Welcome to the forum PlanesandPalmsGuy.

Glad to have you aboard 😀

Regards,
Jay

Yeah I'm glad to be here. It's just too bad there isn't a lot of members. I would like to post this board as a link on my website to help expose this board, with your permission. I only average around 10 hits per week, but that could mean possibly 10 additional members to this board.

Yeah that would be great. The more exposure the better. Hopefully we will have more members soon. Thanks in advance 😀

Regards,
Jay

Yeah I'm glad to be here. It's just too bad there isn't a lot of members.

First, welcome to the board. This is my 1st post here too. This is a new board, so it'll take a while for it to catch on. It will though. There are lots of other palm nuts like us, who grow palms where "palms don't grow". I'm in a warm zone 6 a/b here in N.E.Oklahoma. This is going to be the place to meet. I have, as far as know, the only z 6 S. minor (Growing outside) to set seeds last year. It had one seed stalk & produced about 80 seeds. Half of them came up & are now 3" to 4" tall. This year it's sending up 3 seed stalks. ~Yeah~

Yes, its always fun to grow things that aren't "supposed" to grow here in southern Illinois(USDA zone 7a). I say 7a because I use a more accurate cold hardiness map, produced my gardeners and farmers. The link to this zone hardiness map is: http://davesgarden.com/zone/ . See what your "real" zone is. I really enjoy growing southern plants here in the north/central U.S. In southern Illinois, it is common to see the famous Lagerstroemia indica(Tree Crape Myrtle) common to the south, as well as many dwarf varieties of the Crape. Southern Illinois hosts other plants such as Bald Cypress, Southern Magnolias, Musa basjoo(Japanes Hardy Banana), the infamous Kudzu, and now new to the edition, thanks to the palm nut(me), there are 3 Rhapidophyllum hystrix's(Needle Palms) and 2 Sabal minor's(Dwarf Palmetto). I only wish I could grow Italian Cypress, Oleander(Despite it's toxic presence), Live Oak, Spanish Moss, and of course many other tropicals such as Cocos nucifera(yeah right). I'm anxious to share thoughts with other palm nuts such as myself. For info on growing cold hardy palms in northern climates, as well as links to websites which sell R. hystrix, S. minor, and many other cold hardy's, check out my website:
www.planesandpalms.com 😀

Hi everyone, my first post. I like the planes and palms website, it is well designed and very informative. I live in NJ z7b on a barrier island. It is great to hear from palm growers in the midwest and north. I am always ready to learn how to deal with the continental weather conditions. I enjoy growning hardy palms, bananas, and cactus. With the administrators permission I would like to let others know about this forum. fliegen

Welcome to the forum Tony O and fliegen. 😀

Fliegen feel free to let others know about this forum. That would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jay

New Jersey is unique because, even though it lies in higher latitudes, it remains in a conservatively warm zone 7b. I bet Sabal palmetto is even worth a try in your area if you haven't already tried, or you may already be successfully growing them? I know there are reports of Butia capitata(Pindo Palm, Jelly Palm) growing in the Virginia Beach area. I could never grow such specimens where I live, but you could possibly be successful with minimal protection. I have been successful growing Rhapidophyllum hystrix and Sabal minor here, I planted a Livistona chinensis(Chinese Fan Palm, Fountain Palm) in May of 03' and didn't have any intentions of trying to keep it as a perennial. Then I got to thinking, I wonder if I could keep it alive during the winter? Crazily, I built a wire cage around it and lined the cage with a 1/8 inch polycarbonate, leaving only 3 inches open at the bottom for circulation. To my amazement, the lime green palmate fronds didn't suffer any leaf burn until Christmas! In the beginning of January, we received 3 inches of snow, which caused the cage to collapse on top of the palm, exposing it to 10 degree lows and 38 degree highs for two days. After that incident, a slight warm spell came and temps rose into the upper 50's. The palm suffered about 60% leaf burn and continued to burn from then until the middle of March, when weather began to moderate. At that time, the crown and stems of the fronds were still green! It lived through the winter and would have started back from its roots! The sad thing is, it wasn't in a spot where I wanted it permanently, so I sadly pulled it up. I haven't tried growing Sabal palmetto, Sabal etonia, or Serenoa repens, but I collected some Sabal palmetto while in St. Augustine, Florida back in June. The seeds are germinating in my garage and I'm going to give them a try, once they grow into saplings. I try to update my website often, so I'd be more than happy if you wanted to check it often. I try to updated every once a week, while I'm gathering more pictures and growing information. As far as growing cold hardy bananas, Musa basjoo makes a great perennial and grows well here reaching heights up to 14 feet. Cold hardy hibiscus and Chinese Bamboo grow well here, along with Passiflora(Passion Flower vine). I also think Crape Myrtles add a "tropical" look to a yard where Oleander cannot be grown, so I have several mini varieties and Lagerstroemia indica(Tree Crape) which all grow very well here. The Crapes have never died to the ground, and Lagerstroemia indica is common through this area with stout trunks, reaching as high as two story houses! Southern Magnolia is also a favorite of mine, along with Bald Cypress. It really amazes you when you look around and see those types of plants actually growing here in the midwest in large quantity!

