needle palm stuff

[parishilton]

hi, my aunt ordered me a 3 gal needle palm for my birthday. she ordered it on sunday from north east ohio palms. first, do they delivery quickly? i’m just so excited for it😩 i want it now😭😭 

but also does anyone have any tips for growing it and care stuff. and since it’s tested to be fully hardy to a zone below me, will it still be at risk for spear pull this winter? i’m asking because i saw they usually get it their first winter but if it’s hardy to a zone below me, would i still need to protect it? thank you!!

Edited May 20 by parishilton
adding tags

[SeanK]

Officially cold-hardy to z6, I would site it well and protect for three years. Find a warmer, drier area in the yard during the winter. 

[Toddmin]

Have you thought where you will be keeping it?  Are you planning to plant it in the ground or keep it in a container? 


I've purchased from Northeast Ohio Palms in the past and was happy with their palms.  The order arrived pretty quickly.

Be careful with those needles, they can be hard to see at times.  Ouch! 

[parishilton]

5 minutes ago, Toddmin said:

Have you thought where you will be keeping it?  Are you planning to plant it in the ground or keep it in a container? 


I've purchased from Northeast Ohio Palms in the past and was happy with their palms.  The order arrived pretty quickly.

Be careful with those needles, they can be hard to see at times.  Ouch! 

i have some ideas but my mom and i are struggling to visualize it in our garden to we’re gonna figure it out when we get it. but we will be putting it in the ground

are the needles worse or better than prickly pears? bc my prickly pear is MEAN. i can’t even look at it without it stabbing me😂

[parishilton]

4 hours ago, SeanK said:

Officially cold-hardy to z6, I would site it well and protect for three years. Find a warmer, drier area in the yard during the winter. 

i know a dry area. how are they with clay soil? my yard ranges between hard heavy muddy clay, to lighter clay, to normal soil that is pretty good (all in random spots). but i have one place i want to put it but that spot is where the hard heavy muddy clay is

[Las Palmas Norte]

8 hours ago, parishilton said:

... but also does anyone have any tips for growing it and care stuff. and since it’s tested to be fully hardy to a zone below me, will it still be at risk for spear pull this winter?...

At risk of spear pull? Absolutely. Not only spear pull, but death of main trunk with the smaller off-sets (some) remaining.  

This happened after the first year planted in my zone 8 garden. I neglected to provide overhead shelter during the first few years to acclimatize the new planting.  Red arrow shows the main truck dead 3 yrs ago. I also lost one smaller off-set. Today it survives albeit, damaged.

 

[Toddmin]

1 hour ago, parishilton said:

i have some ideas but my mom and i are struggling to visualize it in our garden to we’re gonna figure it out when we get it. but we will be putting it in the ground

are the needles worse or better than prickly pears? bc my prickly pear is MEAN. i can’t even look at it without it stabbing me😂

No, definitely not worse.  Those prickly pears can get under your skin without you knowing it, until later!

I have 5 Needle palms.  3 are planted in the ground, and two are in pots near the front door.  I plant flowers in the pots for spring/summer and then again for fall/winter.  No matter how hard I try, I always end up getting stuck!  😖 

They aren't fast growers, but I have seen them get quite large (bushy).  How big is your yard?  I have 3.5 acres and while I do have some in the edges of the yard, I try to plant most of my palms somewhere close to my house, so I can enjoy it while outside on my patio/deck, or see it from my window. 

 

[SeanK]

I have dense red clay. Here they grow slower in full, hot sun. Plan for a six-foot circle of area.

[Chester B]

2 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

At risk of spear pull? Absolutely. Not only spear pull, but death of main trunk with the smaller off-sets (some) remaining.  

This happened after the first year planted in my zone 8 garden. I neglected to provide overhead shelter during the first few years to acclimatize the new planting.  Red arrow shows the main truck dead 3 yrs ago. I also lost one smaller off-set. Today it survives albeit, damaged.

 

I can do better.  I planted 4 needles a bit smaller than yours in my ZONE 9B garden in SE Texas and 3/4 took damage.  Nothing that they haven't grown out of but it is further example that cold hardiness is dependent on a number of factors.

They will certainly need protection in Philadelphia for the first few years and possibly most winters after.

[Toddmin]

My yard varies with the soil, but the areas where I have my Needle palms planted are heavy clay, and they are doing very well.

