New!! Sterling VA Cold Hardy Palm Plantings

15 years ago

So we were back at it again today at The Virginian's house in Sterling VA. (technically Potomac Falls) You could almost stand in middle, and literally throw a rock and hit one palm tree in Sterling, turnaround and hit a bunch more in Potomac Falls. But who wants to throw rocks at palm trees anyway? LOL!

Today we planted a 15 Gallon Trachy and 15 gallon sabal minor McCurtain both from Chilly Palm Tree Co. We also planted some more cannas, EEs, sweet potato vines, caladiums, and other stuff. We even visited the famous Sterling Trachy. We fertilized it gave it a good drink and then planted a good sized 7 gallon Trachy about 10ft away from it. We had a lot of fun. Here are some pics of the days events. Enjoy!

Love that VA red clay.

Here's a good shot of one of The Virginian's tropical beds.

A good shot before we finished mulching

Chilly 15 Gallon Sabal Minor McCurtain

Ran across a few lizards too!

Looking good Trachycarpus maximus

Heres his new little 7 gallon friend

Comments (10)

jimhardy
15 years ago
Jay,I bet its fun hanging out with all those big palms,I think you can learn as much about palms by seeing what goes on below soil as above.Esp when you lose a few as I have and see that in most cases (for me at least)that roots can be dead and palm in decline for some time befor we see it on the surface ,I am learning to spot these signs earlier now,and though I am usually against digging palms up,I am starting to see that if I would have at the first sign of distress I could have saved a few of them-anyway,I enjoy your pics as always
the_virginian
15 years ago
These were not as hard to get into the ground as the 30 gallon palms, but still no picnic. Jay, thank you again and you have been a tremendous help. Things are really starting to look great and all I have to do now is use lots of Miracle Gro to supercharge everything.
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nannerbelle
15 years ago
Absolutly beautiful!! I bought 2 last year and lost my Washy over the winter. It was my first attempt with palms. We had an unsually dry summer last year and I do think that contributed to her failure. But those beautiful palms are re-inspireing me to try again!
the_virginian
15 years ago
Nannerbelle: In your Zone you would enjoy success better with the Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus Fortunei much better than with the Washingtonia species. They are much more cold hardy and can tolerate a wide range of conditions.
the_virginian
15 years ago
My palms and the Sterling Trachy are all doing very well inspite of temps in the 1-2F range almost dipping to 0F. I can't wait until the new growing season begins with new growth on everything!
nick363
15 years ago
Wow!!! Josh your palms are amazing!! I hope they do well for you. Sounds like your palms are doing very well virginian. I have one Trachy. that survived 4F last week. I have been putting a box over it whenever we go below 20F and also wrapping the trunk with a sheet when we go below 15F. This is my first try at growing any type of cold hardy palm here in Tennessee, but it seems to be doing well so far. I also have a sabal minor I am going to plant this spring. I can't wait to see what it does for me! One other thing, I'm also growing spanish moss outside for 99.5 percent of the winter season. Cold hardy tropicals are the best!
the_virginian
15 years ago
I spoke with Josh up in Southern PA and his palms that are protected seem to be doing just fine for their first winter in the ground. Hopefully the winter will not be so bad from now on.
josh_palm_crazy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Nick, but the palms in all the pictures are the Virginian's. The full grown trachy is at a house about a mile from him. It's amazing!

Yep, everything looks fine here Virginian. I just wish it would get a little warmer now so I can take the covers off for a few days. Looks like I'll have to wait until Thursday for some above freezing temps. BTW, The Brazoria with minimal protection looks fine. We'll have to wait and see how it looks once it warms up.

Jay
the_virginian
15 years ago
Jay: True that we will have to wait until the Spring weather sets it to see what we are dealing with as far as damage goes. I am optimistic since things have warmed up a bit down here and it is almost February.
nick363
15 years ago
Ut oh, guess I liked the pics. so much I didn't see who's palms they really were. Well then, I better give complments to the virginian on how well his palms looked last summer. I'm assuming you all have had your palms uncovered for the last few weeks as I have. There is some leaf damage on a few of the trachy leaves but the spear is looks to be in good shape still.