In-N-Out Burger Palms in Tennessee - Please Sign and Share Petition If You Agree!

[L.A.M.]

In-N-Out Burger planted palmettos along Hartmann Drive in Lebanon as well as at their Franklin location. What kind are they? I'm worried that if they're standard cabbage palmettos, it'll be a needless waste of money on their part and possibly goad the spread of unduly repressive local ordinances beyond Memphis. I know maybe my fears are overblown to some degree, but still.

Please sign and share this petition if you agree that In-N-Out needs to play it safe in Tennessee! https://chng.it/nXKr7VpqF8

Birmingham palmettos are cold-hardy to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, Brazoria palmettos to 0 and needle palms to -5, making them far better choices than the iconic cabbage palmettos and overrated Chinese windmill palms that are only reliably hardy to 10. (Thanks again to @Allen for the insight post-January 2024!) Furthermore, they should probably plant in April to maximize the chance of success; I had bad experiences waiting until May to plant Birmingham palmettos in Gentry in May 2021 due to COVID, but I know from experience that when I plant palms in April, I'm likely to succeed. I also don't even expect you to agree with me politically and am not looking for a debate; I only mentioned that simply to highlight the strength of my feelings on this issue.

[Allen]

I would imagine they will just replant as needed.  It's more marketing for them

[Bigfish]

Brazoria palmettos are most certainly not reliably hardy to 0F.  In my own experience, mine was killed at 10F in Knoxville, TN.  Birminghams can survive brief dips into the single digits, but a week with highs below 32F, and ultimate lows in the low single digits can, will, and have killed large, mature Birminghams.

At any rate, the petition is a waste of time, IMHO.  They will replant after they are killed.  Or maybe they won't.  

[jwitt]

Maybe In-n-Out knows a thing or two about global warming 

[SeanK]

On 8/25/2025 at 11:20 AM, Allen said:

I would imagine they will just replant as needed.  It's more marketing for them

When our local Bahama Breeze opened, it had A.merilli and P.roebellini planted. Lasted 6 weeks. The landscapers can't properly maintain the Trachycarpus palms that remain.

[JohnAndSancho]

If nobody else is gonna bring this thread back up, I will. 

 

 

[SeanK]

Fake palms threads are always entertaining.

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

Fake palms threads are always entertaining.

I had to dig in the archives for that one. 

[MarcusH]

On 10/13/2025 at 11:26 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

I had to dig in the archives for that one. 

Lol it's already showing winter damage . Fronds all crisp. Lol just kidding. Some fake palms actually look pretty good but would hate to see those all over the place.  Some folks need to realize that you can't grow palms everywhere, especially trunking palms.  Why not plant some cold hardy banana trees instead? Gives a more authentic tropical look in a colder region in my opinion.  

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Lol it's already showing winter damage . Fronds all crisp. Lol just kidding. Some fake palms actually look pretty good but would hate to see those all over the place.  Some folks need to realize that you can't grow palms everywhere, especially trunking palms.  Why not plant some cold hardy banana trees instead? Gives a more authentic tropical look in a colder region in my opinion.  

As a former Texan, I would rather see it replaced with a Whataburger anyway. 

[L.A.M.]

10 hours ago, MarcusH said:

Lol it's already showing winter damage . Fronds all crisp. Lol just kidding. Some fake palms actually look pretty good but would hate to see those all over the place.  Some folks need to realize that you can't grow palms everywhere, especially trunking palms.  Why not plant some cold hardy banana trees instead? Gives a more authentic tropical look in a colder region in my opinion.  

Bananas are dormant most of the time, herbaceous and a foreign species. It's less consistently appealing than truly woody monocots like palms, yuccas, agaves or bamboo, and we've already had too many introduced subtropical Chinese plants become invasive (most infamously tree of heaven).

 

On 10/13/2025 at 1:17 PM, Bigfish said:

Brazoria palmettos are most certainly not reliably hardy to 0F.  In my own experience, mine was killed at 10F in Knoxville, TN.  Birminghams can survive brief dips into the single digits, but a week with highs below 32F, and ultimate lows in the low single digits can, will, and have killed large, mature Birminghams.

At any rate, the petition is a waste of time, IMHO.  They will replant after they are killed.  Or maybe they won't.  

