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Best palms to grow here in Chicago


ChicagoPalma

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My palm friend in N Illinois just sent his list of palms.  He has Jubaea chilensis, Butia odorata (blue), Sabal brazoria, Trachycarpus takil, Trachycarpus fortunei 'Nanital', Chamaerops humilis "Vulcano', Rhapidophyllum hystrix.  He has grown these for many years now covered with foamboard.  The boxes are the key.  All palms will need to be protected there.   They always look real nice for summer.  He has been doing it for a long time now.

Edited by Allen
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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6 minutes ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Could you ask to him by any chance to send pictures how the palms look like during the summer?

I've seen pictures before they look healthy and fine.   

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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13 minutes ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Well, that means a Northern Illinois tropical garden can look better than one in Texas.

I didn't say that.  You'll be hard pressed to get big palms over 6-10' tall like in TX but yes with a lot of work you can have a tropical look.   But a nice tropical garden takes lots of work no matter where you live.

Edited by Allen
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Why not just dig up the palms in October and put them inside a garage with some super strong grow lights. It will be years before anything gets too big to move and if the goal is to have nice looking palms for the most amount of time possible during Chicago’s short summers then there’s no literally advantage to keeping them “outside” where you’d have to take drastic protection measures and provide supplemental heat only to have them look half dead in spring and not have a fullish crown until late summer 

Edited by DreaminAboutPalms
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A hotel in iowa tried their luck with a bunch of trachies that were wrapped and then boxed up and they all still died because not enough supplemental heat. 

Edited by DreaminAboutPalms
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26 minutes ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

A hotel in iowa tried their luck with a bunch of trachies that were wrapped and then boxed up and they all still died because not enough supplemental heat. 

Hotel workers don't know how to take care of their plants especially palms

27 minutes ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

Why not just dig up the palms in October and put them inside a garage with some super strong grow lights. It will be years before anything gets too big to move and if the goal is to have nice looking palms for the most amount of time possible during Chicago’s short summers then there’s no literally advantage to keeping them “outside” where you’d have to take drastic protection measures and provide supplemental heat only to have them look half dead in spring and not have a fullish crown until late summer 

Leaving in containers is a much better option if there is room to bring inside for sure.  But on the box thing, that's not true.  Palms will come out of the box looking the same as you put them in the box in March.  Trachy will be in box 4 months out 8 months.  Other palms will be more 6/6

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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4 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Well, that means a Northern Illinois tropical garden can look better than one in Texas.

I'm looking forward to your upcoming project(s). Judging by the look of others that have managed to grow palms in cold winter climates, & with your enthusiasm, palm growing is likely to surpass anything I currently have in zone 8.  Right on brother. 

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Im going to create an amazing tropical garden in the backyard and have some beautiful palms in the front yard. Bananas will grow in the back (including edible ones) and lots of other Tropicals. Ill maybe ask Allen what to put that is tropical and can survive my climate if cared for properly.

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3 hours ago, Allen said:

Hotel workers don't know how to take care of their plants especially palms

Leaving in containers is a much better option if there is room to bring inside for sure.  But on the box thing, that's not true.  Palms will come out of the box looking the same as you put them in the box in March.  Trachy will be in box 4 months out 8 months.  Other palms will be more 6/6

My palm sort of got burned by c9 lights, but I put the burlap on first and then the lights, burlap acts like a blanket if the lights can't heat enough. The burlap also protects the palm from the c9 lights.

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12 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Im going to create an amazing tropical garden in the backyard and have some beautiful palms in the front yard. Bananas will grow in the back (including edible ones) and lots of other Tropicals. Ill maybe ask Allen what to put that is tropical and can survive my climate if cared for properly.

Have you ever seen bananas growing in Chicago before? I doubt it. Even with protection they are probably going to get knocked back to ground level each year, so they will take ages to get going again in the spring and never have a chance to get that big or impressive. They certainly won't flower there. It's almost like me trying to grow a Cocos Nucifera outside here during my 8b/9a winter with a shelter. It will never happen and even if it did, it will never look very good or healthy. I would be trying the impossible.

