Macario, what happened to Tesan? that was going to be the promised land of all trachys. Have you had luck with your seedlings? 😀

Hi Paul, yup, I like reading the research stuff...though most data barely sinks in 😐
Feel free to PM any literature you discover.

My palms are doing fine. Half my plants are in the barely-heated building, where it's about 42 to 45 F, including the 31 yr old Trachy fortunei and same aged Jade Tree, Phoenix c., C.revoluta, Calamondin oranges, succulents, etc.
The other half--the warm winter plants--are in the house, including Musa basjoo, Dioons edule and spinulosum and Zamias (from Lori), and Madagascar lamerei, and spindle + triangle palms, strelitzia, several young sabals and Chamaerops h. cerifera (from Barrie).

Then, there are the s-l-o-w seeds -- copernicia, bismarckia, brahea super silver and armata -- beside the woodstove in the basement.

Did I miss posted pics of your palms?

Yes, what's happened with Tesan? It was surely part of the research mix-ups?
Barb

Ha! Your Trachy is a few years older then I am!
I haven't posted any pics of my palms... I have a few pics of the winter damage they received last year and their subsequent (slow) recovery. I have a single fortunei and a needle plam planted out. The Trachy was completely toastd in spring (I think I cooked it inside a Rhodo cone) and had the spear pull... I treated it with fungicide and in late June a weak, badly damaged new leaf emerged. I think it currently has 3 leaves, which I've wrapped in frst cloth, surrounded with mulch and left to contend with the cold! My new strategy, which I will employ next year on a waggie, will involve a mini-greenhouse, heated by a low-wattage heating cable wrapped around a jug of water!
The needle palm looked like it had little damage, but when I noticed that the spear leaf had been still for a month, I gave it a little tug and it pulled easily... I should have treated it in early spring... Oh well, now I know. Anyway, the main stem died but I still have 4 suckers (much smaler then the main stem), to play with.
I also have quite a few Sabal minor, a large T. nanital, A few Washingtonias and a bunch of random sedlings!
I also have an extensive outdoor cactus garden, many Yuccas, Dasylirion, Agave, Hesperaloe, etc...
Phewf!
Here is the needle with the main stem missing.

Here is what T. fortunei should not look like:

And, to prove that I'm not just a butcer, here is a Dasylirion texanum... Behind it you can see some 3 year old seed grown Yucca elata's, and behind them is a Yucca thompsoniana:

Closeup of the thompsoniana:

And, finally, one portion of the cactus bed (I made the bed in July 2006, picture from July 2007):

Hi Paul,
Ya, make me feel old 😉

You're optimistic 🙂 ...a trachy and needle without winter protection in 4a, 5b ? 😯

Your Trachy looks healthy! Proof to not be hasty to compost a palm after a spear pull.
Good testament to fungicides.

Great that your needle sent up suckers...it would be relatively cheap/easy to put a three-sided enclosure against that wall.

Nice looking yuccas/sotol. Any winter protection for them? Which seedhouse do you use?
Very nice cactus bed. Lots of cactus addicts on this forum.
Did you amend the slope with sand, or is it native?

Looks like you've got lots of room for more plants!
Thanks for the pics.
Barb

Ya, I thought the trachy was toast, but I decided to give it a chance to come back and then I started to feel sorry for it as it struggled to send up that first leaf! Poor thing. I hope I didn't lead you astray, the palms are protected (the needle had burlap last winter, the trachy a rhodo cone)... This winter both have frost cloth and a thick layer of mulch! Actually I'm dissappointed with the needle, I thought tha a zone worth of protection would suffice to overwinter most of the foliage... I was wrong!
One of the Yuccas (glorisa variegata) is protected this winter. Though I only gave it a burlap wrap... All others (in the bed pictured) are left to face the winter! I have another bed that is more shaded along the south side of the house (which is where the Yucca elata that the rabbits consumed is) which gets a lean-to shelter to keep rain off. It has open sides so the plants are still subjected to low (lower probably then those in the other bed, which benefit from a snow cover) temperatures.
My current favorites for Yucca etc. seeds are Mesa garden (always good) and the Desert northwest (the best for hardy sourced seeds!)