What time of year did you plant them? A palm that hasn't had the entire growing season to establish can be vulnerable its first winter. It's generally inadvisable to plant after May even in Memphis or Chattanooga. In my eastern Highland Rim area, single digits in January 2022 killed all of my Birmingham palmettos in dry soil that I planted in May 2021 (even though my dwarf palmetto in wet floodplain valley clay was unharmed). My needle palms were planted in April 2019 in that same dry soil, and the one that didn't have a bizarre root shape to begin with settled in very well despite being under a northern sugar maple (which I had no idea is allelopathic to some tree species like white spruce). I learned to only plant palms in April; even May may be too late in Middle Tennessee.

Also, @Allen has a lot of experience growing palms in Murfreesboro and videos them. I trust his judgment, and he agrees with the observational evidence that Birmingham and Brazoria palmettos are both reliably cold-hardy into the single digits when properly established, unlike cabbage palmettos and Chinese windmill palms.

Last but not least, my concern isn't just about their bottom line, although that would definitely give them incentive to too. I also worry about ill-informed local ordinances repressing us all like in Shelby County. Maybe my fear is overblown, at least in most places (especially with Nashville, Murfreesboro and Putnam County being way less restrictive than Shelby County), but I'm not taking any chances. "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

[jwitt]

36 minutes ago, L.A.M. said:

" but I'm not taking any chances. "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

Maybe a "petition" is not the best way to address this issue.  A "petition" can be perceived as a threat with legal consequences. 

Why not try to contact this company directly. Heck, it's CEO is now a fellow Tennessean. Maybe your neighbor. https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/strongermarriages/2025/07/in-n-out-president-moves-to-tennessee-with-christian-values-leading-the-way.html

[Bigfish]

On 10/15/2025 at 11:23 PM, L.A.M. said:

Bananas are dormant most of the time, herbaceous and a foreign species. It's less consistently appealing than truly woody monocots like palms, yuccas, agaves or bamboo, and we've already had too many introduced subtropical Chinese plants become invasive (most infamously tree of heaven).

 

What time of year did you plant them? A palm that hasn't had the entire growing season to establish can be vulnerable its first winter. It's generally inadvisable to plant after May even in Memphis or Chattanooga. In my eastern Highland Rim area, single digits in January 2022 killed all of my Birmingham palmettos in dry soil that I planted in May 2021 (even though my dwarf palmetto in wet floodplain valley clay was unharmed). My needle palms were planted in April 2019 in that same dry soil, and the one that didn't have a bizarre root shape to begin with settled in very well despite being under a northern sugar maple (which I had no idea is allelopathic to some tree species like white spruce). I learned to only plant palms in April; even May may be too late in Middle Tennessee.

Also, @Allen has a lot of experience growing palms in Murfreesboro and videos them. I trust his judgment, and he agrees with the observational evidence that Birmingham and Brazoria palmettos are both reliably cold-hardy into the single digits when properly established, unlike cabbage palmettos and Chinese windmill palms.

Last but not least, my concern isn't just about their bottom line, although that would definitely give them incentive to too. I also worry about ill-informed local ordinances repressing us all like in Shelby County. Maybe my fear is overblown, at least in most places (especially with Nashville, Murfreesboro and Putnam County being way less restrictive than Shelby County), but I'm not taking any chances. "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

I’m talking about palms that had been in the ground for years before succumbing to cold.  My Brazoria palmetto was in the ground for 3 years.  The Birmingham palms I mentioned, one was in the ground for a decade in Knoxville, was flowering, and had a small trunk.  The other one was at Gary’s Nursery in New Bern, NC, and had been there for well over 20 years, probably closer to 30.  They are no trunking, reliably cold hardy palms for zone 7a.  Rhapidophyllum hystrix is the only proven survivor of the terrible 1980s with no protection.  Most Sabal minor should be fine in a zone 7 winter, but zone 7 areas in TN can definitely have zone 6 or even zone 5 winters. 

[MarcusH]

On 10/15/2025 at 2:25 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

As a former Texan, I would rather see it replaced with a Whataburger anyway. 

John , agree 💯 

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

7 hours ago, Bigfish said:

I’m talking about palms that had been in the ground for years before succumbing to cold.  My Brazoria palmetto was in the ground for 3 years.  The Birmingham palms I mentioned, one was in the ground for a decade in Knoxville, was flowering, and had a small trunk.  The other one was at Gary’s Nursery in New Bern, NC, and had been there for well over 20 years, probably closer to 30.  They are no trunking, reliably cold hardy palms for zone 7a.  Rhapidophyllum hystrix is the only proven survivor of the terrible 1980s with no protection.  Most Sabal minor should be fine in a zone 7 winter, but zone 7 areas in TN can definitely have zone 6 or even zone 5 winters. 

