I think its time for one of these again!

Livistona chinensis has to be my favorite cold hardy palm.

I can’t have two? I can’t decide between CIDP and California Fan.

They should line Texas Ave or University drive with them. But never gonna happen, cause “palms don’t grow or belong here.”

I would even vote for state native Sabal Mexicana, for our Town.

Edited May 11, 20215 yr by Collectorpalms

Trachycarpus fortune, and

SABALS (especially, bermudana and  louisiana, Mexican/Texas Sabal not bad either.

I LOVE CIDP but those will not overwinter in NJ at this point in time.

Edited May 11, 20215 yr by oasis371

I think we need to somewhat define cold hardy.  Zone 9A palms and below?

I'm going to say Sabal uresana.

Agree with Chester - if we consider Bismarckia as being cold hardy it's my favorite fan palm.  Otherwise I'd go with a blue Sabal uresana.  Not counting hybrids, I'd go with a blue Butia odorata as my favorite pinnate palm otherwise it'd be a BxQ or JxS.

Edited May 11, 20215 yr by Fusca

Arenga Engleri just barely makes the list, but I choose Jubaea.

Speaking strictly for a “long term” cold hardy palm in my zone, I have to say Trachycarpus Fortunei...But if I could up my zone a couple points, a Bismarckia but I can’t so I won’t.

Just for fun I'll take the needle palm just because it's the cold hardiest palm, can thrive in sun or shade, can take almost any soil condition, has one of the most beautiful fronds, and has been around since the ice age.

I really, really wanna love Needles, but not my favorite palm. Hate the needles and I find them to be slow and less than interesting. 

Brahea clara and maybe Parajubaea sunkha. 

I suppose this is more of a "cool hardy" palm since they can only take low 30s/upper 20s for short periods, but I gotta say Howea forsteriana. Look at the look they give a garden in Southern California.

For actual cold hardy palms I'd say Syagrus romanzoffiana, and for palms that take truly severe cold under 20F, the choices are limited but probably Butia odorata. 

1 hour ago, EastCanadaTropicals said:

Arenga Engleri just barely makes the list, but I choose Jubaea.

Ah I had forgotten about Arenga, they're beautiful and tough for zone 9

The Bizmarckia.

 

Know to their friends as Bizzy

I know they're not the most stunning or impressive palms in the world,  but I will always be partial to sabal palmetto.  They're culturally significant to the coastal South, and in the right setting they really are beautiful.  When well taken care of they get that awesome lollipop look and thick trunk, and when growing wild in the understory of a maritime forest their fronds get all spread out and to me it's really pretty.  Not to mention they are some of the toughest palms in existence

49 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

I know they're not the most stunning or impressive palms in the world,  but I will always be partial to sabal palmetto.  They're culturally significant to the coastal South, and in the right setting they really are beautiful.  When well taken care of they get that awesome lollipop look and thick trunk, and when growing wild in the understory of a maritime forest their fronds get all spread out and to me it's really pretty.  Not to mention they are some of the toughest palms in existence

They really are great looking, especially mature specimens, and have a prehistoric feel that is really cool

It's clearly Washingtonia Filifera.

Mature CIDPs and Pindos might be more beautiful, Windmills and some Sabals might be more cold hardy, Queens and Mules might grow faster.

But the Californian Fan palm is among the best in all these criterias and this makes it the number one cold hardy palm for me.

 

Around here, it's a very vanilla answer but you can't beat Trachy's.  You can get different looks out of them, plant a bunch of short ones all together in a clump and they almost look like needle or Raphis, especially once their fronds are in that in-between state where they're still a little strappy but just start to seperate into leaflets.  And you can always rip the straps into separate leaflets.  When they get tall you can leave them with a skirt of dead fronds for a Washy look.  Or bare their trunks and they feel like they belong on a tropical beach somewhere, especially if you plant them off-level so they grow with a little bend or curve in the trunk.  Plus they're tried and true here, grow at a moderately quick rate, are about as hardy as you can get, and are perfectly suited to our wet winters and mild summers.  

Outside of the PNW, too many good ones to choose from.  Needles look great in a big clump.  There are some Sabal minors that look like they belong in Jurassic park, wild and exotic as you can get.  I especially love the ones with costapalmate fronds.   Although I'm not normally big on Sabal palmettos, I occasionally see some that look amazing, especially with that cross-hatch lattice on the trunk.  I really need to get some good Sables for my garden, they just grow so slowly up here. 

I've yet to see these in real life yet, but every time I see a picture of Arenga engleri I expect a velociraptor to jump out at any moment, so wild-looking.  I also like Livistonas if they count, they get so tall and narrow with bendy trunks and their loose, dangling fronds just come to life in a little bit of breeze. 