I had a hard enough time protecting all my stuff during an 8b winter this year, which was pretty bad for me here, although my lowest was still only -8C / 17F with no snow at all. Yet I have a ton of damage to things still. My protection would only need to be 10-20% of the scale you are talking about here, yet I still failed with a lot of it and have lost palms. My winters are significantly milder here as well, so I don't envision this working out well for you there. Not trying to be negative here, just real about your chances.

I wasn't able to sort my protection properly ahead of the December freeze as I had a family emergency. The one shelter I put up had the covers blown off, exposing things. Some stuff that was wrapped up developed rot/fungus, which is another issue you will have. Stuff that got damaged and spear pulled then got moisture in the crowns in January causing further issues. I tried mucking about with some C9 lights on my Dactylifera, but they cut out unexpectedly at some point during the night. The marginal palms that took no damage for me were the potted stuff that I was able to move indoors or into the garage (take note). 

All I can say is good luck with your project in zone 5b, because you will bloody well need it.

Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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49 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Have you ever seen bananas growing in Chicago before? I doubt it. Even with protection they are probably going to get knocked back to ground level each year, so they will take ages to get going again in the spring and never have a chance to get that big or impressive. They certainly won't flower there. It's almost like me trying to grow a Cocos Nucifera outside here during my 8b/9a winter with a shelter. It will never happen and even if it did, it will never look very good or healthy. I would be trying the impossible.

I had a hard enough time protecting all my stuff during an 8b winter this year, which was pretty bad for me here, although my lowest was still only -8C / 17F with no snow at all. Yet I have a ton of damage to things still. My protection would only need to be 10-20% of the scale you are talking about here, yet I still failed with a lot of it and have lost palms. My winters are significantly milder here as well, so I don't envision this working out well for you there. Not trying to be negative here, just real about your chances.

I wasn't able to sort my protection properly ahead of the December freeze as I had a family emergency. The one shelter I put up had the covers blown off, exposing things. Some stuff that was wrapped up developed rot/fungus, which is another issue you will have. Stuff that got damaged and spear pulled then got moisture in the crowns in January causing further issues. I tried mucking about with some C9 lights on my Dactylifera, but they cut out unexpectedly at some point during the night. The marginal palms that took no damage for me were the potted stuff that I was able to move indoors or into the garage (take note). 

All I can say is good luck with your project in zone 5b, because you will bloody well need it.

Musa Basjoo is rated zone 5.  Here again look at a zone 5 garden that has it.  Where is your photos of bananas in your yard?  Do they look better than this zone 5?  And that crap you sent me before LOL you have a LOT to learn.  Your stuff fried in UK HAHA.  Give advice on something you know about.   Have you ever even grown bananas?  If you had you'd know they come back FAST from the ground each year and get bigger each year.

Here is one in Chicago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lngGU4Wz-GA

And here is a even colder zone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YpWbbqFPLE

 

Edited by Allen
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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31 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Have you ever seen bananas growing in Chicago before? I doubt it. Even with protection they are probably going to get knocked back to ground level each year, so they will take ages to get going again in the spring and never have a chance to get that big or impressive. They certainly won't flower there. It's almost like me trying to grow a Cocos Nucifera outside here during my 8b/9a winter with a shelter. It will never happen and even if it did, it will never look very good or healthy. I would be trying the impossible.

I had a hard enough time protecting all my stuff during an 8b winter this year, which was pretty bad for me here, although my lowest was still only -8C / 17F with no snow at all. Yet I have a ton of damage to things still. My protection would only need to be 10-20% of the scale you are talking about here, yet I still failed with a lot of it and have lost palms. My winters are significantly milder here as well, so I don't envision this working out well for you there. Not trying to be negative here, just real about your chances.

