Glad to see your sabal minor making seeds!

Any special protection you give your Med Fan Palm? I planted one medium sized Med Fan and two smaller ones this year and while I've read up on them, I'm concerned about their first winter. They are all so beautiful, especially the larger one which nearly doubled in size since planting it in April. I'd hate to lose them.

Thanks! I dont do much for the Med fan palms. Last winter I just put some christmas lights inside of a plastic trash can (the lights provided a little extra heat and the trash can kept the snow and rain out). As long as they are dry, they are pretty hardy, mine definitely saw down to about 15F-20F.
-Alex

When do you cover them? All winter or just if its going to snow or cold rain?

I only cover them below 25F, and will keep them covered on cold days, but last winter was so cold every day that it rarely was uncovered until the end of winter. Hopefully this winter will be better than the last!
-Alex

OK, good tip. Thanks!

Yeah, you guys got pounded last winter. It was amazing how bad it was just 50 miles north of us. At the DE Beaches, we got off easy with only one deep snow (8 ") after Christmas, the rest of the winter wasn't too bad--an inch or two of snow here and there that always melts the next day. We did get a few nights below 20, which is rare here. Thankfully.

Looking good there Alex-

Love the Butia and Chammy,all your tropicals look good too!

Mine have been shredded by hailstorms this year-theres always next year-
right?(-:

Wow!! You have quite a large collection and diversity. Looks awesome next to the pool.

Wetsuiter, we had a terrible winter the past 2 years, and it was significantly less severe just south of the Mason Dixion Line. I know Philly got pounded also, but DC had a average to below average year!

Thanks Jim! Sorry to hear about your shredded tropicals. I cant remember the last time there was damaging hail here, but Im sure that its pretty common with the stronger T'storm cells out in the mid west. Hopefully next year will have less severe Thunderstorms! Did you get a frost yet? Looked like some areas of Iowa did get a frost and Im sure microclimates played a huge factor in this recent cold spell.

Thanks chicago palm! My collection is growing a huge amount. If it keeps growing at this rate, there is no way I will have enough room for them all indoors next year!

Thanks for looking everyone!
-Alex

We'd all like to see you post a time-lapse video on You-Tube showing exactly what you have to do each year preparing the enormous tropical collection for winter! Then Part 2 for the spring roll out.

Thats a great idea! I will definitely do something like that. Maybe a walking tour of my yard too before winter! We will see!
-Alex

Everything looks fantastic. The way you've planted looks so full, lush and natural. I definately need to steal some ideas from these pics.

I also love the plumeria Divine. Ive always had plain ones that I bought at garden shows. They just became so big and a big pain to store for the winter that I gave up on em. I love the fact that the Divine has extra visual interest besides the flowes. I alwats had trouble getting them to flower here.

Does the philodendron stay in the ground over the winter? Love that pic. It really looks like you could live in Florida.

Where in NJ are you?

Everything is looking great. Love the new cacti, do you know what sp. the parryi is? Are you going to plant the tree cholla and the agave or leave them in pots?

No frost here Alex,I am in the far southeast part of the state,
one of the "warmest" areas and right where a new zone
(6) starts that goes down through St.Louis.

We have had about 3-4 hail storms this year,the Thai giant
(after being broken by high winds)was turned into Swiss
cheese by the last one, along with any other large leaved plants.

Amazing yard! think of what you could do if you lived in a warmer climate! Its impressive what you've created considering you have to bring a lot of your plants in for a quarter of the year!

Probably closer to to 5 months indoors for the true tropicals, right Alex?

I bought my orchids in last night. Probably nothing else till November.

Thanks everyone!
Bradleyo, Im glad that my yard is giving you some ideas, its other people's yard pics that gave me a lot of my ideas in the first place! The philodendron is in a pot that is in the ground, however, I have another philodendron that doesnt grow as well as the others and I think I will be planting that in the ground next spring (haven't decided whether I will dig it up or leave it there though). The Plumeria Divine is one of my favorites because unlike my other plumerias, it will always stay small enough to see and smell the flowers. I don't live in New Jersey, but I live very close to it in NYC!

