Windmills Planted in March: Preparing for First Winter in PA

suskman · Post by **suskman** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:03 am

New to the site, but love all of the information. My windmills having been doing great all summer. When I cover them for their first winter, should I use a dark tarp or clear tarp...does it matter? Also, should I just cover them when it is going to snow / sleet, or leave them covered all winter? Sorry if this is such a newbie question, but I want to do it right.

I am located northwest of Philadelphia.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:07 am

You will find out the answers to those question soon enough...

do not leave it to chance,put a remote sensor(thermometer) in
there and watch the temps-a sunny day in winter and a plant
with a clear cover are a good recipe for steamed cabbage.

seedscanada · Post by **seedscanada** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:23 pm

I wouldn't use just a tarp. Welcome to the site.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:34 am

Hi suskman, welcome aboard PN...

Might be wise to have a look at your area's historic low temps.
That's generally more helpful than knowing a zone.

Also consider, on average, how many consecutive days your area is below freezing.

The really critical thing with palms is to keep them dry in winter, so if you get a lot of rain on mild days, or tons of snow, plants will need sturdy covers.

If your trachies are near the house or garage, might be easy to construct a lean-to and have access to electricity for C-9 Christmas light (heat) or cables.

We'd love to see photos of your palms and yard.

Barb

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 8:58 pm

do not leave it to chance,put a remote sensor(thermometer) in
there and watch the temps-a sunny day in winter and a plant
with a clear cover are a good recipe for steamed cabbage.

Jim, does a clear enclosure such as a green house produce that much heat? I would think that to kill a plant it'd have to be well over 100 degrees F. Or is it t he combination of heat and later extreme cold at night. I was planning on building a small box with clear plastic on all sides to protect my yucca gloriosa, thats why I'm asking.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:39 am

yea,they need to be watched closely but they work great!

I basically open mine(at least a little)when sunny and above freezing during the day to insure they don't overheat.

I have seen the temps go as high as 117F in the Washy enclosure,although it did not damage it,
it just can't be that good for it...frozen feet and sunburnt forehead

Opening during mild(he says above freezing is mild?

)temps also helps keep moisture under control.

In the case of Y.Gloriosa,it will spot and discolor over winter if left wet and cold.

Hope this helps

seedscanada · Post by **seedscanada** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:51 am

I agree with Jim. Our hoop house would be at -5 celcius (23f) outside and at times of high noon sun, 48 celcius inside (that's 118f).
This also creates VERY high humidity and dripping of moisture from the ceiling. How neat! It self-waters, even if only 70f. BUT, that means the plant roots are freshly wet, even if it drops below freezing overnight... which is disastrous for some plants. Supplemental thermocube controlled heat is necessary for those temperature dips.

EXAMPLE:
My Grapefruit tree
Citrus paradisi
Lid removed from glass box winter protection. Grew a little in there! Glass box (2 feet by two) with termocube control heat. Hoophouse over top 10 feet by 10 feet.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/seedscanada/7162625796/" title="IMG-20120415-00620 by seedscanada, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7162 ... e78e_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="IMG-20120415-00620"></a>

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:10 pm

Thanks Jim, looks like I'm going to have to rethink my protection plan.

Do you have any recommendations on a way I could protect it without having to let it air out as long as it doesn't get above say 60 degrees F or so? With my needle palm I was just going to build a box around it and wrap the trunk in blankets. Do you think I would still have to constantly monitor it even if it didn't have transparent walls? If that would work I would try the same with the yucca gloriosa.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:41 am

I think any closed container (unless huge) would need to be burped.....
or lets say,would benefit from being opened.

If you use styrofoam or a blanket or something like
that you can get the benefits of insulation without the temps going up.

I have used little rose cones to cover plants,they only heat up about 10F
above the outside temps(perfect)and work well-whatever you do,make it so
you can open it and check at least every 2 weeks and make sure you
monitor temps inside.

Once you get the hang of it-it becomes an instinct

"second nature" hopefully.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:30 pm

O.k. thanks Jim. I'm amazed that something can heat up that much in the winter.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:15 am

As we move past mid Feb here(there to I am sure since you are near by.....)the strength
of the sun really starts to heat things up that are covered-my cactus started blooming in March because
temps were hitting the 90s and near 100...I had to start uncovering them earlier and exposing them
to more cool air,at this(mid Feb) point I really need a rain cover more than a greenhouse!

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:32 pm

Sorry to press the point, but do you think if the box had lots of holes in it that I would be able to leave it alone most of the winter? Or if I painted it white? I guess I'm more along the lines of a lazy zone pusher, and forgetful I might add.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:00 am

Couldn't tell ya.

As long as you watch the temps in there you should be fine.

And if not,you may at least no why it didn't make it.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:51 pm

O.k. Thanks Jim

wheelman1976 · Post by **wheelman1976** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:26 pm

I ended up building wooden boxes over mine and shrink wrapping them. Had C-9 lights inside on a thermocube and mine came out perfect in the spring. We did have an easy winter last year though. I'm located in michigan. I have a thread somewhere with photos on here showing everything I did.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:20 pm

Thanks wheelman, I'm trying to find the easiest way to go about it. If I have to pay too much attention to them, I'll probably forget about them in the end and they'll be toast. I've noticed alot of people have their palms in white boxes but I didn't know if they have to do alot of checking throughout the winter to see if it got too hot. I'll take a look at your previous posts.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:26 pm

wheelman, what's a thermocube?

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:18 am

What town exactly in PA, Im in south jersey, close to Philly? Welcome!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 8:44 am

cuja1 wrote:wheelman, what's a thermocube?

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-T ... B0006U2HD2

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:41 am

I built a structure of PVC and plastic. To control the temps(as it faced south) I simply cut a slit in the back side of the plastic and that kept the moisture under control really well. For heat I had a thermocube going to both 6ft of heat tape buried around root ball, and a string of 25 C7 Christmas lights.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:09 pm

Scott, is that a windmill palm?

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:59 am

Yes, it is.