Other tropicals? Yuccas, Chinese yellow banana, loquats, Magnolias, Aspidistra, Kiwi, hardy gardenias, camellias, confederate jasmine, Sabal and Needle palm as long as summer heat is present , Mediterranean fan palm is worth a try too. Depends how you define ' tropical '. There are also hardy cacti and a few agaves. Depends on the look you want. Most ferns give a very tropical feel but are very cold hardy if not even evergreen.

Containerized Trachy will be good on the deck until it gets too cold. In my area I would have to worry by December, November may see some frosts but not too bad for most of the hardier subtropicals in containers. I have some more tender species of Trachys and they get protected by early Dec. usually, the fortunei are mostly in the ground (but have a number of containerized backup fortunei in the event of any loss). Once you do eventually plant the Trachy in the ground, you might protect with some burlap for a couple of winters, depending on what our crazy climate does. But they, as ANY plant gains in cold hardiness through the years. Good luck!

I would protect Needles as well in your area. Small, unestablished ones are less cold hardy. Butias are wonderful palms, I am inundated with them! They grow fast despite what you frequently hear. I lost one two winters ago in the winter from hell with all it's record snow, rain and prolonged cold.
They don't like it wet in the winter, but if you can keep it protected from snow and rain, would probably make it and they are cheap enough to experient. You might also want to experient with Washingtonia, Calif. and//Mexican fan palms--cheap, fast, easy even from seed. They might take a hit from winter even if protected but many people seem to get them through the winters in much colder zones! I have two next to the house that are gonna be test cases. I will put large containers over them once it really gets cold.

As far as I have seen, young needle palms can only handle temperatures around 15F, but established palms can handle much colder, down to near 0F and after a few years they shouldnt need protection in your climate.

Trachys will probably always need protection to look their best, but there are several in my area (Im in NYC, but not Manhattan) that recieve minimal protection and still look great after every winter. Last year I did not protect my trachy and it survived with minor damage (it was a mild winter though). The year before was a cold and incredibly snowy winter and I only protected it from rain, no additional heat and it survived but with some minor damage). So trachys are pretty hardy, but my nicest looking ones get protected and are in a good microclimate.

I have had a lot of success with Butias, but I protect mine and they have not seen below 20F.

Ice Cream bananas are only hardy to a light freeze so bring that one inside. Musa Basjoo is reliably hardy and come back for me without protection.

Good luck with your palms! I plant my palms from mid March to late May, never later than early June though!

-Alex

That being said, it would probably be better to keep it in the house until spring, but I would not bring it in the house just yet. I leave my potted trachys out until nighttime lows start getting into the low 20s. Mid to upper 20s don't seem to affect them. Sabal minor shouldn't need extra protection in your area other than extra mulch.

As for the Ice Cream, they're not considered one of the hardier bananas, but if you use enough mulch, it might pull through. I would load up on lots and lots of mulch, and then cover it with a tarp to keep it dry. The only thing I would be concerned about other than the hardiness of Ice Cream bananas is the fact that it hasn't been in the ground for the entire season and probably isn't established, which can affect hardiness.

Interesting that you get colder out there because of sandy soil and "pine barrens"? I'd like to hear more about that, Tropical Zone 7. I wonder if our Oceana Virginia Beach location suffers from the same problems. I just always thought their sensors were inacurrate, but they do have very sandy soil and it's all pines. A local meteorologist gave me the same theory.

Deck or ground, you have to protect it. Which will be easier? Containerized plants are more vulnerable to cold. I say it is fine to put it in the ground, but get ready to install a protection reginme immediately.

Cannas are another cool plant to try. Mine were unprotected last year and not only survived, but are all over the yard even in areas where I didnt plant them. I see why people in the south consider them invasive. Usually it's best to mulch them a few inches in our zone.

LargoMar, I bet that the pine barrens near your weather station are also responsible for the cooler temperatures. I visited the weather station in the Hamptons once and the amount of pines were incredible and the soil was as sandy as a beach! Definitely a bad combination for warm winter temperatures!