Thanks chadec! That is an Agave Parryi truncata and I will be planting it in the ground next year and giving it protection in the winter (since its the least cold tolerant of all the Parryi's). I saw a cholla nearby to here 2 years ago and it was a giant (about 9 feet tall). Im not sure what happened to it. It could have been the cold, but I think that the owner cut it down because it was too dangerous because it was near a pathway. I will try my Cholla in the ground eventually, but probably not until spring 2013 (already starting to plan for that!)

Jim, Glad to hear that you didnt get a frost! I definitely think you are a zone 6, or at least borderline zone 6 where you are, which like you said, is probably the warmest part of the state.

Central Cali 369, Thanks! If I lived in a warmer zone, my yard would definitely have nothing but broad tropical plants! Even a zone 8 on the east coast is drasically milder than a zone 7 (zone 8's dont get too much snow and the tropical plant choices are much greater in a zone 8 and if I lived in a zone 9, I would probably be trying things like Coconut palms, and Orchids, and tons of tropical fruits and everything would be pretty lush year round!).
...
My most tender plants (my coconut palms) go inside around mid October and go back out around Mid April so they are inside for about 6 months. But my bananas, philodendrons, and plants like that dont go inside until at least mid November (last year it was late November) and they go back out in Early April so thats about 4 months give or take. My oleanders dont usually go inside until around Early-mid December and they go back out in Early to mid March so they only spend 3 months indoors. So basically my potted plants spend anywhere from 4-6 months indoors which is a good chunk of the year, but at least I have my palm trees that stay outside all year long to give me something tropical to see during the winter (when they dont have their protection on!).

Wetsuiter, 5 months is about right for the true tropicals, much less for the more cold hardy potted plants and more like 6 months for the plants like the coconut palms.

Thanks for looking everyone!
-Alex

Wow! Tropicalzone7, you sure have a garden to be proud of! I used to live on Staten Island (Which is where I think you probably are!), but I moved to the lower part of Cape May County, NJ which is zone 7/8, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. I am growing about 5 species of palms, most without winter protection, about 5 varieties of gardenias. The hardiest seems to be Khlems Hardy. This one blooms from May through September. Frostproof blooms heavily in June, but almost nothing after that. August Beauty is struggling and overshadowed by a single tall growing gardenia of unknown species. Khlems Hardy and a couple of groundcover gardenias never show winter damage. They take full winter sun with no ill effects. Since 2002, my coldest temp was 7 degrees. usually I don't get lower than 14. The last two winters were cold, but no record low temps. The last two summers were very hot with prolonged dry spells. My biggest Sabal minor produces seven to eight foot high flower spikes. Amazing!
I lost a 'Hope' philodendron that I was VERY confident would survive. It even had green petioles in the spring and a firm crown. Yet it never sprouted, despite a warm microclimate and good mulching during winter. We DID have a post Christmas blizzard which dropped 17 inches of snow. usually we just had rain when NYC was getting clobbered with snow.
I had a plastic "greenhouse" over my Butia capitata, yet that shelter usually had the coldest temps! Go figure! The palm suffered spear pull in the spring, but made a strong recovery. It has a short six to eight inch diameter trunk.

Thanks Palmfan. Im sure you like it much more in Cape May than Staten Island. The climate is definitely a bit better there! I noticed the same thing about Frostproof, they seem to only bloom in Late June here. But This year, I got some blooms in late august to early september which is why I was so suprised. I will definitely be adding some more gardenias next spring since I really do like them. Im thinking grifs select (I think thats the name, I'll have to look it up), but I will have to consider kliems hardy also.

We also usually avoid the worst of the snow in this part of NYC (almost always starts off as a rainy mix and then usually turns into all snow by the end of the more major storms) but the same post christmas blizzard that hit you hit here also and it was snow from start to finish (a rare powdery snow, it was like mountain snow!). We got 30 inches of snow here which was an all time record. Its the most snow I have seen in my life and it took about 3 days to get buried out! I notice that Cape May definitely gets rain or mix during most of the major storms. Bad snow is a little less common there than around here.