Growing a chinese fan palm in your area is quite impressive. Sorry to hear that the cage colapsed under the snow. This Last winter was really brutal here on the coast. The 8th coldest ever recorded. The winds blew down from Labrador and Qebec right down the Hudson Valley putting everyone in a deepfreeze down to the Virgina capes. I lost a number of my S Louisanas and needle palms, but the ones that survived are tough and bouncing back. My T fortunai (bulgarian) defoliated but sprouted back by may. M basjoo did ok also. This year I am trying M sikkimsis and M itenerans, they are reported to be as hardy as M basjoo. I do have a sabal palmetto seedling out, but not here on the island. We do not get enough heat for long term survival. I have it planted on the mainland by a slab of concrete next to a pool.

I noticed that you mentioned www.amazinggardens.com on your website. Theyare great people to deal with! I am growing some of their cactus in my rock garden this year. I will let you know how they make out after the winter. I am lucky to have a local nursery that sells cold hardy tropicals. They have an amazing display garden open to the public. click on their website at www.tripleoaks.com to view some of the bananas they have growing.

I am also currently trying to sprout S ripens (saw palmetto) just to see if I can get it to survive. I will be checking on your website to follow progress. I will be posting photos after I figure out how to post them on this board.

Wow...thats a shame to hear about your Needle Palms dying along with your S. lous. Thankyou for providing me with the other website, I will check it out...Yes alligatoralley does very good business...my palms were in great condition when they arrived. I haven't tried any cold hardy cactus, but I'm beggining to gain interest in cacti. Keep in touch...

Southern New Jersey has an unusual climate, on the coast it is 7b, 25 miles inland in the Pine Barrens it is 6a, a few miles west of that near Philadelphia it goes to 7a. The Pine Barrens are a sandy semi desert area with extreme hot and cold temps. This past winter my needle palms planted in the Pine Barrens suffered no folar damage. They were planted on the SW side of a house, bamboo was on the N providing some wind protection, no mulch or protection of any kind was provided (an oversight) The ones on the coast had an 8" black bark mulch, they burned right to the ground, with a 50% mortality rate. Perhaps the constant salt/sand blasting made the difference. Mainland temps went below zero costal temps were single digits above. (really cold 18 days below freezing with high winds) The mainland needles were from allagator alley the coastal were not. I suspect the ones from Oklahoma are much more cold hardy. I have since planted needles from Oklahoma and N Georgia (Green Plant Market, good people also) on the coast. Will update the results. I just hope we do not have another NEW ENGLAND winter here for a while!

Yes, alligator alley has the hardiest Needle Palms. I purchased a Needle from Boynton Beach, Florida and it burned to the ground last year. Alligatoralley also has the hardiest Sabal minor, since they collect their seeds from a northeast Texas ecotype.

Hi all,
I'm in Montana and have a lot of baby palms growing inside that I grew from seed, but haven't tried to put any outside yet. They say our winds will get them more than anything making our wind chill super cold.
They are growing quite well in a home with only wood heat, so they should be hardy for selling someday around here, if I can bear to part with them.
Looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Welcome to the forum Collette 😀