It's the second summer since I planted out my first batch of cold-hardy palms here in Martinsburg, West Virginia - zone 6B.
This past winter I took the minimalist approach to cold weather protection. I piled up leaves on the palms. This approach worked great in preserving bud tissue, but except for the needle palms (which experienced minor cold damage to the leaves in the form of spotting), the remaining trees lost most of their exposed foliage. However, the foliage that was protected by the leaf cover remained green and viable.
Lesson learned...this winter I will take winter protection one step further. I will use frost cloth...and perhaps a few wooden stakes to help divert snowfall from their crushing weight. I still want to keep winter protection to a minimum. Having plants in the garden which require excessive winterization work just isn't practical for all but the most die-hard enthusiast!
I do have one exception. I picked up a rather nice-sized Pindo Palm, which I stuck in the ground a week ago. This is technically borderline hardy in zone 7...but is really a zone 8 and up palm. While I do not plan to go nuts with winter protection with this palm, I do plan to tie up the fronds once the temperature drop into the 20's, create a wind barrier using stakes and sheet plastic, and stick a light bulb in to warm things up a bit to prevent lethal leaf damage. It is such a beautiful palm that I would like to keep looking beautiful for a second summer in the ground!
This past winter I took the minimalist approach to cold weather protection. I piled up leaves on the palms. This approach worked great in preserving bud tissue, but except for the needle palms (which experienced minor cold damage to the leaves in the form of spotting), the remaining trees lost most of their exposed foliage. However, the foliage that was protected by the leaf cover remained green and viable.
Lesson learned...this winter I will take winter protection one step further. I will use frost cloth...and perhaps a few wooden stakes to help divert snowfall from their crushing weight. I still want to keep winter protection to a minimum. Having plants in the garden which require excessive winterization work just isn't practical for all but the most die-hard enthusiast!
I do have one exception. I picked up a rather nice-sized Pindo Palm, which I stuck in the ground a week ago. This is technically borderline hardy in zone 7...but is really a zone 8 and up palm. While I do not plan to go nuts with winter protection with this palm, I do plan to tie up the fronds once the temperature drop into the 20's, create a wind barrier using stakes and sheet plastic, and stick a light bulb in to warm things up a bit to prevent lethal leaf damage. It is such a beautiful palm that I would like to keep looking beautiful for a second summer in the ground!
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