Sorry to hear about your Philodendron. Mine had a hard time recovering from being in my garage, but once it started growing in Mid May, it quickly replaced its leaves.

-Alex

Palm Fan, I'm just a ferry ride away from you in Lewes. We both are in a milder zone than where Alex is.

You are both also a good 2 hours closer to the Deep South gardening zones (Norfolk/ Virginia Beach area). Thats a good 6 hours from here, but probably only about 4 hours from you! I think Trachys should be safe palms in your areas (as well as Sabal Minors and Needles, and I bet that Sabal Palmettos would be a great palm to try to protect), but over here, sometimes Trachys grow well, and other times, they rot and die. They are always bulletproof in the average winter here with overhead protection from rain and snow though!

I now know of about 5 or 6 other trachys nearby (not including my 3), so I definitely will be seeing if they get any protection during the winter.

-Alex

Alex,

I'm actually closer to VA Beach than NYC, as the crow flies. Drive time is 2 1/2 to 3 hours mostly because of indirect routings and beach traffic on back country roads.

We are truly a hybrid area where northern and southern plant species thrive next to each other--northern blue spruce, white pine, yew and sugar maple coexist with loblolly pine, big southern magnolia, crape myrtles and pommegranite. Southern Delaware is considered the northern edge of the natural range for bald cypress and Spanish Moss. Traps Pond State Park is the northern most bald cypress swamp in the USA and looks more like Louisiana than Delaware farm country.

Windmill palms do exceptionally well here, though most gardeners aren't familiar with them and their winter hardness. They don't need winter protection here. More people are planting them now, but the "pioneers" who started planting tgem a decade it more ago have flowering and seeding specimens reaching at least 15 feet tall.

This summer was the first year I noticed all major garden centers selling hardy palms here and also the first year I noticed varieties tiger than windmills being sold here--pindos, Med fans, needles and sabal minors were even available at Lowes and Home Depot. Saw some Washys too, but they'd probably need major winter protection.

I believe Sabal Palmetto could do marginally well here from everything I've researched on them. I'm experimenting with seedlings in pots and ones growing in my garden beds from seeds I sewed in the spring. I'll be curious as to their winter hardiness here and will monitor the ones in my garden closely this winter. I won't protect them, as I really want to assess their true winter hardiness as a first year seedlings.

There is a single hurricane cut sabal palmetto down near Bethany Beach, Delaware, about 20 miles south of me. It has struggled unprotected for the past two winters. It is green and growing very slowly and is kind of out in the open, at a country garden center, so it is more subject to wind burn. From what I've read, hurricane cut sabals don't recover in marginal areas very well. I believe 5 to 10 gallon potted sabal palmetto with a vigorous rootball have a much better chance of survival, even if they have to be protected for the first few winters.

I'll take photos at the end of the growing season in November showing my palms, the sabal palmetto seedlings in my garden and the lone hurricane cut sabal down in Bethany.

Wow, Im glad to hear yews do well by you because I dont think they can survive over here!
Looking forward to seeing a pic of that hurricane cut Sabal and all your palms as well! I heard of one in DC that survived 2 winters which I thought was very impressive. Definitely more Northern plants than southern plants around NYC, but Southern Plants are becoming much more popular (but only the zone 7 tropical plants).

-Alex

I just wish we were in the same palm "sweet spot" that Virginia Beach is in. They are so close to us, but the palms really flourish there. I'm planning on doing a seed gathering trip down the after the seeds ripen. It's amazing what a two and a half hour drive does in terms of plant material. I've got Laura as a sabal palmetto ally. She's saving seeds from some of her trees for me. It's an easy day trip from here.

Looks great Alex, was pretty fall like here this weekend to. 66 Satyrday 69 yesterday.

