Has anyone tried butia in zone 6 without any extra heat?

[serj]

Hi guys! i have a great desire to plant this palm outdoor this summer. But i have no intention to use any additional heat. Maybe anyone has some experience in this question?

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I have However, my lows were only -18 C

[serj]

It's nice to hear this from you, Cameron. Could you tell me more about it? Maybe you have some pics? Usually our winter is more warmer than last winter. For example, the winter before last our minimum was -20 C.

[serj]

Cameron, i remember seeng butia pics from you before!

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

one died, but the other lived and was hardly damaged

[hardyjim]

Serj
Here is a link to some planted in 7a,I think they protected in some cases.


http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load ... 73.html?13

[Corrosion]

erm I think if I would try any butia in my zone then only with heating and proper cover These plants cost a fortune to just relay on the mercy of the weather. We had the worst winter here in north over 2 decades, my trachys spear pulled yesterday I cut the stem a bit and sprayed with fungicide, damn what I´m going to tell my friends? I think they wouldn´t know if they saw new trachy instead of the old one.
I know one guy in Poland (zone 6) is growing Butia, cant remember which, but with x-mas lights. I planted my butia eriospatha today into 90 l pot as my many other potted plants into bigger pots. I must admit gardening is no girly thing Needs some strength and manpower to raise all the pots filled with soil...

[serj]

I have the seven butias to make experience. If my phoenix survive i wiil hope that it survive too.

[Barrie]

I have However, my lows were only -18 C

Not a snow balls chance in hell with bitter cold like that.

Cheers, Barrie.

[BILL MA]

Serj,
unfortunately you will need to provide a heat source, and preferably one that would allow the palm to stay above freezing for the most part.
They are rated for zone 7 but you know how that goes, there no way going to hang on to there fronds if the temperature hits 10f for longer
then lets say 5 hours. Maybe a little longer but not likely. Christmas lights and a thermocube outlet would most likely be your best bet, along
with a nice insulated palm house.

Bill

[TerdalFarm]

I've kept a Butia in the ground with no electric heat for three winters now--my avatar photo.
I am on the zone 6/7 border. My low this winter was -16oC.
The unheated Butia is covered and has insulating hay under the cover. It is pretty severely defoliated each winter.
I recommend planning on using electric heat for Butia in zone 7; I wouldn't bother with them in a true zone 6 without supplemental heat. Sorry. --Erik

[BILL MA]

Erik,
I would truly say you are not a zone 6 by any means! Where you live is a strong strong 7a-7b location. Ok this year was hard for you
but still no where close to a 6b winter. I guess Don in OHC is warmer than you? He still only saw 4 days of single digit temps, followed
by way higher day time temps. Here's the OHC temps for the winter. Not even close to a hard 7a even though it was hard on.

Jan. (weather underground)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
46/19 30/17 27/21 28/19 30/25 46/19 21/10

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
21/5 27/8 41/8 54/26 50/21 57/33 55/43

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
46/39 44/39 55/30 63/37 62/35 55/35 54/39

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
69/37 55/42 48/34 53/30 48/28 64/42 39/26

29 30 31
27/19 25/19 28/19

Feb. (weather.com)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
32/23 38/30 37/28 37/34 51/33 36/32 38/34

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
37/26 34/20 34/23 34/30 50/30 57/30 38/28

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
42/24 44/25 50/29 61/28 55/43 43/37 43/31

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
34/28 43/27 46/22 52/31 46/33 57/30 56/35

March (weather.com)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
45/34 46/29 56/26 62/32 68/44 64/51 58/49

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
56/48 66/47 63/40 51/37 55/38 59/38 54/37

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
54/44 52/41 52/34 62/34 71/36 36/28 38/28

Bill

[hardyjim]

There are snowballs in hell(from what I hear )

they are in the freezer-snowcone anyone

[TerdalFarm]

Bill,
thanks for the research!
OKC (Oklahoma City) has historically been warmer than Tulsa. I don't know why. The best guess I have is that the Tulsa airport is north of the city while in OKC it is south of town and so may get an urban heat effect moderating winter storms coming from the north.
On the old USDA map, OKC was zone 7 and Tulsa zone 6. The newer map put out by Arbor Day moves zone 7 quite a ways north, making me a definite zone 7. I plan my garden based on that. The reputable locally-owned nurseries are slowly stocking more zone 7 plants, like the Indian Hawthorn I am trying.
--Erik