PalmsNorth.com

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time; I've been bogged down with college lately. However, spring is basically here, and I'm getting that itch to try some more hardy palms again. My experience was that my Dwarf Palmetto, not my Needle Palm, turned out to be the tougher of the two. Perhaps it is because the Sabal is much larger? Anyway, the Sabal (as pictured below) received what I consider only minor leaf burn after experiencing "7b" temperatures (down to about 8 degrees or so) this past winter. The Needle Palm did not do nearly as well. It looks pretty bad; the leaves on the main part of the trunk fried, but its offshoots are still alive and green (with some minor burn). All in all, I was very impressed with the Sabal Minor, and somewhat disappointed in the Rhapidophyllum Hystrix (which is not dead, but it looks nasty right now and I don't want to feel the shame I deserve for not covering a small palm during its first winter ). I want to try Trachycarpus Fortunei, as I have been very impressed with the Windmill Palms people that belong to this forum grow. Here is a picture of my Sabal Minor I took just a few days ago:



-Jim

Looks good!

Wow, that looks awesome.

You really almost can't beat Sabals although Needle palms leaves
are probably tougher not so important if the spears pull.

Looks great!

jimmiller,
7b unprotected? wow.
Very encouraging.
Sheltered or exposed site?

I have a 3-strap leaf s.minor indoors, waiting for it to put on some size.
Cars rust faster than this little guy grows.

Hope your needle does a quick recovery, look forward to seeing Trachies you get.
Plural

Thanks for the compliments! It is in a fairly sheltered location; a row of spruce trees is protecting it from the north, and it is on a slight slope facing east but still gets wind from the west. I mulched it in November to protect its roots from the cold. It is also near a stone patio which may help it a little. We had 2 snowstorms that buried most of the plant. I did dig out my needle palm from those snowstorms, which may have been a mistake since snow insulates and can be warmer than the air especially at night. I believe it experienced single digit temperatures on 2 separate occasions; I know it saw at least 8F. Hopefully it will be even tougher next winter since it will have become more established, and hopefully this summer will be long and hot like last year so it can actually grow and replace some of the damaged leaves!

Ah...good effect from evergreens on the north side, especially spruce since they're so dense.
Anything that blocks/mitigates winter's north winds/cold blasts is a huge benefit; have seen that at my place too.

We PN'ers have seen lots of palm damage...always above snow cover.

Hope to see your needle as it recovers.
Barb

Not bad.

I am in Maryland as well, but close to DC. I do not protect my Sabals or Needles except for some mulch. My Sabals generally have the same tip burn that yours do on the left side. Nothing that warm weather will not heal.

Looking good!

Jim,
it sure looks good to me--like the wild ones down south.
--Erik

I have ordered two 15 gallon sized minors and can't wait for them to arrive in May.
I have a needle on order too. Also 15 gallon size.
I have had a 5 gallon needle in the ground for 4 winters now and it still looks good except it really hasn't grown much.
It is really encouraging to see how well yours did without protection in a zone 7b.
Do you get a fair bit of winter rain or is it mostly snow?
Our winters are rainy and no snow. I ask because I wonder how well they do in winter rains.

Wes,
if you do not mind an ignorant palm-grower's answer, there is quite a bit of late winter rain in their native range. --Erik

your S. minor looks good. It should take off this season.....perhaps you'll get it to seed too.