Protection Strategy for P. roebellenii

[ahosey01]

I have a small triple of this palm.  We get cold in the winter - 9A zone but annual lows are generally around 25-27F.  About 15 years ago we hit 17F.  Temps like this only last a few hours, and I don’t believe we’ve ever had a day where the daytime high doesn’t get above 40.  At least not one I could find in the records.

Anyways - it will need protection in the winter, particularly from frost.  I don’t need to get crazy with C9 lights and heat sources though - at least as far as I can tell.  I don’t really care if it defoliates, I just want to keep it alive. Can anyone recommend a decent method for protecting this that doesn’t require a ton of work?  I’d throw a frost cloth over it but with all the thorns I don’t want it to be getting snagged.  Was thinking maybe I’d drive 4 t-posts into the ground around it and drape the frost cloth over that.

Thoughts?

[AZ_Palm_Guy]

@ahosey01 t-post and wrapping with frost cloth should be enough. I have a green malayan dwarf coconut where im at in AZ. My zone is 9B. I drove 4 (1/2"x10') rebar into the ground then used 1/2 pvc to cover the rebar so my frost cloth wouldn't catch on it and tear. I have a digital thermometer inside my enclosure and it reads about 10-15 degrees warmer than the outside. I also used C9 lights as well as mulch. Palm is doing good so far no issues, yesterday's low was 37°F and the enclosure was reading 53°F with 70% humidity. I'll let you know if it truly works once this winter is over but for now it's doing pretty good. I am using Dewitt 2.5 Oz frost cloth.