Hardy palm trees

[COpalms]

Nobody responded to my last post but I was wondering if there are any good trunking palm trees hardy to zone 6. Including the Mazari Palm.

[Swolte]

I think z6 is too cold for palms (especially trunking ones) unless you are a complete palm nut and willing to go to extreme lengths to protect them in winter. 

[Colin1110082]

There isn’t much you can do for trunking palms in zone 6 besides a windmill Palm but those need a good amount of protection such as building huts around it with light bulbs in the winter. Shrub palms such as the needle Palm or Sabal minor Palm don’t need as much protection in zone 6. If you want a similar trunking plant to a Palm look into musa Basjoo banana. That one dies back in the fall and regrows in the spring if you cover it with leaves and mulch. 

[COpalms]

1 hour ago, Swolte said:

I think z6 is too cold for palms (especially trunking ones) unless you are a complete palm nut and willing to go to extreme lengths to protect them in winter. 

The needle palm, certain species of sabal minor, and mazari palm do just fine in zone 6. I wouldn't say they thrive but regardless they survive. The mazari palm is the only trunking palm I know of that can survive zone 6 with minimal to no protection. Its rated zone 6b.

[ABQPalms]

Trachycarpus Fortunei is probably the best bet for zone 6. Although it needs full to partial shade. If temperature don't exceed 95 often then you might get away with planting it in the southside of a house/building. The ones in my area look better in a sheltered area from the summer heat, wind and sun. It may need winter protection in your area, but if you have a nice spot in your yard (i.e. a courtyard or some kind of wind break) then you can have a nice established palm. 

[Swolte]

29 minutes ago, COpalms said:

The needle palm, certain species of sabal minor, and mazari palm do just fine in zone 6. I wouldn't say they thrive but regardless they survive. The mazari palm is the only trunking palm I know of that can survive zone 6 with minimal to no protection. Its rated zone 6b.

Well, I am sure there are isolated reports of unprotected Mazari's returning from -5F but do you have a picture somewhere of a mature mazari palm that has actually lived in a zone 6b, proper, unprotected? I'd be quite surprised if that were the case.
:)

[SeanK]

14 hours ago, COpalms said:

Nobody responded to my last post but I was wondering if there are any good trunking palm trees hardy to zone 6. Including the Mazari Palm.

Didn't you post under Palm Trees Worldwide?

[PalmatierMeg]

On 10/6/2024 at 10:46 PM, COpalms said:

The needle palm, certain species of sabal minor, and mazari palm do just fine in zone 6. I wouldn't say they thrive but regardless they survive. The mazari palm is the only trunking palm I know of that can survive zone 6 with minimal to no protection. Its rated zone 6b.

You ask us a question then proceed to tell us our answers are incorrect. If you already know it all why pepper us over & over with topics?

BTW, I agree with my fellow PTers. CO is no fit environment for live palms unless you are willing to go to herculean efforts to protect them from months of cold weather.

My son lived in CO Springs for 9 years. He told me summer lasted 2 weeks in July and hail storms were commoner than snow storms.

[jwitt]

37 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

You ask us a question then proceed to tell us our answers are incorrect. If you already know it all why pepper us over & over with topics?

BTW, I agree with my fellow PTers. CO is no fit environment for live palms unless you are willing to go to herculean efforts to protect them from months of cold weather.

My son lived in CO Springs for 9 years. He told me summer lasted 2 weeks in July and hail storms were commoner than snow storms.

This poster is from the west slope in Colorado which is different (much so) than the front range(Colorado Springs).  

The poster does have deep freezes, but not extended like the Front range(plains influence/like most of Texas). 

There are documented palm survival on the west slope upto including Trachy. 

Will it be easy? In my mind no.

But with proper siting, thermal mass, maybe.

Just maybe.

 

[jwitt]

On 10/6/2024 at 8:49 PM, ABQPalms said:

Trachycarpus Fortunei is probably the best bet for zone 6. Although it needs full to partial shade. If temperature don't exceed 95 often then you might get away with planting it in the southside of a house/building. The ones in my area look better in a sheltered area from the summer heat, wind and sun. It may need winter protection in your area, but if you have a nice spot in your yard (i.e. a courtyard or some kind of wind break) then you can have a nice established palm. 

