Growing Windmill palms in zone 6?

laserlight · 04-10-2011, 02:10 PM

I just found out Im in zone 6 and I want a palm. I read in a thread that there are members growing Windmill palms in zone 6 too. Can they stay outside in the winter or do they need to be protected like banana plants? I would really like to learn more about them cuz they look really cool. =)

Bob · 04-10-2011, 04:26 PM

Get the biggest plant you can afford and make sure to protect it in winter for the first 3 years at least. Mine took a beating this year though they survived. Some years even with the best protection in our zone you may as well consider them a "deciduous palm". A needle palm might be a better choice, after the brutal winter we just had that one came through for me with no damage at all. Good luck with yours.

El Manolo · 04-10-2011, 05:15 PM

Hmm here we had several long cold winters in a row. And most if not all Trachycarpus fortunei survived. Some looked pretty bad after the winter. But they recover fast. We had lots of snow and temperatures of -18 c° long cold wet periods. -10 c° doesn't do much damage. Perhaps you can find a local grower. Cause palms grown in a colder climate are much hardier and don't need to adjust. It's best you plant yours in spring so they can settle.

laserlight · 04-10-2011, 06:41 PM

@ bob. what does "deciduous palm" mean? You have a needle palm and it survived? I dont have to get a windmill cuz I can get any palm. I only wanted windmill cuz I thought it liked winter. Do you have any pictures of your needle palm? Thank you for the information about needle palms. =)

@ el manolo. we can easy get colder than -18c here. eskimos could live here. Its spring here now so I need to get one fast and now i think could be a needle palm. Thank you for the information about planting them in the spring. =)

bananadude · 04-10-2011, 06:45 PM

I am in Zone 5 and I planted 26 of them last spring, that I grew from seed....the only thing I did for protection was throw some leaves on them....there is a pic of them in my gallery....they all came thew just fine.....and we had a WICKED winter here to!!

laserlight · 04-10-2011, 07:39 PM

@ bananadude. Yea last winter was wiked but i like snow so its all good. =D
That windmill palm looks really big. i like those purple looking canas too. =)

JuniPerez · 04-10-2011, 08:04 PM

A needle palm is definitely much hardier than the T. fortunei. I have one in my front yard and it did great this winter. I also have a Miniature Chusan palm (T. wagnerianus) planted next to it which I grinned from seed a few years ago and it does great... if any leaves burn and fall of (the defoliation makes it what I think he is calling deciduous) it grows back during summer...

Zone 6 here too.

The Hollyberry Lady · 04-10-2011, 09:30 PM

Kevin, here's a needle palm I got from Bob...

You asked him to post a picture but I didn't want you to have to wait for 6 months to get a reply!

: )

laserlight · 04-10-2011, 09:48 PM

Yay! more zone 5 and 6 people. i really like that everybody here isnt in California and Florida.

@ juni. Thx for the information. i still need to read more about palms and I couldnt find any in the wiki. But I can probably learn a lot just reading the other plants threads. =)

@ hollyberry lady. lol! 6 months? That could be tooooo long. Thx for posting the picture! That looks really cool too. =)
Im going to try to get a needle palm and a windmill palm. We always have tons of dead leafs here and I can pile them up all over them before winter.

RobG7aChattTN · 04-10-2011, 10:00 PM

What you need are some Needle Palms (Rapidophyllym hystrix) and Sabal minor. They don't really form trunks, but a windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) will need protection every year to survive zone 6 but will form trunks. Sabal 'Birmingham' has been grown in zone 6 and will eventually form a trunk and is probably cold hardy enough to go unprotected unless a really cold spell hits. Maybe Sabal 'Brazoria' as well. Check out SEPalms.org and especially the link to the Cold Hardy Palms and Subtropical message board for lots of information.

palmtree · 04-10-2011, 10:06 PM

Im really impressed with windmill palms cold tolerance! I only threw a plastic garbage bin over mine and after a low temperature of around 7F and more subfreezing cold then I think I have EVER experienced here before, it still survived with only some damage to the lowest fronds. My other 2 windmill palms were protected the same way only with a frost cloth and some x-mas lights around it for heat and they werent damaged one bit (they actually grew a little). Fantastic cold hardy palms! One of mine has silver undersides that looks really nice when you take a night picture with a camera that has a flash.

