Palm huts zone 6b

[Okanagan desert-palms]

I checked on my palms today after the arctic outbreak of the last week and a half. The coldest the palm huts were
-15.7c 2F. Outside coldest temp-21.3c -4F during the cold snap. Warm and sunny today by comparison 3.6c 37F. The palms looked to have shrugged off the cold temps. I won`t know till spring for sure.
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photo ... _tropicals

John

[Kansas]

Well they LOOK like they took it in stride. I tell you what folks, I am thinking Palms are a lot more tougher than people think. Maybe we all are NOT all that crazy after all

[Alchris]

They do look good. Congrats.

Allen

[lucky1]

Your palms look great! Bananas too.
Looks like 6 ml plastic is the way to go.

My musa basjoo in the barely-heated building (warmer than your garage) has a black stem already. Next stage is mush.
Barb

[PALMETTOMAN]

Hey John...

Lookin good...My garage is also loaded up with cordy's/yuccas etc and I built a 10X10 semi heated plastic greenhouse inside my garage to house some more tender plants...

I will agree that those trachy palms are tough little buggars...My coldest temp so far as been -15C...and it was -7C in the palm enclosures...

Cold temps are one thing but windchills are another...Your protection method is probably kicking up your zone by at least 1.5...

PalmettomanZ6-Ajax, On

[hardyjim]

Your palms look great,mine have seen 7F for a few hrs at most and are looking good,besides a little yellowing on strap leaves on young sabals they look very good,my needle is completely untouched

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Thanks for your comments everyone. Protection from the wind is a huge factor in their survival. Barb maybe bring your banana in the house the roots are probably rotting from the cold and wet soil.


John

[lucky1]

John,
Now I'm puzzled....

Your bananas are in an unheated garage with a thousand palms for company.

My sole musa basjoo lives in a pot near a south window in a building where the heat is a near constant +5C to +9C.
Its trunk just went black, leaves still look good, not flagging (yet).
I water it once every 30 days.

So, why are my banana's roots

probably rotting from the cold and wet soil.

And yours--where it is closer to freezing temps--isn't going black????

[PALMETTOMAN]

Hey John..Barb's right on..how the heck do you keep those bananas lookin fine..?

How are those garage temps?

PalmettomanZ6-Ajax, On

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barb the door to my garage is left open from the house so the garage temps are more like 16c 60 f or more. They are also under a 4 bulb grow flourescent light left on "16" hours a day. They get regular b1 thrive alive and also superthrive once a week. In my opinion and what works for me the extra lighting and warmth are doing the trick.


John

[lucky1]

Oh, for heaven's sake, NOW I get it Thanks!
I thought your main garage was unheated.

BTW, I've got fungus gnats in my house like never before!
Hope these yellow sticky things work.

Wonder if the gnats came in with the recently-acquired Bottle Palms.
Are you plagued with gnats as well?
I've never had trouble before.



Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

No gnats. I have a meally bug problem every winter. Can't seem to eradicate the pests. I use a spray bottle with 30% rubbing alcohol, seems to work for a while then always come back. Anybody have a better method to rid their plants of meally bug or fungus gnats.

John