Hi from Montana!

[Big Lou]

So, now I'm curious, what zone do the "cold hardy" palms work in? I'm in Zone 6, and can't remember if I've ever seen them at my local stores or not. Probably if I saw them, I assumed they were tropical, and avoided them. Now I want one, but assume I would have to mulch it very deeply for it to possibly survive when ground freezes. That's probably why they aren't sold around here, but curious if anyone knows. I know, I could look on the internet ... but time for me to leave for work!

Maybe this will help. Good luck!

http://www.greatgardenplants.com/index.php?pageId=470

 

[sissy]

I had them at my house in NJ and my cousin has them in PA and he just adds extra mulch to protect the roots .I am jealous of his as his are growing bigger and bigger than mine .He lives in Berwick PA

 

[j.w]

Sorry I am late reading all the posts...............been busy being a 2nd time granny :razz:
Someone on another forum wrote this about the palms although I might add we have gotten down to -6 F here and the Chinese Windmill palms that grow around here have all survived nicely :
Trachycarpus wagnerius(dwarf Chusan Palm) is cold tolerant when older, but will need
protection to keep it above 10F just to stay alive and above 15F to keep
it looking healthy.
Trachycarpus Fortunei (windmill palm), is a
bit more cold tolerant. It will need to stay above 15F in its first
years, but when established, it can handle down to 10F or 5F with
minimal damage and probably survive 0F). One of mine was sick, but
despite that survived in my area with no protection, 3 record snow falls
(over a foot of snow each time which is a lot over here) and 14F. It
got no damage.
Needle palms are pretty cold tolerant, more cold
tolerant than windmill palms, and can handle probably around 0 to -5F
realisticly when an adult. It could handle lower for very very brief
periods and definitely not every winter, but still very cold tolerant.
Some people claim that it can handle -20F but that isnt realistic
because it cant see those type of temps without protection unless it is
very old, in a good spot, and for a very very brief period of time.
Yucca
rostrata should be okay but given protection below -10F. It might get
damage, but Im not sure because the ones by me have never gotten cold
damage and are in many peoples landscapes (and I dont live in a desert
either).
Trachycarpus fortunei - Chinese Windmill Palm

Trachycarpus fortunei
Very Cold Hardy/ Drought Tolerant

Common Names: Windmill Palm, Chinese Windmill Palm

Origin: China

Hardiness Zones: USDA: 8-10B; Sunset: 4-24, to 5[sup]o[/sup]F

Mature Height: 35’ with a 5’ spread

Trunk: single, slender, fibrous, leaf bases retained except near ground on older trees; no crownshaft

Canopy: 20-30 leaves, palmate, 2-3’ wide, deeply divided into segments that droop near tips, dark green, light silvery on underside

Flower Stalk: 18” highly branched

Growth Rate: slow

Drought Tolerance: high

Light requirement: moderate to full sun

Soil Requirement: adaptable

The Windmill Palm serves wonderfully as a small-scale accent tree all
along the Pacific Coast, and while it is often used in that capacity,
it also works well in larger massed and linear street or entrance
plantings. Take a look at the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl, for
example or in older plantings in Beverly Hills. Its bright, fan-like
fronds and attractive fringed trunk require little maintenance and stand
out among other plantings. One of the hardiest palms available, the
Windmill Palm adapts well to cooler, coastal zones from San Diego to
Seattle. We also see it planted at higher elevations and in Great Basin
climates like those in Nevada and even Utah. Reuben Ellis, one of the
owners of Ellis Farms, has grown Windmill Palms at 4200 feet in the
central highlands of Arizona. While most people associate the Windmill
Palm with its remarkable hardiness and slender profile, we also love the
characteristics of its trunk. Left to its natural habit, the trunk
exhibits a dense dark covering of fibrous “hair” produced from the bases
of its leaves as they age. We have also peeled the trunk for a truly
novel look—producing a smooth, pale skin with initially purple accents
that ages gracefully to gray

 

[sissy]

gosh I wish mine would grow and even bought the fertilizer for palms and they still look the same size as when I bought them and guessing that was about 4 years ago

 

[j.w]

Man, I really love that rock in the first picture, JW, behind the snow drops!!! Really neat how it has lines on it, kind of like "worm trails". And, those hardy palms are to die for. Guess they are hardy in your area, but probably not in my Zone 6, huh? Also, did they do all that new growth this year, or is that from last year, just greening up really well now? Very pretty!

CE I like that rock too and we find some at the salt water beaches around here like it in various colors. How cold is the coldest that you get there and how long it stayed that cold would determine if the hardy palms would do well for you. We are zone 7 and have gotten down to -6 for a few days but no longer. The palm in the middle picture above is a Chinese Windmill Palm. I grew it from a seed I picked up at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle several yrs ago. I protected it each winter by putting stakes around it and covering it w/ a blanket when it got really cold. It is doing better and better each year w/ staying greener. Didn't cover it at all this year but it was a mild winter. My friend up the road has one about 8ft tall now and gorgeous and she never covers hers at all. The last picture is an European Fan Palm(Chamaerops Humilis) I bought at Costco one year and I cover that one when it gets really cold w/ a blanket also. So far so good. Here's what the European Fan Palm will look like when big. It gets multiple trunks where the other one does not.