I wasn't able to sort my protection properly ahead of the December freeze as I had a family emergency. The one shelter I put up had the covers blown off, exposing things. Some stuff that was wrapped up developed rot/fungus, which is another issue you will have. Stuff that got damaged and spear pulled then got moisture in the crowns in January causing further issues. I tried mucking about with some C9 lights on my Dactylifera, but they cut out unexpectedly at some point during the night. The marginal palms that took no damage for me were the potted stuff that I was able to move indoors or into the garage (take note). 

All I can say is good luck with your project in zone 5b, because you will bloody well need it.

Chicago would probably have phenomenal banana growth in the summer.

A rose cone stuffed with leaves for winter protection of the stump.

Seems easy to me.

The Chicago guy can even sleep at night w/o worry going this route unlike a zone 9 experiencing an 8b temperature.

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Here is a good video on what is possible in Chicago.  Add in a few heated palm boxes for key palm trees and you have a rocking tropical look.   Mix in potted palms where needed.  There are several tropicals that will come back year after year in Chicago if planned properly.  Colocasia "Pink China", Hardy hibiscus, Musa basjoo, Large variety canna (maybe by house), Christmas fern for ground cover (evergreen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbHCa5qttU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdABmUKIDWs

 

Edited by Allen
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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14 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

My palm sort of got burned by c9 lights, but I put the burlap on first and then the lights, burlap acts like a blanket if the lights can't heat enough. The burlap also protects the palm from the c9 lights.

It is actually suggested to use strings of mini lights istead of C9 for an even heat distrubution.

For some further reading, also take a look at this http://home.ptd.net/~mishele/webpage/protection.htm

Edited by MSX
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1 hour ago, UK_Palms said:

Have you ever seen bananas growing in Chicago before? I doubt it. Even with protection they are probably going to get knocked back to ground level each year, so they will take ages to get going again in the spring and never have a chance to get that big or impressive. They certainly won't flower there. It's almost like me trying to grow a Cocos Nucifera outside here during my 8b/9a winter with a shelter. It will never happen and even if it did, it will never look very good or healthy. I would be trying the impossible.

I had a hard enough time protecting all my stuff during an 8b winter this year, which was pretty bad for me here, although my lowest was still only -8C / 17F with no snow at all. Yet I have a ton of damage to things still. My protection would only need to be 10-20% of the scale you are talking about here, yet I still failed with a lot of it and have lost palms. My winters are significantly milder here as well, so I don't envision this working out well for you there. Not trying to be negative here, just real about your chances.

I wasn't able to sort my protection properly ahead of the December freeze as I had a family emergency. The one shelter I put up had the covers blown off, exposing things. Some stuff that was wrapped up developed rot/fungus, which is another issue you will have. Stuff that got damaged and spear pulled then got moisture in the crowns in January causing further issues. I tried mucking about with some C9 lights on my Dactylifera, but they cut out unexpectedly at some point during the night. The marginal palms that took no damage for me were the potted stuff that I was able to move indoors or into the garage (take note). 

All I can say is good luck with your project in zone 5b, because you will bloody well need it.

I'm a few hours to the SE of Chicago and have Basjoo in-ground. It does die back in the fall but comes up each spring. Approx 8' tall last summer. No protection other than mulched leaves and microclimate close to house. My zone is 6A.

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30 minutes ago, Allen said:

Musa Basjoo is rated zone 5.  Here again look at a zone 5 garden that has it.  Where is your photos of bananas in your yard?  Do they look better than this zone 5?  And that crap you sent me before LOL you have a LOT to learn.  Your stuff fried in UK HAHA.  Give advice on something you know about.   Have you ever even grown bananas?  If you had you'd know they come back FAST from the ground each year and get bigger each year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YpWbbqFPLE

 

Just because Musa Basjoo can re-sprout from the ground in zone 5, it doesn’t mean it will grow well or get any kind of size. If that was the case, we would be seeing lots of photos of good bananas in Chicago, which we obviously don’t. I mean it is a city of 8-9 million people in the metropolitan area, so you would think there would be quite a few about or at least some photos of impressive ones. Instead they sprout from scratch each May, then manage about 4-5 foot of growth before being cut back to ground level every winter.

