Next week will be the test.

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:53 am

Have my 7' Trachy in an enclosure with pipe heater wire wrapped up the trunk. Next weeks low will be dipping into the negative faranheit numbers. We shall see if she will survive.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:45 pm

That 7-footer is a beauty...do you have a Plan B if you feel the pipe tape isn't enough?
Barb

PALMETTOMAN · Post by **PALMETTOMAN** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:23 am

palmandan,

Mid January is normally the start the real cold temps here in Z6...This is going to be a quick blast of arctic air and by Wednesday of nxt week we should all be feeling the worst of it...I suggest you keep a ceramic heater on hand for your palm house just in case we plunge to low...Do you have a thermometer in your palm house?

Barb...Has all that snow in your neck of the woods melted?

PalmettomanZ6-Ajax, On

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:19 am

palmettoman, the snow's packed down, maybe by a third, since warmer weather has arrived.
Still over the top of my boots

We could be looking at this crap for a long time yet.

palmandan and palmetto...hope your arctic blasts are short.

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:09 am

I second the remote thermometer (?)don't leave it to chance,you could always throw some c-7 or c-9 x-mas lights in the bottom of the inclosure,depending on the area inside these could add 20-40F or more on the cheap,each strand is about 125 wts (25 bulbs)

PALMETTOMAN · Post by **PALMETTOMAN** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:05 pm

The lights are fine but our snap is going to be a real doozy over at least 5 days with daytime temps in and around -15C ...nightime temps are projected around near -30C...so much for keeping the beer cold....

Barb...Good to hear you folks are finally milding up...Thanks for your words...yup...were all bracing for the brrrr...i have 2 palmhouses and i've got my supplemental heat ready to go..

PalmettomanZ6-Ajax, On

Okanagan desert-palms · Post by **Okanagan desert-palms** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:04 pm

Good luck you guys. IMO better to be over prepared than under. You don`t want to scrambling for another heater at 3 am. I hope this arctic freeze won`t last to long.

John

PALMETTOMAN · Post by **PALMETTOMAN** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:03 pm

Propane, propane....i have my backup ready...

PalmettomanZ6-Ajax, On

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:14 pm

Bought a ceramic heater last night. Paid $35. for it. It was -1F last night. It had to be 50 degrees in there last night. The 8 inches of snow on top the enclosure was dripping down the side of the enclosure and form big icesicles.

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:53 pm

Bought a thermometer with a remote sensor. It was -8F last night outside. The palm house was down to 45 degrees.

limoncik · Post by **limoncik** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:26 pm

I read that in the palm of Bulgaria stood -29!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:51 pm

limoncik,

That Bulgarian palm that made it in -29C was that a Trachycarpus?
No winter protection?

I would like to see a picture of it.
It deserves a medal

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:39 pm

Plain old Fortunei in Bulgaria I believe,very well established though

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:39 pm

Barb,
Here is a pic of the bulgarian palms. I am pretty sure these are close to 30 years old. They are growing in basically a US zone 7 climate with no protection. I am not sure of their status of late, but I have about 2 dozen young offspring from them. Even as seedlings they have a much stiffer leaf than most Trachycarpus. Are they more cold hardy? Maybe a degree or two, but not by much.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm

Yes, I've seen that photo; had forgotten it was in Europe.
They look good despite having tall weeds around them.

If that was my place, I'd be hacking out all the competition with a machete .

Your seedlings will grow hardier with age. The stiffer-leafed ones would do better in windy sites, I would think.

Did you know there's a portapotty in your signature?

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:40 pm

Barb,
I did plant 3 small bulgarian trachy's in the ground at my parents place which is a 6b US climate . Time will tell if they survived this winter, they are under leaves at the moment. We have been below normal for 2 months now so we shall see..

The portapotty and rainbow sum up most of my life...LOL....

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:34 pm

Craig, I'll look forward to hearing how those palms did at your parents' place.
Those leaf piles work so well from all accounts.
Take your camera please.

Yup, it's been a brutal winter for most locations.

The portapotty and rainbow sum up most of my life

You're a nut, Craig, but a good nut!

Barb

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:42 pm

You're a nut, Craig, but a good nut!

Got to laugh at yourself before you laugh at others...............

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:00 pm

No argument here...it's a regular pastime of mine

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:09 pm

LOL Barb!!!

I will make sure I get some pics of the trachys this spring. I also planted a sabal brazoria and sabal birmingham so it will be interesting to see how they faired. We went down to -15F a few weeks ago, so my hopes are not high.

I planted some Mediterranean Fan Palm seeds last year at the same location. They survived last winter's low of 0F as seedlings with nothing more than a black nursery pot and a blanket over them. I can't prove it, but I think palms that are started from seed in the ground are a bit more hardy.

Craig

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:33 pm

It'll be good to see what survived. Keep us posted please.

palms that are started from seed in the ground are a bit more hardy

Agreed.

But for us northerners we'd have to be a Johnny Palmseed to spread enough that one or two might survive. Pots are a nice insurance policy for the first couple of years, followed with some coddling and babying over the first few winters in ground. After that we're all hoping to take the winter protection off.

Barb

Cali-wanna-b · Post by **Cali-wanna-b** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:50 pm

After that we're all hoping to take the winter protection off.

I've given up hope for an unprotected palm, we just stay cold for too long for any to make it long term......I am a big wuss when it comes to my palms and will baby them till they die. Unfortunitly I speed the process up at times with my good intentions....lol.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:33 pm

Yes, it is a stretch...but we can dream.
I baby my palms, too.
And I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing they're likely to croak unprotected.

PalmsNorth.com

Next week will be the test.

Next week will be the test.

michigan trachy

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