JuniPerez · 04-10-2011, 10:06 PM

Another site for palms is palmtalk.org
Some Walmart locations sell cold hardy palm trees from Costa Farms in blue containers labelled Cold Zone.... nice needle palms, windmills, and sabals for under $20

laserlight · 04-10-2011, 10:48 PM

Thx guyz for all the information! I need to decide on 2 to grow but if that sabal minor one is only $20 at Walmart I can get that one too next weekend. Ill check that SEPalms.org tomorrow after school cuz I dont have any time left tonight. I want to learn more about that Birmingham palm and Brazoria palm. =D

Gardener972 · 04-10-2011, 10:51 PM

I agree on the Needle Palm.... it is the most hardy of all the palms.

dottie · 04-11-2011, 06:47 PM

Smithsonian palms and bananas | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This link shows one in front of the Air and Space Museum in DC. I think DC is in zone 7.

laserlight · 04-11-2011, 10:51 PM

@ dottie. That looks great! They should put flowers around it too. If they can grow that in BC I can grow it here. Thx for that link. =)

JuniPerez · 04-12-2011, 07:52 AM

Here's a Trachycarpus fortunei growing in Brooklyn NY (Botanic Gardens): Palm Tree | Flickr - Photo Sharing!.

Another one you might consider looking into is T. wagnerianus, which IMHO is a cooler looking palm... the leaves are shorter and it is more resistant to crown rot than most windmills (crown rot is more likely to kill a palm tree than the cold itself). Then there's T. takil, which some say is still in "experimental stage", but I've noticed far less leafburn in winter on my takil than on my fortunei.

laserlight · 04-12-2011, 05:23 PM

Yay! Pages that arent blocked. =|
@ Juni. Those are incredible. =D Id like to have a T. wagnerianus but I dont know if I can get permissions to grow a whole tree. I will ask. They should give those shorter names. It would save a lot on copy and paste. Whats a crown? Is that the top leafs? Thx for the picture. I googled and found pictures of the other 2. =)

JuniPerez · 04-12-2011, 07:38 PM

Those are the scientific names... common names are windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), miniature chusan palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus), Kumaon Palm (Trachycarpus takil), Pindo Palm (Butia capitata) and so on. The are all trees though. The needle palm can form a truck too (I've seen them) but it takes a very long time because most of it will be underground.

The crown is where all the fronds grow out of. That's pretty much the life of the palm tree. If that rots and dies out, the whole tree goes.

laserlight · 04-13-2011, 07:03 AM

That's a lot easier to remember. I made a list on my pc. I found a diagram of a banana plant in the wiki and it has a corm. I read that if it gets wet and cold that it will rot. And somebody said that young palms are harder to keep alive. That must mean that crown can stay too wet if it's too close to the ground. I think I understand the "rot" thing now. I really like the palms that have leafs shaped like fans!
Thanks for all the great information! =)

04-10-2011, 02:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? I just found out Im in zone 6 and I want a palm. I read in a thread that there are members growing Windmill palms in zone 6 too. Can they stay outside in the winter or do they need to be protected like banana plants? I would really like to learn more about them cuz they look really cool. =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

04-10-2011, 04:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bob Orang Puteh Bob's Photo Gallery Location: Morris plains N.J. Find me on the map! Zone: 6a Name: bob Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3,527 BananaBucks : 196,353 Feedback: 12 / 100% Said "Thanks" 9,531 Times Was Thanked 4,054 Times in 1,692 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 565 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Get the biggest plant you can afford and make sure to protect it in winter for the first 3 years at least. Mine took a beating this year though they survived. Some years even with the best protection in our zone you may as well consider them a "deciduous palm". A needle palm might be a better choice, after the brutal winter we just had that one came through for me with no damage at all. Good luck with yours. __________________

04-10-2011, 05:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
El Manolo Location: Belgium Find me on the map! Zone: 8a or b Name: El Manolo Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 24 BananaBucks : 4,389 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2 Times Was Thanked 22 Times in 12 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Hmm here we had several long cold winters in a row. And most if not all Trachycarpus fortunei survived. Some looked pretty bad after the winter. But they recover fast. We had lots of snow and temperatures of -18 c° long cold wet periods. -10 c° doesn't do much damage. Perhaps you can find a local grower. Cause palms grown in a colder climate are much hardier and don't need to adjust. It's best you plant yours in spring so they can settle.