The guy in the video is obviously doing 10+ foot of protection to get them through winter and keep the stems big, but that is hardly practical. It’s a lot of effort for 4 months of the year and a lot can go wrong. I do have Musa Basjoo growing here. The main stem has been in the ground for 2 years now and the side shoots grew from fresh last year pretty much. I only wrap them during a freeze event with some flimsy frost cloth and then unwrap them between any freezes so they can breath and keep growing.  They will push spears here during mid-winter in mild periods. They are still at a manageable size, but won’t be next year.

9605BF76-A928-4415-8245-0E419B485F67.thumb.jpeg.d677ac746a1726f5873987cc31b36527.jpeg

A3F74E77-8609-4E39-8DEE-44E5BB8FD4C9.thumb.jpeg.dc0f617796996c6c0fdf0c4945fa6ddf.jpeg
 

Anything is possible when you set your heart and mind to it, however I think some of the comments attempting to encourage him are ultimately setting him up to fail eventually. I know a lot of people who have tried to keep stuff like Jubaea or Chamaerops alive in Scandinavia with shelters and lights. It always ends in misery.

Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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33 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Just because Musa Basjoo can re-sprout from the ground in zone 5, it doesn’t mean it will grow well or get any kind of size. If that was the case, we would be seeing lots of photos of good bananas in Chicago, which we obviously don’t. 

The guy in the video is obviously doing 10+ foot of protection to get them through winter and keep the stems big, but that is hardly practical. 

Your comments show your lack of experience and lack of knowledge of basjoo when the guy in zone 5 told in the video he covers with a 3 ' pile of mulch and tarp (With -20F temps) and a zone 6 guy below also told how to do it.  You don't have to protect the pseudostems as they will grow back just as quickly from the ground.  And the bananas in the video look better than yours because they are wind sheltered.  And they are in Chicago. LOL.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbHCa5qttU

 

42 minutes ago, Quasarecho said:

I'm a few hours to the SE of Chicago and have Basjoo in-ground. It does die back in the fall but comes up each spring. Approx 8' tall last summer. No protection other than mulched leaves and microclimate close to house. My zone is 6A.

Did you read this?

33 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

I think some of the comments attempting to encourage him are ultimately setting him up to fail eventually. I know a lot of people who have tried to keep stuff like Jubaea or Chamaerops alive in Scandinavia with shelters and lights. It always ends in misery.

Did you not kill some stuff this year?  I think you should stop growing palms by same logic.  

Edited by Allen
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Here are my Musa Basjoo that get killed to the ground every year and by August they look like this. And I am in zone 7a.  Chicago can have some warm summers so they should grow well and fast there.

 

PXL_20220908_161306690.jpg

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Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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46 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

 I know a lot of people who have tried to keep stuff like Jubaea or Chamaerops alive in Scandinavia with shelters and lights. It always ends in misery.

Nothing brings you back into reality quite as quickly as an arctic blast! You know I think it would have been so much better if I planted some really nice Italian cypress or pine in place of my palms, or whatever which is more sustainable and trouble-free instead of seeing those dead looking trunks now, but everyone has to walk their own path

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22 minutes ago, Allen said:

Your comments show your lack of experience and lack of knowledge of basjoo when the guy in zone 5 told in the video he covers with a 3 ' pile of mulch and tarp and a zone 6 guy below also told how to do it.  You don't have to protect the pseudostems as they will grow back just as quickly from the ground.  And the bananas in the video look better than yours because they are wind sheltered.  And they are in Chicago. LOL.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbHCa5qttU

 

Did you read this?

Did you not kill some stuff this year.  I think you should stop growing palms by same logic.  

 

Where are all these big 12 foot plus bananas in Chicago? One guy has posted a video on Youtube of his, which may well have been protected with a bigger shelter than implied. They aren't going to grow 10+ feet in one season when they are subjected to the extreme winter conditions and thus take ages to get properly going again in the spring. The season will be ending fairly early by late October as well. We would be seeing quite a lot of big bananas every fall around Chicago, if they were growing 10+ feet, which we just don't see. One person posting a video about one (who we know protects his stuff vigorously) doesn't really prove anything.