The late Charles Cole grew palms in White County since the 1960's. His sabal minor survived -17'F with defoliation of course. Unfortunately today I don't believe there are very many (if any) palms left there. I did get to visit his gardens in its prime before the bulldozer came in to redevelop the property. 

[Bigfish]

On 10/18/2025 at 8:51 PM, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

The late Charles Cole grew palms in White County since the 1960's. His sabal minor survived -17'F with defoliation of course. Unfortunately today I don't believe there are very many (if any) palms left there. I did get to visit his gardens in its prime before the bulldozer came in to redevelop the property. 

I'm well aware of Charles Cole, as I visited him back around 2004 when I lived in Nashville.  He and his wife were both deaf, so he carried a notepad around with him to communicate better with others.  

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

10 hours ago, Bigfish said:

I'm well aware of Charles Cole, as I visited him back around 2004 when I lived in Nashville.  He and his wife were both deaf, so he carried a notepad around with him to communicate better with others.  

Ok, I know who you are now from other boards, although having never met you in person. Yeah I've been to his gardens many times. He had a poster board of data (actually 2) of all the palms he tried and how they did at particular temperatures. I've got pictures of them somewhere  Yep, they both were very nice and genuine people.

[Bigfish]

1 hour ago, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

Ok, I know who you are now from other boards, although having never met you in person. Yeah I've been to his gardens many times. He had a poster board of data (actually 2) of all the palms he tried and how they did at particular temperatures. I've got pictures of them somewhere  Yep, they both were very nice and genuine people.

Yes, I was sorry to hear of his passing many years ago, but he was an old man.  Curiously, do you know Rob Ogletree?  He seems to have disappeared.  He was the one who organized the trip to see Mr Cole when we visited.  He used to live in Livingston, and had a bunch of Yucca and palms at his place.  

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

5 hours ago, Bigfish said:

Yes, I was sorry to hear of his passing many years ago, but he was an old man.  Curiously, do you know Rob Ogletree?  He seems to have disappeared.  He was the one who organized the trip to see Mr Cole when we visited.  He used to live in Livingston, and had a bunch of Yucca and palms at his place.  

I do. He has been dealing with health issues for the last couple of years. He's still hanging around but I'm guessing some days are better than others for him. He has a massive needle palm, among other things.  Rob arranged for Dr. Franko to visit Charles Cole's garden years ago.  I came along for the ride and had interesting conversations with them that day. That was a cool trip. So were you in attendance as well at Mr. Cole's while Dr. Franko was visiting and getting info/pics for his book?

Whatever happened to the palms at UT? You were the one who helped get that done, right? Are there any left?

[Bigfish]

1 hour ago, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

I do. He has been dealing with health issues for the last couple of years. He's still hanging around but I'm guessing some days are better than others for him. He has a massive needle palm, among other things.  Rob arranged for Dr. Franko to visit Charles Cole's garden years ago.  I came along for the ride and had interesting conversations with them that day. That was a cool trip. So were you in attendance as well at Mr. Cole's while Dr. Franko was visiting and getting info/pics for his book?

Whatever happened to the palms at UT? You were the one who helped get that done, right? Are there any left?

I wasn't at the visit with Dr. Francko, no.  Hope Rob gets to feeling better!  Tel him Frank and Tommy were wondering about him. 

Yes, I arranged for those palms to be planted at UT back in 2006.  Some of them were moved or maybe destroyed when they remodeled Ellington Building (Ag and Nat Resources Building) recently.  There's 4 Sabal minor and a huge Needle in front of the Biosystems Engineering Building on the Ag Campus, 4 Sabal minor and a massive Needle in the courtyard of the Art and Architecture Building on the main campus.  One Sabal Birmingham lasted almost a decade on the Ag Campus, but the polar vortex winter of '14-'15 took it out.  There was another Birmingham in front of the UT Conference Center downtown, but cold killed it the year before.  I think the Sabal minor were removed from the conference center also.  I was sad about the big Needle in front of Ellington being destroyed.  It was really nice.  But the other 2 survivors I mentioned look amazing.

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

14 hours ago, Bigfish said:

I wasn't at the visit with Dr. Francko, no.  Hope Rob gets to feeling better!  Tel him Frank and Tommy were wondering about him. 

