Hoping to hear more about your zone and the palms that grow there!
Barb[/quote]
So, I'm from Oradea, Romania. My area where I live, I would say it is zone 7a. There is not a rule how the winters are. Some years we get not more than 5-6 days of snow, with degrees from 5 to 35F, but 5F not that often. Maybe one or two days. Anyways, what has happened the last winter, was really harsh! We've had 2 or 3 days with -4F during the night and not more than 20F during the day. And to be honest, I haven't seen something like this in the last 20 years!!! Summers are very hot, the whole last week and this week we had 90-100F and we are in June and the summer is still ahead.
I have started with the "exotics" only 2 years ago with a Phoenix canariensis seed that i brought Greece...just to give it a try, and I ended up with 12 CIDPS, 2 waggies, 1 med fan palm, 5 washingtonia filifera (+11 that just germinated), 2 sabals minor (that are giving me headache), 4 musa sikimmensis, few musa cavendish and basjoo, brugmansia, oleanders, and the list can go on.
For of the moment I keep them in pots, and repot them every year in bigger pots couse they grow like crazy. I will start building my house only next year, till then I keep them at my parent's house.
This year I put one seedling of CIDP and one of sabal in the ground to see what will happen in the winter, of course - giving them some protection. Last year I put one med fan palm (aprox 2ft) with some passive protection thinking that the winter will be the same like in the last years, but surprise! When outside were 10F, it still looked good, but I "woke" up late when it is was -4F. All the fronds were frozen and I had to cut it to the ground. When the spring came, it started to put new leaves but last month we've had a lot of rain and all the new leaves started to rot. Now I have to wait again and see what's happening.
Well, this is for the moment
