Travelers palm

[steeler]

Can the travelers palm be grown in zone 8 or 8b and can you overwinter them

[John Case]

Can the travelers palm be grown in zone 8 or 8b and can you overwinter them

I don't want to belabor the topic.........nope!

Unless you can find a way to keep the temps in the winter above 40F (or higher) there won't be much in the way of success.....I have tried in 9b and failed.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, please don't kill the messenger.

[Phil]

Steeler,

I think they'll take a bit more cold than John mentioned. We grow a lot of them. They take down to near freezing, but not below. There's quite a few big ones around in the San Diego area. Bob Dejung also had a big one at his house in San Clemente until a drunk driver hit it with a truck and knowcked it down. I think his even fruited. At our nursery, we park them outside with a little protection and they take 35 degrees every year without a problem. But, during the freeze of 07 they melted. So, if you can guarantee approx. 34 degrees or warmer, you have a chance. Below is probably not possible.

Phil

[John Case]

Steeler,

I think they'll take a bit more cold than John mentioned. We grow a lot of them. They take down to near freezing, but not below. There's quite a few big ones around in the San Diego area. Bob Dejung also had a big one at his house in San Clemente until a drunk driver hit it with a truck and knowcked it down. I think his even fruited. At our nursery, we park them outside with a little protection and they take 35 degrees every year without a problem. But, during the freeze of 07 they melted. So, if you can guarantee approx. 34 degrees or warmer, you have a chance. Below is probably not possible.

Phil

I bow to your success, Phil.

However, while we are both in a 9b climate, mine is a bit harsher than yours....in the winter, at least. We spend a few weeks a year under 30F at night...if Steeler is a an 8 or 8b, I would suspect that he would have even more trouble......

[Big Tex]

Steeler,

I think they'll take a bit more cold than John mentioned. We grow a lot of them. They take down to near freezing, but not below. There's quite a few big ones around in the San Diego area. Bob Dejung also had a big one at his house in San Clemente until a drunk driver hit it with a truck and knowcked it down. I think his even fruited. At our nursery, we park them outside with a little protection and they take 35 degrees every year without a problem. But, during the freeze of 07 they melted. So, if you can guarantee approx. 34 degrees or warmer, you have a chance. Below is probably not possible.

Phil

I bow to your success, Phil.

However, while we are both in a 9b climate, mine is a bit harsher than yours....in the winter, at least. We spend a few weeks a year under 30F at night...if Steeler is a an 8 or 8b, I would suspect that he would have even more trouble......

Mine has sat out next to the house in a few 34 degree nights. It is in a pot. I bring it in when I am expecting colder weather.

My Giant White Bird of Paradise on the other hand is in the ground and has seen 26 degrees only wrapped with a frost cloth.

[epicure3]

Steeler,

I think they'll take a bit more cold than John mentioned. We grow a lot of them. They take down to near freezing, but not below. There's quite a few big ones around in the San Diego area. Bob Dejung also had a big one at his house in San Clemente until a drunk driver hit it with a truck and knowcked it down. I think his even fruited. At our nursery, we park them outside with a little protection and they take 35 degrees every year without a problem. But, during the freeze of 07 they melted. So, if you can guarantee approx. 34 degrees or warmer, you have a chance. Below is probably not possible.

Phil

Actually, it looks like my post is gone....somehow.

[Palmy]

Depending where you live. If you live in the southeast 8A or 8B, they may come back each year, or even perhaps surivve during a year. If you live in an 8B zone with a night of temps in the middle to upper 20's and by the end of the day you reach the 60's or 70's, then your probaly ok. I live in a 9B, and when we have cold, it can be dry or wet. For example we had temps around 30 one night and by the afternoon we barely hit 45. That killed a travellers. I have tried it many times in my 9B climate, sometimes they may last a few seasons, but if I wanted a long term travellers, I would have to seriously baby it during the winter.

