As usual,a stellar job-

Nice to see the Washy thriving there!

Is it covered yet?

Do you remember where you got your Trachy from?
It appears to have (what to my eyes are)more of the mountain
genetics....maybe it has morphed to this shape over time-
nice thick trunk and very stiff leaves similar to the Bulgarian
Trachys etc.

How did you Abyssinian fair this year?
Mine had a tough year but still managed 25-30+(F) leaves this year-
who can count them all?(-:

I'm always astounded. And here I'm nervous about winterizing my first year pindo! Amazing to see the windmill with flowers. Do you have a mate for it to get seeds? Thanks for sharing.

Hi Jim. It's not covered yet, and is still doing fine. I bought the Trachy from a local grocery store! The Abyssinians did well again this year. They are tucked in the basement. I posted a pic of them on the Tropicalesque forum. Why did yours have a tough year? Thanks wetsuiter. No mate for the Trachy, but I did have a male and female Mediterranean fan palm that cross pollinated and produced seed, but my female died one winter because it lost electricity to the light bulbs inside it's winter box. I grew a nice pindo palm a few years ago that survived the winters but died one summer, probably from lack of watering it. I've got another replacement for it, and will also add a Mexican Blue Hesper Palm to my outdoor collection. I'm also growing some dwarf Windmill palms (Waggies) that I'm keeping inside for a few winters.

Awesome pics!!! I cant wait until my Mediterranean fan palm to get to even half the size of yours! They are such beautiful palms! Your palms are much healthier than many that I see in Warmer climates. Anyone who says that palms suffer when protected from long periods of time, has not seen pics of your palms!
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

Waggies are great Trachys!

What does your Washy look like after 16F?

The Abyssinian was first battered by hail(twice)in the spring.
Then dealt with almost 2 months of temps 80/95-106F,then
60mph winds which(if it wasn't tied to a metal rod)would have
snapped it off easily.
Only about 5" (or so) of rain June-Oct and then more hail storms.

It is safe in the basement now (-; -I hope-LOL

Nice pictures Kevin. I'm excited to come see your place this weekend. It's always nice to see what others are doing for protection.

Rob

Thanks, Alex. My palms look the same in Spring when I pull the boxes off of them, as they did in the Fall when I put the boxes on. They all seem to thrive in my cool mountain valley with hot days and cool nights. The Mediterranean fan palm that I have seems to be more robust than the typical variety, with thicker, wider blades on it's fronds. I'm not sure why. Jim, I'm excited to plant my Waggies outside some day. At least I won't have to worry about them growing out of sight! Luckily, my Washy is in it's box. It did get a little leaf burn from the cold nights, despite covering it with some old blankets, but nothing that looks that bad. I have my ensete bananas growing outside in front of my house against a cement deck and some trees, and so even though it gets some wind, it's more protected that the rest of my yard, so I can't complain too much. People are always amazed at how large they get in one season. Here's a picture I took of them mid-summer.

Beautiful!

I just hauled mine to the basement for the winter yesterday(-:

Next year I have a Ventricosum and Glaucom(Snow Banana) to add to the yard.

The Ventricosum outgrew what the Abyssinian did it's first year-this summer.

That is so amazing to see a palm tree with those snow capped mountains in the back ground. What state are you in? Im in NM and its nice to know that palms can survive in zone 4! im so exciting and nice pictures of your trachy and your washingtonia how do you protect it in the winters? is that you by your european fan palm? nice palm.

Hi kaotickelly. I'm in extreme northern Utah, in a beautiful mountain valley called Cache Valley, about 1/2 hour from the Idaho boarder. They are all protected by Styrofoam boxes with screw in florescent light bulbs in the top (3) to help keep them toasty all winter long. They have survived -40 below temperatures before. -20 is common most years. The person in the pictures is my 21 year old son.

Got some pics of your boxes? Also, any idea how warm the fluorescent lights keep them?

Don't know how tall your son is...but, I'm 5'11", and just looking, I'd say that windmill of yours is about the same size as mine. Regardless, I don't have to worry about the type of weather you encounter.....and...the backdrop you've got there is amazing. Something about those mountains in the distance. You win the zone denial medal hands down in my book...

I never get tired of looking at those palms surviving there. You have to have an extremely hardy or healthy palm to go through your extended winters in a box! Great job as always!

