Polar Vortex Jan 2025 - Are you preparing your palms?

[CTX Palm King]

@Swolte…what’s your YouTube handle? I was trying to find your channel.

[Swolte]

1 hour ago, CTX Palm King said:

@Swolte…what’s your YouTube handle? I was trying to find your channel.

I don't have a Youtube channel for plants! Funny you ask, I was considering setting up a channel if this year allows for some more growth of palms! I have always enjoyed @Chester B's style (https://www.youtube.com/@texastropics/videos). He has a great mix of science, design, and story. Hope to get some tips from him at some point.

[CTX Palm King]

Thanks @Swolte…. For some reason I thought you did… looking forward to it if you do! I’m debating the same. 

[westfork]

6 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Well I never thought or expected lava rock to be an insulator. When ever I've purchased it, it's always been in bulk from a top soil/landscape yard.

It works very well as an insulator, holding lots of air,

-It doesn't get wet and freeze solid, losing its insulating power,

-It is very light and easy to move,

-The bags are heavy plastic that last many years,

-The rodents don't nest in it.

-It is very inexpensive in the fall when the farm supply houses want to get rid of it.

[Mazat]

22 hours ago, MarcusH said:

A little bit off topic I'd like to see some snow . Growing up in the colder parts of Europe I'm getting tired of 9 months of hot to very hot weather and mild winters. But it is what it is I'm here not by choice .  The only thing beneficial to me is that I'm able to grow palms and here I am hanging with you guys . 

I unterstand you. It's completly different. 

An acquaintance of mine lived in Arosa Switzerland until he met his current wife. She comes from near Catania, Italy. He lives there now.
The rest is history. He's still struggling with the heat 15 years later ... Amore😁

[Mazat]

Just now, Mazat said:

I unterstand you. It's completly different. 

An acquaintance of mine lived in Arosa Switzerland until he met his current wife. She comes from near Catania, Italy. He lives there now.
The rest is history. He's still struggling with the heat 15 years later ... Amore😁

The weather forecast from here near Lake Constance. Except for the night from today to Saturday, it still looks relatively “acceptable”, but I think when it gets to the end of February, experience shows that the very low temperatures here are over.

 

[Mazat]

16 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Ich komme aus einem Ort, der Nordkalifornien und Oregon mit seinen vier Jahreszeiten sehr ähnlich ist. Wenn meine Frau nicht wäre, hätte ich nie texanischen Boden betreten. Landschaftlich ist es ein gewaltiger Rückschritt und es scheint, dass es in Texas im Sommer immer heißer wird und es immer mehr schwere Dürren gibt, die sich auf alle Arten von Vegetation auswirken. Wir verlieren Zypressen entlang unserer Flüsse. Seen trocknen ebenso aus wie Flüsse. Texas verwandelt sich immer mehr in eine Wüste. Aber jedem das Seine. Ich ziehe ein paar Monate Kälte mit Regen/Schnee und bedecktem Himmel vor, anstatt mich sechs Monate lang zu Hause zu verstecken. Die Einwohner von San Antonio springen von einem klimatisierten Zimmer ins nächste. Nach 12 Uhr sieht man kaum noch jemanden draußen. Ich kann mich vor der Kälte schützen und schaffe es trotzdem, viel mehr Aktivitäten im Freien zu unternehmen als hier, weil es in Texas einfach zu lange entsetzlich heiß ist, lol. Ich bin kilometerweit spazieren gegangen, als die Temperaturen unter 15 Grad lagen, aber nicht hier, wenn die Temperaturen zwischen 30 und 38 Grad liegen. Ich habe immer das Gefühl, dass mir zu heiß wird. Ja, man kann hier Palmen anbauen, aber ich kann auch gut ohne sie leben. Das mache ich seit 40 Jahren. 

Yes, the women, or rather our partners. It could also be the other way around.

Mine shares a passion for palm trees and other exotic plants.

You do too, don't you 🤔😃

What's happening to nature in many places is really bad. Eight years ago, I was in Catania and the surrounding area for a few days and it was very warm, to put it positively...

