Best palm tree for where I live

[COpalms]

Can anyone tell me what they think the best palm tree would be for Zone 6a Colorado? (it's important to note where I live the winters aren't super harsh a lot of the time not even dipping down to -10)

[EPaul]

 

[aztropic]

They had these for sale at the Minnesota State fair. Very heavy duty construction and they actually looked great too! Built to survive MN winters,so would also be great for CO.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[SeanK]

If you have the space, consider building a small conservatory.

[Jegs]

No palm tree will survive that cold without human intervention. 
 

I zone push quite a bit, but not as drastic as zone 6a, but the principles still apply. 
 

you either have to build a heated greenhouse and store palms in pots during the winters

(tons of palms with this possibility)

or

(gonna be tricky with how much your zone pushing) build small enclosures for palms in the ground with a thermocube and some type of heat source (incandescent Christmas lights, heated wire).

Good candidates for this method are:

Sabal Palmettos

Trachycarpus Fortunei

Phoenix Dactylifera might be ok

Just to name a few that are cold hardy to 8b

[Merlyn]

@COpalms there just aren't any species that will survive outdoors with repeated fronts well below zero would kill any known palm.  It doesn't matter the type.  Trachies and Sabal Minor might be the toughest, but below 10F they might die.  Below 0F repeatedly = D-E-D.  

Many palms will grow forever in pots.  Grow some on a patio in pots and bring them inside for the winter.  Peolle in Chicago and other spots have done this for years.

[VA Jeff]

These people are not trying to be mean.  They're being helpful.  You should stick to needle palms, trachycarpus, and sabal minor outdoors with protection and supplemental heat, then potted frost hardy pinnate palms in pots, such as chamaedorea species, jubaea and butia in large pots.

[VA Jeff]

By potted, I mean that you move them indoors during the winter.  Frost hardy, because the first frost usually hits by surprise.  And you can grow a jubaea in a large pot for several years.

[Harry’s Palms]

On 10/7/2024 at 7:03 PM, SeanK said:

If you have the space, consider building a small conservatory.

I suggested building a greenhouse in one of the other threads posted by this person . Never got a response . It seems there are multiple posts from @COpalms about the same subject , growing palms where they won’t grow. Harry

[SeanK]

16 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I suggested building a greenhouse in one of the other threads posted by this person . Never got a response . It seems there are multiple posts from @COpalms about the same subject , growing palms where they won’t grow. Harry

This seems like an over-the-top solution. However, in some cases, it is the only one. I want to grow some citrus, so I have a conservatory on my to-do list. I can add some Chamaedoeas and Rhapis. Maybe a P.roebellini.

[PalmsInBaltimore]

On 10/7/2024 at 10:33 PM, Merlyn said:

Many palms will grow forever in pots.  Grow some on a patio in pots and bring them inside for the winter.  Peolle in Chicago and other spots have done this for years.

This really is the best option. It's still not clear where exactly in Colorado we're talking about, but in one of the other threads someone said the Western Slope. 

While it is work to stay on top of weather reports for the first sign of cold weather, not to mention moving large or heavy pots, it seems doubtful that any tree-like palm can work there without heavy duty protection, which of course is a challenge in itself for anyone let alone a newbie palm grower in a very cold zone (OP, you say the winters "aren't super harsh" but anything below 20F (-6C) is pretty harsh for virtually all palms. @COpalms with potted palms your options increase so dramatically and you can actually go for a trunking palm species. Unless your winters are bone dry even the cold-hardiest palms will not be happy in the winter. If you have hot hot summers it will be easier but still a challenge. 

There are examples in this forum about people growing Mazaris and W. filibusta in the high desert, so I won't say it can't be done, but with winter approaching you can do some more research over the next few months and maybe keep a potted specimen in the house by the sunniest window you have  Best of luck!