Almost all of us desire to grow palm species that the experts say are unsuited to our climates. Reference me and Lepidorrhachis mooreana. In the vast majority of cases the experts are right, as I've proved to myself the hard way - although I would never subject an innocent Lepidorrachis to my harsh sweltering summers. But, occasionally, we walk a fine line and manage to nurture a palm species that, by all rights and edicts, should end up on the compost pile. I have 3 palms in my back yard jungle that have been hanging in for years against all odds. They are:

Howea belmoreana: one of four species native to Lord Howe Island where the climate is uniformly cool and damp. My ferocious summers can be lethal. I've had mine for about 15 years after buying it as a 1g. It is now taller than I am but still not trunking. For years it grew under the canopy of my lush queen palms overlooking the canal. When I lost all my queens to wilt, I feared I would lose it while the mutant bifid leaf Elaeis guineensis I planted for canopy grew tall enough to shield it. That is now the case and it enjoys the cooler temps of winter dry season after the heat of rainy season.

Howea forsteriana: the most familiar of the Lord Howe palms from the lowest altitude of the island. It is the familiar Victorian "parlor palm" in old photos. It also hates my heat and swelter and loves my winters and lives under deep canopy a few feet from the belmoreana. I once had two but lost one after my queens were removed. I grew it from a germinated seed I received in 2004 pre-Charley and it now has about 2' of clear trunk.

Hydriastele dransfieldii: a tropical species that faces danger each winter. This is a beautiful, leather leafed palm that grew well and fast for me in a pot so I could whisk it indoors if dangerous low temps threatened. But after a few years it grew so tall its spear threatened to puncture the top of the birdcage and also my 8' ceilings. I decided its only hope was planting, so I did in the jungle several years ago. It survived a low of 37F the first winter and later temps down to low 40s. This summer it flowered for the first but aborted its seeds.

So, what about you? What species are you growing that by all rights and edicts you shouldn't? How have they survived the odds? What provisions (canopy, placement, etc) do you provide to help them make it? A few ground rules:

1. Palm(s) must be planted in the ground, not in pots that can be hauled indoors.

2. The area where palms are planted must be outdoors in the elements, not inside a heated or cooled building. Protective measures, i.e., blankets, lights, cables used outdoors are okay.

3. Palm must have survived at least one full year or more outdoors.

And because we all love photos:

Howea belmoreana, Cape Coral, FL, 2019

Howea forsteriana, Cape Coral, FL 2019

Hydriastele dransfieldii, Cape Coral, FL 2019

Wow, drooling over your palms, PalmatierMeg. No ‘fancy pants’ palms like that up here unfortunately. 
But I have a few species in my yard that I suppose I shouldn’t, lol

I have two Ravenea Rivularis that are in their third winter now. Planted them just two months before the January 2018 winter freeze. 
Also have Chamaedorea Elegans and Chamaedorea Cataractum in ground, which were also planted at the same time as my Majesties. 
And I guess you can also consider a P. Roebelenii as something that’s not exactly in every yard around these parts with it’s cold hardiness around 25-24F in an area that sometimes experiences low 20’s. 

Your majesty looks great. It and your Cham elegans certainly qualify from my experience.

My biggest zone pushers would be my foxtails. They actually do pretty well here between hard freezes. I consider them 10 year palms. Last year I lived in one of the coldest parts of the Houston area, Katy, which bottomed out at 28 last winter. I covered them but didn’t supply any supplemental heat. There was minor bronzing but nothing serious. This summer I moved to a much warmer area and I brought them with me. I was really surprised at how well they transplanted. Their roots were really well established and they were pretty tough to get out of the ground but when I planted them at the new house they just kept growing like nothing happened. So far at my new place the lowest temperature I’ve had has been 33-34 (depending on which weather station you believe), so they’ve had no protection. In the picture you can see the bronzed fronds from last winter. 

My Chamaerops humilis has survived every winter while being defoiliated, but comes back quickly every Spring. I never protected it other than its first winter, I actually didn't want it anymore and just left it unprotected its second winter, but it survived and has survived every one since. I actually really like it now and even though it's small, it gains size every year. We'll see how long it lasts, or maybe I'll protect it to prevent defoliation this year. 

Edited December 24, 20196 yr by PalmTreeDude

Hmmm I am really not sure but if I had to choose, I think my Washingtonia filifera is the oddball of my palm collection. Despite W. filifera being zone hardy in zone 8a, North Carolina's humid and rainy climate causes stress for this palm. W. filifera thrives best during long summer droughts when rainfall is limited but hates our wet and chilly winters.

Other candidates in my garden that really shouldn't be thriving in my climate are my Rhapis excelsa and my Livistona chinensis, but I don't think those count since they die back each winter and return green and healthy in the spring. 

Hello there,

my zone pushers over here are (all of them in the ground at least two or more years

without any protection, just some ropes during a typhoon)

number one:

Jubea chilensis,

number two:

Bentinckia nicobarica (still a bit shattered from the last typhoon)...but already...

...trunking,

and number three:

Clinostigma samoense.

........

Merry Christmas to all of you and A Happy New Year!

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

A number of palms that I thought would be difficult up here in Northen CA that are doing way better than expected.

Pinanga philippinensis 

Pinanga sylvestris

Wodyetia bifurcata 

Roystonea borinquena

Licuala peltata 'sumawongii

Kerriodoxa elegans

Prestoea montana

Dypsis rosea

Dypsis pinnatifrons

Geonoma schottiana

Thrinax radiata

There are likely others too. 

Mine would have to be my 10 Lytocaryum hoehnei & 3 syagrus which all survived the 16F freeze of 2018. All had spear pull but came back strong.

Mine would be 5 Cocos nucifera.

 

My ones would have to be:

Wallichia disticha 

Coccothrinax gracilis 

Wodyetia bifurcata 

probably also Gaussia princeps 

Bottle palm in Phoenix...Planted over 15 years ago from a 3 gallon HD special in my best microclimate.(gets winter sun as soon as it breaks horizen) It has totally defoliated a few times over the years,but still keeps on growing.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona