You always want air transfer,so, not airtight,burlap works fineas shade cloth and make sure you use a remote sensor so you can keep track of temp,it also helps to be able to open it so palm can breath-

I think in Tennessee you'd need more protection than a shade cloth. A frame filled with leaves and covered with blankets and a tarp should work.

I aim for airtight with insulation boards and a wood frame in Michigan. Of course not every crack is filled 100%, so I had a light inside.

What part of TN are you in? I am just south of Memphis and I didn't use any protection on my Windmill. It is about 5 1/2 - 6 ft tall and made it through the winter just fine.

Thanks for all the responses everyone. Nwmstropics, I live just South of Knoxville in east TN. Knowing you made it through winter without any problems is very encouraging, as this will be my first attempt. Are you in zone 7 also? What did you do to winterize your tree? I have been researching all kinds of techniques so I won't be caught by a cold snap this fall. I would also love to hear your pruning methods as I know this is something I will have to do but don't know much about. I just read to wait until the entire frond I'm going to prune is brown and appears to be dead.
Thanks.

TN, I am right on the border of zone 7 & 8. The winters may be a little colder where you are due to the mountains so you probably should protect at least for the first couple of years. Last year I used burlap around the trunk of the tree and pulled all of the fronds up together with a bungee cord and covered them with a large garbage bag. I did this when we had a few nights in the upper teens. This year our lowest was close to 10 degrees and I didn't cover it at all. The fronds did turn an olive green color for a few days but returned to normal when the temps warmed up. As for pruning, I think it is best to just cut the dead fronds off. Usually if the tips are dead I trim them down to the green and leave it until the whole thing is brown before cutting it completely off. As far as winterizing, I don't do anything other than put a fresh layer of mulch down just to make sure the roots will stay warm. Here is a couple of pics. One was taken last summer and the other was taken this March.

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Great palms nwmstropics! Good job overwintering those trachys at the door in their pots.

tnwindmill - You can probably get away without any protection. If you want some insurance, you can always buy some frost cloth for use on the coldest nights for the first few years. After that in you area trachys should be bullet proof.

Jay

nwmstropics,
Your tree looks fantastic! It is about the same size as my two. I'm looking forward to trying to get mine looking that great. Mine look good but the lower fronds look a little droopy. I figure that's probably b/c they've just been planted and we've had a few nights in the 30s, with most in the 40s. I'm glad to finally know first hand of someone in my zone that has weathered the cold season and how difficult it was to do it. Thanks so much for the help! I'll send a few pics when they perk up.(hopefully) That pic in the snow was awesome!

Josh Palm Crazy-thanks for putting in your advice as well. You guys are a big help to a rookie who's totally unsure of what measures to take with these babies.
tnwindmill

Hi tnwindmill! I live in NW Knoxville and have had Trachys since 2004. They do amazingly well here! There are alot of us in East TN and Nashville that grow them. On occasion, we have a discussion on the TN Gardening forum (link below) that you can find alot of information about them in this area.

Here are a few pics of one of my trachys through the years.

This was spring 2004 when they were planted.

They were protected their first winter using pet fence, pine needles and large Christmas lights wrapped around the base. They were only turned on if it got below 20°.

Second winter with snow cover and no protection.

Spring 2008.

Fall 2008. This particular one when through a huge growth spurt last year.

I haven't taken a picture of it yet this year. It is a bit raggedy after this past winter. With it being so wet and cold too, the foliage took a beating. But, it will recover and look nice again. It is already pushing out new fronds.

We used to have a huge Sago but after three years it died, but it did pup. We only protected it the first winter (2004). It would completely defoliate every year. I would like to try it again someday.

Sago on left side of the garden entrance.

Rebecca

Here is a link that might be useful: TN Gardening forum palm threads

cannahavana,
Thanks so much for the link! I'm excited to know that there's more TN palm growers out there who overwinter them easily. I've already got a bet with one of my friends who laughed at me and said to call him next spring to tell him that they're dead. Most people just don't know jack about palms. He bought some nonhardy palms from home depot that died, so he believes no palms will survive the first frost. You must be doing a lot of things right to have that kind of growth rate. That's an amazing looking tree! I always like those pics in the snow too. The pet fence and xmas lights sounds like a cheap and practical method to get mine established. I may try that this winter. I live in Maryville by the way, so what worked for you should probably work for me, all things considered.
Thanks again.

Rebecca, your trachy looks really good! On your Sago, do you dig it up or leave it in the ground during the winter?

We left the sago in the ground. We protected the first winter. After the foliage turned brown, we cut the foliage off and piled pine needles on it and covered it with a large rope handled bucket. It had about a foot of trunk, so it was pretty good size. We also had a smaller one, the size you would find at a big box store. It did well but bit the dust the year after the big one did. When I try again, I will probably protect it every winter.

Rebecca

Hi. Everyone just got this year 3 windmills 4 ft and planted them in april and now is end of July after two monts I give them Jobes spikes fertilizer and dont look they're growing at all!! They're the same like I took them from the box 3 mo ago they're not died but they dont grow is there anyone can tell me what else to do mayby im missing something! Thanks. Sasha

Hi. Everyone just got this year 3 windmills 4 ft and planted them in april and now is end of July after two monts I give them Jobes spikes fertilizer and dont look they're growing at all!! They're the same like I took them from the box 3 mo ago they're not died but they dont grow is there anyone can tell me what else to do mayby im missing something! Thanks. Sasha