Wow the palm is huge! Your protection method really works for cold climates

Wow! What an undertaking that is! Great job, Kevin!

Theresa

Thanks guys..... I don't know how much longer I will be able to protect it since it grows way too fast each year. I can hardly reach up high enough to wrap the fronds together, standing tip toe on top of my 8' ladder

Nice job. I wonder if this method would work on Royals or Coconuts in the Carolinas. At least until they outgrew it. Ground temps would probably still kill them.

pthompson inside my boxes I keep the lights on 24-7 and the temps are a constant 70-80 degress and the ground soil very warm around the palm. I think you should try it and post pics :) goodluck what ever you choose

ptompson, the only problem with using them on tropical palms is that they need more sunlight (the lack of air movement and humidity would also cause some problems). Cold hardy palms are just more hardy in general. The outerbanks of North Carolina is a zone 9a which is only 1/2 a zone colder than needed for royals, however, the duration of cold is pretty long for a zone 9, and the winds are harsh. The soil is also pretty bad. Some palms that probably could do well in a zone 8b or 9a in the Carolinas are Rhapis, parajubaea (actually looks kind of like a coconut palm), Sugar palm, everglades palm, maybe even Caryota urens (they are apparently cold hardy to 22F), and definitely a few Brahea and Trithrinax, cat palms, and Hardy bamboo palm (It is a palm, not bamboo and it doesnt look much like bamboo either). Many of the palms I listed need protection in all of the Carolinas (even the zone 9's along the water), however, they arent as tender as royals and coconuts.

Good luck!
-Alex

Thanks for the encouragement. I will be planting a 25g Royal and Coconut right in the heart of North Carolina in the spring. After seeing Kevin's method, I am convinced I can pull this off. I have always wanted to try. I will send before and after pics. We do get some warm days occasionally through the winter here so I think I can cover and uncover as needed. Good luck to all the next four months.

Phil

Phil, I can only dream of having a Royal or Coconut palm. I had a Butia Capitata several years ago that looked great and did very well surviving the winters under my boxes, but died during the summer for some reason, probably from lack of watering it enough, so I'm going to try it again, since I need (yes, need!) a feather palm to go with my fan palms. My next plan? To plant a couple of Waggie (dwarf) Windmill palms outside. I've had them inside for a couple of years and I'm excited to put them out. They look great!

Hello Artictropical,

I just wanted to tell you that you have done a great job protecting those palms!!! You always have impressed me with your ability to grow palms, Plumerias and all of those other beautiful trees and plants that I have seen in your yard!!!!

Those timbers are perfect for the job...but are quite heavy since we use them for our bulkhead (retaining walls etc).
Thanks you for the great pictures...those palms are very lucky to be tucked in like that during the winter!!!

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Good work Kevin,
the best sample for all nordic palm growers. :)
Do you protect the soil around palm-box from freezing? How deep is usual winter ground freezing in your place? Did you put some distant thermometer into the box?
I also put the protection on my exotics last weekend. Till the Palm Sunday...
Have a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year, good overwintering of your plants and early warm spring.
Regards,
Antti from Finland

WOW! Im so happy you are going to continue protecting it! I could swear either last winter or the winter before you said it was going to be your last winter doing this for that big guy. Am I remembering things correctly or am I totally wrong? Anyway, very glad to see you are still at it. I think its 100% worth the effort! That palm looks healthier than many I have seen in far warmer climates. It sure does look happy!

Have you ever thought of donating it to a place like an arboretum or botanic garden that is located in a place that is much warmer than your climate when you are unable to continue to protect it? Just curious.

Great work!!!!! Thanks for sharing it with us again this year.

KJ

Thanks Laura. Yes, those railroad ties are extrememly heavy! I just hope each year that the box does not blow off of them in a big wind storm.

Thanks Antti. I do nothing to protect the soil nor the roots of the palms. Nor do I put a thermometer inside. I wish I knew how cold the soil and the air inside the boxes gets. I have no clue! I just hope each year they survive, not matter how cold the soil or air gets. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

KJ, I decided to continue the saga of building a higher base out of railroad ties and lifting the box on top, since my brother volunteered the use of his gigantic tractor and loader, which could lift the box higher than my Dad's small tractor. At this point, no one wants to see the big one die, so we'll continue to protect it with this method until we can't lift the box any higher. Whew! All I can say is, "what a hassle"!

Good luck with your palms, everyone!