livistonia chinensis in zone 6a???

[DTS]

I have done some more reasearch again and I found that livistonia chinensis is trunk hardy to zone 6/7 and im in zone 6a. the minimum temp so far was 0 degrees, so basically 7a winter? idk i need help b4 i buy one.

[knikfar]

8 minutes ago, DTS1 said:

I have done some more reasearch again and I found that livistonia chinensis is trunk hardy to zone 6/7 and im in zone 6a. the minimum temp so far was 0 degrees, so basically 7a winter? idk i need help b4 i buy one.

I just purchased and planted one my my Raleigh NC, 7b, yard. I've read the same, that they are root hardy to really low temps and may die to the ground in the winter but are likely to resprout when temps warm up. I'm not sure about the exact hardiness to keep it as a perennial. The internet wasn't a great source for that kind of info. The best advice I can give you is the try and plant it in the warmest microclimate you can and plan on protecting it when temps drop into the teens and single digits. That's my plan. 

[Jimhardy]

That info probably started here.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Palms-Wont-Grow-Other-Myths/dp/1604693290/ref=asc_df_1604693290/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128022127&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3252411080537466479&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018597&hvtargid=pla-492459357522&psc=1

[Allen]

If I were you I'd try some Sabal minor in sheltered locations and go potted palms on the rest unless you want to box things in.  I'm all for zone pushing if you know what you are getting into.  Can you tell us what palms you have now??

[oasis371]

I would suggest either Sabal minor or maybe Trachycarpus (protected), not Chinese palms for Zone 6a, MI.  

Edited February 28, 2022 by oasis371

[mnorell]

Sorry, Livistona chinensis is not "trunk hardy" to zone 6a. They are not "trunk hardy" even in zone 9a, Natchez, Mississippi, 100 or so miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. 13F there in 2018 killed a specimen I had with several feet of trunk. A couple of larger trees upslope from our house there survived to resprout but it was a very marginal survival for them. Small plants with apical meristem well buried below ground-level defoliated (they do this below about 23F) but resprouted, which is typical for one or two nights in mid/upper teens or low 20s in winter. The only conceivable way you might grow Livistona chinensis in your zone would be to bury it under a very, very deep layer of mulch and you could cross your fingers that it would resprout in the spring. For any kind of long-term survival, please note that this palm is really a 9b palm in the south/southeast. You would be lucky indeed to get even a needle palm, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, to survive in the warmest areas of Michigan. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but virtually no palm wants to be stuck in deeply frozen ground for many, many months, with only a short summer to attempt a recovery. My suggestion to you is to move southward...a long way!

[Jtee]

7 hours ago, knikfar said:

I just purchased and planted one my my Raleigh NC, 7b, yard. I've read the same, that they are root hardy to really low temps and may die to the ground in the winter but are likely to resprout when temps warm up. I'm not sure about the exact hardiness to keep it as a perennial. The internet wasn't a great source for that kind of info. The best advice I can give you is the try and plant it in the warmest microclimate you can and plan on protecting it when temps drop into the teens and single digits. That's my plan. 

I think that my chilinsis is doing this now, it got burnt but I think it’s coming back from new growth underneath. This is its first year in ground so not an expert on these. 

[Jimhardy]

I think he means they are trunk hardy in that when the top dies

they can come back from "suckers" as described in Palms won't grow here.

[Jtee]

5 minutes ago, Jimhardy said:

I think he means they are trunk hardy in that when the top dies

they can come back from "suckers" as described in Palms won't grow here.

I really don’t know anything about these palms but I’m wondering if that’s a sucker growing under mine, there’s several popping up. 

[mnorell]

30 minutes ago, Jimhardy said:

I think he means they are trunk hardy in that when the top dies

they can come back from "suckers" as described in Palms won't grow here.

Livistona chinensis is not a 'suckering' (caespitose) species, it is solitary. However, they are often grown commercially with many individuals to a pot, of differing sizes, which may give the impression they are suckering. After the apical meristem emerges above the soil-line (and hence subject to the air temperature rather than the warmer soil temperature), severe hard freezes have a chance to severely damage or kill all meristemic tissue. Once the meristem is destroyed, that plant is dead. Many people at relatively low latitudes (e.g., 9a areas of Texas and the Gulf South), where freezes may every 20 years or so be severe but in no way compare to the extended and annual icy conditions of northern states, have managed to keep a 'clump' alive by planting small specimens of varying sizes. Some lucky plants will develop into trees during extended warm periods but the larger ones will eventually go, and small plants will take their place. Adding more seedlings or small individuals around over the years will give the appearance that the plants are living indefinitely. I did this successfully at my garden when I lived in Natchez, Mississippi. But this species is in no way a "north hardy" palm. That is a complete fallacy.

[Jimhardy]

7 hours ago, mnorell said:

Livistona chinensis is not a 'suckering' (caespitose) species,  

You better not tell Jim in Los Altos that hahahehehoho

 

Fallacy is as fallacy does.

 

Forest of Gumps

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Jimhardy

[PalmTreesAreCoolYes]

Sorry for this but they don't stand a chance in 6a. I'm a zone 7a and tried livistona when I was a teenager and it lived for a good couple years it seems like but it eventually succumbed to the cold and precipitation. It defoliated every winter. I had 3 palms back then - livistona, Washingtonia, and the needle palm. The needle palm was the only one that survived for me. The other 2 only lived through a small number of winters like 2 probably at most. My protection methods weren't as good back then but still I don't think it's worth the effort when they are a good few palms that are much better worth trying. If I were you, I would try a windmill palm and needle palms and sabal minor and they will fair much better. Unless you are into some elaborate over the top protection methods, I would stick with the easier options and in my opinion, windmill palms can be just as beautiful and rewarding as livistona with way less effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DTS]

i decided im not gonna get a livistonia then! ive decided to get a sabal minor instead!

im also getting it from a seller in northeast ohio so it should be hardier!

Edited March 2, 2022 by DTS1