With proper water they do just fine in my backyard and Marfa Tx in full sun.

You would be hard pressed to find a stronger sun(solar insolation) in the entire US. 

[jwitt]

Everybody's zone is not the same

Check out this zone 6b not too far south of Colorado. 

 

7a also. Able to be a bit more adventurous!

[SeanK]

50 minutes ago, jwitt said:

This poster is from the west slope in Colorado which is different (much so) than the front range(Colorado Springs).  

The poster does have deep freezes, but not extended like the Front range(plains influence/like most of Texas). 

There are documented palm survival on the west slope upto including Trachy. 

Will it be easy? In my mind no.

But with proper siting, thermal mass, maybe.

Just maybe.

 

I will defer to your expertise given you've lived out west many years. I must add though, that although Grand Junction is referred to as the "banana belt", I never saw any palms there. Farmington, NM seemed a bit milder over the winter.

[jwitt]

3 minutes ago, SeanK said:

I will defer to your expertise given you've lived out west many years. I must add though, that although Grand Junction is referred to as the "banana belt", I never saw any palms there. Farmington, NM seemed a bit milder over the winter.

I have seen on PT and Google street view palms in western Colorado. And outside Grand Junction.  I can not say the same for Farmington, although Farmington surely could support some hardier varieties. 

I think people overlook how with select terrain, many more microclimates exist in western Colorado minus the plains influence. 

 

[COpalms]

2 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

You ask us a question then proceed to tell us our answers are incorrect. If you already know it all why pepper us over & over with topics?

BTW, I agree with my fellow PTers. CO is no fit environment for live palms unless you are willing to go to herculean efforts to protect them from months of cold weather.

My son lived in CO Springs for 9 years. He told me summer lasted 2 weeks in July and hail storms were commoner than snow storms.

I don't know all the answers. I'm just asking if anyone has other accounts of palm trees surviving zone 6a.  Also, you don't live in colorado, you live in sunny hot Florida, so you would know nothing about how diverse Colorado is. I don't live in Colorado Springs, where I live we get summer storms but none like other parts. Hail where I live is uncommon and if it does hail it rarely gets bigger than the tip of your finger. Plus I know certain people and I've seen certain accounts of people growing palm trees here in Colorado. So no you don't need to go to Herculean efforts to have palm trees survive here. Based off what you say and that fact you live in Florida tells me all I need to know. The front range is so different from the west slope and the mounts are so much different from the south. So yes palm trees can grow here I only know though of 3.

[jwitt]

@COpalmsPlease do no not knock Florida posters or others.

@PalmatierMegis way more knowledgeable about palms than I will ever be.  And like she said, it is best to ask, not come with answers. 

That said, your palm choice will be very limited, need a choice microclimate, and hopefully a string of milder than average winters to get established.  That establishment period will most likely need some passive protection from cold. 

Yes, there are some locales in western Colorado where it is possible. With help. 

Learn from your mistakes.

Learn from others. 

Ask for advice. 

Others can do it(grow palms in Colorado) 

That doesn't mean everyone can. 

You may find you have to source your seeds with proven genetics.  Go to the ABQ zoo and get you some minor seeds. Just a suggestion. Or even Denver zoo(if they seed there), I know they grow there and have survived -23f.  That right there may prove needles have a co-equal as far as hardiness. 

Then show us your results, good or bad. 

My suggestion for western Colorado is thermal mass, sunshine, and protection from where you cold winds come from. 

[COpalms]

8 minutes ago, jwitt said:

@COpalmsPlease do no not knock Florida posters or others.

@PalmatierMegis way more knowledgeable about palms than I will ever be.  And like she said, it is best to ask, not come with answers. 

That said, your palm choice will be very limited, need a choice microclimate, and hopefully a string of milder than average winters to get established.  That establishment period will most likely need some passive protection from cold. 

