June 5, 2011

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!

Palms Wintering Indoors (and some outdoors)

I've included some photographs that I just took of some of the palms I've got growing here. I am going to plant the cold-hardy ones outside in the spring. The not-so-cold-hardy ones will remain in pots and come inside to grace the house in the winter.

The palms in the blue tubs are Trachycarpus Fortunei. The seeds were collected in June, 2009 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They will remain outside growing in the blue tubs for the duration of the winter with no more protection than the cover during extended periods of freezing weather.

The other palms pictured that will be planted outside include a large Sabal Palm var. Louisiana, Sabal Minor var. Talladega, AL, Sabal Minor var. Cape Hatteras, Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Needle Palm), three Trachycarpus Fortunei (grown from seed and obtained, allegedly, from a tree that had set seed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania), and a Sabal Birmingham.

I'd LOVE to plant the Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta) outside...but it would take a great deal of protection to keep it going through our extended cold temperatures. We'll see - maybe I'll try it out.

Some of the other plants you can see include a Brugmansia, Phoenix roebelenii (Pygmy Date Palm), Philodendron bipinnatifidum (Tree Philodendron), Key Lime, Ensete ventricosum (Red Abyssinian Banana, Dwarf Cavendish Banana, Musa Basjoo, another taller red/green variegated banana plant of which I am unsure of the variety, a rubber tree, a few sago palms, a few Chinese Fan Palms, and some other assorted plants.

Happy Gardening!
-PolarPalm

The Adventure Begins...

Several years ago I became interested in the concept of cold-hardy palms. I lived in Florida for a few years. When I moved away from the balmy zone 9 climate of central Florida I suddenly found that palm trees brought a sense of relaxation and peace to me. So I started researching cold hardy palms. I found out that several varieties are cold hardy. However, with the exception of Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Needle Palm), none are indicated as cold-hardy in a zone 6 climate. I happen to live in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

So several years ago I found a copy of Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm Climate Plants for Cooler Areas by David A. Francko. He presents the argument that several subtropical species of plants (including some palm trees) can be grown in colder regions with the proper siting and winter protection. After reading that book (rather voraciously and several times I might add) I picked up a few cold-hardy palms online. So began my love affair with cold-hardy palms.

Recently I moved into a house with my partner. Now, with the availability of outside planting space, I begin my adventure into growing cold-hardy palms. Will they survive? Will they thrive? Only time will tell.

PolarPalm