04-10-2011, 06:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? @ bob. what does "deciduous palm" mean? You have a needle palm and it survived? I dont have to get a windmill cuz I can get any palm. I only wanted windmill cuz I thought it liked winter. Do you have any pictures of your needle palm? Thank you for the information about needle palms. =) @ el manolo. we can easy get colder than -18c here. eskimos could live here. Its spring here now so I need to get one fast and now i think could be a needle palm. Thank you for the information about planting them in the spring. =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы. Last edited by laserlight : 04-10-2011 at 06:43 PM.

04-10-2011, 06:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
bananadude bananadude's Photo Gallery Location: Gladwin, Michigan Find me on the map! Zone: New Zone Map on the border of Zone 5-6 Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 221 BananaBucks : 42,426 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 96 Times Was Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 23 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? I am in Zone 5 and I planted 26 of them last spring, that I grew from seed....the only thing I did for protection was throw some leaves on them....there is a pic of them in my gallery....they all came thew just fine.....and we had a WICKED winter here to!! __________________ Brian...Zone 5-6...Gladwin, Michigan

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04-10-2011, 07:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? @ bananadude. Yea last winter was wiked but i like snow so its all good. =D That windmill palm looks really big. i like those purple looking canas too. =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

04-10-2011, 08:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
JuniPerez Puerto Rican Gone Bananas JuniPerez's Photo Gallery Location: Rochester, NY Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Juni Perez Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 313 BananaBucks : 72,388 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 153 Times Was Thanked 202 Times in 117 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 13 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? A needle palm is definitely much hardier than the T. fortunei. I have one in my front yard and it did great this winter. I also have a Miniature Chusan palm (T. wagnerianus) planted next to it which I grinned from seed a few years ago and it does great... if any leaves burn and fall of (the defoliation makes it what I think he is calling deciduous) it grows back during summer... Zone 6 here too.

04-10-2011, 09:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,249,767 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,325 Times in 5,310 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Kevin, here's a needle palm I got from Bob... You asked him to post a picture but I didn't want you to have to wait for 6 months to get a reply! : )

04-10-2011, 09:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Yay! more zone 5 and 6 people. i really like that everybody here isnt in California and Florida. @ juni. Thx for the information. i still need to read more about palms and I couldnt find any in the wiki. But I can probably learn a lot just reading the other plants threads. =) @ hollyberry lady. lol! 6 months? That could be tooooo long. Thx for posting the picture! That looks really cool too. =) Im going to try to get a needle palm and a windmill palm. We always have tons of dead leafs here and I can pile them up all over them before winter. __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы. Last edited by laserlight : 04-10-2011 at 09:51 PM.

04-10-2011, 10:00 PM	#10 (permalink)
RobG7aChattTN Junior Member RobG7aChattTN's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 422 BananaBucks : 18,313 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 29 Times Was Thanked 438 Times in 234 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? What you need are some Needle Palms (Rapidophyllym hystrix) and Sabal minor. They don't really form trunks, but a windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) will need protection every year to survive zone 6 but will form trunks. Sabal 'Birmingham' has been grown in zone 6 and will eventually form a trunk and is probably cold hardy enough to go unprotected unless a really cold spell hits. Maybe Sabal 'Brazoria' as well. Check out SEPalms.org and especially the link to the Cold Hardy Palms and Subtropical message board for lots of information.

04-10-2011, 10:06 PM	#11 (permalink)
palmtree palmtree 's Photo Gallery Location: New York City Find me on the map! Zone: 7b Name: Alex C Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,016 BananaBucks : 96,109 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,492 Times Was Thanked 1,428 Times in 644 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 103 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Im really impressed with windmill palms cold tolerance! I only threw a plastic garbage bin over mine and after a low temperature of around 7F and more subfreezing cold then I think I have EVER experienced here before, it still survived with only some damage to the lowest fronds. My other 2 windmill palms were protected the same way only with a frost cloth and some x-mas lights around it for heat and they werent damaged one bit (they actually grew a little). Fantastic cold hardy palms! One of mine has silver undersides that looks really nice when you take a night picture with a camera that has a flash. __________________ Location: New York City, zone 7b

