Great!
Even the less-protected Trachy looks pretty good, but the protected one looks fantastic.
Nice that banana stems are still standing. They will take off nicely vs. starting from roots.
Thanks for sharing. --Erik

Heidi,
thanks for taking the time for an update.
The sheltered Trachy looks fabulous!
The other will be fine...it's only TROUBLE when the new spears are brown and the old ones are green 😆 😆

Buddleia is breaking? Wow.
Miles ahead of us, of course.

Carpenter H will see what a good job he did last year, being encouraged to do it again for second Trachy.
How satisfying!

Barb

Heidi,

They look good. Glad to see that they made it. I think that damage on the unsheltered trachy is from being wrapped up. I strong believe trachys damage quickly from not being able to breathe. You can almost never achieve total dryness under tight wrapping. A dry palm frond is a dead one; 85 percent of plant leaf material is water, so you can see that provides an optimal place for mold, bacteria and mildew to grow under tight wrappings.

Some of my trachys saw down to 8F and have almost zero damage on them. But the difference is they were not wrapped up tight in their protection and were able to breathe properly.

Lack of light and tight wrappings will quickly hurt these palms.

Been wondering where you've been 😆

Glad to see all is well.

Not sure where in Vancouver you are but they do not need to be protected here in the lower mainland.
I have 30 or so trachies in my yard and they have never been protected nor have they ever had any damage.
My tallest one is at least 30' tall now.
I am located by Ambleside Beach at 6' above sea level but I know of trachies in the Fraser valley and up on the mountians and I know they are ok too.
I agree with Wxman, I think you do more damage to trachies in our climate being wrapped up than you do if you let them breathe.
My two cents worth.

Thanks Everyone for your comments!

Jim! Yes I'm back 😀 good to hear from you, I saw your palm update and I went to post a comment and the computer crashed 👿 I loved the Waggie and the Agave and the rest of your cactus' really pulled through nicely despite the collapse. NICE WORK! 8)

Tim and Wes - I completely agree with you guys! Wes its good to hear from you, I'm in Maple Ridge...so we're in the same climate, I wouldn't mind your 2 cents anytime please and thank you! do you have pics of your palms? 30 Trachys WOW 😯
Tim, I agree with you 100% With trial and error over the last couple of winters I'm now realizing what really is working. Obviously not the wrap and garbage bag 🙁 The sheltered Trachy proves to be the best method so next year. I found that if I at least kept the palm dry all was good. I'll definitely get H to build another one for the other trachy next winter. I also looked at your palm updates and wanted to tell you how awesome they look. what a difference from even last year!

Barb - when we were above zero back in December the Buddleia was even budding THEN! It would have a lot more I believe, if it weren't for our colder than normal temperatures the last couple of months. at least it's happy now! 🙂 Hopefully Carpenter H will get that shelter done for next winter, I'm sure he's happy he helped keep it alive and well! 😀

Erik - I tried really hard this year to keep the stems on the banana so I could get a head start on height in the spring. they should be really tall this year ( I hope). Glad you liked the pictures! good to be back here too, I've been away a little too long and now that spring is almost here it will be nice to see everyones gardens start up again.

Thanks again everyone!
Heidi

Heidi,
I'm very glad you are back, and appreciate this thread. I'd like to use it to ask novice questions about Trachy. I struggle with them and have for a dozen years now at this latitude. I appreciate the advice from folks who know more than I do.
Barb mentioned Trachy with green old leaves and brown new leaves/spears. 😳
Those are my two good ones! 😕
The worst was the one I took the most care of; maybe (per Wes) I loved it too much?
The two Waggies look great but they got electric heat (cable) around the base. If that is cheating, I'll keep doing it. 😆

Also, congrats on the bananas. I'm hoping for re-growth from the roots; sucks to live way up here at 35 oN. 🙁
--Erik

great pics!

Here are a few pics taken in Mid February of 2011

This one is of a new planting on February 2011.
Sarcococco Humilis and Hart's tongue Fern

Bamboo at night. The fence is 6 feet high so it gives you an idea of how high the bamboo is.
It is at least 25 to 30 feet.

Front yard

WOW Wes you've got an incredible landscape going on with all your tropicals! such an inspiration, thanks for sharing those. How old would you say your Trachys are?

Erik - gee thanks! I've always considered myself a rookie, but we learn from one another as we go and that's why we're on here to share our experiences. I was afraid I care for my Trachys a bit too much too, after finding myself outside covering, uncovering, wrapping, fussing....but this was a good test this year sheltering one and not the other. what I found was keeping them dry as possible - it's worse when they're wet than when they're dry and exposed to the extreme cold. I say "whatever works....if it works DO IT" so cheat all you want. lol Also regarding the bananas this is my second attempt at keeping them through the winter successfully - again it's trial and error and now I know what to do next winter. I'm sorry to hear about your two trachys spears browning - I'll have to go back and take a look and catch up on yours...as I said I've been so out of the loop lately! Glad to be back too Erik, thanks again!

Heidi

Fabulous Wes.
It's been a while since we saw photos, very nice.

Oh to have a climate like Vancouver's... 😀

Barb

Wes, your place is awesome. 😀

Nice pics you two! I wish I lived in your climate!

Paul

Thanks Paul! I certainly could learn a lot from Wes - wow what a landscape!