This is one of my Washingtonia filibustas, located in my west-facing backyard. It was started from seed in July 2025 (supplied by Desertscape Nursery), and it spent its first winter indoors. It was planted outside in May 2026, and after being moved to its permanent home, it rapidly transitioned from growing juvenile strap fronds to growing mature palmate fronds. The trunk visibly thickened in a matter of weeks, and since May, the palm has added nearly one foot (30.5 cm) in vertical height.

Due to a large brood of early summer grasshoppers and intense high-altitude sun, it was sheltered within a pop-up mesh protection tent for its first 45 days in-ground.

The palm has a dedicated drip-irrigation emitter, and it is watered every 3–4 days. That said, this summer’s monsoon season has been very active in Arizona, and consequently, I’ve been able to cut back on watering across several weeks.

While the palm remains under 4 feet (1.22m) in height, I will use a combination of an inverted plastic trash can and chemical heat packs to protect the palm during the coldest and wettest nights of winter (while also temporarily tying the fronds together). Because I live at 5,000 feet (1,524 m) above sea level (USDA Hardiness Zones 8a/7b), most winter nights in this part of Arizona hover right around the freezing mark (32°F / 0°C), but even colder nighttime temperatures are possible. I plan to deploy winter protection for my filibustas if the forecast calls for a low temperature below 22°F (-5.56°C) on dry nights and below 25°F (-3.89°C) on wet nights. Because dry-wind desiccation is a BIG problem here, I will also use the inverted plastic trash can to protect the palm on extremely windy nights.

While El Niño-fueled winter storms tend to be slightly warmer than typical winter storm fronts in the desert southwest (potentially meaning more rain than snow at this elevation), a heavy snowfall event is still extremely likely here this winter. It’ll be interesting to see what happens!

That’s fast growth for a seed sprouted in 2025! Great job! Looking forward to see how it performs in an environment such as Parson. That’s a beautiful area of Arizona. Hoping the El Niño won’t be a bust, too much hype regarding this event. Would be nice to see an end to the extended droughts over the southwest and southern US.

Please let us know how this little dude does!

Cheers,

Chris

As a fellow grower at an elevation of 5273' in Rio Rancho, NM, large rocks/boulders at the base are most beneficial in my climate. The heavier the better for thermal mass. I actually seed mine directly in the ground, do not protect other than the rocks, and maybe dry leaves. Do not water past mid October.

Nice palms