Cutting off Fronds
Moderators: lucky1, Alchris, Kansas, Wes North Van, Laaz
Cutting off Fronds
It has been suggested in a 6a zone to cut off all Trachy fronds in fall with the exception of the needle, The idea is that even with protection, odds are they'll die off anyway. This apparently allows for easier and more efficient wrap. Thoughts?
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Barrie
I can't imagine the harm or developmental setback that this extreme frond cutting would do. There must be a more palm friendly method to over winter Trachycarpus fortunei. A temporary enclosure would likely be the best. Surely someone with experience in zone 6 can step up and give you some good advice.
Cheers, Barrie.
Cheers, Barrie.
I tried the "Iowa Robusta" wrap this last Winter and w/ that, you do cut the existing fronds off.
However, KNNN did his with, as Barrie said, a temp enclosure.
Mine died from center pull, KNNN's not only survived, but it is now thriving BIG time.
He didn't cut any fronds and simply put the enclosure over his ground planted Robusta.
I would not suggest wrapping.
However, KNNN did his with, as Barrie said, a temp enclosure.
Mine died from center pull, KNNN's not only survived, but it is now thriving BIG time.
He didn't cut any fronds and simply put the enclosure over his ground planted Robusta.
I would not suggest wrapping.
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Arctic Palm
- Seedling
- Posts: 357
- Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:21 pm
- Location: Southern Canada
Ahh. This is what makes for such a great forum. You all mention enclosures. But doesn't that get a bit tricky as the tree grows? Needle Palms have the benefit of growing out more than high and therefore can be enclosed for longer. But I have to think that at some point Trachys get a bit tall. I want to have that problem ofcourse, but what to do then? Heated wrap? Just thinking long term.
At first, I wouldn't cut green leaves off as I think that only weakens the palm.
If necessary I would squeeze the leaves into a small center and let the palm decide to let die off the damaged leaves.
Then, a proper shelter for Trachys is unfortunately somewhat bulky. At the Botanical Gardens at Frankfurt/Main, Germany, they had or still have probably very large Trachys. I guess I have seen half a dozen there that were surely higher than a two-storey building with a roof. The gardeners there have build large cubes with a metal frame and some plexiglas sheets around them. Then, they have put as much cubes one above the other as the Trachy was high. It looked very professional and surely it was expensive.
When I lived nearby Frankfurt, I build shelters in the same way, only looking "somewhat more humble".
I used a wooden frame and sheets of any opaque material as plants don't need much light during periods of freezing and me as a hobbyist had surely more time than an employeed gardener to remove and move again those shelters so they don't have to be that stable and all they like.
When it became very cold I covered this shelter with plastic foils. Those surely had to be removed immediately if day temperatures came above the freezing point. And some winters, it was really a hassle when temperatures became unusually warm in January, followed then by a sharp cold snap, followed by mild and rainy weather, followed then by two weeks of day time frost and so on.
The professional shelters of the gardeners were built to cope with that ever changing climate. My primitive construction needed always to take hands on instead.
This sort of shelter you would need for prolonged periods of frost. If you are getting only sharp cold snaps that don't let penetrate the frost into the ground, you could try some sort of wrapping: the stem separatly and then simply bind the leaves all together and wrap it with anything suitable depending how fast you would unwrap it when the weather changes and rain would start again.
People in France and Japan also filled the crown of leaves that were tied together with hay or the like but I never tried this.
And at last: a Trachy can take frozen roots for about a week or so and is in this regard surely the hardiest palm although the leaves aren't much hardy and may be burnt at +5°F already. But if you there protect at least the spearhead you will see new leaves in summer when it is warm enough, it means at least 80°F.
If necessary I would squeeze the leaves into a small center and let the palm decide to let die off the damaged leaves.
Then, a proper shelter for Trachys is unfortunately somewhat bulky. At the Botanical Gardens at Frankfurt/Main, Germany, they had or still have probably very large Trachys. I guess I have seen half a dozen there that were surely higher than a two-storey building with a roof. The gardeners there have build large cubes with a metal frame and some plexiglas sheets around them. Then, they have put as much cubes one above the other as the Trachy was high. It looked very professional and surely it was expensive.
When I lived nearby Frankfurt, I build shelters in the same way, only looking "somewhat more humble".
I used a wooden frame and sheets of any opaque material as plants don't need much light during periods of freezing and me as a hobbyist had surely more time than an employeed gardener to remove and move again those shelters so they don't have to be that stable and all they like.
When it became very cold I covered this shelter with plastic foils. Those surely had to be removed immediately if day temperatures came above the freezing point. And some winters, it was really a hassle when temperatures became unusually warm in January, followed then by a sharp cold snap, followed by mild and rainy weather, followed then by two weeks of day time frost and so on.