[Chester B]

18 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Coming from a place that looks a lot like Northern California and Oregon with 4 seasons , if it wouldn't be for my wife I would have never put my feet down on Texas soil. Landscape wise is a huge downgrade and it seems to be that Texas gets hotter and hotter in the summer with increasing numbers of severe droughts that has impact on all kinds of vegetation.  We're losing cypress trees along our rivers. Lakes are drying out as well as rivers.  Texas is turning more and more into a desert . But each to their own I'll take a few months of cold with rain/snow and overcast sky over hiding 6 months inside the house. San Antonians jump from one AC cooled room to the next one. Barely see anyone outside after 12pm . I can protect myself from the cold and I still manage to do a lot more outdoor activities than I can do here bc it's just miserably hot for too long in Texas lol. I took walks for miles when it was in the low teens but not here when it gets in the 90s and 100s . I always feel like I'm overheating . Yeah you can grow palms here but I can live without them just fine. I've done it for 40 years. 

I'll admit its pretty darn ugly here in my area, but I do like the Hill country.  As far as the heat, I don't find it all that bad.  I'm outside everyday.

We average something like 50" of rain here per year, spready pretty evenly out so that makes things easier.  Going all summer with no rain in 100 degree temps is tough.  Plus our temps stay cooler in summer, but we have that soaking humidity.

[Swolte]

Few days out and here is how it stands for me in CS TX. I love the WUnderground visualization. I am not expecting this general pattern to change much at this point by any large margin. 

On clear nights, in my cold microclimate, I usually subtract about 5F from these predictions. Looks like the Monday and Tuesday will be my coldest days. I'll plan for the mid 20's. There's likely a rain event before the cold hits. 

This is not a normal freeze, though. In my situation, imagine dropping the nighttime lows 3-5F which, in combination with the slow decline of temperature slopes, may make for 5 consecutive days of freezing temps with possible bouts of 12+ hrs below 32. In my experience, this still has the potential to cause mild damage to young palms or those not dormant yet, even if they are rated for z8B. 

All in all, however, this is great news for me given the potential the storm had a few days ago. I much prefer prolonged subfreezing temps to a quick cold snap in the teens. Given my yard is built for survival in the teens, I will likely protect some plants for reasons of cosmetics and to help them along.  Definitely won't bother protecting some of the larger stuff (Windmills, Sabals, Brahea, etc...).

Action plan:
- Give 'sensitive' palms a deep soaking of water TODAY. Moisture will retain heat and will help protect. May prevent dehydration. The rain event will likely help some as well.  
- Protect small and perhaps some new palms, especially young Trachys that tend to spear pull early, using some buckets or frost cloths. Spray copper fungicide before doing so. 
- And yeah, I'll move the valuable stuff in pots inside. 
- I have a ton of leaves and mulch and I do intends to spend any time I have off in the weekend to spread that around. This stuff is especially great for protecting young cycads/palms (OK to mound up for a few days but remove after). 

More later!

Hope Florida will be OK. Haven't checked Europe!
 

[Xenon]

Eh I can live with this. My crownshaft palms (Archontohoenix, Cyphophoenix, Euterpe) are all under decent canopy so probably ok. Forecasted mostly calm night is ideal for trapping heat. 

 

So much for the "polar vortex" LOL. The cold hype didn't even survive the first partial week of January. 

[Allen]

My polar low is forecast at 17F one of the highest lows of any year recorded

[fr8train]

21 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Coming from a place that looks a lot like Northern California and Oregon with 4 seasons , if it wouldn't be for my wife I would have never put my feet down on Texas soil. Landscape wise is a huge downgrade and it seems to be that Texas gets hotter and hotter in the summer with increasing numbers of severe droughts that has impact on all kinds of vegetation.  We're losing cypress trees along our rivers. Lakes are drying out as well as rivers.  Texas is turning more and more into a desert . But each to their own I'll take a few months of cold with rain/snow and overcast sky over hiding 6 months inside the house. San Antonians jump from one AC cooled room to the next one. Barely see anyone outside after 12pm . I can protect myself from the cold and I still manage to do a lot more outdoor activities than I can do here bc it's just miserably hot for too long in Texas lol. I took walks for miles when it was in the low teens but not here when it gets in the 90s and 100s . I always feel like I'm overheating . Yeah you can grow palms here but I can live without them just fine. I've done it for 40 years. 

I'm the opposite. I'd take the worst of the heat here year round over it being even slightly cold. I'm from a cold area too originally, and I've lived all over, including Wyoming where it got down to -50F without wind chill once, and there would be weeks where the temperature wouldn't go above 0F. 

I go out on the bike trails here on those really hot days and it's funny because I get them all to myself, and tbh a lot of them are pretty shaded, so it's not even that bad. I don't work outside though, that would be tough here. 

