Hi Jim,
Yes I'm going to love having Washy filiferas. Most of my other palms need to be protected from the blistering sun in the afternoon so they end up taking up all space on east side of patio.
But the Washys will be steamin by the time the sun goes down each day 😆
Don't know why I haven't tried them before.

I'm not as brave as you or other folks here, and haven't overwintered anything (I end up digging it out before winter hits).
Glad you're going to baby your enclosed plants for a while. It's certainly worth it, and we learn a lot by looking into the enclosure every two hours at night 😆 😆
Your method sounds like it's a good one.

Re people looking versus people posting.
That's OK, I think it's nice that people look just to see what's happening, maybe they haven't got anything to offer that day.
I've done it too, in a hurry, look at 5 or 6 new postings, vowing to go back when I have time, and forgetting to do that.
There are a couple of websites that I read frequently, but have never joined because the participants are all real pros in the gardening/palm business. I'd have zilch to contribute to anybody from Florida!

You'll be sorry you asked for more pics...ha ha, I can fill this internet site for 2 days with pics... 😆

Climate first: In C only. So much info below, your eyes will glaze over!
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?Province=ALL&StationName=Vernon&SearchType=BeginsWith&LocateBy=Province&Proximity=25&ProximityFrom=City&StationNumber=&IDType=MSC&CityName=&ParkName=&LatitudeDegrees=&LatitudeMinutes=&LongitudeDegrees=&LongitudeMinutes=&NormalsClass=A&SelNormals=&StnId=1068&start=1&end=13&autofwd=0

In a nutshell, we have global warming to thank.
Winters 30 years ago were -30C, summers wonderful but not blistering hot like now...back yard hit 42 or 43C a couple of times this year 107F
Winters now seldom get to -20C -4F and if they do, it's only for a few days or a week.
We now get more rain than years ago, which is good because we're semi-arid at only 13 inches precip a year.
Get lots of wind on our south slope that blows around anything not nailed down.
Not as many thunderstorms as years ago.
Fortunately no severe stuff (earthquakes, monsoons, cyclones, typhoons, tornados, mudslides, sinkholes etc.) Knock on wood! 😮

As to plants I grow, a few pics (at a time, ha ha):
Here's a Reed/Bamboo palm flowering... I've had only a year

from the left, below in the house is a Spindle Palm, three little Triangles, a Bird of Paradise and a Dioon Spinulosum

Another bunch from a September repotting session:

A bunch more:

Then there are some in another building 😆 😆 😆
pics another time.
Don't want to crash the site!

Barb

Very nice Barb!did not know Canada had desert areas,judging from the view out the window in your second pic looks like a beautiful area!My plan for the palms is copied from"growing palms in colorado springs usda zone 5b"this is one to read with alot of good info on how keeping palms dry greatly increases cold hardiness,I only wish I would have followed it more closely as 3palms have spear pull and 2 partial spear pull,my 2 cordylines may be toast as well,strage because some other ones in peoples yards around here look o.k.

Thanks, Jim.
We're not desert as in sand dunes and such (although...if they don't stop overgrazing the hills, they will turn to sand)...but we're semi, especially on this south slope.
That window view was to the valley bottom. It's a lot drier and more brown hills looking the other way.

Our administrator here (Jay) did a nice photo journal of another hot dry area south of us that resembles our place.
Here are his pics.
http://www.palmsnorth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1910&highlight=osoyoos

I'll keep an eye out for that book.
Sounds like a good resource if they're talking about zone 5a.

Oh what a shame your palms and cordyline are threatened. Talking again about locations, I notice from your pics you are located basically on flat land (presume a valley bottom?). If that's so, and depending on your soil type, your soil may hold water for a very long time even on hot days...at the surface it may feel dry from the heat of the sun.

If you think you're watering too much, I'd suggest a percolation test you can conduct yourself.
I had to do this a long time ago myself when we were applying for a permit for a septic drain field on our acreage.

In two or three locations in your yard (of different character...a rocky outcrop area, for example; along the edge of a dry stream bed; and in the center of the back yard). Dig one hole in each of the three areas, about 1 foot deep. Clean out all the loose debris. Get three buckets of water, all filled to the same level.
Gently pour water from bucket 1 into hole 1, and so on.
And then time how long it takes for water to completely disappear.
Wish I still had the instructions for "what percolation timing means" or whatever it was called.
It sure gave me a good idea how long it takes to move a certain volume of water through our soil.

A person may think he has nice garden soil when in fact it's half clay which drains poorly (but has lots of nutrients).

And losing plants, presumably to poor drainage/root rot, is disheartening (and expensive).

I'd knock on their doors and ask what they're doing right!
Or, alternately, Jim, maybe the plants are too dry when very young.
Most plants seem to like more water when they're young, and can handle very dry as they age.

Hope your plants pull through OK.
Barb

Barb the "Bamboo palm" I believe is a Chamaedorea seifrizii. They do great in shade and are a very nice clumping palm. they work great as a house plant.

Sorry Barb,I should have mentioned that growing palms in colorado springs usda zone 5b,is a website! The soil drains extremely well,the prob with the cactus is that I should have covered them from ANY rain starting Oct 1,I think I was babying them to much and should have let them do their thing,we also had record flooding in spring and there is to much deep moisture in the cactus bed,I will just need to keep them a little warmer than I originally planned for a few months until things dry out,hopefully mother nature will help out by not sending us the cold stuff untill late Jan!I can always tell if things are approaching being dry enough if there is no moistue on the plastic on cold nights. I removed alot of leaves from inside big g/h today that are holding on to moisture.At this point all I can do is see if cactus,palms,etc will respond in a month are so,if not,lesson learned!I will be smarter next year :)-I also deep watered about 3weeks ago with potassium and should have let this be the end of watering for 6-8weeks but it rained .72" and I should have covered them! Big mistake 😳

I'll look at that website...easier than reading a book anyway!

