Report about young palms planted in my garden-North of Italy

[Seba]

Hello everyone,

I live near Crema (CR), in the north of Italy (zone 8a/b).
Tomorrow will be spring and I'd like to write a report about many YOUNG palms planted in the south of my garden in april 2010.
I have some other older specimens planted some years ago ad I have many others in pots (I putted the latter in my cold greenhouse during the winter), but I'd like to talk about my experiment about planting and protecting very young cold hardy specimens in my zone, as I think it is better to grow a young palm in its definitive garden rather than buying a large specimen which comes from Sicily or Spain for example, not used to my winters. In fact It is true that a palm with a big sized trunk may survive better in the cold, but I know that some friends have bought large Butias or Washingtonia filifera grown in Sicily that died during their first winter in the north of Italy...

For many young specimens I have used a pyramid made of 4 bamboos tied at the top and wrapped with protection tissue. For other palms I have used 30 Watts heating cables with a built thermostat too. Of course in many cases the protections have been a surplus, but I love my palms and we haven't a crystall ball to really predict how the winter will be. My intention is to use the same protections for the next 3 or 4 winters at least. This year I have strangely used heating cables for my young bigger palms (Butias and Jubaeas), I know that heating cables could better be used with other species, but Jubaeas and Butias were a present from my wife. See viewtopic.php?t=3059 discussion for further details.

Finally here is my report:

- Trachycarpus fortunei (different specimens from 25 cm to 1,60 m): no protection and no damages of course;
- Trachycarpus wagnerianus (Japanese seed): (one specimen 25 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Trachycarpus takil (one specimen 25 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Trachycarpus princeps Golden Lotus (one specimen 25 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Trachycarpus princeps Stone Gate (one specimen 25 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Nannorrhops ritchiana (many specimens 30 cm height with uncharacterized leaves, near the wall of the house): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Nannorrhops ritchiana var silver (one specimen only 10 cm height with two uncharacterized leaves, near the wall of the house): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Chamaerops humilis (many specimens about 70 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera (many specimens from 10 cm to 60 cm height): no protection for the specimens near a wall of the house, bamboo pyramids for the others: no damages;
- Chamaerops humilis var. vulcano (a specimen 60 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Sabal minor (many specimens from 60 cm to 1,20 m height): no protection for the specimens near a wall of the house, bamboo pyramids for the others: no damages;
- Sabal x Texensis (a specimen 80 cm height): no protection and only few damages in the leaves;
- Brahea armata (two specimens 80 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Brahea armata "roezli" from the seed of the Naples botanical garden (one specimen 80 cm height): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Butia eriospatha (one specimen about 40 cm height with characterized leaves, but very thin): bamboo pyramid, no damages;
- Butia capitata (two specimens 1,40 m height): bamboo pyramid, heating cable and only few damages in the external leaves
- Jubaea chilensis (three specimens from 80 cm to 1,70 m): bamboo pyramid and no damages;
- Rhapidophyllum hystrix (a specimen only 25 cm height with uncharacterized leaves): bamboo pyramid and no damages;
- Trithrinax campestris (one specimen 25 cm height with characterized leaves and one specimen only 10 cm height with leaves not completely characterized): bamboo pyramid and no damages;
- Phoenix theoprastii (two specimens 30 cm height, the leaves have been characterized only in spring 2010): bamboo pyramid and heating cables. One specimens is severely damaged, while the otehr is strangely healthy, even though they surely comes from the same mother plant. The two Phoenix theoprastii have been planted the same day and are very close to each other. It means that even sister plants may have a different resistance to cold.
- Sabal mexicana (one specimen 25 cm height with uncharacterized leaves): bamboo pyramid, severely damaged

I have only two bad surprises, so I am very happy!

Best regards,
Stefano

[Seba]

Here are the dates about the temperatures in Cremona, my province. I live 52 Km far from Cremona and about 33 Km far from Milan, in a country town so in some cases the minimum temperatures were about 2 or 3 °C less at night. In any case my digital thermometers with outside probes (putted inside the pyramidal protections) never registered temperatures below - 10°C during the night and the palms in object are are in the south zone of my garden.