I'm also here because of my wife, but more so as a compromise. I wanted to live somewhere palm trees can grow, and she has family here. My first choice would have been southwest Florida, probably somewhere around Naples. I'd like for it to never get cold. 

All that said, the one thing I did enjoy about winter was the snow, especially as it was falling. 

[Austinpalm]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Eh I can live with this. My crownshaft palms (Archontohoenix, Cyphophoenix, Euterpe) are all under decent canopy so probably ok. Forecasted mostly calm night is ideal for trapping heat. 

 

So much for the "polar vortex" LOL. The cold hype didn't even survive the first partial week of January. 

I'm good with it.  Would not bother me if we go a few years without using that term again around these parts.  😁

[Arecaceus]

18 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Well I never thought or expected lava rock to be an insulator. When ever I've purchased it, it's always been in bulk from a top soil/landscape yard.

I have a whole lava bed and I use it as mulch as well. Mainly for my desert plants. It's great stuff. It doesn't trap moisture but therefore warmth from the sunlight. Very good in wet winters. It's also locally sourced from our volcanic Eifel region relatively cheap which is nice as well.

[Arecaceus]

2 hours ago, Swolte said:

Few days out and here is how it stands for me in CS TX. I love the WUnderground visualization. I am not expecting this general pattern to change much at this point by any large margin. 

On clear nights, in my cold microclimate, I usually subtract about 5F from these predictions. Looks like the Monday and Tuesday will be my coldest days. I'll plan for the mid 20's. There's likely a rain event before the cold hits. 

This is not a normal freeze, though. In my situation, imagine dropping the nighttime lows 3-5F which, in combination with the slow decline of temperature slopes, may make for 5 consecutive days of freezing temps with possible bouts of 12+ hrs below 32. In my experience, this still has the potential to cause mild damage to young palms or those not dormant yet, even if they are rated for z8B. 

All in all, however, this is great news for me given the potential the storm had a few days ago. I much prefer prolonged subfreezing temps to a quick cold snap in the teens. Given my yard is built for survival in the teens, I will likely protect some plants for reasons of cosmetics and to help them along.  Definitely won't bother protecting some of the larger stuff (Windmills, Sabals, Brahea, etc...).

Action plan:
- Give 'sensitive' palms a deep soaking of water TODAY. Moisture will retain heat and will help protect. May prevent dehydration. The rain event will likely help some as well.  
- Protect small and perhaps some new palms, especially young Trachys that tend to spear pull early, using some buckets or frost cloths. Spray copper fungicide before doing so. 
- And yeah, I'll move the valuable stuff in pots inside. 
- I have a ton of leaves and mulch and I do intends to spend any time I have off in the weekend to spread that around. This stuff is especially great for protecting young cycads/palms (OK to mound up for a few days but remove after). 

More later!

Hope Florida will be OK. Haven't checked Europe!
 

So far it doesn't look too bad here either. The forecast for next week shows only light night frosts with an ultimate low of -2°C. The only negative thing is a temperature drop from a rainy 14°C which can cause freezing rain at the arrival of cold but we will see.

[Las Palmas Norte]

11 minutes ago, Arecaceus said:

I have a whole lava bed and I use it as mulch as well. Mainly for my desert plants. It's great stuff. It doesn't trap moisture but therefore warmth from the sunlight. Very good in wet winters. It's also locally sourced from our volcanic Eifel region relatively cheap which is nice as well.

We see very little sun from late October thru most of March. Bagged lava rock here is outrageously expensive. I get mine bulk if and when I need it. 

[Arecaceus]

3 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

We see very little sun from late October thru most of March. Bagged lava rock here is outrageously expensive. I get mine bulk if and when I need it. 

We also have a lot of overcast and rainy days in winter and the sun is pretty low but the bed is south facing and it works quite good until late November and from late January on. I thought the Vancouver area is about the same latitude as mine.

[3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico]

 49 degrees F this morning at 6am.  Seminole Fl.   This is the 5th night so far that we dipped into the 40's.  My coconut tree has showed signs of stress from it.  It is over 20 feet tall and fruiting.  No way to protect it from the cold.  I do wrap the trunk if we go below 40F with a blanket and spot light.   The crown is fully exposed to the cold.    Luckily it is facing south and gets immediate sun at sunrise.  Warmed up to 68F this afternoon.    

[DTS]

So far I've been spared from the worst part of the artic blast it seems..

