Palm Trees Zone 6 USA

[Scotty]

Hello, recently my 10-year-old son has a great fascination for palm trees. We live in Western New York here in the United States in zone 6. If we were to buy a tree and take a chance and plant one in the backyard what would be the best cold hardy choice for this area? I have watched several videos where people have used basic lumber to surround the tree come fall with clear poly and wrap the tree with Christmas lights for warmth. While I'm not opposed to doing that I would rather just find one that we could plant and see if it would grow. Any insight or advice would be appreciated thank you so much in advance :)

Scott

[Chester B]

Unfortunately there are no palm trees that will survive your zone without protection.  So it might be easier to have one in a pot and take it inside or into the garage during winter.  If you're willing to protect your easiest option is Trachycarpus fortunei or Trachycarpus wagnerianus.  They are relatively easy to find, reasonably priced, and the most cold hardy trunking palms known. 

If you plan to bring it inside a Kentia palm is a good choice for overwintering indoors.

[Darold Petty]

Scotty,  Welcome to Palmtalk !    

[Reyes Vargas]

You might want to try needle palm Rhapidophyllum hystrix.  That palm is known to be the most cold hardy palm in the world.  It's hard to find but it's worth a shot in your zone.  Other than that your limited to growing in pots and bringing them indoors for winter.

[Chester B]

8 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

You might want to try needle palm Rhapidophyllum hystrix.  That palm is known to be the most cold hardy palm in the world.  It's hard to find but it's worth a shot in your zone.  Other than that your limited to growing in pots and bringing them indoors for winter.

Any palm in Western NY will require some sort of protection including needle palms.  Too cold for too long.

Plus they are more of a shrub, not a tree, so probably don't fit a child's idea of a palm tree.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Chester B

[JLM]

There are some palms that will work really well. Kentias as mentioned above, and i think a Bottle palm might be a consideration. They are slow growing and perfect for pots! As for overwintering, they seem to do just fine indoors. You 10 year old son is not the only young one interested in palms, i am too! I am 14 years old, and i have developed a sudden love for palms. Dont worry, i have read the policies of PT. This might come to most of you as a surprise.

[CodyORB]

Western Upstate New York as said will require winter protection. If you decide to go for growing palms outdoors I recommend Trachycarpus fortunei or takil. They are trunking and also proven to be OK with ~3 months of darkness (overwintering outdoors with wrapping/enclosure or inside a garage, etc). They are also more tolerant of long periods of cold without "warm-ups". Rhapidophyllum, as mentioned in earlier posts, is from climates in the American South that warm up quickly after freezes (20's at night and 50's in day is the norm). Trachycarpus, from high elevations in China, is more resistant to long periods of temps that hover in the 30's and 40's. The latter would be more suitable for your climate, as it is easier to maintain those temps with protection than to simulate rapid warm-ups.

My key advice is plant them in a south-facing part of your yard with morning sunlight that will provide warming relief after a cold night.  Plant them up against the house, which can shield cold winds and also retain heat. This is called “passive” protection and is a good start for virtually all climates. If you have an area of "overhang" that is also helpful to prevent snow accumulation on the palm.

Using the “search” function in the top right corner will dig you up a whole bunch of posts that go into detail with “active” winter protection (wrapping, warmth, etc), which you will still need.

Have fun!

Edited November 27, 2020 by CodyORB
Grammar

[JLM]

I just now thought of this, you can also look at the Freeze Damage Data section of the forums to get a general idea of their cold tolerance and at what point they begin to show damage. I wish you the best of luck!

[Brad52]

On 11/24/2020 at 9:42 AM, Reyes Vargas said:

You might want to try needle palm Rhapidophyllum hystrix.  That palm is known to be the most cold hardy palm in the world.  It's hard to find but it's worth a shot in your zone.  Other than that your limited to growing in pots and bringing them indoors for winter.

I grew this in souther Indiana zone 5b/6a and it was quite hardy but those needles are not so child friendly!

[Reyes Vargas]

29 minutes ago, Brad52 said:

I grew this in souther Indiana zone 5b/6a and it was quite hardy but those needles are not so child friendly!

I agree about the needles but he wanted some palm recommendation that he can just put in the ground and not have to worry about it.  In my opinion the needle palm fits that bill.  I'm not saying that it would survive but that is his best bet in his zone.  I also agree that the needle palm is not 10 year old friendly.  His only other option is to grow in pots and bring them in in winter.

[Brad52]

3 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I agree about the needles but he wanted some palm recommendation that he can just put in the ground and not have to worry about it.  In my opinion the needle palm fits that bill.  I'm not saying that it would survive but that is his best bet in his zone.  I also agree that the needle palm is not 10 year old friendly.  His only other option is to grow in pots and bring them in in winter.

Your recommendation is spot on, mine survived multiple subzero periods.  When it got that cold where I was there was usually snow cover, the needle palms were next to the driveway so I'd shovel the snow on them and they were usually buried during the coldest nights.  I also tried T fortunei a few times but they did not survive, I think my soil was too wet for them to get so cold.

[climate change virginia]

you can grow zone 7b palms with heavy protection like this or windmill palm bulgaria strain which only need minor protection.

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by climate change virginia

[Pattu]

Hello!!

I am desperate to find out what are the names of the two palms I have kept in pots sinceJune here in zone 6 WNY. It’s time for me to start bringing some plants inside and I want to keep these palms for y pool area summer 2023. Any idea on how to identify 

I bought them at Home Depot 

please advise. 
thank you  ! 

[kinzyjr]

57 minutes ago, Pattu said:

Hello!!

I am desperate to find out what are the names of the two palms I have kept in pots sinceJune here in zone 6 WNY. It’s time for me to start bringing some plants inside and I want to keep these palms for y pool area summer 2023. Any idea on how to identify 

I bought them at Home Depot 

please advise. 
thank you  ! 

Please post photos as you had stated on the original thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/75175-i-need-help-identifying/

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