CITY DAY AVERAGE °C MINIMUM°C MAXIMUM°C
Cremona 01/11/10 13 11 14
Cremona 02/11/10 14 13 14
Cremona 03/11/10 14 11 17
Cremona 04/11/10 14 10 16
Cremona 05/11/10 14 12 15
Cremona 06/11/10 11 9 14
Cremona 07/11/10 11 10 13
Cremona 08/11/10 12 8 16
Cremona 09/11/10 9 8 10
Cremona 10/11/10 10 8 10
Cremona 11/11/10 8 4 12
Cremona 12/11/10 9 5 14
Cremona 13/11/10 10 8 12
Cremona 14/11/10 11 9 12
Cremona 15/11/10 11 10 12
Cremona 16/11/10 12 11 13
Cremona 17/11/10 11 9 15
Cremona 18/11/10 9 5 11
Cremona 19/11/10 9 5 13
Cremona 20/11/10 8 6 9
Cremona 21/11/10 9 8 10
Cremona 22/11/10 8 6 10
Cremona 23/11/10 7 4 11
Cremona 24/11/10 5 1 10
Cremona 25/11/10 4 0 9
Cremona 26/11/10 3 2 4
Cremona 27/11/10 3 -2 5
Cremona 28/11/10 1 1 2
Cremona 29/11/10 4 -1 10
Cremona 30/11/10 2 0 4
Cremona 01/12/10 1 1 2
Cremona 02/12/10 -1 -4 1
Cremona 03/12/10 2 0 5
Cremona 04/12/10 2 1 3
Cremona 05/12/10 0 -2 2
Cremona 06/12/10 1 0 1
Cremona 07/12/10 3 1 5
Cremona 08/12/10 4 2 6
Cremona 09/12/10 8 3 13
Cremona 10/12/10 7 0 13
Cremona 11/12/10 3 0 8
Cremona 12/12/10 3 0 7
Cremona 13/12/10 5 1 11
Cremona 14/12/10 0 -3 3
Cremona 15/12/10 -3 -5 0
Cremona 16/12/10 -5 -8 -1
Cremona 17/12/10 -4 -6 -3
Cremona 18/12/10 -2 -7 2
Cremona 19/12/10 -2 -5 -1
Cremona 20/12/10 2 0 3
Cremona 21/12/10 2 2 3
Cremona 22/12/10 3 2 4
Cremona 23/12/10 3 3 4
Cremona 24/12/10 6 4 7
Cremona 25/12/10 6 5 8
Cremona 26/12/10 4 2 6
Cremona 27/12/10 1 0 3
Cremona 28/12/10 -1 -4 1
Cremona 29/12/10 2 1 3
Cremona 30/12/10 3 2 4
Cremona 31/12/10 3 1 5
Cremona 01/01/11 3 2 6
Cremona 02/01/11 3 0 4
Cremona 03/01/11 2 1 5
Cremona 04/01/11 0 -2 2
Cremona 05/01/11 0 -1 1
Cremona 06/01/11 2 1 2
Cremona 07/01/11 2 1 3
Cremona 08/01/11 3 2 5
Cremona 09/01/11 5 3 7
Cremona 10/01/11 5 4 6
Cremona 11/01/11 7 5 10
Cremona 12/01/11 5 1 8
Cremona 13/01/11 3 -1 8
Cremona 14/01/11 2 0 4
Cremona 15/01/11 7 3 50
Cremona 16/01/11 4 3 4
Cremona 17/01/11 2 0 3
Cremona 18/01/11 1 -2 4
Cremona 19/01/11 1 -2 3
Cremona 20/01/11 2 1 4
Cremona 21/01/11 1 -1 5
Cremona 22/01/11 1 -2 4
Cremona 23/01/11 1 -3 5
Cremona 24/01/11 2 -3 6
Cremona 25/01/11 0 -4 4
Cremona 26/01/11 2 -2 6
Cremona 27/01/11 3 2 4
Cremona 28/01/11 3 1 6
Cremona 29/01/11 3 1 4
Cremona 30/01/11 1 1 2
Cremona 31/01/11 3 2 6
Cremona 01/02/11 0 -3 2
Cremona 02/02/11 -2 -5 0
Cremona 03/02/11 -3 -7 2
Cremona 04/02/11 1 -5 10
Cremona 05/02/11 4 -2 11
Cremona 06/02/11 6 0 14
Cremona 07/02/11 7 0 14
Cremona 08/02/11 6 0 12
Cremona 09/02/11 5 0 12
Cremona 10/02/11 6 0 11
Cremona 11/02/11 6 0 11
Cremona 12/02/11 7 1 13
Cremona 13/02/11 7 5 8
Cremona 14/02/11 7 6 8
Cremona 15/02/11 7 6 9
Cremona 16/02/11 6 5 7
Cremona 17/02/11 6 4 8
Cremona 18/02/11 8 6 11
Cremona 19/02/11 7 1 14
Cremona 20/02/11 6 4 7
Cremona 21/02/11 6 5 9
Cremona 22/02/11 3 0 6
Cremona 23/02/11 4 1 8
Cremona 24/02/11 3 -2 8
Cremona 25/02/11 3 -3 8
Cremona 26/02/11 3 -4 8
Cremona 27/02/11 2 1 3
Cremona 28/02/11 3 1 4
Cremona 01/03/11 5 2 8
Cremona 02/03/11 2 -1 4
Cremona 03/03/11 1 1 2
Cremona 04/03/11 4 1 8
Cremona 05/03/11 6 1 10
Cremona 06/03/11 9 1 15
Cremona 07/03/11 6 3 9
Cremona 08/03/11 3 -3 8
Cremona 09/03/11 4 -2 10
Cremona 10/03/11 7 0 14
Cremona 11/03/11 9 0 14
Cremona 12/03/11 10 7 13
Cremona 13/03/11 8 7 9
Cremona 14/03/11 9 7 12
Cremona 15/03/11 10 9 10
Cremona 16/03/11 10 10 11
Cremona 17/03/11 9 5 11
Cremona 18/03/11 10 5 17
Cremona 19/03/11 11 7 15

