It's alive!!!!! Yippee

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:11 pm

Well you may remember my plight from early spring. I had a 7 foot Windmill that I put in the ground in April 2008. During the winter I built a outhouse looking shed around it and wrapped water pipe heater cable around the trunk with burlap. There was no light in this shed at all. When the temp dropped to below 20 I would plug in the heater cable. When we had -10F in January I stuck a ceramic heater in there also. In the middle of March I removed the front panel and replaced it with plexiglass. It had some dried out fronds. Well over a 3 week period everything died except the new frond coming out of the top of the plant. I removed the enclosure and over the next week the new frond died also. I ended up digging the tree out of the ground and stuck it in a big pot. It was just a stump. Well looked today and there is new growth starting to come through.

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:12 pm

here are some pics

http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm16 ... G_1396.jpg

http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm16 ... G_1396.jpg

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:13 pm

http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm16 ... G_1394.jpg

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:42 pm

Good to see that there is new growth! It would be a real shame for a tree that nice to die... I'm sure it wasn't cheap either:)

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:10 pm

I'm guessing the lack of light for the winter months did it in. I'm a believer in making sure my palms have light all winter. Here is how my Trachy fared over here in WI!

Here is my Washingtonia Robusta that I also overwintered in the ground in WI.

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 5:10 am

Your's look good.

I am keeping mine in the pot and bringing it inside this year. Not sure where I am going to put it. Going to talk to a few local greenhouses and see if they will rent me a spot for $10. a month.

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 2:15 pm

That's great news! It would have been a real shame if that guy died after all that work.

Bill

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:01 pm

That looks real nice.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:23 pm

I hope it makes it.
I was under the impression that it was fine when it was in the "outhouse" (dark), but that it dried up and got crispy only after you put the other clear cover on so it could get light. We thought it could have heated up too much inside that plastic front.

Somebody said earlier Trachies don't need light over winter.

wxman, great overwintering!
Barb

palmmandan · Post by **palmmandan** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:38 pm

Here it is today.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:58 pm

Nice! looks like it is doing good.

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:10 pm

I'm really glad it made it! That would have really been awful, if you went through all the planting and digging up, and repotting again, all for nothing. Nice job! Next spring when you plant it out again it will Reward you. The root ball will be nice and strong. I would give it the best soil possible since you have come this far. You could even do heat coils like I displayed for my washies in "Spring Plantings In Ma!!!" They are cheap and easy to install, plus the ground will never freeze.

Keep up the good work!

Bill