Glad you have excellent drainage (just too much rain).
A lot of folks in Vancouver (where it rains about 60 to 90 inches annually) plant succulents on raised mounds under which extra gravel has been added. That helps the roots, but as you know, not the tops. Often planting under eaves can help, especially on the side of the building away from prevailing winds (wind-driven rain).

Would a small fan help? Can the moisture vent out somewhere?
It'll likely continue to wick up through moist soil into the enclosure.

It's lousy learning this stuff the hard way.
Especially when you've put so much effort into it as you have.
Barb

Jim that is some dedication you have with protection for your plants. Everyone zone 8 and below has to be ingenious with most of what we grow and protect. I would like to see some mid winter pics how things are holding up.It Looks like you have the right ideas.

John

Thanks Ok,I will post some pics soon and some later.
Barb,you and I are on the same page 8) I put a fan in there last night!and the back of the g/house is down to vent moisture out,temps are going into the low 50s today 😉

Jim,

Nice work on everything! 8)

The Palms in Colorado Springs site was hosted on AOL Homepages, AOL decided to discontinue that service 10/31

There is still a copy at archive.org,
http://hometown.aol.com/fitzroya/myhomepage/cooking.htm l"> http://web.archive.org/web/20071208134907/http://hometown.aol.com/fitzroya/myhomepage/cooking.html

This is the page with the vascular data,
http://web.archive.org/web/20041210092102/hometown.aol.com/fitzroya/VascularFluidData.html

Hopefully the author will start up another site.

Steve

Thanks Knnn.
Here are some pics of agaves and palms-First palm is nainital,partial spear pull-second is fortxwag,full spear pull and third pic is fortunei(large) and wagxfort,still growing,planted last Nov of 2007
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Damn shame on lovely specimens; yet the camera doesn't see as much.

Re vent for moisture...even a 2inch or 4 inch (versus the entire back) would vent moisture, driven out by the fan.

Plants attain hardiness as they age keeps ringing in my ears...maybe that means as much as 5 or more years old.

Small(er) root systems might not stand a chance.
Barb

I think the comment "palms attain hardiness with age" you could also add that hardiness increases with time in the ground as you can see the trachys that have been through winter in the ground are unfazed.You can see in the pics that there is some moisture on the agaves,this should begin to clear up(I hope)in a few days to a week,my other little g/houses are already just about clear when closed up,which is a good sign for the trachys with spear pull.One of the advantages of growing trachys in a mini greenhouse is that they continue to grow over the winter and as you can see,nainital and wagxfort are very healthy,treated with fungicide,and in a good position to recover if they can get 4-6weeks of weather without severe cold,which I should be able to protect them from.The nainital spear is intact so it may recover fast!
Here are some more pics of trachys in mini g/houses and sabals(I do have one S.louisiana in with the nainital so I can compare this method with leaf cages) that are in styro covers for now,until they get their leaf cages-The 2 pure waggies are in the tiny g/h's
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<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Greenhouse"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Inside view of g/h"></a>
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Jim, I had read somewhere not to plant palms in the ground--even hardy ones--until they're at least at the 2 to 5 gallon size. But they obviously weren't talking about trachys...nainital, waggie x fortunei, etc.

I'm particularly impressed with my nainital, nothing seemed to faze it (but then it's never been out all winter).
Both it and my 31 year old fortunei (yup, it's 31...that's it pictured in my avatar) like spring and fall far better than summer.
And in summer, they're in only morning sun because it gets so hot.

Good you got the fungicide on.
And the moisture has vented completely! Good thing.

What was your outside temp when the inside thermometer was at 65 F?

Figured out why your cordyline(s) died and neighbor's cordys were fine?

You've done a lot of work; very satisfying I bet.

Want a few more pics?
Here's my Jade tree, also 31 yrs. old

I pressed the wrong button, and poof, Submitted.
More pics another time.
Barb

Barb,love jade plants have grown them for years and finally have one that is taking on a tree form.Your jade is awesome!!! I would love to see more pics!Here are some pics of mine and the latest project,leaf pile around the needle palms that have not been covered yet and still look great after 18F,supposed to be 10F-15F tomorrow morning,so I am not chancing anymore cold damage!if these leaf piles don't work(they will :lol:)no leaf pile will.Here is a few shots of the steps involved and the end result-
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="10yr old Jade 2nd year flowering"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Jade"></a>
Leaf piles on Needle palms,I put burlap sacks around them(you may be able to see in background of first pic,then styrofoam,stuffed with leaves and then some mulch to hold leaves in place
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Leaf pile(needle palm)"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="Leaf piles(needle palms)"></a>
<a href=" " target="_blank"><img src=" " border="0" alt="needle palm protection"></a>

Jim, great jade you've got.
And your living room looks like mine 😆 too many plants, not enough room for people 😆

If that leaf enclosure (and the whole system) doesn't protect your needles, nothing will.
I think it's exceptionally well planned and done.

Do you grow any cycads?
Here are a few of mine...the ones in red/white drink containers were grown from seed.
One cycas panzhihuaensis, four cycas debaoensis.
Others I bought are: zamia furfuracea, z.vasquezii, z.picta.
My fav cycad, not shown here, is the Dioon spinulosum, grows huge in no time.

Here are my three Washy filifera. Love 'em

Barb