PALM TREE COLORADO

[COpalms]

Hello, I am in Colorado Zone 6a and I was wondering if there are any other palms besides the needle palm and sabal minor 'McCurtain' that would be hardy here. Also, I will add that Colorado isn't as harsh as many think. In the winter it usually only gets to the negatives during cold snaps. Most winters where I live it doesn't even get to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Also its usually not very windy. Regardless zone 6 is zone 6 and I know I need to be cautious when planting palms. I have a trachycarpus fortunei that I'm planning on planting next spring as well as Mazari palms. Mazari palms will take less winter protection because they are hardy to zone 6b so I decided to buy those. Anyways just looking for any more palms.

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Man I'm in zone 6b, you're not going to want to hear it but the needles and minors are the only ones that will make it in our zone. And honestly they still might need a little protection. Maybe look at some trunking yucca.  Yucca rostrata is a beautiful option. I have one trachy in ground and I cover, wrap and heat it. Winters have been trending milder here as well. But,and it's a big but, we usually get one cold snap and it will last for a week or so. It's not just ultimate low ,also duration.

I'm not saying don't try, just realize you're probably going to kill a few until you get a protection setup that works for you ( I've killed my share)

Good luck 

[COpalms]

57 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Man I'm in zone 6b, you're not going to want to hear it but the needles and minors are the only ones that will make it in our zone. And honestly they still might need a little protection. Maybe look at some trunking yucca.  Yucca rostrata is a beautiful option. I have one trachy in ground and I cover, wrap and heat it. Winters have been trending milder here as well. But,and it's a big but, we usually get one cold snap and it will last for a week or so. It's not just ultimate low ,also duration.

I'm not saying don't try, just realize you're probably going to kill a few until you get a protection setup that works for you ( I've killed my share)

Good luck 

I got good news for you, the mazari palm is rated zone 6b. I need to protect it a little bit in my zone aswell as put it in a microclimate or else it will die but I'm sure if you get a Mazari palm it will be able to survive just fine if you plant it in a microclimate. I'm no professional though just an aspiring botanist so don't take my recommendation as fact but regardless I think the mazari palm could do well for you. Plus its a trunking palm it gets up to 10-20 feet so it may be worth a shot. Just know they are usually really expensive and its best to buy them as a seed like what I did. Have a great day God bless you!

[Dwarf Fan]

Sabal brazoriensis will take -15F it is the only other extremely other cold hardy trunking Palm other than a Needle Palm.

[SeanK]

3 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

Sabal brazoriensis will take -15F it is the only other extremely other cold hardy trunking Palm other than a Needle Palm.

Maybe -15°C

[Dwarf Fan]

 

3 hours ago, SeanK said:

Maybe -15°C

I was under the impression that Plant Delights Nursery was a legitimate source to reference cold hardy information, are you saying they are incorrect?

From the description on PDNs website:

Sabal x brazoriensis, a rare palm from Brazoria County, Texas, was identified by DNA in 2011 as an ancient hybrid between Sabal palmetto (above ground trunk) and Sabal minor (below ground trunk). Sabal x brazoriensis is the hardiest of the trunked sabal palms and should reach 20' tall with maturity. We have reports from Arkansas that these have sailed through a -15 degree F winter.

https://www.plantdelights.com/products/sabal-brazoriensis?srsltid=AfmBOoqY4iFDsGIKVNZJ2XDNvTeb0sDbMTlz66SinH8V_1CvxNCk1A5g

[Chester B]

22 minutes ago, Dwarf Fan said:

I was under the impression that Plant Delights Nursery was a legitimate source to reference cold hardy information, are you saying they are incorrect?

They are in the business of selling plants.  I find their zone ratings to be "optimistic".

 

21 hours ago, COpalms said:

Most winters where I live it doesn't even get to -10 degrees Fahrenheit

That's really cold for any palm, even at short duration.  The cold hardiness ratings really depend on so many factors, and is dependent on the location, the weather leading up to, during and after the cold event, UV index, etc etc.

A palm may survive -15C one year and -5C kills it the very next.  I have seen this many times.  

Duration is also key, a Trachy won't likely survive a freezing event even it is only -2C if it is stuck at that for 2 weeks.   Frozen ground = dead palm. 

Wind chill doesn't affect plants like it does us, but if its a dry wind it can desiccate the palm which further stresses it out.  They can't uptake water at those cold temps and so it freeze dries it.  I have seen this first hand.  I had Chamaerops humilis "Cerifera" go through 19F (rated to 5F by Plant Delights) with high winds and 30 hours below freezing with it being dry before, during and after.  It looked good after but once the temps warmed up it completely browned off.  It did it to two of them and also killed two Butias that had seen 19F before without issues.

