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Well I guess I have to eat my words from my post above. It is May 9, 2010 and the low last night here in my yard was 34.2F! Just on the verge of a freeze in MID MAY! We had not had a frost since mid MARCH. An hour north of here they got inches of snow overnight Friday night. I suppose we are now pay...

We had a pretty typical winter I think. Not terribly cold, I believe -12F or so was my absulute lowest- I should look at my records again and verify that. I track it pretty closely with my numerous remote thermometers. We always stay a few degrees warmer than the airport records officially because o...

<img src=http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww298/mnpalms/DSC00513.jpg> <img src=http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww298/mnpalms/DSC00509.jpg> <img src=http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww298/mnpalms/DSC00515-1.jpg> As requested, here's a few winter cover pictures... I've since relocated that need...

Thanks guys. Yeah, as long as the yucca is in the same planter it may as well get the same trachy protection even though it does not need near the amount of protection. The planter gets completely covered and heated with xmas lights and CFL fixtures similar to what Arctic Tropical does in N. Utah. I...

Here are my two in-ground trachies. One is 4.5' and the other is 7'. Yucca Thompsoniana also. I'm devoting a second planter of the same size on the other end of the pool to all basjoos. I have put in two basjoos so far. Slow growing so far because of the nights still getting down in the 40's. Anothe...

Jim- How are those cut trachies looking now? I'm dying to know... Barb- I know that 50/50 peroxide sounds strong initially but I used only a 2% peroxide solution and I eyeballed it to be 50/50 that and water. It was more like 60% water in my opinion- I always try to err on the weak side with chemica...

Wow Jim, you really have me thinking. I've been going back and forth on whether or not to cut my damaged trachy like you did (my first ever "big trachy". I've spent hours cutting hair and pruning back boots to get down low into the crown. I just can't seem to decide if it is rotten. I know...

I really tend to agree with Paul and Jim here. I've been growing things since I was a kid also (I'm only in my mid/late 30s), but nothing special. Veggies, roses, many pine species, etc. Normal things that are common here. I really got into palms only a few years ago, at least hardy palms. Indoor/no...

What a bummer Jim! Did these seem to decline and go bad in a kind of delayed-reaction situation this spring? I think I remember your trachies looking better earlier this spring... I'll be watching what happens with them, I see a lot of your stuff as excellent research for all of us to learn from. Re...

Your Thompsoniana looks great! I had a feeling you were going to be quite happy with the seller... I know I was with the one I got. Palms looking good too. One thing I've observed with the "lanky" trachies, they do fill out better once in better light/sun. I have a potted one which is abou...

Actually the shipping was just under $100 for Fedex Ground. Still, I would have paid $200 if that's what it took! It shipped out of Riverside, CA to my business in Eagan, MN. Packed and shipped late Monday afternoon, in my hands on Friday at 10:00AM my time. Not bad! I saved a little on the resident...

My needle palm last summer (front left of the planter). Second picture is 3/2/10 after surviving an MN winter unheated, covered by a plastic garbage can from mid Dec. until 3/2. I dug it up once it warmed up somewhat and potted it. Y. thompsoniana went into its spot in the planter. Another similar p...

Looking great Jim! We got that similar weather this week, just my high Thursday was only 82. We had more overcasty kind of haze mixing in which kept us down a little here. low-mid-upper 70s all week otherwise! Back to reality this weekend with 60s but at least it is full sun and upper 40s/low 50s ov...

I think sinking a large pot is a good idea. The only potential issue might be the drain holes/roots. Yes needles need very well draining soil so the holes are a must. I just wonder how much of the roots will want to try to grow out through the holes and into the ground below though. That could becom...

I don't have a ton of needle palm experience, but maybe my recent situation can offer you some help. I planted a 7-gallon needle early last spring, it was potted (all roots intact) and about 3' tall and with a good foot of clear trunk. I wintered it in ground here in MN but accidentally forgot to pl...

Hey great idea about the plastic Jim! Now why didn't I think of that myself... I know they recommend to pot them first but a combination of anxiousness and reassurance from the seller forced me to plant mine. I think I'll be covering my trachy hole with plastic this afternoon for sure. Mid/upper 70s...

I'd mix in some good potting soil or compost. Not a lot, but some. I went with about 20% soil/compost and the rest coarse sand and pea gravel. I think the yucca will be happy with that based on the reading I've done. I assume you are getting yours from Victor/Cactusbylin like I did. Good call, he is...

Excellent Ryan. You will love it! It is strange, there is not really a lot of info on the y. thompsoniana species out there. Some say it is more hardy than the rostrata, some say it is a little less hardy, some say it IS a rostrata, not a diffferent species. Whatever the case, it is a very cool look...

Thanks Jim! Yeah the forecast here is similar. 60s and 70s all week, even mid 70s by mid/late week. Some local guys are hinting at some 80s even... My new big trachy will arrive Friday- weather will be perfect for planting! The 15-day Accuweather shows nothing under upper 30s a few nights but mostly...

Thanks for the compliment Barb. I'm hoping to make it even better this year. Another similar planter will be devoted to my basjoos. They looked so good by fall I couldn't bear to let them die back and winter in ground. They are wintering at a store I own and they have put out so many pups that I now...

Cactusbylin is a good seller. Victor is his name, I bought a thompsoniana from him recently and am extremely pleased with it. He sells on Ebay also. I have kind of kept it a secret until I decided if I wanted to buy more (selfish!). $89 for an over 4-foot tall trunked yucca?!?! Mine is a beauty and ...

I agree, what a deal! I'd buy it... What I would do is watch the forecasts carefully. You can easily wrap it like that Iowa guy does/did if it looks like it will stay below 20F for a long period. You could even plan to wrap it for January and Feb just to be safe. You should research how that guy in ...

Washys can even make it in zone 5 with proper protection, believe it or not! There is a guy in Iowa who is well known for his. They are quite large also. I read about it on Garden Web forums quite a while ago. He is the one who got me thinking about trying it here in MN, not too far north of him. Th...

Thanks for the info and replies guys. I will definitely keep this forum posted as to my trees success here in MN. Grashopper? Ok, I got it! Too bad, it is not available in our market at this time. We do get some decent beers from Canada, Kokanee being my favorite from there. I am actually in the liq...

Very cool MNpalms! You give hope to those of us in zone 4 Alberta! Check out this link: scroll half way down and check out arctictropical's zone 4 Utah yard. Maybe the protection methods would be helpful. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/palms/msg0101223522623.html P.S. Agree with Allen, Big...

I decided to roll the dice with a big one after a lot of research, and some trial and error with a smaller (and cheaper) trachy. I've got a little more than $250 (delivered) into this big one, so I don't want to screw it up! My winter plan is similar to what the Gardenweb poster "arctictropical...

This forum seems similar to Garden web, and I notice some of the same people here , so I thought I would post here as well. I am relatively new to doing this extreme gardening/zone-pushing. I have successfully wintered a smaller (4-foot) trachy in ground here in MN once. I lost it to rot however. Th...

I'd like to add an Ebay source. I recently replaced a 5-foot trachy in my yard with a much bigger one. It was a bummer to dig it up from the yard and pot it, but was well worth it because of what I got to replace it. I got a 7 1/2 footer with almost 4 feet of trunk, very thick trunk. Trunk is 10+ in...