to this point.

I realize a nasty winter could be around the corner, but I am truly astonished at how much warmer DC proper remains, particularly in winter, than the surrounding area.  With a little attention, there could be many more hardy palms throughout the city.  I do think, given the location and placement, many would be just fine.

Edited May 4, 2021 by jwf1983