Die back palm experiment.

Location was key. The one on the SE corner gets quite a bit more sun than the one that faces the West. I'll put a bed of straw down over them when I cut them back when frosts get fronds, then cover with mulch bags again.

Mid January 2014 abnormally nice day here today so took tote off of a Chinese Fan Palm that is going through it's 2nd winter. This time with just a clear tote over the top and christmas lights. Already see some new growth from this palm. Last year I just used 3 bags of mulch to cover crown and it suffered from fungus, but still came back although no where near what it was when I planted it. Having snows all the way to early May here really set it back. Hopefully this year will be different.

Scott,

Thank goodness for that little spear coming. 😯
It probably took a beating at that first blast when the forecast was wrong.

3 bags of mulch to cover crown and it suffered from fungus

Yeah, same thing with my Washies after last winter.
Will never do that again despite the good insulation value from mulch bags...the produced way too much moisture inside.
But the fungus just seemed to peel off in spring winds thankfully.

Good luck with it.

Barb

I have one of these in a pot out back with a trash bag over top of it..if that thing puts out a new spear after our cold weather this year I will treat it so special from now on but I really doubt it made it in the pot

I happen to have (what used to be) large Chinese Fan Palm in a large pot. Got it LONG before I knew jack about palms..yet it still lived.

Anyway, it too was left outside when we hit +9F for one night. Fronds that were up in the air fried but spears poking through the bottom are still alive and green. Pot is in garage with rest of semi cold hardy palms. Will take a LONG time to get back to it's formal glory but I'm amazed how cold hardy it is.

Nice couple of days coming up so took clear totes off some in the ground palms specifically the 3 Chinese fan palms I've had in the ground now for 2 winters.

Last year protection was simply cut to ground level, and I stacked 3 bags of mulch over the top. No heat. 2013 was the worst spring in years as far as temps, and off/on snows here until the first week of May(first time ever here) Fungus was the main issue, and with the cold damp spring they didn't look the best but still came back.

This past fall I didn't cut back since they never really had a chance to grow much with the season cut 2 months short, but this time I layed a string of C7 christmas lights around the base, and simply covered the palm with a semi clear storage tote and set a brick on the top. Much to my delight today in taking the totes off of the 3, the palm that faces the SE and gets a lot of sun anyway is already growing! Pic shows green, and it was mid/late May last year before I had even that much growth. Also needless to say no fungus issues either. Hopefully this year it will gain some height, and with two years now in the ground should be more healthy and robust after all.

That's awesome Scott! Looks real nice and green. I may experiment with one of those this spring.

Keep an eye out, around here nice sized 3/4 foot ones can be found for around $13 on up so easy on the wallet when it comes to experimentation.

Hmmm...interesting! And thanks for sharing! I'm gonna try a Ravenea down here in zone 6b...I know the thing probably doesn't even have a chance, but it was $15 at Lowe's in Wichita, and I just had to pick it up. I figure if I build some kind of insulated structure around it, it might just have a chance.

A Majesty Palm? typically those things start to die as soon as you get them home. I have known people to buy them because they are cheap and plant them as an annual plant in the yard.

Saw your post in Palmtalk....One palm you might want to try is a Queen. Not to leave in the ground all year, but to bury the pot in the ground for the season. Queens are cheap tp buy, grow amazingly fast, and are pretty cold hardy so you can leave them out longer. I Have two, one in a large foam pot to it's easy to carry and just over winter it in the garage. Other one is in a 5 gallon bucket with a handle(holes in the bottom for drainage) and I just bury the bucket and palm in the ground in the spring and surround it with mulch so it looks like it's planted there. In late fall, just grab the handle and pull out of the ground and stick in the garage. Just don't water it much! and it will over winter fine there.

The one in the picture is small and beautifull, impossible to grow here.. great trick though.

My Majesty has popped open two new spears so far, and yes, I am intending to grow it as an annual. They ARE insanely cheap at Lowes...here in Wichita, Lowes used to sell Livistona, but stopped...too bad really:/
Excuse my naivety before...lol 😉

Well do keep an eye out for a Chinese Fan palm, even at Walmart. Couple of years ago a bunch of Walmarts had them here in Omaha. Nice 3/4 foot tall ones for $15 each. Those are the ones I planted in the ground. Or...keep them in over sized pots and just keep them in garage over the winter. They are really tough.

Livistona was my very first palm, I bought it when I was probably 10 years old. I managed to overwinter it in the ground, only to have it die the following summer while we were out of town (we were on a 10 day cruise in the West Indies, and my dad's friend watching the house forgot to water it) during a drought...:(