[lucky1]

Thanks for that excellent and comprehensive report, Seba.

I counted only 32 days November to March where your minimum temps were negative C.
And mostly barely negative (i.e. -5, -1).
I agree that is why your heat tapes work but in my area a Phoenix or a Butia would need more than a heat tape.

Heat tape is not enough heat in my zone.
We often see lows of -15C -11C -14C -7C -19C through 3 or 4 months.
For that reason I agree with Frisk's comment of December 15th here: viewtopic.php?t=3059
And a small enclosure doesn't allow soil to keep cold out.
In my winter temps, heat tapes wrapped around a palm don't provide warm air to the interior of the structure that surrounds palms.

Congratulations on how well your palms have done this winter.
Strange about the one P.theoprasti...sibling rivalry maybe?
I won't even try to plant my young Sabal mexicana after your experience.

I love my palms and we haven't a crystall ball to really predict how the winter will be

I love mine too, but need to be realistic.
Your zone makes so much possible with no--or minimal--protection.
My zone leads to many disappointments in a long winter, and then the dry windy summer heat makes disappointments worse.

You have such wonderful palms planted.
I don't think anyone in Vancouver (same zone as you) has that many planted. But they should!

I'll look forward to seeing more pictures of your palms growing.

But the question remains:
If you lived in my zone, would you still use ONLY heating cables?

Thanks again.
Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Stefano, great job with all of the data! You are lucky to live in such a warm zone

[TimMAz6]

Nice update. Don't give up on S. mexicana.....I thought some people have better results with mexicana.

[TerdalFarm]

I kept two first-winter Sabal mexicana alive through the winter (one barely; we'll see) using just heat tape (plus water bottles, hay, fiberglass insulation and the "tee pee" shelter). I am a big fan of electric heat tape. I'll give a report next month when I know better what survived the -30 C event on Feb. 10.
That said, it is very clear that the C. humilis with heat tape + C9 lights for the foliage (plus all the other stuff) came through in perfect condition and is growing now. So, heat tape is useful but not sufficient for "colder than the south pole" temps.

[Seba]

But the question remains:
If you lived in my zone, would you still use ONLY heating cables?
Thanks again.
Barb

Dear Barb, probably If I lived in tour zone I'd use heating infrared lamps.
here are some pictures of the palms after winter that I have taken today, but the palms are too many and the free time almost rare, so I promise to take more pictures of the remainig palms in the next future. I cannot insert pictures in this forum (I have tried inserting both url and Img), who is interested should visit the discussion "Report about young palms planted in my garden (North of Italy) in spring 2010" in the EPS forum : http://www.palmsociety.org.uk/forum/top ... picid=3999
Best regards, Stefano

[TimMAz6]

Hi Stefano,

the link asked for a password........we could not see the photos.

[Seba]

Hi Stefano,

the link asked for a password........we could not see the photos.

Hi, you have to register to EPS forum. You can see some pictures here too:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1053572302 ... 4Marzo2011#

[DesertZone]

Very nice pic.

[lucky1]

Stefano,

probably If I lived in your zone I'd use heating

Yes, agree, as I feel heat tapes are not sufficient for my minimums.

Thanks for posting the Picassa album pics.
Beautiful!!!!!
I really like blue palms, so am very impressed with your great selection.
Excellent palm choices you've made!

By the way, your photos all posted beautifully last November...no problem at that time.
Picassa album is a good way to see your photos without having to register to another site.

Thanks Stefano.
Will look forward to seeing all of those great palms again soon as new fronds push.

Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Heidi (hilashes) and Don (tropicman) also use picasaweb and post many palm photos there, as do we. --Erik

[Seba]

Thank you very much! I will post new pictures of the other palms as soon as possible. Best regards, Stefano

[TimMAz6]

nice palm collection! Thanks for sharing.