04-10-2011, 10:06 PM	#12 (permalink)
JuniPerez Puerto Rican Gone Bananas JuniPerez's Photo Gallery Location: Rochester, NY Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Juni Perez Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 313 BananaBucks : 72,388 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 153 Times Was Thanked 202 Times in 117 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 13 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Another site for palms is palmtalk.org Some Walmart locations sell cold hardy palm trees from Costa Farms in blue containers labelled Cold Zone.... nice needle palms, windmills, and sabals for under $20

04-10-2011, 10:48 PM	#13 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Thx guyz for all the information! I need to decide on 2 to grow but if that sabal minor one is only $20 at Walmart I can get that one too next weekend. Ill check that SEPalms.org tomorrow after school cuz I dont have any time left tonight. I want to learn more about that Birmingham palm and Brazoria palm. =D __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

04-10-2011, 10:51 PM	#14 (permalink)
Gardener972 Location: north Dallas, TX Zone: 7b/8a Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 180 BananaBucks : 149,478 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 35 Times Was Thanked 84 Times in 40 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 10 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? I agree on the Needle Palm.... it is the most hardy of all the palms.

04-11-2011, 06:47 PM	#15 (permalink)
dottie dottie's Photo Gallery Location: West Virginia Zone: 6-7 Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 33 BananaBucks : 12,614 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 11 Times Was Thanked 26 Times in 9 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Smithsonian palms and bananas \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! This link shows one in front of the Air and Space Museum in DC. I think DC is in zone 7.

04-11-2011, 10:51 PM	#16 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? @ dottie. That looks great! They should put flowers around it too. If they can grow that in BC I can grow it here. Thx for that link. =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

04-12-2011, 07:52 AM	#17 (permalink)
JuniPerez Puerto Rican Gone Bananas JuniPerez's Photo Gallery Location: Rochester, NY Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Juni Perez Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 313 BananaBucks : 72,388 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 153 Times Was Thanked 202 Times in 117 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 13 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Here's a Trachycarpus fortunei growing in Brooklyn NY (Botanic Gardens): Palm Tree \| Flickr - Photo Sharing!. Another one you might consider looking into is T. wagnerianus, which IMHO is a cooler looking palm... the leaves are shorter and it is more resistant to crown rot than most windmills (crown rot is more likely to kill a palm tree than the cold itself). Then there's T. takil, which some say is still in "experimental stage", but I've noticed far less leafburn in winter on my takil than on my fortunei.

04-12-2011, 05:23 PM	#18 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Yay! Pages that arent blocked. =\| @ Juni. Those are incredible. =D Id like to have a T. wagnerianus but I dont know if I can get permissions to grow a whole tree. I will ask. They should give those shorter names. It would save a lot on copy and paste. Whats a crown? Is that the top leafs? Thx for the picture. I googled and found pictures of the other 2. =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

04-12-2011, 07:38 PM	#19 (permalink)
JuniPerez Puerto Rican Gone Bananas JuniPerez's Photo Gallery Location: Rochester, NY Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Juni Perez Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 313 BananaBucks : 72,388 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 153 Times Was Thanked 202 Times in 117 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 13 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? Those are the scientific names... common names are windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), miniature chusan palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus), Kumaon Palm (Trachycarpus takil), Pindo Palm (Butia capitata) and so on. The are all trees though. The needle palm can form a truck too (I've seen them) but it takes a very long time because most of it will be underground. The crown is where all the fronds grow out of. That's pretty much the life of the palm tree. If that rots and dies out, the whole tree goes.

04-13-2011, 07:03 AM	#20 (permalink)
laserlight laserlight's Photo Gallery Location: In a Teremok near Novyy Arbat Zone: 6 Name: Kevin or Kevz Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 611 BananaBucks : 98,209 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,197 Times Was Thanked 717 Times in 354 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 78 Times	Re: Growing Windmill palms in zone 6? That's a lot easier to remember. I made a list on my pc. I found a diagram of a banana plant in the wiki and it has a corm. I read that if it gets wet and cold that it will rot. And somebody said that young palms are harder to keep alive. That must mean that crown can stay too wet if it's too close to the ground. I think I understand the "rot" thing now. I really like the palms that have leafs shaped like fans! Thanks for all the great information! =) __________________ Вырвем оранжевому хорьку его гнилые зубы.

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