[Sabal King]

Only thing I did was to bring in my nursery stock which was a multi-day chore in an of itself, but nothing outside is getting protection.  They're saying potentially low 20's which is very well within tolerance of everything we have and have absolutely no issues with anything at these temps. 

*Hoping* the polar air is exhausted after this round and this is this years event.

[Mazat]

Minimum temperatures 22.00 - 8.00 at various weather stations

in Switzerland/germany/austria (lakeconstance):

in °C: in °F

lake constance:

constance 428m (germany) -5.7 21.74

community garden stachen 412m -5.9 21.38

arbon 391m yacht harbor -4.1 24.62

bregenz (austria) 424m -3.4 25.88

meersburg (germany) 426m -4.7 23.54

 

lake walen: (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinten) quinten is after lugano. Ascona, locarno, cadenazzo together with montreux on of the warmest places in Switzerland.one of the warmest places in switzerland due to its location with regard to average annual temperature and especially with regard to lowest temperatures usda zone 8b slowly transitioning to 9a and has a similar climate to lugano, ascona, locarno on the lakes of ticino
and has around 1,500 mm of rain per year and around 2050 h / sun per year, 12 °C / 53.6 °F average annual temperature (1991-2020).

quinten harbor 423m -1.7 28.94

quinten 450m -2.3 27.86

weesen 429m -3.3 26.06

mühlehorn 423m harbor -2.4 27.68

walenstadt 425m -4.3 24.26

walenstadt north bank 484m -4.5 23.9

Lake geneva:

lausanne – pully 457m -2.0 28.4

montreux 430m -3.3 26.06

montreux 405m -2.0 28.4

 

lake lugano:

Lugano 273m -0.6 30.92

 

lake maggiore:

Ascona 199m yacht harbor -1.0 30.2

islands of brissago 2.4 36.32

Locarno Monti 369m -0.7 30.74

magadino cadenazzo 205m -5.9 21.38

 

cities:

 

basel town 260m -4.8 23.36

 

basel – binningen 318m -5.6 21.92

 

zürich – affoltern 448m -5.9 21.38

 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

19 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

We see very little sun from late October thru most of March. Bagged lava rock here is outrageously expensive. I get mine bulk if and when I need it. 

😬 A friend of mine recently redid their front yard and threw away like 7 bags worth of lava rock. At least where I live it doesn’t get cold enough for me to need heavy insulation. 

[Subtropical LIS]

21 hours ago, 3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico said:

 49 degrees F this morning at 6am.  Seminole Fl.   This is the 5th night so far that we dipped into the 40's.  My coconut tree has showed signs of stress from it.  It is over 20 feet tall and fruiting.  No way to protect it from the cold.  I do wrap the trunk if we go below 40F with a blanket and spot light.   The crown is fully exposed to the cold.    Luckily it is facing south and gets immediate sun at sunrise.  Warmed up to 68F this afternoon.    

 

I saw that St Pete Airport fell to 51 F last night. Here in Palm Beach /Broward County line there were several lows in the lower 50's F last night.  Even Miami International was cool last night fell to 55 F.

I would not worry two much about the cooler morning temps. It looks like temps will hit lower 60's F today, and 70's F Sunday and Monday where you are. I'm sure the sun and 70's F will help. It looks like one more cool patch on Tue, then temps should get closer to normal by next weekend. 

 

[_nevi]

On 1/3/2025 at 9:49 AM, Xenon said:

Eh I can live with this. My crownshaft palms (Archontohoenix, Cyphophoenix, Euterpe) are all under decent canopy so probably ok. Forecasted mostly calm night is ideal for trapping heat. 

 

So much for the "polar vortex" LOL. The cold hype didn't even survive the first partial week of January. 

It's good so far, but I'm waiting until Sunday before the "all clear."

[JeskiM]

Looks like highs un 40s and mid to upper 20s lows this week here. Possible winter precip around Thursday. 

I am hauling some potted stuff into the garage. What's left outside, a lot, will get a tarp / frost cloth or will fend for itself.

Short of any snow or ice pack here, I doubt my house will be below freezing for more than 12 hrs at a time, with may be half of that time 28 or colder. Looks to be enough sun during the coldest days to prevent the long duratuon deep freezes.

Hopefully the forecast stays on target or warmer because I can't get all my potted stuff into the garage this time.

- Matt

 

[Ben G.]