Good luck NYHamptons!
-Alex

I use christmas lights, a frost cloth, and a plastic garbage bin (not bag) for protection for most of my palms. Nothing special, I only put the lights on when temperatures drop below 25F which isnt too often. During cold days I will keep the lights on all day long, but that didnt happen last year (I only protected my most sensitive palms a total of a week the most since the winter was so mild).

My butias have never been damaged with this protection method. One of my butias was completely unprotected last winter and it surprised me when it actually survived the winter (new fronds were smaller than normal, and it did get some damage, but it was incredible that it survived!)

Here is how my protected Butia looked when I planted it June 2011, Just 15 months ago (underneath it is a hardy variety of gardenia called "Frost Proof" that gets no protection and blooms in early summer).

Here it is a week ago! Next year the big tree to the left of it will be cut down and replaced with a Livistona decorum, giving the pindo palm a LOT more room although probably not enough since they are really fast growers when given a nice warm spot!

And here is my Sabal Minor that I planted in 2009. It surprised me by being really cold sensitive it's first 2 years. I got damage from it even WITH protection. If you get a sabal make sure you get it from a place that lets them see cold every winter, not from a place like Florida where they do not see freezes. After a few NY winters, my sabal has been a lot hardier and it hasnt been damaged the past 2 winters (with protection).
Here it is a week ago

Here it is in 2009 right after being planted (the shrub to the left is a good scale to compare the size of the 2.

It's been a fast grower for me considering how slow they grow for some people.

Good luck!
-Alex

Here is my Trachy in 2009.

Here it is last week (buried under lots of other tropicals though at the moment. It will look much bigger in a few weeks when the other plants around it die back from a freeze).

And here is my livistonia, planted in the ground in Spring 2010, it survived 2 winters with protection. It will also look a lot bigger once the foliage above it dies back...

And here is a look at the foliage that is covering my palms. It's a mix of elephant ears, cannas, gingers, and purple hearts. The Purple hearts and cannas came back on their own, I dug up the ginger and elephant ears. Some of the ginger did survive outdoors though so that may be hardy as well.

Hope this helps give you some ideas!
-Alex

I now use burlap for my Butia which has outgrown its termp greenhouse. I first tie the fonds and then wrap the burlap. I then add a burlap potato sack treated with Scotchguard. Finally, I cut about 75% off of a garbage bag and place the remainder on top to keep the burlap from getting soaked. I have Xmas lights at the ready but never needed them during last winter as it was very warm.

I think lots of burlap and mulch will protect yours. Put it in NOW.

In the past I used leaf cages, mulch, and tarps for my Trachys. Worked fine. I no longer protect them other than mulch.

I too would normally counsel a Spring planting. However, if there is truly nowhere to put it except on a balcony, then I think putting it in the ground now is a no brainer. If you have a decent spot in the house, put it there.

I think TZ is right to some extent. However, based on my own experience, admittedly only one November planting, it is far from a death sentence if done right.

Once again, if there is no place in the house for it, then IMHO get it in the ground NOW and heavilly mulch it. Get your protection scheme ready too. We are barely into Fall and any deep freezes are probably not iminent.

Worst thing is it croaks. If so, take it as a learning experience and time your purchases so that you avoid planting after July.

Trachys like a bit of cold. It is not as if you are in the Yukon or Siberia. I have seen them in the Italian Alps covered in snow and loving it.

After they are in the ground next spring and have a full growing season behind them, you can leave them in the ground for winter. When the first frost or hard freeze gets them, their leaves will burn and wilt. Cut their stems (it will likely have a few pups by end of growing season) flush with the ground. Let them remain exposed to the cold night air for a week to signal it to go into dormancy. Then you can mulch them in with a few inches of mulch ( don't use compost, it'll rot the stems). The colder your area, the deeper the mulch. I use about five or six inches for my warm 7b winters. As spring approaches, you can start removing some of the mulch to ease the emergence of the pups. You should have multiple pups from each bulb. They look best in groups. Good luck.