Yes, I arranged for those palms to be planted at UT back in 2006.  Some of them were moved or maybe destroyed when they remodeled Ellington Building (Ag and Nat Resources Building) recently.  There's 4 Sabal minor and a huge Needle in front of the Biosystems Engineering Building on the Ag Campus, 4 Sabal minor and a massive Needle in the courtyard of the Art and Architecture Building on the main campus.  One Sabal Birmingham lasted almost a decade on the Ag Campus, but the polar vortex winter of '14-'15 took it out.  There was another Birmingham in front of the UT Conference Center downtown, but cold killed it the year before.  I think the Sabal minor were removed from the conference center also.  I was sad about the big Needle in front of Ellington being destroyed.  It was really nice.  But the other 2 survivors I mentioned look amazing.

I sent him a text last night. He said he has his ups and downs and said to tell you and Tommy hello. 

It's a shame they removed some of those palms. I tried to streetview some of the areas you mentioned but no recent video. It looked like one building had been redone and no longer had palms. Grrr....

[Bigfish]

4 hours ago, Zone7Bpalmguy said:

I sent him a text last night. He said he has his ups and downs and said to tell you and Tommy hello. 

It's a shame they removed some of those palms. I tried to streetview some of the areas you mentioned but no recent video. It looked like one building had been redone and no longer had palms. Grrr....

Here's the Needle and you can make out Sabal minor in the corner of the Biosystems Engineering Building on the Ag Campus.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Hgjw7m7q3RqFoAWZ9

Here's a 2012 "street view" (actually from the sidewalk behind the building) of the courtyard of the Art and Architecture Building on the main campus:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/me95DzBDRD1t1WkK9

That's pretty much all that's left from the 2006 Southeastern Palm Society Hometown Grant palms.  2 Needles and 8 Sabal minor.  But hey, nothing's permanent.

[L.A.M.]

On 10/18/2025 at 12:00 PM, Bigfish said:

I’m talking about palms that had been in the ground for years before succumbing to cold.  My Brazoria palmetto was in the ground for 3 years.  The Birmingham palms I mentioned, one was in the ground for a decade in Knoxville, was flowering, and had a small trunk.  The other one was at Gary’s Nursery in New Bern, NC, and had been there for well over 20 years, probably closer to 30.  They are no trunking, reliably cold hardy palms for zone 7a.  Rhapidophyllum hystrix is the only proven survivor of the terrible 1980s with no protection.  Most Sabal minor should be fine in a zone 7 winter, but zone 7 areas in TN can definitely have zone 6 or even zone 5 winters. 

Most of Tennessee is now 7b, though, not just 7a.

[L.A.M.]

On 10/15/2025 at 11:18 PM, jwitt said:

Maybe a "petition" is not the best way to address this issue.  A "petition" can be perceived as a threat with legal consequences. 

Why not try to contact this company directly. Heck, it's CEO is now a fellow Tennessean. Maybe your neighbor. https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/strongermarriages/2025/07/in-n-out-president-moves-to-tennessee-with-christian-values-leading-the-way.html

It was a sincere request, not a threat. I just want them to make the smart decision in the long term both for their financial good and to limit the spread of egregious misconceptions and potentially unduly repressive local ordinances. I'm not threatening those ordinances; as a palm grower myself who's also environmentally cautious and libertarian-minded in general, I'm rightfully personally afraid of others imposing such ordinances. A quick Google search will show more definitions of "petition" after those three that are more reflective of my true intent and that of most other Change.org petitions more broadly.

But yeah, I'm also open to reaching out directly - if I have the means, know what to say and think it's the right thing to do. I even mentioned in the post-script of that petition that I attempted to reach out directly about the unopened Lebanon location but couldn't.

[jwitt]

8 hours ago, L.A.M. said:

It was a sincere request, not a threat. I just want them to make the smart decision in the long term both for their financial good and to limit the spread of egregious misconceptions and potentially unduly repressive local ordinances. I'm not threatening those ordinances; as a palm grower myself who's also environmentally cautious and libertarian-minded in general, I'm rightfully personally afraid of others imposing such ordinances. A quick Google search will show more definitions of "petition" after those three that are more reflective of my true intent and that of most other Change.org petitions more broadly.

But yeah, I'm also open to reaching out directly - if I have the means, know what to say and think it's the right thing to do. I even mentioned in the post-script of that petition that I attempted to reach out directly about the unopened Lebanon location but couldn't.

They are ready for you, 7 days a week

[jwitt]

@L.A.M.

I will point out that not all in-n-out locations have palms or even crossed palms.  But some of their locations have some nice landscaping, even for the palm/ non-palm enthusiast.  

I do not think a petition is going to get the response (if any) you desire.  Work with them, and have ready the reasons why you want to work with them. Corporations are most responsive when money, image, and such are involved.  You bring up good points, just turn them into positives for In n out, and you may be surprised. 