On 1/3/2025 at 11:53 AM, fr8train said:

I'm the opposite. I'd take the worst of the heat here year round over it being even slightly cold. I'm from a cold area too originally, and I've lived all over, including Wyoming where it got down to -50F without wind chill once, and there would be weeks where the temperature wouldn't go above 0F. 

I go out on the bike trails here on those really hot days and it's funny because I get them all to myself, and tbh a lot of them are pretty shaded, so it's not even that bad. I don't work outside though, that would be tough here. 

I'm also here because of my wife, but more so as a compromise. I wanted to live somewhere palm trees can grow, and she has family here. My first choice would have been southwest Florida, probably somewhere around Naples. I'd like for it to never get cold. 

All that said, the one thing I did enjoy about winter was the snow, especially as it was falling. 

I am more in your camp on this one. I grew up and spent most of my adult life in Eastern Oklahoma. I love the Ozarks and the Ouachita mountain regions of Oklahoma and Arkansas. I have spent time in the mountain West and California. They are beautiful in their own ways, but the amount of warmth and rain in my home region always made me feel like I was surrounded by life. Many places in the West can look rough without lots of irrigation.

I never really liked the winters in Oklahoma though and I have always preferred warm and even hot weather to anything cold. When I was 19, I spent a couple of years in the Philippines. It is definitely the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It was my time there that made me love palms. It also made me realize that I don't care a lot about having different seasons and weather changes. I do enjoy having at least a little bit of the year where I can go outside without instantly sweating. Hands down, I would choose weather that was always sweaty over having any freezing temperatures though.

Overall San Antonio suits me well so far. I do miss higher rainfall and the green it brings with it, but still find a lot of beauty in the local landscapes. It's more of a savannah than a Philippine-style jungle, but the people and the weather are warm enough for me! 

I don't mind getting out in the heat of the summer to work outdoors. I just wear quick dry gear and spray myself down with the hose before I even start working. I sweat enough to stay cool after that. 😁

[Arecaceus]

So far not even frost. Woke up to a rainy 2°C this morning.

[Mazat]

it's snowing here 😬. -1.2 C / 29.84 F now.

Tomorow probably rain ...

[Mazat]

9 hours ago, Sabal King said:

Ich habe nur meine Baumschulpflanzen hereingeholt, was an sich schon eine mehrtägige Aufgabe war, aber draußen ist nichts geschützt. Sie sagen, dass die Temperaturen möglicherweise unter -6 Grad liegen, was für alles, was wir haben, sehr gut innerhalb der Toleranz liegt, und bei diesen Temperaturen haben wir absolut keine Probleme mit irgendetwas. 

*Hoffe*, die Polarluft ist nach dieser Runde erschöpft und dies ist das diesjährige Ereignis.

Yes, i hope this for all also in the potentially endangered regions. 

[palmnut-fry]

So glad this predicted single digit blast is a bust. The predicted lows are normal zone 8 winter temps, for a change, with little if any precip for my neck of the woods.

I breathe a sigh of relief because they really hyped (some still are) and its just clickbait! NY Post today had a  headline talks about deep freeze up there but barely dips in the bloody teens! Dumb

But this wonter is the longest i have gone without putting my tropicals up for the winter! Also, most of my St. Augustine lawn is still green! Almost mowed again but said screw it, it will all be freeze dried next week, finally a killing frost!

[Allen]

11 minutes ago, palmnut-fry said:

So glad this predicted single digit blast is a bust. The predicted lows are normal zone 8 winter temps, for a change, with little if any precip for my neck of the woods.

I breathe a sigh of relief because they really hyped (some still are) and its just clickbait! NY Post today had a  headline talks about deep freeze up there but barely dips in the bloody teens! Dumb

But this wonter is the longest i have gone without putting my tropicals up for the winter! Also, most of my St. Augustine lawn is still green! Almost mowed again but said screw it, it will all be freeze dried next week, finally a killing frost!

Our lawn is still green in TN and some neighbors have mowed this new year!

[Mazat]

29 minutes ago, Allen said:

Unser Rasen in Tennessee ist immer noch grün und einige Nachbarn haben ihn im neuen Jahr gemäht!

Good to hear, Allen. That pleases me.

Here the temperature starts to rise again. 

Good night ⭐

[Las Palmas Norte]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

Our lawn is still green in TN and some neighbors have mowed this new year!

Our lawns only really stay green in autumn thru spring. Summer drought turns them brown.

[amh]

Monday night looks a little scary to me, the temperature is forecast for 27F, but there will be no wind or clouds with a dew point in the low teens. I've already been below 25F this winter, so I'm not too worried.

