Queen palm growing in southern NC

[The fronds]

Not sure if I got the image to load but this is a pure Queen palm in Wilmington,NC. I bought it at HD in 2012. It has lived indoors in various pots and locations until we moved here 4 years ago and planted it outside. It has survived winters on the south side of the house with the usual Christmas lights and wrapping on the coldest ( 19 deg F ) nights. It is impossible to protect the fronds so they burn extensively but come back as the weather warms. It is as high as the top of the roof now and the trunk is huge at the base.  I'm posting it because I think it's notable for it's size at this latitude. The other two large plants are an Angel Trumpet and a Robusta that was about 18" tall 3 years ago.

[DAVEinMB]

@Alex Anthony that's some good stuff right there! 🤘

[Colin1110082]

Where in the east coast do you usually stop seeing Queen Palms is it Georgia? That’s definitely cool seeing that in North Carolina

[The fronds]

As far as I know they shouldn't do well north of Orlando. So I thought a well established Queen in NC , even though it has had some winter protection, was notable. Especially considering the size of this specimen.

[MarcusH]

1 minute ago, Alex Anthony said:

As far as I know they shouldn't do well north of Orlando. So I thought a well established Queen in NC , even though it has had some winter protection, was notable. Especially considering the size of this specimen.

Plenty of Queens in Jacksonville,FL.  30 years plus old. 

[Gville Palms]

1 hour ago, Alex Anthony said:

As far as I know they shouldn't do well north of Orlando. So I thought a well established Queen in NC , even though it has had some winter protection, was notable. Especially considering the size of this specimen.

I think keeping a queen alive in Wilmington for many years is definitely notable. That said, queens are a lot more cold hardy than people often give them credit for. An established and healthy queen palm in the right location can quite easily take short (short being key) dips into the upper teens. I have seen many in costal Georgia and a few in costal South Carolina. 

[DAVEinMB]

You guys just give me some time and we'll add myrtle to this list 😁

[MarcusH]

12 hours ago, Gville Palms said:

I think keeping a queen alive in Wilmington for many years is definitely notable. That said, queens are a lot more cold hardy than people often give them credit for. An established and healthy queen palm in the right location can quite easily take short (short being key) dips into the upper teens. I have seen many in costal Georgia and a few in costal South Carolina. 

Planting a palm outside of its cold hardiness zone is always risky.  If you live at a place where temperatures get close to 20f or even lower , a Queen palm won't be reliable.  Some Queens can survive a brief dip into the upper teens or even lower ( not every winter) but that's really pushing your luck.  I know a lot of people incl. myself zone pushing Queens.  Mine all died this last freeze but I knew this is going to happen.  It only got down to 19f by the way.  If you want a Queen palm to grow old with you there are only a very few locations on U.S. mainland where this might happen.  Florida ( central and below) and California ( central and below) and some areas of the RGV in Texas are the only places where usually age and not temperatures were responsible for the death of Queen palms ( excluded are pests and other events). Everywhere else a Queen palm won't be reliable in general.  There's a reality check for everyone who's growing Queens out of my listed zones sooner or later.  

I'm not a climate scientist but from the research I've been doing and the recent cold events in the last few years confirming my assumptions , that the weather becomes more extreme in both directions so hotter summers with more polar vortexes reaching all the way to the South especially Texas. Warmer winter weather weakens the jet stream which becomes unstable.  Nobody outside of Texas is out of the woods.  

[Gville Palms]

3 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Planting a palm outside of its cold hardiness zone is always risky.  If you live at a place where temperatures get close to 20f or even lower , a Queen palm won't be reliable.  Some Queens can survive a brief dip into the upper teens or even lower ( not every winter) but that's really pushing your luck.  I know a lot of people incl. myself zone pushing Queens.  Mine all died this last freeze but I knew this is going to happen.  It only got down to 19f by the way.  If you want a Queen palm to grow old with you there are only a very few locations on U.S. mainland where this might happen.  Florida ( central and below) and California ( central and below) and some areas of the RGV in Texas are the only places where usually age and not temperatures were responsible for the death of Queen palms ( excluded are pests and other events). Everywhere else a Queen palm won't be reliable in general.  There's a reality check for everyone who's growing Queens out of my listed zones sooner or later.  

I'm not a climate scientist but from the research I've been doing and the recent cold events in the last few years confirming my assumptions , that the weather becomes more extreme in both directions so hotter summers with more polar vortexes reaching all the way to the South especially Texas. Warmer winter weather weakens the jet stream which becomes unstable.  Nobody outside of Texas is out of the woods.  

