Winter Questions

[BigBilly]

I have a potted windmill palm and I was wondering what I should do with it once winter comes (7B), Also I was thinking about getting a needle palm, Should I just wait until Spring ?

[Allen]

Plant the needle palm next spring.  Go ahead and buy the needle if you find a good one and keep in garage or inside below about 25F or ice.  Bring the small Trachy indoors at any temps under 25-28F or so to be safe or any ice events.  A larger one in a big pot could take a little lower temps.  I just don't like to tell people to push it when it's not my palm.  Tuck it right next to the South side of the house if you can for now.

Alternative on the pot is to sit it RIGHT by house and bury pot in mulch and lean a board or something against the house to cover it.  That might keep you down to high teens but bringing in is safer.   You could put heat around it that way (Xmas lights or similar) if you are insistent on leaving outside.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Allen
further alternatives

[BigBilly]

3 minutes ago, Allen said:

Plant the needle palm next spring.  Bring the small Trachy indoors at any temps under 25-28F or so to be safe or any ice events.  A larger one in a big pot could take a little lower temps.  I just don't like to tell people to push it when it's not my palm.  Tuck it right next to the South side of the house if you can for now.

It's already on the south side.

[BigBilly]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

Plant the needle palm next spring.  Go ahead and buy the needle if you find a good one and keep in garage or inside below about 25F or ice.  Bring the small Trachy indoors at any temps under 25-28F or so to be safe or any ice events.  A larger one in a big pot could take a little lower temps.  I just don't like to tell people to push it when it's not my palm.  Tuck it right next to the South side of the house if you can for now.

Alternative on the pot is to sit it RIGHT by house and bury pot in mulch and lean a board or something against the house to cover it.  That might keep you down to high teens but bringing in is safer.   You could put heat around it that way (Xmas lights or similar) if you are insistent on leaving outside.

Also thank you for the advice 👍, I'll wait on the needle

[newtopalmsMD]

I agree with what Allen said, I would suggest that bringing it indoors means bringing it into an unheated garage as opposed to in the house.  These palms don't like the low indoor humidity or the extreme temperature change.  and they don't like being houseplants for an entire winter.  I have done with trachys, needles and sabals.  In the garage on cold or icy nights, back out in the sun in the morning.  7A MD

[BigBilly]

Questioning what to do with it now .So far it's been around 32-26F ,It's dropping down toe 24F tonight or lower . I have Christmas lights on it and it's tucked right up next to the south side of house . Should I do anything else or will this do ?

[newtopalmsMD]

Do you plan to brig it into a garage for nights below 25?  Or leave it out?

Also wen it rains will it get water?  The Palm will slow down a lot in winter (I don't know if it actually goes dormant in 7a) but sitting in the sun and exposure to wind will cause it to lose water through the fronds so you do want to make sure the pot does not dry out too much.  (I think I used to water mine twice a month when the potted plant was getting no precipitation (i.e. in teh garage during snow and ice)  Water early in the morning

[WSimpson]

Just wait till spring and plant it  . I keep my hardy palms in the house like regular houseplants . 

Will

[BigBilly]

3 hours ago, newtopalmsMD said:

Do you plan to brig it into a garage for nights below 25?  Or leave it out?

Also wen it rains will it get water?  The Palm will slow down a lot in winter (I don't know if it actually goes dormant in 7a) but sitting in the sun and exposure to wind will cause it to lose water through the fronds so you do want to make sure the pot does not dry out too much.  (I think I used to water mine twice a month when the potted plant was getting no precipitation (i.e. in teh garage during snow and ice)  Water early in the morning

Gonna try to leave it out as much as i can

[BeyondTheGarden]

4 hours ago, BigBilly said:

Gonna try to leave it out as much as i can

If you're concerned for its survival, then why leave it out as much as possible?  I bring small palms in for the winter, as much as possible, even if they're virtually bulletproof in my zone.  Because I know they'll continue to grow indoors over the winter, but may take some damage outside.  Especially smaller palms which are less hardy and easier to deal with. 

Edit - I would be concerned with leaving a Trachycarpus outside all winter in 7b temps.  Especially a young one. I'd worry less about a mature Trachy.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Jesse PNW

[BigBilly]

4 hours ago, Jesse PNW said:

If you're concerned for its survival, then why leave it out as much as possible?  I bring small palms in for the winter, as much as possible, even if they're virtually bulletproof in my zone.  Because I know they'll continue to grow indoors over the winter, but may take some damage outside.  Especially smaller palms which are less hardy and easier to deal with. 

Edit - I would be concerned with leaving a Trachycarpus outside all winter in 7b temps.  Especially a young one. I'd worry less about a mature Trachy.