[Edendell Park]

8 hours ago, Ben G. said:

I love the Ozarks and the Ouachita mountain regions of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Do you know of anyone trying to grow palms in the Ouachita region of Oklahoma/Arkansas? I live about an hour west of Hot Springs. Three bad winters in the last 4 years took out most of the trunking windmills there.  I don't see any palms in Mena, but have not been through every neighborhood.  I think Mena tends to be a cold micro climate.

We have an RV campground and AirBnB in Oden, AR.  We have a few small palms that have survived 2 winters of 1-2 degrees with leaf mulching... Small windmills, a pindo, and a sago (accidentally left out). 

Would like to hear from others in this region trying to grow palms and other "semi-hardy" tropicals.

[PAPalmtrees]

4 hours ago, Allen said:

Our lawn is still green in TN and some neighbors have mowed this new year!

Same our grass is green also.

[Allen]

1 hour ago, Edendell Park said:

Do you know of anyone trying to grow palms in the Ouachita region of Oklahoma/Arkansas? I live about an hour west of Hot Springs. Three bad winters in the last 4 years took out most of the trunking windmills there.  I don't see any palms in Mena, but have not been through every neighborhood.  I think Mena tends to be a cold micro climate.

We have an RV campground and AirBnB in Oden, AR.  We have a few small palms that have survived 2 winters of 1-2 degrees with leaf mulching... Small windmills, a pindo, and a sago (accidentally left out). 

Would like to hear from others in this region trying to grow palms and other "semi-hardy" tropicals.

You look like zone 8a and should be able to grow a lot of things there.  yes we've all had a couple winters that have been the coldest in 25 years in many parts.  I would think you would be able to grow most things I have like these unprotected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieLc6ttoHVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NimB2hU18vo

 

[Edendell Park]

4 minutes ago, Allen said:

You look like zone 8a and should be able to grow a lot of things there.  yes we've all had a couple winters that have been the coldest in 25 years in many parts.  

The new zoning just moved us to 8a from 7b. Our averages may barely get us into 8a, but our lows these past 4 years have been -5,13,1,2... And we have such variable climate with occasional frosts in early October,  occasionally even early April. We have microclimates thanks to the hills and valleys... Am trying to terrace with rock walls to enhance microclimates around our property.

[kinzyjr]

@Edendell Park Welcome to PalmTalk!

The closest native palm to you is Sabal minor.  There is a variant that grows around the Saline River basin near Warren, AR.  That variant tends to grow large and robust.  Here are a few links:

• Older PalmTalk Thread - Hot Springs, AR
• Instagram Post - December 2023
• Old GardenWeb/Houzz post - 2006

Other variants that you might find interesting:

• Sabal minor 'McCurtain': This variant is native to McCurtain County in Oklahoma and typically stays in the 3-5 feet range for both height and width.
• Sabal minor 'Cherokee': This is the only palm verified to be native to an area that was classified as USDA Zone 7b in Cherokee County, Alabama.  The area where the palms are found is near Weiss Lake.
• Sabal minor 'Emerald Isle': This variant hales from Emerald Isle, NC and has more of a bluish hue to it.
• Sabal minor 'Blountstown Dwarf': This variant from Florida is so small that you can cover it with a 5G bucket for protection.  There are other super-dwarf variants, but this one is very popular.
• Sabal 'Louisiana': A variant of Sabal minor that produces a short trunk.

A few other species you may be interested in trying:

• Rhapidophyllum hystrix
• Serenoa repens
• Sabal mexicana
• Sabal brazoria
• Sabal etonia

[Allen]

9 hours ago, Edendell Park said:

The new zoning just moved us to 8a from 7b. Our averages may barely get us into 8a, but our lows these past 4 years have been -5,13,1,2... And we have such variable climate with occasional frosts in early October,  occasionally even early April. We have microclimates thanks to the hills and valleys... Am trying to terrace with rock walls to enhance microclimates around our property.

Here is the yearly lows for Hot Springs according to NOAA  Maybe you have lower temps?  Trachycarpus would do pretty well there except any under 8F years.  Years over 10F it would be fine once established.  Everything in my video except the mule palm, butia and a couple of the tropicals would do fine for you.  Trachycarpus would need to be protected under 10-12F to keep them perfect or under 5-8F to keep them alive.   I am a much colder zone than you.  If you're worried about the Trachy plant them by a South wall and you're good.