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Don't You Just Love Palm Trees?

I've always loved the summer, but loved tropical places even more because of the things we can never have (palm trees).  Like many people in the mid Atlantic and Northeast, I really never gave it a thought that I could have palm trees in my own back yard.  I knew nothing about them except that you don't find them around here in Pennsylvania. This section is about denying that you live in a zone that's too cold to grow palm trees.  You don't have to be on the east coast.  This is for anyone who lives in a USDA zone 7 or colder.   These are coconut palms in the Florida Keys.  I bet some people recognize this place.

The Mayan ruins of Tulum, south of Cancun, Mexico. Whether it's their simplicity, their symmetry, or their tropical flair, palm trees represent the tropics better than any other plant.

Sunrise from Moon Palace resort in Cancun, Mexico. These are more coconut palms.  Unfortunately, not only are coconut palms some of the best looking, they are also some of the most cold-intolerant palms there are.  They require some of the highest yearly average temps of any palms, and also cannot survive freezing temps at all.

Palm Springs, CA. Is not a very tropical place, but it does look beautiful with all their cold hardy palm trees. This area can see freezing temps every year so they plant palms trees that can handle it. There are quite a few cold hardy palms trees, some hardier than others.  For more information on other cold hardy palm trees not discussed here, see my links page. There are a couple of very marginally hardy palms that may survive my zone 6 winters, but none of them are trunking palms.  I'm only interested in the palms that form a trunk and get some height.  Of the trunking palms, Trachycarpus fortunei is the most cold hardy.  It's pretty reliable in zone 8 and marginal in zone 7.  There are some specimens that have been living for 10-15 years in zone 7, so some people will probably argue with my statement that they're marginal.  My answer to that is: If I owned a nursery and provided a one year money back guarantee policy and sold Trachycarpus fortunei to people living in zone 7, I'd be out of business in a year or 2. You just can't expect to throw these in the ground and they'll thrive and be beautiful for the rest of your life.  You will be very disappointed. But with some protection and the right siting, they can do great.

Sonoran Desert, Tucson, AZ Some popular cold hardy palms are Washingtonia filifera and Washingtonia robusta.  Robusta have thinner trunks, smaller crowns, a darker green leaf color, less hairs on the leaves, and are faster growing, but are less cold hardy.  Even though filifera are more cold hardy, for somebody like me in zone 6 where there's no chance of one living unprotected, the extra speed of the robusta is a plus.  Some people remove the entire crown for easier winter protection.  A faster growing palm will make a nicer landscape earlier in the summer.  Also, filifera seem to be less tolerant of wetter soils.

More cold-hardy palms in Las Vegas, NV To me, most desert palms don't look as good as the more tropical ones, but that's a personal preference.  Also, some people will argue that the cold hardy don't look as good as the tropical ones.  Maybe so, but you learn to appreciate any palm tree that you can get to grow in zone 6.  One exception for sure is a Washingtonia robusta.  We got lucky with that palm because not only does it serve our needs well, it also looks awesome!

Tropical plants in Maui, HI. This is the good stuff:  huge leaves, huge trees, bright green crownshafts. It doesn't get any better than Hawaii. Growing Palms in colder zones: With some extra effort, anyone can grow palms in climates where they do not naturally survive.  There are some key things to concentrate on when planning this type of a landscape.  There are lots of factors involved in choosing the right palms, the right locations, and the best protection methods.

Key Factors When Landscaping With Palms In Colder Zones:

• the palm's hardiness:  This determines the AMOUNT of protection and also the range of dates it will have to be protected.  Trachycarpus fortunei is the hardiest trunking palm and therefore will require the least amount of protection and also the least length of time it must be protected.  In my zone 6b I usually protect it from mid-December to mid-March.  These are the dates where record low temps are capable of harming the palm.
• "cool tolerance":  This is probably a made-up term.  To me, it means a palm that can handle sustained cool temps.  For example, a coconut palm can take an absolute low near the freezing mark, but it would never survive 4 months of 45 degrees in a cool greenhouse type environment.  Conversely, T fortunei can not only handle extended cool temps, but it is also happy with only warm summers instead of hot.  Most palms' "cool tolerances" are not known, so we have to experiment.  So far I've had luck with most of the well-known cold tolerant palms, specifically Trachycarpus fortunei, Butia (capitata and paraguayensis), Chamaerops humilis, Serenoa repens (not a trunking palm), Washingtonia (both), Sabal (minor and palmetto), Arenga engleri, many different Dypsis, Livistona (chinensis, decorum (was decipiens), rotundifolia), and Phoenix (reclinata, canariensis, sylvestris, dactylifera).  Some that show promise and need to be tested further are: Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Bismarckia nobilis, many Chamaedorea, Chambeyronia macrocarpa, many more Dypsis, Euterpe edulis, Normanbya normanbyi, more Phoenix, Ptychosperma elegans, Ravenea (glauca and rivularis), and probably Wodyetia bifurcata and some Syagrus species.  I'm sure there are many more species out there to be discovered as "cool tolerant" performers.
• speed of growth:  This is important for several reasons.  The most important reason is because a fast growing palm allows you to remove more of its crown for winter protection and still look good the following year.  Washingtonias are the winners here.  Some people remove the ENTIRE crown and still have a nice looking palm by mid summer.  That's a little too extreme for me because most of the people that do this live in areas with hotter summers like the south east. Another reason to consider speed of growth is how quickly you'll have to change your protection method and how long are you willing to do it.  Some will say it's a problem to use a palm as fast growing as a Washingtonia because it will be so difficult to protect is x# of years.  I say the whole reason to have palm trees is to get some height, so the taller the better.  If it gets too tall to protect, I will have already planted a few replacements so when the tall ones get ignored and die, the smaller ones will be on their way to being nice specimens.
• leaf/petiole type:  Some petioles (the leaf's stem) are very stiff like a Washingtonia.  This creates problems when tieing up the fronds for winter protection.  In fact it's almost impossible to tie up any Washingtonia leaves that are angled more than 45 degrees away from vertical.  Some palms' petioles have sharp teeth or thorns which make tieing up a dangerous job.  It also makes pruning and walking by the palm a possible hazzard.  Other palms have leaves that are very flexible and no teeth or thorns and will easily cooperate with prepping for winter protection.
• trunk diameter:  Be mindful of how large the trunk is going to get so it doesn't try to gow over a concrete patio or deck.  Also, give it room if planted near a structure.  A potted palm is deceptively small and when it starts to form a trunk, the amount of space it will take up expands greatly. A Washingtonia robusta stays near 12" in trunk diameter whereas a Washingtonia filifera can get much fatter, like 2-3 feet diameter
• planting site:  Since we're going to be protecting these palms, consider why type of protection you're going to be using and how will this protection interfere with other hard scapes, buildings, etc.. If you're going to use tie-down ropes like I use, then be mindful that you can't put a stake in a concrete deck or paved walkway.  Buildings can also create a challenge when constructing your protection scheme.  Raised beds present a possible problem because the root zone may be subjected to more cold than normal compared to level ground.
• soil:  The common theme among palms seems to be they like well draining soils.  Many can handle a wide range of pH, but some are more particular.  That's too in-depth to go into here.

A note about "zone pushing"

I don't consider myself a zone pusher.  Normal (if there is such a thing) zone pushers get their borderline tender plants to survive a half or full zone colder than they do normally.  They do this by careful siting, extra care, and possibly even occasional supplemental protection and/or heat for the coldest winter nights. Here on the east coast, there are extremely few examples of long term surviving unprotected trunking palms even a full zone warmer than we are here in 6b. So my chances of getting even the hardiest trunking palms to survive is zero.  Since I'm going to have to protect and add heat anyway, I might as well choose some more exotic palms to protect along with the super hardy ones.  My whole reason for growing palms is NOT to push the zone limit or to have bragging rights about keeping a sorry looking specemin alive.  My goal is to have good looking palms and to get that I'm willing to go the extra mile to make it happen.

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