I generally don't have to protect my bananas most winters. Maybe 2 winters out of every 5 here. Mine struggled last summer because I had no rainfall during the summer and they almost got defoliated in the dry, parched, clay soil. I only had 7 inches of rain from January - September. I probably lost several feet of growth by not watering them, but I had a million other things to water including all my tomatoes, peppers, beans, flowering plants and numerous potted palms. I'm sure all the rain and humid subtropical summer temps help with the growth rate in Chicago during summer, but you are never getting 10+ foot of growth on a Basjoo from about May - October.

I lost some marginal stuff this winter because I wasn't able to stay on top of my protection and that is in zone 8b/9a with an ultimate winter low of -8C / 17F. Saying that none of my stuff is technically dead here, but I suspect the stuff that has spear pulled will succumb to the damage in the coming weeks. My point was that if I can struggle with protection here during an 8b winter, it is going to be very hard to keep stuff consistently well protected in zone 5b. As previously stated, too much stuff can go wrong having to protect stuff to that degree, and palms like Trachycarpus will eventually get to a stage where they can no longer be protected.

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Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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Not into the idea of pure assumption that something CAN'T be done. If someone has the will and/or the means to pull it off, let them give it a shot. It's kinda how we move the ball forward.
I never would have expected to see the tropical garden from Canada that was mentioned, but am amazed and got some ideas from seeing that. It may seem like more trouble than it's worth. And for many it is. Some of us just have to work a little harder to get the results we're after.

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14 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

 

Where are all these big 12 foot plus bananas in Chicago? One guy has posted a video on Youtube of his, which may well have been protected with a bigger shelter than implied. They aren't going to grow 10+ feet in one season when they are subjected to the extreme winter conditions and thus take ages to get properly going again in the spring. The season will be ending fairly early by late October as well. We would be seeing quite a lot of big bananas every fall around Chicago, if they were growing 10+ feet, which we just don't see. One person posting a video about one (who we know protects his stuff vigorously) doesn't really prove anything.

2 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Have you ever seen bananas growing in Chicago before? I doubt it. Even with protection they are probably going to get knocked back to ground level each year, so they will take ages to get going again in the spring and never have a chance to get that big or impressive. They certainly won't flower there. It's almost like me trying to grow a Cocos Nucifera outside here during my 8b/9a winter with a shelter. It will never happen and even if it did, it will never look very good or healthy. I would be trying the impossible.

 

So first you want to see bananas growing in Chicago and now they have to be photos over 12' to suit you?  LOL So now me, others posting on this thread and showing you them growing there is not enough?   So in this video he says his in Chicago is 13' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbHCa5qttU  and this is Sept 2nd so they have more time to grow.   And I'll still say this Chicago banana looks better than most others I've seen.  And there is a reason for that but you are too inexperienced to know that and too stubborn to care.  In our zone 7 musa basjoo get 15-20'

 

 

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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Thanks for the support @Allen, @Quasarecho, and @Palmaceae. I would also like to say to @UK_Palms that I will grow an amazing tropical garden here in Chicago. In fact, I maybe might send a message everyday of new pictures of the palms in the tropical garden reminding you how garbage your palms and bananas look like. So possibly, try not to discourage me and maybe move along from this thread.

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One other option that hasn’t been mentioned is renting greenhouse space. I know in Southern Ontario a few of the nurseries will drop off your large potted palms and tropicals in spring and pick them up in fall and store them in their greenhouses over winter. My dads neighbor has pretty big queens, bird of paradise and trunking sagos that he uses this service for. 
 

If it were me I’d have some Musa basjoo clumps a couple needle palms and a couple Sabal minors that can all be easily protected. Use the service for the ultra tropicals and then plant tropical looking hardy plants. Think Arundo donax, giant grasses, cannas, hardy hibiscus and even the giant hostas. 