I say the travellers is cold hardy to 27-33F (death), depending where you live. On the west coast, its probaly hardy to 33, and on the east coast it probaly is hardy to the upper 20's.

If you want to try one in your climate, expect to baby it until it has some trunk, and more hardiness.

[Pivi]

shouldn't this topic fly here: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showforum=4

[Kim]

Why the double post?

[paulgila]

hmmm,there are 2 of these.thats why john thought his post disappeared,its in the other thread...

[epicure3]

hmmm,there are 2 of these.thats why john thought his post disappeared,its in the other thread...

Double the fun.

[steeler]

hmmm,there are 2 of these.thats why john thought his post disappeared,its in the other thread...

Double the fun.

You guys are great and have saved me a lot of trouble. thanks a bunch

[Walt]

From my personal experience and anecdotal information from others growing traveler's palms, they can grow well in the upper end of zone 9b (Florida 9b, not California 9b).

I live (and have lived) in the upper end of Florida 9b for the past 11 years. During that time I've had one 9a, seven 9b, and three 10a winters. My 9a winter was one year prior to my getting my traveler's palm, where my low temperature was 22 degrees on January 5, 2001 during a radiational cooling event.

I planted my traveler's palm as a 15 gallon size in April of 2002. In January of 2003 it saw 29.5 degrees during a windy freeze. Only the upper 1/3 of the tallest frond leaf got freeze burned. All the rest were fine.

On February 14, 2006 I had a radiational freeze and my low was 27 degrees. All but the center three fronds/leaves were burned to various degrees.

In February of 2007 I had a radiational freeze and my low was 28 degrees. I don't recall any leaf damage.

This past winter my low was exactly 32 degrees on a windy night. No damage at all.

I talked to a palm nursery owner about 8 miles east (inland where it gets colder at night) Ft. Myers, Florida, some years ago, commenting on a large traveler's palm he had growing in the ground. He told me his traveler's had seen something close to 25 degrees on January 5, 2001 (it was 22 degrees at my place) and his traveler's was totally defoliated. However, it came back fine that spring and summer.

So my conclusion is that a Florida zone 9b (upper end) is the practical low zone a traveler's palm can be grown in. One might be able to grow one in the upper end of 9a if it was sited properly, but it would surely bet defoliated every winter.

I planted a white bird of paradise next to my traveler's (about five feet to the right of the traveler's in below photo. There's a second sucker travler also growing up on the right, but up against the mother plant). I did this purposely to see what the hardiness difference was between the two plants, since the bird of paradise is a 9b plant and the traveler's palm is a 10a plant.

From my experience, the traveler's palm is about 3 degrees less frost hardy than white bird of paradise.

[metalfan]

Well, I think you definitely have a chance, if you plant it in a protected area. There are Traveller's Palms planted all over all the Disney (and other) theme parks in Orlando and they do freeze at least once or twice a winter. Many of those plants are years and years old too, so they have been there a while.

I just bought one today as a matter of fact. It is about 6 ft tall and about 6 feet wide, in a 7 gal pot, it was at Home Depot for $16.99. There is the mother plant and 2 pups in the pot. I have no plants to plant it out, I intend to keep it containerized and use it as an accent, or, maybe plant it inside my greenhouse. Once one of the pups gets to be of size, I will trial it out here and see what happens.

Both Strelitzia reginae and Strelitzia nicolai make it through our winters here just fine, they do lose a few leaves here and there but I have had some for over 10 years that have not ever been killed by frost or freeze. I don't expect that the Ravenella is that much different, as we do have a lot more cumulative heat here in FL 8B/9A than they do in the same zone for CA.

I have trialed several things out here over the winter that I had excess of in my greenhouse and made some very surprising discoveries for plant hardiness. Some of my more notable successes to date have been:

Heliconia rostrata--always returns after freeing to the ground, gets to be about 6 ft tall, freezes again. No, I don;t get blooms but it does come back very well.

Tricolor stromanthe--freezes to the ground every year but returns and makes a large full plant every year.