Hey Kevin,

All i can say is...BRAVO!!!

I love what you have done!!!

You have really pushed the zone for Palms and i so happy that they are thriving in Utah!!!
Your loving care and they way you tend to these beauties shown in how healthy and how they could be anywhere in Florida or in the south somewhere..

seeing these in the winter and then again in the spring, makes me so proud of what you have done...

Always impressed..

Great job!!!

Laura in VB

Hey thanks for commenting back i was like thats good to see youth intrested in palms lol and wow your in high altitude. did you grow them from seed or transplanted them when are you going to protect them form this winter? and how big are those boxes got pics? And do you put mulch hay or a blanket to cover the trunk area? Thanks
kelly
NM

Hi Kelly. Yeah, my son loves the palm trees that I grow. He hates our cold climate and will probably move to St. George, Utah or Las Vegas where they grow palms, and where I have two married children. I bought all of my palms at a local supermarket as one gallon potted plants. Nothing fancy. I'll post pics of the boxes in the next couple of days. I don't do a thing to the trunks. No mulch, no protection. I just slap the boxes over the palm and ignore them till Spring. The root ball must get enough warmth from the inside of the box, since the palms keep growing year after year!

Do your Cannas(?)around the Trachy come back every year?

This might give some indication of the soil temps over winter....

Click here for forecast

I am glad you saved that tracky and rest is really great too. Is wifey OK with covering that tracky another year?

Hi Jim. I always dig my cannas up, but I think I will leave them in next year to see what happens! Hi Greg. Wow, what a hassle it was this year to cover the Trachy. The box is starting to look like a mini sky scraper! The wife just tolerates it. Next year I might try another method to protect it. I'll probably add pics of the boxes today.

That would be a fun experiment....I tried one last night,
the T.fern leaves(most)are toast.

Click for weather forecast

Hi Artic,

You have a real talent. The way everything is so organized with palms, tropical flowers, and red bananas. Keep your vision. You would be dangerous in Virginia Beach!!! What do you do for a living? I wonder why you do not consider moving to a warmer spot, if your wife's family lives there, then I have my answer. I keep telling my wife lets consider moving to Florida but with family in PA she does not want to settle that far. So far we agreed loosely that we can get a place in FL and live there the cold months upon an early retirement. Only God knows:)

LOL.. I bet the box is getting big... keep going for it. You are doing it right. I still have to cover mine because the cold is leaking into our distant northern suburbs with their overnight temps in the low 20s and 37* here in New York City. But, its just a matter of time before the cold nights grip our plants here at the coast.

Hi Greg. Nice hearing from you. Hey, I'd be dangerous anywhere! Ha ha. I make travel arrangements for a large corporation for a living. We would like to move south some day when we retire, but until then...... I'm stuck on top of an iceberg! We've got 1/2 foot of snow outside right now, so I just barely got the box on the big one just in time. I'll take pictures and post them tomorrow.

Yikes!

I might be in the same spot if I don't get mine covered...
weather has been decent though.

Click for weather forecast

Nice palms, and you're cute ;]

Hi Mongoose20. Cute? The guy in the pictures is my son. Ha ha.

Artic!

Something tells me you have a passion for Plumeria and Canna too!@!

If I had the space to plant all of what you have, I would. Just amazing and thank you for sharing your techniques and pictures. They are beautiful and it defies all odds of that much snow and cold. Like setting a tropical location in amongst Siberia.
By the way, my sister wants to know where she can bet a son like yours?lol

I would like to know who in the world sells such Palms that can survive my zone or where to buy them, that being zone 5?

Thanks too to Linda for directing me here. You were right, his pictures are amazing!

Mike:-)

I'm anxious to see those box pics! Post em up!

Hi Mike. Yeah, I have a passion growing anything tropical! That includes plumeria, cannas, bananas, elephant ears, you name it! It includes tropical and hardy hibiscus, pineapples, bamboo, bromeliads, passion flower/fruit vines, desert rose, wisteria, and lots of barrel cacti and even a couple of saguaro. Where did I buy the plants? They all came from local supermarket/hardware stores that only sell nursery stock in the summer. Nothing fancy. Oh, I am now posting pictures of the boxes in a new post.