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Been to Chicago twice (thankfully not in winter) and I have to say the tropical planters you see everywhere throughout the city look really nice. Seems like Chicago has enough warmth and humidity to keep things flourishing during the summer. 

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Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

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18 minutes ago, Chester B said:

One other option that hasn’t been mentioned is renting greenhouse space. I know in Southern Ontario a few of the nurseries will drop off your large potted palms and tropicals in spring and pick them up in fall and store them in their greenhouses over winter. My dads neighbor has pretty big queens, bird of paradise and trunking sagos that he uses this service for. 
 

If it were me I’d have some Musa basjoo clumps a couple needle palms and a couple Sabal minors that can all be easily protected. Use the service for the ultra tropicals and then plant tropical looking hardy plants. Think Arundo donax, giant grasses, cannas, hardy hibiscus and even the giant hostas. 

Great idea for greenhouses to rent space. That had been in the back of my mind before. I've got a couple of Pindos that are becoming unruly to store indoors because they are getting so big. I talked to my people at work and was able to haul one in where it gets plenty of light. Humidity in the building is low (offices). But the palm doesn't seem to mind. It's been pushing out new fronds for the past 6 weeks. 

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17 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Been to Chicago twice (thankfully not in winter) and I have to say the tropical planters you see everywhere throughout the city look really nice. Seems like Chicago has enough warmth and humidity to keep things flourishing during the summer. 

It can get hot as he'll in Chicago.  Upper 90s sometimes over 100. Also some years it doesn't freeze until after Nov.1.

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1 hour ago, Allen said:

So first you want to see bananas growing in Chicago and now they have to be photos over 12' to suit you?  LOL So now me, others posting on this thread and showing you them growing there is not enough?   So in this video he says his in Chicago is 13' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbHCa5qttU  and this is Sept 2nd so they have more time to grow.   And I'll still say this Chicago banana looks better than most others I've seen.  And there is a reason for that but you are too inexperienced to know that and too stubborn to care.  In our zone 7 musa basjoo get 15-20'

 

 

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2 hours ago, MSX said:

Nothing brings you back into reality quite as quickly as an arctic blast! You know I think it would have been so much better if I planted some really nice Italian cypress or pine in place of my palms, or whatever which is more sustainable and trouble-free instead of seeing those dead looking trunks now, but everyone has to walk their own path

Do both, use the hardier evergreens to protect the palms from cold directions such as north and west of its location. It takes many years to establish, but in the beginning it’s important to keep winds and moisture off as much as possible, exposure to temps is inevitable but if they survive awesome. If not you have a back up of hardy evergreen’s in place.

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Uh guys, I gotta problem, two spears pulled and two fronds pulled, one green. What should I do? Also cold weather is gone and it should stay in 30s to 40s, but it’s gonna rain tomorrow, is it a goner?

image.jpg

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35 minutes ago, ChicagoPalma said:

I’m very worried currently, I’m hoping it’s not a goner, and @Allendid say something or spear pull might happen.

c9 bulbs.  I messaged you what to do

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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9 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

I’m very worried currently, I’m hoping it’s not a goner, and @Allendid say something or spear pull might happen.

That can't be happening if you want to create that "amazing tropical garden."

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15 hours ago, ChicagoPalma said:

Thanks for the support @Allen, @Quasarecho, and @Palmaceae. I would also like to say to @UK_Palms that I will grow an amazing tropical garden here in Chicago. In fact, I maybe might send a message everyday of new pictures of the palms in the tropical garden reminding you how garbage your palms and bananas look like. So possibly, try not to discourage me and maybe move along from this thread.


I look forward to seeing this amazing tropical garden in Chicago. Like seriously, because judging by the pictures you uploaded above you are going to be right up against it, trying to hold back the tide. You can barely get a Trachycarpus Fortunei through winter there, as your spear pulls suggest.