Calathea crotalifera Yellow Rattleshaker---freezes to the ground, comes back, gets to about 5-6 ft and may bloom or may not

Lasia spinosa--aquatic aroid from Viet Nam. ALso called "unicorn plant". Very hardy even though all the literature says VERY TROPICAL

Tibouchina--never a problem, always comes back

Bixa (Anatto)--freezes to the ground, pops back out when it warms up

ALpinia purpurata--freezes to the ground, comes back, but I never get blooms

Costus barbatus--ditto A purp

Schlumbergia (Christmas Cactus)--I have had one in the ground for 6 years, it never dies, always blooms

Costus "Emerald Chalice"

Both Black and White Tacca

there are others, I can't think of them right now

[climate change virginia]

wouldent they come back from the roots in 8b?

Edited January 20, 2021 by climate change virginia

[bubba]

Traveling:

[NOT A TA]

Just trimmed these and harvested seed.

[waykoolplantz]

kill it before grows.  

'i shot the sherrif'

[NOT A TA]

10 hours ago, waykoolplantz said:

kill it before grows.  

'i shot the sherrif'

They get BIG here as you know! I had my 28' extension ladder extended all the way and used my long pole saw from the top of the ladder. Between me getting older and them getting bigger I may have to resort to the chain saw (again) for the biggest ones next pruning. Two or three years ago I took out a few of the tallest ones.

[Austinpalm]

What is the best/easiest way to distinguish travelers palm from giant bird of paradise if a trunk is not present?

[bubba]

Always traveling:

[bubba]

These got trimmed too close:

[Paradise Found]

Hi, I took this photo less than a month ago and wanted an ID what it is?  Photo taken down by the boardwalk downtown.  Sorry about the bad photo it was the closes I could get a picture. Thank You! 

[PalmsandLiszt]

1 hour ago, Paradise Found said:

Hi, I took this photo less than a month ago and wanted an ID what it is?  Photo taken down by the boardwalk downtown.  Sorry about the bad photo it was the closes I could get a picture. Thank You! 

Probably S. nicholai. I'm pretty certain they are not Ravenala, which tend to have much longer and narrower leaves at that size, and they don't look like bananas, which don't grow in the clearly distichous manner visible of the one on the left.

[Paradise Found]

OK. thanks for your response.  

[bubba]

Still Traveling:

[FMG]

Couple cool examples from Sayulita and Punta Mita, Mexico.

[subsonicdrone]

what zone bubba?

[subsonicdrone]

i have two but i bring them inside for the winter

[bubba]

Subsonic,

I am not a big zone fan. Our climate is Koeppen Tropical Savanna or Rainforest, depending on the year. Koeppen Tropical means the lowest median temperature in your coldest month is in excess of 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Low temperature this year was 43°F. 
 

I believe that “what grows” is much more dependent upon the overall heat component experienced rather than extreme low temperatures. This is particularly true with tropical vegetation and palms. At the end of the day, if pressed, I would venture Zone 11. That stated, I have so little interest in zones that I do not even know exactly what the parameters are to distinguish one zone from the next!

[iko.]

I grew one for four years north of Valencia (Spain), latitude 40º, where is not a common sight at all. Hardiness zone is 10 but I also think that sometimes these zones don’t make much sense. 

It quickly outgrown its original size but it died after a combination of a light freeze, strong winds and the worst of all, humidity during the coldest days. One of the irrigators was left open and the soil got so much water that killed the plant in a few weeks. Probably, some fungal infection too. Below some photos for the posterity. I am trying with another one soon. 

PS: Apparently, there’s one growing in the south of France, not far from Nice.

Edited March 3, 2023 by iko.

[bubba]

iko,

Great pictures of Travelers. These grow very quickly in South Florida and become monsters. I would suggest almost to the point of being invasive specimen. Truly amazing how you are growing these at such high latitudes, when their nature is tropical. Truly incredible and that.one is established in Nice!