I in no way disagree with anything you’re saying. I treat queens almost like I do annuals (many annuals cost a lot more than a small queen). They’re a pretty palm tree that grows incredibly quickly. If it lives 10 years then fabulous. Honestly, by the time they get big enough to start flowering they get somewhat of an ugly appearance (in my opinion) and are more work than they’re worth anyways. A freeze that kills them can be a blessing. I of course grow the hardier palms as well that will live through almost anything this area can throw at it. 

Edited April 8, 2024 by Gville Palms

[The fronds]

Yeah, I don't think they belong much north of Orlando, Fl so Wilmington, NC is a big stretch. The plant has sentimental value though so I try to baby it on cold winter nights. The fronds got the bejeesus burnt out of them one night this winter but the bud was kept warm and new green is pushing out. Hopefully I can keep it going another couple of years.

[DAVEinMB]

FWIW there are microclimates in downtown Charleston that support queens making it to maturity and setting seed. 

[SeanK]

On 4/8/2024 at 2:47 PM, Gville Palms said:

I in no way disagree with anything you’re saying. I treat queens almost like I do annuals (many annuals cost a lot more than a small queen). They’re a pretty palm tree that grows incredibly quickly. If it lives 10 years then fabulous. Honestly, by the time they get big enough to start flowering they get somewhat of an ugly appearance (in my opinion) and are more work than they’re worth anyways. A freeze that kills them can be a blessing. I of course grow the hardier palms as well that will live through almost anything this area can throw at it. 

I knew a guy in ATL years ago who planted a Queen outside. He mummy-wrapped it every winter. He's no longer there and I have no idea what happened to the Queen.

[Gville Palms]

I have not spent a lot of time in Atlanta but I have seen a lot of pictures of impressive palm trees in Atlanta that one would never expect to see in north central Georgia. Urban heat islands can definitely make a huge difference. 

[Rain52]

decent looking queen! unfortunately they r a dime a dozen here on the first coast, heavy feeders and folks tend not to take care of them, so they look in need.. Here r a few picks of average joe queens around jax beach. 

[njpalmguy]

On 4/5/2024 at 9:07 AM, Alex Anthony said:

Not sure if I got the image to load but this is a pure Queen palm in Wilmington,NC. I bought it at HD in 2012. It has lived indoors in various pots and locations until we moved here 4 years ago and planted it outside. It has survived winters on the south side of the house with the usual Christmas lights and wrapping on the coldest ( 19 deg F ) nights. It is impossible to protect the fronds so they burn extensively but come back as the weather warms. It is as high as the top of the roof now and the trunk is huge at the base.  I'm posting it because I think it's notable for it's size at this latitude. The other two large plants are an Angel Trumpet and a Robusta that was about 18" tall 3 years ago.

nice! I had no idea queens could that far north. honestly, if i lived in NC, I would go with the Sabals that grow naturally there. sabals are my personal favorite palm. i can’t imagine the stress you go through every fall wrapping that thing up just for its fronds to get burnt every winter. good job on growing it, because i could never in my life do that in NC, forget about even trying those in NJ 😭

[NC_Palms]

Really nice. I was able to get a queen palm to survive in zone 8a NC without any protection besides for a south facing brick wall. it did really nice and recovered well. Maybe theyre hardier than we think lol 

[NC_Palms]

On 4/8/2024 at 9:24 PM, DAVEinMB said:

FWIW there are microclimates in downtown Charleston that support queens making it to maturity and setting seed. 

Yeah and in HHI and Savannah too. I think SC is the northernmost place you'll see them for the most part.

[WSimpson]

On 4/5/2024 at 9:07 AM, Alex Anthony said:

Not sure if I got the image to load but this is a pure Queen palm in Wilmington,NC. I bought it at HD in 2012. It has lived indoors in various pots and locations until we moved here 4 years ago and planted it outside. It has survived winters on the south side of the house with the usual Christmas lights and wrapping on the coldest ( 19 deg F ) nights. It is impossible to protect the fronds so they burn extensively but come back as the weather warms. It is as high as the top of the roof now and the trunk is huge at the base.  I'm posting it because I think it's notable for it's size at this latitude. The other two large plants are an Angel Trumpet and a Robusta that was about 18" tall 3 years ago.

Nice job growing that there . It might work out similarly to my Washy here , where I protect the trunk on certain winters where I see a Low that goes below 15F , and leave it alone during milder winters . I will lose my fronds every winter since my Washy fronds are only hardy to 24F . 

Looks like your Washy fronds are perfect after last winter . The fronds on my Fayetteville Washys should be a lot hardier than the fronds on my tall more Robusta looking Washy . My Fayettevilles are still really small so I don't know everything about their hardiness yet . 

Protection  for your Queen is really easy at that size , so keep us posted on its progress .

Will