Zone 9a - Bismarckia nobilis
Zone 8b - xButiagrus nabonnandii
Zone 8a - Butia odorata
Zone 7b - Trachycarpus fortunei
Any lower zone there isnt much of anything else, but i do like to see Livistona chinensis and Chamaerops humilis, along with well grown Syagrus romanzoffiana. 

29 minutes ago, JLM said:

Zone 9a - Bismarckia nobilis
Zone 8b - xButiagrus nabonnandii
Zone 8a - Butia odorata
Zone 7b - Trachycarpus fortunei
Any lower zone there isnt much of anything else, but i do like to see Livistona chinensis and Chamaerops humilis, along with well grown Syagrus romanzoffiana. 

Bismarckias are fantastic, but they don't survive in zone 9a. 

4 minutes ago, aegean said:

Bismarckias are fantastic, but they don't survive in zone 9a. 

If you're a determined palm nut they sure do lol

Right now I'm feeling Chamaedorea radicalis.

And Arenga ryukyuensis.

And Brahea armata.

And...

All of them...

Edited May 12, 20215 yr by Teegurr

Nobody has mentioned Washingtonia robusta 

C'mon there is no other palm in 8b/9a that can make such a fast growing vertical statement 

An impossible question to answer  but right now I'll have to choose Trithrinax Campestris. Thrives on neglect in my location. No water for months? No problem. Blazing hot sun? Just fine. Frost, snow, ice & cold nights? Takes it like a champ 

Big Palms: CIDP, Sabal Mexicana

Medium size:  Livistona Chinesis (although not the most cold hardy here, always gets leaf damage) 

Tropical looking:  (Although not hardy here, long term)  Queen Palms

Understory palms:  Med fan palm, sabal brazoria, sabal minor, needle palm, saw palmetto...

If we are talking about palms we can grow in our own gardens,  then for me it’s Trachycarpus wagnerianus all day long. I’d love to grow Washingtonia filifera but winter is too cold and damp here. 

8 hours ago, Xenon said:

Nobody has mentioned Washingtonia robusta 

C'mon there is no other palm in 8b/9a that can make such a fast growing vertical statement 

Love it to death. (No pun intended). If they weren't so common, I'd love them even more. Seriously, people knock on it just cuz it's common, it's really beautiful. 

Not my favorite palm overall, but cold hardy has to be sabal Birmingham. For everywhere that sees cold every year, this has to make top ten list for sure. Resembles a palmetto very closely but way more cold hardy. Where I’m at 6b/7a it’s rock solid with no protection. 

Any Sabal related or trachy, haven't had a chance to really be near other species

14 hours ago, Chester B said:

I think we need to somewhat define cold hardy.  Zone 9A palms and below?

I'm going to say Sabal uresana.

Some maybe missed the cold hardy part of the title 

The Cali-Fan and the Canary Island have to be my favs

 

My "other favs" have to be Trachys and Sabal Minor, just because I have them in yard.

I dont think CIDP and zone 6 mesh well

1 hour ago, ZPalms said:

Any Sabal related or trachy, haven't had a chance to really be near other species

Mine too.... thats about all I can grow here

Sabal palmetto 'Lisa', hands down.

I love the look of small windmills but hate the look of tall windmills with their hairy pencil trunk. 
 

I love the thickness of the filiferas 

but as for now I’d say my favorite are sabals of all varieties, especially the thick trunked ones. 
 

Likes:

1. Sabal Lisa

2. W. Filifera

3. Butia (any) / Mules

 

Dislikes:

1. Regular Queen (Mostly ratty looking IMO)

2. Sky dusters (weedy and skinny) but okay in groups.
 

Meh:

1. Palmetto

2. Common Windmill

 

Wallichia oblongifolia - pinnate

Brahea armata clara- palmate

 

13 hours ago, Xenon said:

Nobody has mentioned Washingtonia robusta 

C'mon there is no other palm in 8b/9a that can make such a fast growing vertical statement 

I am not much of  a Washingtonia fan....

Unless you want to make a vertical statement! 
They aren't particularly functional.  I like CIDP and Sabal Mexicana because they also make decent shade trees. 

2 hours ago, atlamtapalms said:

Regular Queen (Mostly ratty looking IMO)

I love queen palms.  The ones that look ratty are because the owners don't take care of them.  They don't water or fertilize enough or at all.  If you fertilize and water regularly they look awsome.

Butia and sabal for me.  At least in my zone 7 anyway.

Edited May 12, 20215 yr by Chad king NC

10 hours ago, teddytn said:

Some maybe missed the cold hardy part of the title 

Hey, my howeas have survived multiple freezes and even being covered with snow for extended periods.  (But yeah don't plant 'em if your lows get below 28F very often)