http://hometown.aol.com/perfectplantsgro/biggerpond.html

It will go against a sunny south-facing wall, somewhat sheltered by the A/C unit. The space I have is only about 4 feet wide, so a plant that is more upright than spreading is better. I am willing to mulch and/or build a cage to overwinter it. I'm on the border of zones 6 and 7, in Maryland.

So which one should I get?

Sabal minor is definitely hardier than Trachycarpus fortunei but will never grow a trunk, grows very slowly, and I find them much less attractive. If you want a shrubby palm, a better bet is Rhapidophyllum hystrix, which is also slow growing but much hardier than either Sabal or Trachycarpus, and makes a very attractive clump with time. You might also consider Trachycarpus wagnerianus, which is about as hardy as T. fortunei but has smaller leaves.

Walt

Walt - This weather is wicked. Headed to 2 degrees soon. I wish I lived in Florida!!

www.plantdelights,com

(I'm thinking of ordering some myself this spring -- even though I have two successful windmill palms that just made it through several days in the low teens.)

I would however lean toward the sabal minor on hardiness, as I
know a woman on cape cod Mass. growing on on the south side of
her home. This plant has survived several below 0 temps with only minimal foilage burn. She does not protect it either.

Thanks! Just the kind of info I needed. I like the looks of the sabal the best, and Plant Delights sells one about the right size.

I am in Germantown , MD , zone 7a/6b. I have had a sabal palm in the ground since 1996. No protection, ever. It has had no more than a burnt leaf edge on the older fronds. It's a slow grower, about 3' high now, but growing faster. I didn't really pay attention to it first few years, now I water and fert regular. I have several more sabal minor seedlings and they are doing fine.

I also planted a "Bulgarian" trachy palm seedling in November of 2002 around Thanksgiving. They had been in a baggie with spagnum moss all summer. I finally planted it just before the winter from hell. No protection at all. It was about 6" high. It had a few burned leaf edges, bt no real damage. It doubled in size last summer.

I also had (note the past tense) hardy eucalyptus perriniana until Hurricane Isabel took it out last fall. I almost cried! It was 22' tall with a trunk caliper of about 4" and about 5 years old. Came through last winter like a champ- no winter protection on it either.

I have photos of all above if anyone interested. Please email me directly.

Experiment, just do it!!

Boca Joe

I live in Va Beach and every large eucalyptis I know of bit the dust in the Hurricane. They had to be 10+ years old! Something to keep in mind if you live in an area that gets high winds.

Good luck.

thanks
karl

Rebecca

Your Trachys will do just fine in your zone. I over wintered a Windmill last winter with protection in zone 6 and it is now three times the size it was this time last year. This spring I planted two more. Soon I am going to post some updated pictures in the Palm forum and my plans for over wintering each Palm and see which works out the best. Good luck

I don't agree with the Sabal minor is better than Trachy thing.

First off, in my zone, my experience over now 6 seasons shows that trachycarpus is a much better palm than sabal; WHY??? because Sabal grows so slowly here in Connecticut, that the winter burn outpaces growth, and the Sabal never looks impressive. Even with good protection
On the other hand, my Trachycarpus takil and fortunei are putting out 20 leaves or more a season. Even if I lose 1/2 to winterburn or other maladies, there is always a net of many leaves by the end of the summer and it always looks impressive. With good protection, I only lose 5/20 leaves, so the thing looks great,even coming out of winter

Respect!

DrZ

I live in South Texas, on the Gulf Coast, and we are in zone 9. We love the palm trees, and I am finding more and more to plant in my small garden.

I don't know if the Queen Palm would survive in your climate, as it does quite well here, and we do have cold temps- usually in the teens- here too. It is a fast growing and beautiful palm tree. Mine is about 30' tall, and it has been in the ground about 4 years. It was planted there as a 5' specimen. I think the secret of it's growth is that we only water it with water from the pond- a koi pond.

Another that I am totally nuts about is the Pygmy Date Palm. It also is hardy for us. It is a nice palm to put in a pot as well.

I have just planted close to my pond a lovely Travelers Palm. It is exciting for me, a very nice specimen, and was given to me. The previous owner died, and her husband is not a gardener, and did not want it.

We grow the Windmill and the Pindo- the Pindo is one of my favorites. The Mexican Blue Fan is gorgeous, blue, blue, and heat and cold tolerant. It is good down to about 15 degrees. It would grow nicely in a big pot too.

Rhaphis is a favorite but I grow it in a pot, as it will put out runners and go everywhere. I also grow the Cardboard palm in a pot. I am nursing a Fishtail palm back to health now, as I almost lost it to cold last year.

Sorry I don't know the botanical names for you, but I am happy to know about you all.

Janie