The professional shelters of the gardeners were built to cope with that ever changing climate. My primitive construction needed always to take hands on instead.
This sort of shelter you would need for prolonged periods of frost. If you are getting only sharp cold snaps that don't let penetrate the frost into the ground, you could try some sort of wrapping: the stem separatly and then simply bind the leaves all together and wrap it with anything suitable depending how fast you would unwrap it when the weather changes and rain would start again.
People in France and Japan also filled the crown of leaves that were tied together with hay or the like but I never tried this.
And at last: a Trachy can take frozen roots for about a week or so and is in this regard surely the hardiest palm although the leaves aren't much hardy and may be burnt at +5°F already. But if you there protect at least the spearhead you will see new leaves in summer when it is warm enough, it means at least 80°F.
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Okanagan desert-palms
- Clumping Palm
- Posts: 1600
- Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:59 am
- Location: Kelowna British Columbia Canada
- Contact:
Cube protection Palms
Dilbert you wouldn`t have any photos of the cube protection method used in Frankfurt/Main botanical gardens? That sounds like a great way to protect the palm and the fronds. Did they or you use any artificial heat when it got really cold?
Okanagan Palms and Tropicals
6b-7a
6b-7a
Unfortunately, I haven't taken any photos from their cubes. But I can describe them more detailed.
From the outside you could see mainly the plexiglas sheets that were about 2 x 2 meters. The metal frame was done by bars that were squared I believe.
How they connected one cube to another I couldn't figure out. I actually went never really near to those cubes as a metal frame looked to me too costly and too cumbersome to store during summer.
I saw using them some lamps or at least I saw the bulbs scattered around the whole construction. So, they were on the ground, around the stem and around the crown. The leaves have been tied together only a little bit so the crown looked almost as wide as in summer.
I used in my construction DIY handlamps with 60 W bulbs, up to three of them for one shelter. Every shelter had also a thermostat switch with the lowest position of 0°C / 32°F.
In the Botanical garden, they erected their constructions in December and removed them in March or so, but never removed them in the meantime. Maybe they took the roof plate off during warmer periods.
My wooden frame kept normally set up during all the cold period. Getting to day time freezing temperatures I put wooden plates or anything similar against the wooden frame, put a roof plate on top of it, laid the thermostat-driven handlamps on the ground, never hung them on the stem or into the crown, and covered the whole construction with plastic foils, and often, secured the whole shelter against strong winds.
Generally, the ground of the shelter was covered with branches of fir I got every winter from neighbours or plant nurseries around.
The coldest temperature we got in this time was 0°F, but we often got longer periods , that is a week or so, of day time frost were it was 10°F at night and 20°C during the day. I am pretty sure that this is too much even for a Trachy.
Trachys grow wild even in the center parts of Switzerland, but that is only nearby greater lakes in valleys were this a lot of snow but day time temperatures are only slightly below the freezing point and night time frosts aren't too sharp either.
From the outside you could see mainly the plexiglas sheets that were about 2 x 2 meters. The metal frame was done by bars that were squared I believe.
How they connected one cube to another I couldn't figure out. I actually went never really near to those cubes as a metal frame looked to me too costly and too cumbersome to store during summer.
I saw using them some lamps or at least I saw the bulbs scattered around the whole construction. So, they were on the ground, around the stem and around the crown. The leaves have been tied together only a little bit so the crown looked almost as wide as in summer.
I used in my construction DIY handlamps with 60 W bulbs, up to three of them for one shelter. Every shelter had also a thermostat switch with the lowest position of 0°C / 32°F.
In the Botanical garden, they erected their constructions in December and removed them in March or so, but never removed them in the meantime. Maybe they took the roof plate off during warmer periods.
My wooden frame kept normally set up during all the cold period. Getting to day time freezing temperatures I put wooden plates or anything similar against the wooden frame, put a roof plate on top of it, laid the thermostat-driven handlamps on the ground, never hung them on the stem or into the crown, and covered the whole construction with plastic foils, and often, secured the whole shelter against strong winds.
Generally, the ground of the shelter was covered with branches of fir I got every winter from neighbours or plant nurseries around.
The coldest temperature we got in this time was 0°F, but we often got longer periods , that is a week or so, of day time frost were it was 10°F at night and 20°C during the day. I am pretty sure that this is too much even for a Trachy.
Trachys grow wild even in the center parts of Switzerland, but that is only nearby greater lakes in valleys were this a lot of snow but day time temperatures are only slightly below the freezing point and night time frosts aren't too sharp either.