Jim- That Sabal minor 'louisinana' does look like it has some 'pin-hole' damage. Maybe it just has a weak constitution?

Serj- Good to see someone have luck with those styrofoam cones. I've used one once and will never again. It turned one of my Trachys into mush! Never again...

Great palms Serj
2" of styrofoam is excellent plus snow cover!

Good colour, very pretty palms.
Barb

Paul -
The Sabal was in an area where the wind was coming in,there was actually a few inches of snow
next to it!
This during the -10 to -12(F) events,my guess is it saw anywhere from 0 to -5(F)and
held up pretty good for such a small Sabal.It also spent the whole period(almost 2 weeks)below freezing
and much of that time near 0(F)!
It is starting to put some nice leaves out and should have a spectacular year!,
for a Sabal!

Jim- Is it newly planted? Mine was pretty badly burnt by -15C last winter, but the damage didn't manifest itself until spring.

Paul, could you tell me what is the troubles you had with styrofoam?

Certainly. I felt that the long-term covering caused my Trachy. to 'cook' over the winter. The styrofoam, once frozen in place, allows for little air-flow, while the plant continues to grow. I also feel that the root-zone was probably frozen (I'm in a COLD location) and that, on warm sunny days, the styrofoam allows the interior air temperature to get too high. If I had the mobility to remove the cone after a freeze it would be fine, but since I am studying 3 hours away, it is impossible to do so. So, 1) great protection from cold. 2) little air-flow 3) Palms don't have a true dormancy, 4) high air temps in sun. 5) frozen soil. I also originally considered that maybe the styrofoam allowed the temp to get too low. However, since that time a simple frost cloth wrap has kept the leaves in decent shape, with no spear pull...

I just don't think that the styrofoam cone is a good protection method.. Maybe it would work for plants with true dormancy periods? I don't know...

Paul-
this Sabal was planted last spring and is actually one of the more mature Sabals.
If you can see it in the photo of the biggest g-house the front of it is just held in place with batten strips.
As the strips get closer to the ground they are a few inches away from the side,this allowed the wind to whip in there 😥
and really dried it out,I have since placed a thermometer there to check the temp...some days it is 4(F) cooler than the more centrally located one
and thus in a cool spot.
I have corrected this by tightening up the area(outside)and turning the fan up and pointing it at it more.
My plants will be babied for these last 4 weeks of true winter here,by March we rarely see below 10(F) anymore so...
not much father to go.

Interesting you think your palms cooked in styrofoam-mine never warm 10(F) above outside temps.
I think it was more likely cold unless your styrofoam is less than a 1/2" thick.
Inside my(rose covers-1/2" thick),there is only about 200 fc worth of light,I measured it last summer.
They will not provide any extra break from cold except a cover.
The other type of styrofoam cover I have is a 2" thick small cooler,this on the other hand is thick enough
to provide quite a buffer between outside temps(I have never seen ir below 15(F)even during -12(F) temps.
Of the three Trachys I have covered with no heat(in styrofoam)the only one without spear pull(yet) is the one in the 2" styrofoam.

Interesting to that it has spent weeks below freezing(32F).

After reading all of this it is sure that everyone has their own unique way how to protect plants 🙂 I have trachy first year in ground and I covered it with 150w rope light and double bubblewrap house which has a lid made from layered plastic. Anyway we are having terrible winter over the years 😕 Temps minus 15-20 have last for weeks and I guess the xtreme lows ahve penetreted trough the walls of trachy protecion. I checked my trachy 2 days ago and the bigger leaves had really bad curl with yellow ring in the center. The inner ones seemed ok but it made my worry. The lights have been on when the temps go below - 8 c or -10 c-first year to spoil it. I think Ill try next year styrofoam house method with butia ofcourse with rope but this winter has shown real weather of zone 6 with really long freezes. Last year we had mostly rain and a week with lows -15 c or so..

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Welcome to the forum, and great pics! I'm also a zone 6 a/b and this winter we are having the same type you had last winter (lows of -14 c) 😡

Hi corrosion, welcome to the forum!

Great looking Trachy, looks like a very good location for it.

Your lights go on when temp goes below -8 or -10( this one's a bit too cold!), so could it be that Trachy wasn't planted early enough in 2009?

Your protection looks well-built. Could protection have been installed too late?

Could the 150w be too much heat, too close to the Trachy?

Good luck with it, and keep us updated with pictures.
Barb

Yep-
Welcome!

I don't think you can beat the large styrofoam boxes for efficiency and protection!

Hi all, I planted in 1st may so I think it is early. Though it didn´t grow much due the fact it had not many roots. I applied the cover first for the reason that we had lot or rain I was afraid it might rot, later in nov I installed the lights. I think the lights have done more use than harm. 150 w is the total power for 9 meters of lightrope so it is shared more or less equally. I´m happy with the location because my garden is surrounded by walls from 3 sides, only south side remains opened. No evening sun for me So you think that I should turn on the lights when it is only below 0 c(30 F)? 😥 I´m waiting for the spring to make final decision of my experiment 🙂 Most of my friends didn´t believe that I´ll succeed so I only have to prove the opposite 🙂

Planting date and location sound perfect.
9 meters of light rope...27 feet...that's a lot for a fairly small enclosure.
With frozen ground surrounding your enclosure, could the interior temp be too high?

Why didn't such a nice big Trachy have lots of roots?
Transplant damage?
I also hope you'll win the bet with your friends.

I turn on the heater in my Trachy enclosure only when temperature goes below 0C 32F.
Door is open above 0C. But our winter is really mild this year.

Barb

You have built a real fortress for your trachy I bet it took some engineering and hard work to build it.:)
I think the temperature inside the house is not high most of the time, rather cold 😕 I dont have thermometer inside the house so I really dont know for sure but I have one installed close to it for my greenhouse so I get the picture from the weather outside overall. Yes it could be true that the lights have heated the leaves too much and it has caused drying? I think that without the lights it would have just freezed to dead which would be worse. I noticed that the leaves which were dry didn´t have any contact with the rope at all so It could caused by frost. I like the idea of lightrope over the regular x-mas lights which have only warm spots but the rope is heated entirely and the warmth is shared. The lack of roots is caused by the ignorance of the dutch seller I quess 😕 I ordered it by mail so I didn´t have chance to pick it on my own. I might take some pics tommorow then it would be easier tell the reason of curl and dryness.
I also received Brahea armata from the same seller in a bad condition, I keep it in greenhouse at the moment 🙁

Pic of brahea after receiving it, it is pushing second new leaf already

Ha ha, a fortress 😆 that's right!
Hired a carpenter because husband and I don't have a clue what to do with a hammer.

that without the lights it would have just freezed to dead which would be worse.

Yes, heat of some kind is necessary, especially with your cold this winter.

The Brahea is lovely despite some damage. It should come back great this summer.

ignorance of the dutch seller

Strange...the Dutch are renowned for superb plants and superior horticulture ability.
I would send the nurseryman pictures of plants' condition on arrival.
Maybe he'll send you some new ones
😉

We look forward to more of your pictures.

Barb