Just saying.....

 

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, jwitt said:

@L.A.M.

I will point out that not all in-n-out locations have palms or even crossed palms.  But some of their locations have some nice landscaping, even for the palm/ non-palm enthusiast.  

I do not think a petition is going to get the response (if any) you desire.  Work with them, and have ready the reasons why you want to work with them. Corporations are most responsive when money, image, and such are involved.  You bring up good points, just turn them into positives for In n out, and you may be surprised. 

Just saying.....

 

I mean the big thing here is assuming that they care (I'd wager that they don't). I know we as palm dorks love them and want to save everything but big companies like this just see them as expendable and when they eventually die they'll just truck a few more in. It doesn't hurt anything to reach out to them as a palm enthusiast, but there's little chance they care even if it'll save them a few grand putting something like Louisiana or Birmies in there. 

[Bigfish]

12 hours ago, L.A.M. said:

Most of Tennessee is now 7b, though, not just 7a.

It really doesn't matter, because it can and still does go below zero Fahrenheit some winters, which is all it takes to kill most palms, no mater what species it is.  So if you have 4-7 days with a high at or below freezing and an absolute minimum low near zero, that's cold enough to wipe out several nice zone 7b years in a row and kill all trunking palms that are left unprotected.  I did a quick search for weather data for Nashville, and saw in Dec. 2022, here was a low of -1F and several cold days surrounding it:

2022-12-22  51  10

2022-12-23  11  -1

2022-12-24  25  5

2022-12-25  31  14

2022-12-26  34  18

 

And again the following winter, here was January 2024:

 

2024-01-14  37  16

2024-01-15  17  12

2024-01-16  19  7

2024-01-17  27  -1

2024-01-18  34  15

2024-01-19  34  13

2024-01-20  17  7

2024-01-21  32  4

2024-01-22  48  17

 

So while most of Middle TN might be rated zone 7b now, there was two winters in a row at zone 6b.

[jwitt]

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I mean the big thing here is assuming that they care (I'd wager that they don't). I know we as palm dorks love them and want to save everything but big companies like this just see them as expendable and when they eventually die they'll just truck a few more in. It doesn't hurt anything to reach out to them as a palm enthusiast, but there's little chance they care even if it'll save them a few grand putting something like Louisiana or Birmies in there. 

In -n-Out is highly rated by its employees unlike the abysmal rating of change.org being used to "petition" them.  Just saying. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Uhh yeah no 💩, they started paying their people $20/hour in California. 

 

I have no idea what that has to do with palm trees in Nashville, but maybe I'm just dense. 

[jwitt]

15 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Uhh yeah no 💩, they started paying their people $20/hour in California. 

 

I have no idea what that has to do with palm trees in Nashville, but maybe I'm just dense. 

Maybe so

[JohnAndSancho]

🙄

[jwitt]

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

🙄 maybe this is possible?

 

[JohnAndSancho]

19 minutes ago, jwitt said:

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

🙄 maybe this is possible?

 

My whole point was actually 100% agreeing with you that they're not going to care about an online petition about their landscaping and I don't know what employee happiness with In n Out vs Change.org has to do with anything. I dunno why your jimmies got all rustled over that, but I don't come here to argue. I save that for Twitter. This place is my escape from drama and arguments over incredibly stupid things and I plan to keep it that way. 

 

So, nothing personal, I have no beef with anybody here, but I don't care. They can plant coconuts, they can plant poison ivy, I don't care. We're cool, I got nothing against you or anybody, but they're a huge company and if they plant stuff that's gonna die and be annuals for them so be it, I don't live in Tennessee, I don't eat there, this has absolutely zero impact on my life whatsoever, these are not rare or endangered palms, it's their money and they can do whatever they want with it, their employee happiness vs change.org or uhaul or boeing or the guy who cleans up poop at the zoo or the guy who has to vacuum the farts out of used cars at CarMax has absolutely nothing to do with a hamburger chain planting palmettos that are definitely going to die every single year and I absolutely 100% regret getting involved with this conversation. 