Yes, there are some locales in western Colorado where it is possible. With help. 

Learn from your mistakes.

Learn from others. 

Ask for advice. 

Others can do it(grow palms in Colorado) 

That doesn't mean everyone can. 

You may find you have to source your seeds with proven genetics.  Go to the ABQ zoo and get you some minor seeds. Just a suggestion. Or even Denver zoo(if they seed there), I know they grow there and have survived -23f.  That right there may prove needles have a co-equal as far as hardiness. 

Then show us your results, good or bad. 

My suggestion for western Colorado is thermal mass, sunshine, and protection from where you cold winds come from. 

Sorry if i sounded hostile and i will take your advice for sure. Im not trying to knock anyone or be rude to anyone its definitely hard to tell with my word choice and with no way to tell my expression or voice tone. I was a little bit frustrated but not frustrated enough or even mad enough to write something rude. Regardless I wasn't trying to sound hostile and I wasn't trying to be rude to anyone. I saw it more as a simple debate. Not an argument. Regardless I will try my best to sound more polite next time. Thank you for the feedback.

[SeanK]

@COpalms,

@jwitt has lived many years in the intermediate and high deserts. He knows better than most what is likely to succeed or fail for you.

Cheers,

SK

[jwitt]

@COpalms There are people on this board more knowledgeable about certain species than anything you will find researching information online. They are a resource.

That said, sometimes you have to tweak that resource to your Colorado needs. 

I wish you all the luck. It is a good hobby. Learn from others failures and your own. 

Welcome to palmtalk!

In time, hopefully you can teach us all some things. 

In my above comment, I said passive protection, I meant active during the establishment. Sorry 

[Harry’s Palms]

A lot of us”push the limits” sometimes we fail , sometimes we have succeeded. I am in a warm temperate climate enhanced by my south facing lot with a down hill slope for air flow . Officially somewhere between 9b-10a but my 27 years of living here has told me I am in a bit of a micro climate. It would appear that where you are some extreme measures would be required to grow what you want . A thought I had was , depending on how much room you have , to build a greenhouse . At my old house I had a huge lot and I built one , gambrel roof design with 12’ high at the center , 12’ x 12’ square . It wasn’t too difficult to build and I had some pretty cool palms in there . I was not far from where I am now but down in the valley where there was frost every year. I had a marine grade heater and fans that kept the tropical atmosphere that I needed and , at 34 degrees north latitude , plenty of light even in winter. In your area it would allow you to grow potted palms and keep them alive during winter. Harry

[PalmatierMeg]

You say "tomahto", I say "tomato". Thank you for explaining the joys of palm gardening in the paradise of Western CO. I always appreciate learning new info (I mean that). I've experienced so many snarky/hostile/demeaning remarks about the place I live over the years I just shrug. As I said in another topic, c'mon, snark specialist, up your game, I'm getting bored. If your IQ exceeds that of a cucumber or an artichoke, how about some new material?

I still stand by what I said. That said, if you haven't spent time in FL you should know that in its own way it is as brutal a climate as any Rocky Mountain High State (kudos to the late John Denver). FL is not your year-round balmy paradise of sun, fun and sand. Our 6-7 month summers are not for the weather intolerant. I spent almost the whole summer trapped indoors because until Hurricane Milton our daily highs stayed mid- to upper-90s for 5+ months (heat index 105-110F every day). And our winters are dry, windy and often chilly/cold in SWFL. Central and North FL have significantly colder winters than I do.

Other than Sabal spp I can't grow any of the palms you mention. They are dry heat desert palms that are lousy candidates for my brutal swelter.

[Gator]

I have a trunking Trachy, and a trunking Washingtonia in zone 6 central Utah

We would have similar climates although  I think Utah is a bit milder than Colorado

 

[Colin1110082]

On 10/8/2024 at 1:52 PM, jwitt said:

Everybody's zone is not the same

Check out this zone 6b not too far south of Colorado. 

 

7a also. Able to be a bit more adventurous!

That’s actually interesting