Im not sure where you live, but if you are in the Dallas area then you can definitely grow palms

WIndmill palms can grow to 30 or 40 feet tall eventually and are cold hardy to 15F without damage and eventually down to 10F.

Mexican fan palms can eventually grow to 100 feet tall (after at least 50 years) and begin to get damaged around 20F and usually die around 15F.

Mediterranean fan palms slowly grow to 15 feet tall and are a clumping palm. They begin to get damage around 15F and are cold hardy to about 10F.

Pindo palms, unlike the fan palms mentioned above, are feather palms and also make edible fruit (its occasionally called a Jelly Palm in the southeast). It begins to get damaged around 15-20F and is cold hardy to about 10F.

Sabal palmettos are probably the most popular palm in the southeast and are native. They are cold hardy to about 10F or so and are cheap at tall heights (often only around 300 dollars for a palm with 6 feet of trunk). However, I recommend that you find a Sabal palm that has a full crown of fronds and looks healthy because it will establish faster and worth the extra money.

The cold tolerance of a palm varies by many different conditions. Cold moisture, especially if a hard freeze follows can kill a palm because of rot of the growing bud. A cold wind can de-hydrate the fronds of a palm and that can kill them too.

Needle palms and sabal minors are definitely cold hardy to at least 10F and when established, they can survive around 0F.

You might also want to look into bananas for a tropical look. Musa basjoo bananas will die to the ground every winter, but they will come up in the spring, especially if given some mulch and kept from getting too wet. It is not an edible banana however.

There are many many other plants you can grow for a tropical look and palms are a great start!

tropicalzone7, thanks for the information. I am in the Dallas area, so I would hope that a nursery has a few of the palms that you mentioned. It seems like the majority of them would work in my area as temperatures in the teens are a rarity. Now I need to find a reputable nursery to sell me the palms and plant them in my backyard. I would imagine that it's better to wait until March or April to plant them.

You have some knowledgeable people and nurseries in your area or close to you. If you scan the Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board (the big board), there is a guy who goes by TonyDFW who has been playing around with a multitude of subtropicals for years. He recently had an article about him in the Dallas paper. I know for sure he is a wealth of information. There were also a few other guys who used to post on that board from you area. Check the archives. He also posts on the IPS board (International Palm Society).

There is also a very reputable nursery down in College Station called Collector Palms. I believe Ryan the owner used to occasionally post here as well as the big board. He sells not only palms that would suit your climate but also many others. He has many palms at all times listed on e-Bay and is also extremely knowledgable. His prices are good too.

I have two Mexican Fan Palms with a 48 in tree ring around them that I recently installed using concrete edge blocks. I would like to put something inside the ring but do not want to use mulch. Does anyone know if gravel or river rock can be used? Thanks.

Gravel or river rock should work fine but I think mulch would be better for the health of the plant since you can see the moisture level of the soil and a lot of plants don't really like being around gravel. If you really want rocks around it, it should't be a problem though!
Good luck!
-Alex

Thanks Alex. I like the black mulch but it will wash away and I was looking for something more permanent.