[KPoff]

I ordered two large sabal minors (15 gallon) and a 7 gallon needle palm from NE Ohio palms and they shipped quickly and were beautiful and healthy plants. I planted 4 needle palms last year and 2/4 had spear pull on the main trunk but they are all growing out of it. I put frost cloth over them to at least keep water out. I’m in zone 8 and they saw 12 F for a minimum this year. I grow mine in partial shade under an oak tree. West Texas sun is brutal.

[NMPalmjunky]

I also had the main trunk die after the first winter in the ground. One of the offshoots is flowering for the first time this year. I think it was planted about 7 or 8 years ago as a 5 gallon. The flowering trunk is still smaller than the original one that died. 

[parishilton]

4 hours ago, KPoff said:

I ordered two large sabal minors (15 gallon) and a 7 gallon needle palm from NE Ohio palms and they shipped quickly and were beautiful and healthy plants. I planted 4 needle palms last year and 2/4 had spear pull on the main trunk but they are all growing out of it. I put frost cloth over them to at least keep water out. I’m in zone 8 and they saw 12 F for a minimum this year. I grow mine in partial shade under an oak tree. West Texas sun is brutal.

do i just need to prevent water from getting into the spear area? or do i need to protect with lights too

[KPoff]

3 hours ago, parishilton said:

do i just need to prevent water from getting into the spear area? or do i need to protect with lights too

@parishilton I’m not sure. I didn’t use heat but I also had spear pull on a few. The new spears are emerging and they still remained mostly green otherwise. I’ve been told by people with experience with these if you get them through the first winter or two they are bulletproof in zone 8. Zone 7 I’m not sure. 

[Harry’s Palms]

I just planted one myself . I never thought about this palm much until I had the opportunity to pick one up from a fellow PT . I don’t really have cold issues here but loved the look of this palm when I saw it. I also got introduced to the needles while I was putting it in the ground, ouch! Harry

[SeanK]

4 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I just planted one myself . I never thought about this palm much until I had the opportunity to pick one up from a fellow PT . I don’t really have cold issues here but loved the look of this palm when I saw it. I also got introduced to the needles while I was putting it in the ground, ouch! Harry

25 years ago I only saw photos of these. Large masses of indistinguishable leaves. Nothing special. Then, we visited Silver Springs, FL where Weissmuller filmed some underwater scenes. The park planted a bunch from 10" and 14" pots. I came to appreciate these palms.

[SeanK]

9 hours ago, parishilton said:

do i just need to prevent water from getting into the spear area? or do i need to protect with lights too

I would toss a large trash pail over it with lights inside. Keep the bud dry and not in an area that accumulates a lot of snow or rain.

[parishilton]

7 hours ago, KPoff said:

@parishilton I’m not sure. I didn’t use heat but I also had spear pull on a few. The new spears are emerging and they still remained mostly green otherwise. I’ve been told by people with experience with these if you get them through the first winter or two they are bulletproof in zone 8. Zone 7 I’m not sure. 

i remember seeing people say they’re bulletproof in zone 7 once you also get it through the winter and zone 6 is where it becomes dicey. but since i’m getting it from ohio, that probably helps me out 

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

@parishilton I've lost a handful of needle palms over the years, including one this year. I still have one remaining and (like Las Palmas Norte) a few years ago the main trunk died but the side shoots are filling in nicely now. 

My advice: unless you had extreme temperatures coming (I'm thinking at or below zero) I wouldn't worry about heating it. Two, cover it on cold nights (maybe below 10'F) and especially any weather event that involves precipitation. Rain or snow, keep the crown as dry as possible during the winter and maybe even early spring if it's cool. I would do this for at least a couple of years. They can be finicky, but worth the reward once they settle in and begin looking like a large palm. I'm aware of old established needle palms scattered throughout Tennessee, in zones 6B to 7B that have proven long term, decades old hardy plants. These established needles have survived -10 to -15'F or so. You should be safe in your climate once it really gets established and settled in. I wish you the best with it.  

[Allen]

I have a few needle palm videos that might interest you including the last one one about protection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c5D6K4dClo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-6uiiSD1-s

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

 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Much of the new growth on my Needle is weak, pale in color. I tugged on a spear yesterday and it broke with little resistance. Winter is one thing, now summer like heat.