Wetsuiter, I agree, Virginia Beach is definitely a very good palm climate. Anything north of Norfolk just doesnt seem to compare. Every mile really does count. My theory is that the Gulf stream influences them much more there than by us since the Gulf stream begins to turn away from the US north of Cape Hatteras. The bay probably also moderates them a little bit. NYC has the heat island which keeps extreme cold away from the city, but the ocean doesnt do too much for the climate here unfortunately.

Andyandy, very similar day temperatures here also this weekend. Night temperatures are finally starting to rebound (lowest temperature this morning was 54F which is average), and day temperatures should be much nicer starting tomorrow. Unfortunately its suppose to rain also. Thanks!

-Alex

Nice pictures,Alex! Your young coconut remindes me alot of my coconut. Mine is a green type and yours looks like a gold type but besides that they look the same.
Man, I wish I could see your yard in person. It just looks so cool! I dont know if this is wierd or not, but I sometimes see my plants as my friends. Like a friend that will never be mad at you or judge you. And its a cool feeling to see them growing and know that they like their enviroment and that you know you are doing good. Like my coconut was doing nothing for the longest time and then one day it started growing and it has ever since. Its a good feeling.
Again nice plants! They are great!
-Hunter

Have to agree about the Gulf Stream. It is deflected out to sea by Cape Batter's, so we don't get as much winter benefit from it. though in the summer the Gulf Stream stays closer to shore further north, which brings our ocean temp up around 80 in late summer. The slow cool down of ocean temps through the fall keeps early winter weather away from us til about January.

Our geography slightly mimics that of the VB/ Cape Henry area in that we face the ocean to the east and the Delaware Bay is to our north, separated by Cape Henlopen, which greatly moderates us as well. Location. Location. Location.

Darned auto-correct on my phone. That was Cape Hatteras, not Batter. Does that to my posts all the time.

Hello Everyone,

Hey Vince...got to love auto correct...LOL!!!!

Alex,

You know that imm a huge fan of yours when it comes to all of your tropicals!! You do a great job taking care of all plants and trees during the summer/winter and it certainly shows. You do have a great way with your plants!!

Great job!!!

That Divine looks great to me. I did have some leaves drop a few weeks ago due to the change of temps, but they have stopped. Im keeping my fingers crossed that we have a long fall to continue enjoying all of out blooms!!!

Thanks for all of the beautiful pictures...

Love to see them as always!!!

Take care everyone.

Vince..i planning a road trip...have something for you!!!

Laura in VB

Hey Alex,
Everything looks great.Your palms all look very healthy.I'm surprised your Bananas did'nt grow much this year.I think mine grew faster and taller this year than they ever have.Your Med.fan palm looks like one of mine.I have one that seems like it grows very very slowley,but is very healthy.One of my other Med.fan grows twice as fast with longer fronds,both gets same amount of sun,go figure.We have been having cool nights here to,last night was *59f.Todays high is only going to be *79f.It's to soon to be getting this cool at night.I hope this is not a sighn of things to come this winter.Great pics. as always,hope fall is long lasting for you and me.
Randy

Hi Laura! Thanks! The weather here hasnt been too good to the plumerias lately. The sun just doesnt want to come out! My Divine has smaller blooms now, but the color is stronger on it now (it seems to do that with small blooms). I had blooms as small as half an inch when the plant is heading into winter which is impressive. My divine is actually making another inflo right now though (as well as a few other palms), but the divine inflo isnt actually showing yet so Im hoping that it can hang on until spring!

Thanks Randy! Most of my bananas did grow well (my Thai Black, Ice Cream, Saba, and even my Velutina), but my basjoos did not get significantly taller. My Saba and Ice Cream banana has at least 3 feet of new Pseudostem which was great to see. Im hoping that My Ice Cream banana will start fruting this time next year (or better yet, early summer the year after that!)
The weather is bad here too. We got almost 3 inches of rain yesterday and its been cloudy all week long. It was a terrible end to summer and not a great start to Fall. Looks like sun next week, but we lose the high 70s for mid to upper 60s! Thats a bit too cold for me since I still want at least one more sunny 80F day. Hopefully winter wont be this bad!

-Alex