I will also hold you to your comment about regular posts of this tropical garden. I expect at least one garden update a month from you moving forward and plenty over the next winter. Let’s see what you actually manage there. I have my doubts, but try and prove me wrong. Me and @Sabal King were both just suggesting you keep things containerised and move them indoors, but do whatever you want.

Here are some of my “garbage” palms. Have you got a Brahea Armata in the ground there? What about Chamadorea Radicalis? Neither of these were protected during my freezes and are fine. Same with Chamaerops. The Musa Basjoo is the only thing in the ground that got protection. 

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Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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boy it only took just a few days, and two pages of forum posts to be vindicated.. no one was trying to be mean and or a jerk, we are being realistic, it's that simple.  BTW you are not out of winter yet, take a look at the forecast the first week or two into March.  You barely climb out of freezing, with overnight lows of 18-22... again, I lived in the area for over 35 years and I presume you are a bit younger and don't want to be realistic.  I had to stop when you said you were going to get a "fruiting banana" to grow there.. LOL!  I am trying to get our blue java banana which is incredibly hardy into the low 20's to fruit, and I've struck out two years in a row.  Eventually we're getting a zone 9 winter and it will fruit here, because we do get those.

Looking forward to seeing your mule palm outside, fruiting bananas, and the rest of the tropical Chicago oasis.  We need to make a new forum, not for cold hardy palms because that's what we do, but for people who build insane protection around things that shouldn't be there.  Basic protection in zone 7 is one thing, but growing zone 9+ palms in 5 or 6 needs it's own forum.  It's taken over this place.

Subscribe to my YouTube here  to follow along my Sabal obsession....  Quite possibly one of the biggest Sabal plantings in the US.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sabalking.texas

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Also, sometimes ago I made a post, is my palm tree ok. So what happened was Allen said it's trunk was too small and it got damaged by the c9 lights, when I decided after christmas to place the c9 lights on the palm and cover in burlap. That caused it being overheated, especially in the spear area, and yesterday two spears pulled, two fronds also pulled, one completely green. But It was not cold enough for the palm in its little box, it was overheated, with the lightbulbs from the c9 lights touching the spear area, the trunk, and the fronds. The good news I have is, there is minor rot, so no mushy trunk, and some fronds in the crown area are still not pulling, which is good. Today its going to rain, so I put the box over it and I placed something to block the hole. I heavily sprayed with copper fungicide minorly diluted with water to stay safe. The palm is not a goner, and people make mistakes, but we learn. I will still do the tropical garden though, but just being more careful.

edit

Nice brahea you have @UK_Palms, its not much but it would look nicer in the future.

Edited by ChicagoPalma
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1 hour ago, Sabal King said:

boy it only took just a few days, and two pages of forum posts to be vindicated.. no one was trying to be mean and or a jerk, we are being realistic, it's that simple.  BTW you are not out of winter yet, take a look at the forecast the first week or two into March.  You barely climb out of freezing, with overnight lows of 18-22... again, I lived in the area for over 35 years and I presume you are a bit younger and don't want to be realistic.  I had to stop when you said you were going to get a "fruiting banana" to grow there.. LOL!  I am trying to get our blue java banana which is incredibly hardy into the low 20's to fruit, and I've struck out two years in a row.  Eventually we're getting a zone 9 winter and it will fruit here, because we do get those.

Looking forward to seeing your mule palm outside, fruiting bananas, and the rest of the tropical Chicago oasis.  We need to make a new forum, not for cold hardy palms because that's what we do, but for people who build insane protection around things that shouldn't be there.  Basic protection in zone 7 is one thing, but growing zone 9+ palms in 5 or 6 needs it's own forum.  It's taken over this place.

Im not sure where I said blue java banana, and if I said that, I decided not to grow it, because as you said. Either way, you guys are all in texas sitting in the hot sun or something. It takes dedication to grow palms here, and also we are near 60s for today. Currently, the temperatures will not drop below 20 Farenheit. I'm currently researching how I'm going to do this. Also currently we have some major thunder, so I may not be able to reply. Allen is helping me get the palm to recover, but I will have to be patient for new growth.

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