 

[CountryEscape]

I am in 6a, very close to 6b. It says I get down to -5 but have not seen any negative temps for the last two winters. When it does get below single digits around here, it's very short lived, maybe a day or two. I would have no problem covering them, if that would help save them when young. I wonder if my high winds and unprotected areas, except up against the house and deck, would work for it, or probably need to keep it closer to the house. The more I see them, the more I want them in a "tropical" bed, banana trees, that type of thing. If the whole bed is more delicate, no problem covering all the plants with extra mulch and "blankets". I will watch for them this summer at the stores, and landscape place I like to go to. Bet they have them, and now I will search! Thanks for the good info!

 

[j.w]

My friend who has the big one does have hers right up next to her house away from the wind. Now mine is right out in the open next to the pond. I hope mine will be alright out there when it gets bigger as we do get some hairy winds now and then. The garden guy here says if they every fall over ( the Chinese Windmill ones anyways) you can replant them deeper w/ the trunk down under the ground aways and they will regrow. Not many trees you can do that to but supposedly this one variety you can. don't try it w/ other palms tho. I would think that if you can find it at a nursery where you live then they would guarantee it to grow there.

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, yes and no if I find one here. The nursery near me has lots of tropicals which are not hardy, but they state they are "tropicals". I'm going to ask if they have any hardy palms, and see what they come up with. The owner is dating my girlfriend, and so I can ask him personally. He will tell me what they have to tell customers, but he will also give me tidbits of info if I want to try to grow one outside all year, too. I'm going to specifically look for a Chinese Windmill Palm. After all, windmills are my passion! Which reminds me, I'm going to search the internet and that is going to be my "splurge" for the year ... a windmill! I would LOVE a real Aeromotor Windmill, like the old ones that used to pump water for the livestock. Several of them in the area, one that has a tree growing up the tower, still turning to this day, but the guy won't sell it. That would be my ultimate possession if I were to find one of those. But, in the meantime, I will put up a 8-10' one, if I can find one at a reasonable cost. I had an 8' one once, but the nuts and bolts that held it together were constantly falling off with the vibration of the wind. By the time I realized I should have used locking washers on all of them, it was past saving. And, if I find a good deal, it will be placed in a permanent place, in concrete or weighted by concrete to hold it in place! I really need one with a brake in the windmill, as my winds will definitely tear up a weak built one, the brake would hold it in place if it gets going too fast, but that will cost more. On to my searching!!! I remember Sissy found a really good deal on one, now I have to see if I saved that link!

 

[callingcolleen1]

I have very hardy yucca's in the front yard that are supposed to be good to minus 40! I have had them for about five or six years now and they are doing great!

37 days to spring?

 

[CountryEscape]

Oooo .... I see you are pretty warm there in Canada, Colleen! It's a beautiful day here. I have a yucca I got from friend's woods, and it will be 3rd season here. Daughter mowed it off accidently 2 years ago (my fault, so much grass growing around it, she didn't see it LOL), so hoping this year it will take off more. No blooms yet, but the poor thing has gone through a lot so far. I own property where there are HUGE yuccas between the pasture fence and the road that I could go dig up, but I'm not sure I'm strong enough to load them into my truck even if I was able to dig them up! I know there would be "babies" next to them for the taking, just need to take the time to go get a start from them someday.
So many thoughts going through my head this time of year, anxious for spring, wanting to see things start to grow, and thinking about this: new larger bog for koi pond; lotus pots in the ground outside that new bog; fixing rocks on edge of ponds so more natural looking ... .which means finding some free rocks locally; planting a "tropical" area with hardy tropical type plants like windmill palm, banana tree, and others I've not heard of yet. Going to get canna and elephant ear bulbs planted today, get them jump started. Off to Menards to buy a couple large bags of potting soil and kitty litter and maybe manure, but then I have 2 year old horse manure "seasoning" in the horse pasture, although it may be too "hot" for plants, not sure.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Sound like you got big plans too CE, you go girl and then maybe I will get going too! I need to fix the fence in the very back of the yard first. Going to rebuilt it as soon as the ground is thawed and ready. Then I will move on to other projects ....

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, went and got all the stuff, then messed around outside instead of getting a whole lot accomplished. I did get 6 lotus seeds scored and put into water. And, brought in pots to plant the bulbs into, but didn't do the planting just yet. Also found on sale the seed starter trays, so picked up a set of them. I don't want to overdo seed starting, as it seems I don't have enough places to put new plants, but will start seeds instead of buying some of my annuals this year.
Did get the new rope up on the flag pole pulley this afternoon, so I'm really happy I got that job accomplished. I'd been putting it off, as neighbor helped me replace rope 2 months ago, and he was in the tractor scoop, I was on the tractor. It was cold, windy, and my rope too big to fit through the pulley. So, we used some cord his uncles uses for "curtain" flaps on the hog barn. Turns out something happened and the cord cut up on the pulley, so it all had to be replaced ... again. I knew I did the original flag myself, so I finally got up the nerve to get the extension ladder out, propped it up on the tractor scoop all the way up in the air, and then did it myself! Didn't even fall. LOL Very happy I got that job done, finally had a nice day with very little wind, too. Whew!

 

[mtpond]

In 10 more mins. It I will be 33 days until spring.

 

[addy1]

Me thinks you are doing a count down mtpond!

 

[callingcolleen1]

Yes good, job mtpond! You can officially declare spring two weeks early here out west! Ground hog said so!