In your location its likely that Sabal minor is going to be your best palm and still plan on protecting.   Any of the super cold hardy palms are going to need help in your climate that's just a fact, so If you are willing to protect than you have options.   It will come down to how much effort you are willing to put forth.   As long as you aware of that then good luck to you.

There are a few people who grow palms in Salt Lake City which is likely a similar climate albeit a zone warmer.  They all protect their palms for a few months.  

[PalmsInBaltimore]

18 hours ago, COpalms said:

I got good news for you, the mazari palm is rated zone 6b. I need to protect it a little bit in my zone aswell as put it in a microclimate or else it will die

If your winters are very dry, I think this might actually be worth trying. I have looked into one here where I am on the East coast in Zone 7B, but Mazari palms would likely rot without heavy protection because our winters are very wet (cold rain and wet snow turns to slush) and there are multiple days in a row where the high barely rises above freezing. 

You should search for "Colorado" or whatever town you're at in the search bar and see what's out there from other PTers. There are also hundreds and hundreds of threads on cold protection, palms in pots (which opens up a lot more options for you unless you are dead set on having them in the ground), cold-hardy tropical looking plants other than palms, etc

[COpalms]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

They are in the business of selling plants.  I find their zone ratings to be "optimistic".

 

That's really cold for any palm, even at short duration.  The cold hardiness ratings really depend on so many factors, and is dependent on the location, the weather leading up to, during and after the cold event, UV index, etc etc.

A palm may survive -15C one year and -5C kills it the very next.  I have seen this many times.  

Duration is also key, a Trachy won't likely survive a freezing event even it is only -2C if it is stuck at that for 2 weeks.   Frozen ground = dead palm. 

Wind chill doesn't affect plants like it does us, but if its a dry wind it can desiccate the palm which further stresses it out.  They can't uptake water at those cold temps and so it freeze dries it.  I have seen this first hand.  I had Chamaerops humilis "Cerifera" go through 19F (rated to 5F by Plant Delights) with high winds and 30 hours below freezing with it being dry before, during and after.  It looked good after but once the temps warmed up it completely browned off.  It did it to two of them and also killed two Butias that had seen 19F before without issues.

In your location its likely that Sabal minor is going to be your best palm and still plan on protecting.   Any of the super cold hardy palms are going to need help in your climate that's just a fact, so If you are willing to protect than you have options.   It will come down to how much effort you are willing to put forth.   As long as you aware of that then good luck to you.

There are a few people who grow palms in Salt Lake City which is likely a similar climate albeit a zone warmer.  They all protect their palms for a few months.  

I couldve phrased that better but last year was the first time it got below -3 degrees in five years. 

[Chester B]

Aside from the one Mazari palm I saw here I have seen photos once of one in Denver. It was mound planted in a very gritty (almost gravel) berm. I can’t say if it has survived long term unfortunately. It was in a gardening blog not a palm related one. 

[SeanK]

7 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

 

I was under the impression that Plant Delights Nursery was a legitimate source to reference cold hardy information, are you saying they are incorrect?

From the description on PDNs website:

Sabal x brazoriensis, a rare palm from Brazoria County, Texas, was identified by DNA in 2011 as an ancient hybrid between Sabal palmetto (above ground trunk) and Sabal minor (below ground trunk). Sabal x brazoriensis is the hardiest of the trunked sabal palms and should reach 20' tall with maturity. We have reports from Arkansas that these have sailed through a -15 degree F winter.

https://www.plantdelights.com/products/sabal-brazoriensis?srsltid=AfmBOoqY4iFDsGIKVNZJ2XDNvTeb0sDbMTlz66SinH8V_1CvxNCk1A5g

If they told me that, I'd tell them they were full of sh*t.

[Dwarf Fan]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

If they told me that, I'd tell them they were full of sh*t.

^^^ Palm Talker Jimhardy from Iowa says it can easily go below ZERO and said it did suffer excessive browning at -15F but no death was reported.

Oh and I took this pic at Barton Springs Nursery in Austin myself. 

What was that about “maybe -15C” and being full of sh*t… 🤥

[SeanK]

7 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

^^^ Palm Talker Jimhardy from Iowa says it can easily go below ZERO and said it did suffer excessive browning at -15F but no death was reported.

Oh and I took this pic at Barton Springs Nursery in Austin myself. 

What was that about “maybe -15C” and being full of sh*t… 🤥

Go buy a dozen 

[Dwarf Fan]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

Go buy a dozen 

I had one and sold it, I prefer the shorter max height on a Sabal minor var. ‘Louisiana’, plus I will never be able to put that -15F claim to the test in my 9b zone.

[SeanK]

1 hour ago, Dwarf Fan said:

I had one and sold it, I prefer the shorter max height on a Sabal minor var. ‘Louisiana’, plus I will never be able to put that -15F claim to the test in my 9b zone.

Sabals are beautiful palms. Perhaps you can try the uncommon ones like bermudana or maritima.