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

8 hours ago, Bigfish said:

It really doesn't matter, because it can and still does go below zero Fahrenheit some winters, which is all it takes to kill most palms, no mater what species it is.  So if you have 4-7 days with a high at or below freezing and an absolute minimum low near zero, that's cold enough to wipe out several nice zone 7b years in a row and kill all trunking palms that are left unprotected.  I did a quick search for weather data for Nashville, and saw in Dec. 2022, here was a low of -1F and several cold days surrounding it:

2022-12-22  51  10

2022-12-23  11  -1

2022-12-24  25  5

2022-12-25  31  14

2022-12-26  34  18

 

And again the following winter, here was January 2024:

 

2024-01-14  37  16

2024-01-15  17  12

2024-01-16  19  7

2024-01-17  27  -1

2024-01-18  34  15

2024-01-19  34  13

2024-01-20  17  7

2024-01-21  32  4

2024-01-22  48  17

 

So while most of Middle TN might be rated zone 7b now, there was two winters in a row at zone 6b.

One of the reasons why I hate when these new zone maps come out. People need to look at the historic evidence of any given location here in the US. Thanks to our continental climate, and very little help from north to south mountain ranges, anything that was, is still capable of happening again. 

[L.A.M.]

On 10/28/2025 at 8:56 AM, jwitt said:

@L.A.M.

I will point out that not all in-n-out locations have palms or even crossed palms.  But some of their locations have some nice landscaping, even for the palm/ non-palm enthusiast.  

I do not think a petition is going to get the response (if any) you desire.  Work with them, and have ready the reasons why you want to work with them. Corporations are most responsive when money, image, and such are involved.  You bring up good points, just turn them into positives for In n out, and you may be surprised. 

Just saying.....

 

Agreed. I did point out that by being smart, they could save themselves long-term expense, and by not being smart, they could accidentally damage the image of palm growers in general (including themselves) to the point of unjust legal persecution. I was absolutely thinking from their perspective too, but thanks for being sure!

[L.A.M.]

On 10/28/2025 at 12:02 PM, Bigfish said:

It really doesn't matter, because it can and still does go below zero Fahrenheit some winters, which is all it takes to kill most palms, no mater what species it is.  So if you have 4-7 days with a high at or below freezing and an absolute minimum low near zero, that's cold enough to wipe out several nice zone 7b years in a row and kill all trunking palms that are left unprotected.  I did a quick search for weather data for Nashville, and saw in Dec. 2022, here was a low of -1F and several cold days surrounding it:

2022-12-22  51  10

2022-12-23  11  -1

2022-12-24  25  5

2022-12-25  31  14

2022-12-26  34  18

 

And again the following winter, here was January 2024:

 

2024-01-14  37  16

2024-01-15  17  12

2024-01-16  19  7

2024-01-17  27  -1

2024-01-18  34  15

2024-01-19  34  13

2024-01-20  17  7

2024-01-21  32  4

2024-01-22  48  17

 

So while most of Middle TN might be rated zone 7b now, there was two winters in a row at zone 6b.

I had a 6b winter in 2022-23 and a 5b winter in 2023-24. My dwarf palmetto was moderately damaged by both but still survived the latter unprotected and with a couple fronds older than its spear intact, even with unfavorable siting temperature-wise (a floodplain with nightly temperature inversions). Two severe winters in a row or several in a decade can be far more damaging than one every once in a while, but it's still not enough to kill an entire population as long as the general climate is favorable. Knoxville also had a 6b (bordering on 7a) rating in the 1980s, but they had several winters that decade more typical of 6a or lower zones, including at least one 4b winter; nonetheless, some needle palms planted there in the 1960s survive to this day.

Also, I am skeptical of the ratings in some places; I mostly agree with the 7b ratings in places like Nashville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Lebanon, etc. but think places along Cordell Hull Reservoir (north of Gentry, Chestnut Mound and Carthage) should be 7a due to temperature inversions that go all the way up to the ridgetops (something normally not seen along Old Hickory nor the Caney Fork) making Gainesboro cooler than Livingston and Granville as cool as Baxter and Chestnut Mound, whereas some parts of DeKalb County on the leeward shores of Center Hill Lake's main channel and the Land Between the Lakes at the Kentucky state line should both probably be 8a due to a lake effect pronounced enough to significantly extend the growing season in autumn (which would also buffer the worst extremes of summer heat and winter cold) - something not seen around the state's more medium-sized reservoirs. Cookeville is rightly 7a, there are some 8a areas in southern Lincoln County if I recall correctly, and there's even 6b at the top of Hinch Mountain (the highest point west of Tennessee's time zone boundary). Granted, I do think 7b is right for most of the Nashville Basin except around Cordell Hull Reservoir and even for the Highland Rim in the southern half of the state, but again, there are some cases where I take the ratings with a grain of salt - and in one of those three cases I can think of, it is a more pessimistic view.