The soil in the garden is pure sand (Horticultural sand from RONA) topped with pea gravel (maybe 1/2"-1"). It drains VERY quickly, but with the excess of rain that I get it's not a bad thing. If there is no rain for 10 days or so, I will water lightly!

I've already sent in my spring order to beaver creek greenhouses for some new cacti! I'll also be heading to Broadway Gardens (in St. Catherines) to pick up a few new palms (probably another needle, now that I think I know what to do with it!)

Cheers,
Paul

Paul,
oops sorry I did see the reference to burlap and a rhodo cone.
Both were likely below the minimum protection.
I bet if you put a plastic-lined wooden apple box (for example) and a heating cable on the soil, that trachy'd thank you with two feet of growth next year.

I'm not familiar with growing needles...but I'd guess one zone isn't going to be enough unless you've got the micro climate on your side. Two to three zones are often still iffy.

So during your mild weather you remove the protection?...a lot of work I bet.
Your cacti love that sand environment! Wise of you to amend with sand/gravel.

I hope you repost your cactus/yucca bed pics under Anything Cacti and/or Anything Yucca...fans of succulents there, who'll be interested in your seed sources.

Good luck purchasing more palms...I've heard of a local nursery getting a new shipment of houseplants tomorrow...they must've heard me grumbling that nothing decent arrives in winter. 😕
Barb

Barb great news Vernon is a zone 6, Kelowna zone 6b Osoyoos zone 7. I have eight 2 gal. T. takil. They are faster growing with bigger fronds than their Trachy cousins. Now I just have to wait another 4 years to plant them. The Trachy and needles I have in the ground are doing fine so far. Only 6 more weeks till I can say they all made it. I`ll post an update with pics.

John

John, zone SIX 😯
I sincerely hope/wish you are right...alas even updated maps show my area considerably colder (in the Coldstream Valley), probably because of the effect of the Monashee Mountains ? You'd think Ag Dept would have better maps...but nope.
I'll be satisfied when maps show me as a Zone 8 😆

Guess we'll know when we see somebody's Trachy growing beyond a roofline. 😀

Good to hear your pyramid winter protection was sufficient. How was it with snowload?

Takil and Nainital are always getting good "hardy" reviews.
Your Takils looked very robust in your last pictures...why the 4 year wait?
That big one on your patio in summer in the wooden box...was that your Trachy?

Barb

Barb at what elevation are you? I was under the assumption you were near valley floor. Barb no problems with snow as the pitch angle of the pyramid lets all the snow drop to the base.Most of the winter it has been off. I won`t plant anything until the trunk is at least 4" to 5" circumfrence. Those ones I have pictured on my deck are T.fortunei. The 2 gal T.takils are in my palm-garage LOL 😆 and I will update some photos of them as well.

John

John, we're NEAR valley floor...guessing about 100 feet up, maybe a bit more.
Vernon's elevation I believe is 1200 feet above sea level...
It'd be cool to know exactly 8)

The pyramid shape is an excellent idea, and the shed snow would build up as a blanket along the sides.
The palm-garage 😆 😆 (cars out in the snow)
Look forward to your pics.
Barb

Barb here is the 2000 zone map for Vernon 6a and the Okanagan.
http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/index.phtml#

On the right side menu click on find place type Vernon or any city you want to find. Then click legend to match the coresponding colors to the zones. I found it very interesting that Trail, Castlegar,Nelson B.C. are a 6b. This data was collected from 1990 to 1999. I`m sure the new zone map that comes out in 2010 will show us in the Okanagan 6b to 7a.

John,
Thanks for that map.
I had seen it earlier but "got nowhere" until today.

It'd likely take Google Earth to nail it down more closely, but Environment Canada shows me somewhere at 5a, 5b.
But 6a seems to be my neighbour (nearly). 😥

I just have to remember when it's raining in Vernon, it's snowing at my place (*poop*).
I'll update zone profile...
Barb