That makes sense should I get a grow light or will it be good without one

[newtopalmsMD]

If you really are going to leave it in your garage all winter a grow light would be needed.  I've used a couple of 45 watt 12 inch LED panels for larger plants, so one should be plenty.  There were winters where I would put a plant that size outside, in the sun in the morning on the way to work if temp was above 25F and then bring it back in at night on the way in from work.  Didn't need a light for the few days (15 to 20?) that it was icing or snowing or too cold during the day to put the plant out. 

[Ben OK]

On 10/31/2022 at 3:14 PM, BigBilly said:

I have a potted windmill palm and I was wondering what I should do with it once winter comes (7B), Also I was thinking about getting a needle palm, Should I just wait until Spring ?

I tend to put my potted plants in a wheel barrow so I can move them in and out of the garage as the weather dictates. Keeping ice and snow off of it can't be stressed enough. At that size my experience has been that both trachycarpus and needles spear pull pretty easily. So keeping freezing precipitation off could save them in a worst case scenario. Even if they survive the spear pull (my experience has been about a 50/50 shot), it slows them down at a time when they are already slow growing. 

[BigBilly]

I'll make sure to do that , Thanks for the advice !

On 11/19/2022 at 9:56 PM, Ben OK said:

I tend to put my potted plants in a wheel barrow so I can move them in and out of the garage as the weather dictates. Keeping ice and snow off of it can't be stressed enough. At that size my experience has been that both trachycarpus and needles spear pull pretty easily. So keeping freezing precipitation off could save them in a worst case scenario. Even if they survive the spear pull (my experience has been about a 50/50 shot), it slows them down at a time when they are already slow growing. 

 

[steve617]

I have about 40 trachycarpus in my garage that stays about 65 its heated but I keep them in heat mats and lights and grow them out. My humidity  ave about 62 percent. I mist mine nearly every day and they do great. I also have a Bismarckia Nobilis and Washingtonia Robusta in large pots. The do great in the winter. 

[BigBilly]

Decided to an update on my potted windmill, Your advice really helped. It's set up along a south facing wall all winter long and I've brough it in when it's dropped below 22 F. It doesn't look like it's taken any damage it's began growing again. 

[SeanK]

We hit 5° at my house. West side, against the wall with a blanket and plastic, potted Trachies came through fine. 

East side, on a wagon against wall, under Trachy canopy behind needle palms, all spear pull.

[Allen]

4 minutes ago, SeanK said:

We hit 5° at my house. West side, against the wall with a blanket and plastic, potted Trachies came through fine. 

East side, on a wagon against wall, under Trachy canopy behind needle palms, all spear pull.

Might want to pull one of those out of pot and check roots.   A palm can look fine and have sustained root damage below.  Trachy roots take damage starting 20F and quite a bit under 18F.  

[ChicagoPalma]

The NY tropics guy has such a beautiful garden.

 

edit

wrong topic sorry

Edited February 24, 2023 by ChicagoPalma

[ChicagoPalma]

Oop wrong topic

Edited February 24, 2023 by ChicagoPalma

[BigBilly]

Also I'm planning on planting it this year I was thinking some time after march 15th ?

[Allen]

13 minutes ago, BigBilly said:

Also I'm planning on planting it this year I was thinking some time after march 15th ?

probably - look at your forecast then and make sure no under 21F is anywhere in sight at that time.  You just don't want ice type precip in the spear when really small like that one.  If something freak cold did happen throw a large container over it

[BigBilly]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:15 PM, Allen said:

probably - look at your forecast then and make sure no under 21F is anywhere in sight at that time.  You just don't want ice type precip in the spear when really small like that one.  If something freak cold did happen throw a large container over it

I mean it shouldn't snow after march 15. There's such a low chance.

[BigBilly]

I mean given winters are becoming milder, I'm really interested in trying a Sabal Palmetto and  some type of robusta next season 

[SeanK]

1 hour ago, BigBilly said:

I mean given winters are becoming milder, I'm really interested in trying a Sabal Palmetto and  some type of robusta next season 

We hit 5°F in December, first time in 20 years.  Trachycarpus and palmettos 50% burned. If you're really z7b, assume 5° is possible every year.

[BigBilly]

31 minutes ago, SeanK said:

We hit 5°F in December, first time in 20 years.  Trachycarpus and palmettos 50% burned. If you're really z7b, assume 5° is possible every year.

That's Completely Fair, At the same time we've had everything else just be straight mild other than that one event and the last 2 winters we're mild. Which makes me think I could maybe try a filbusta, ( just for fun since it'll probably die ). But a sabal palmetto could probably do well here long term I've seen some around me. 

[BigBilly]

Maybe try to get some seeds from texas