Well Rick, the most cold hardy trunking palm, is the Trachycarpus fortunei(Chinese Windmill Palm). It is a zone 7b palm, cold hardy to 5F. Its probably not going to grow in zone 6b, for long term anyway. Its worth a try though, but the palm would need advanced protection!...Trachy's are popular in Atlanta, Georgia. Needle Palm usually has a subterrainean trunk, but it is possible for a Needle Palm to form an above ground trunk at maturity. Usually, only 20+ yr. old specimens form a trunk. The Needle Palm would require some protection for its first winter or two, so I would try to buy at least a 5 gallon size Needle Palm. During an average winter in zone's 6 and 7, mulching is usually all the protection required for the Needle. 😀

Hi Rick,
I have a needle palm here in 5b and it does ok!, it should grow a small trunk in time. I protected mine for a year or two. They grow very slow but seem to pick up speed as they get older. This is one hardy palm! If it dies back it should push up suckers that could be hardier then the original plant. Never give up hope if somethng dies. I have found that the same sp. will have individuals plants that are hardier then the sp. as a whole.

You should check out Sabal minor. lousiana. I never considered R.hystrix a true trunker, but S.m. lousiana gets a trunk and grows about ten feet tall(slowly). Another that I just got is Sabal x texenis. There are some people selling a northern growing S.mexicana, but don't be confused. The real one is a hybrid between S.minor and S.mexicana, and it only grows in brazori county in Texas(gets over 25 feet. It grows very tall, and is bullet proof to very cold weather. You can find it a rare palm seeds(banana tree has s.mexicana, but sells as S.xtexensis). Sabal lousiana(and others) can be found at "Don's palms". Good luck!

I agree, R Hystrix is very slow to form a trunk 🙄 , but can reach 10' in hieght, over many many years. I put it as a choice for long lived unprotected sp. in zone 6b.
You are right, some of the sables will be a better choice for trunking hieght, and when I find one that lives through -5 F. with out a lot of damage I will be a very happy person 😀
The next palm I try will be sable birmingham, Has anyone here had good succes in a zone 6 or colder with this palm?

I grow Sabal Birmingham for 4 years and it is still in infant stage.
It is hardy, no doubt but very very slow.. even worse than Needle Palm.

I would say in order to achieve fast and impressive results with trunkated palms in z6b you need to commit yourself to protection labor every winter and grow Trachycarpus Takil or Trachycarpus Wagnerianus.

Consider needle Palm as a longterm investment but treat it as a palm bush.. it will not develope a sizable trunk for a dozens of years especially in z 6B

Hi Jane 🙂
I hope I live for a long time if sable birmingham is slower than needlepalm :clock:
Thanks for the info :occasion5:

Been awhile since I have posted, but I have Sabal minor var. louisiana seeds if you would like to try some Rick. I also have S. minor of the North East Texas ecotype (which are very cold hardy). I have had 100% success with the NE Texas ecotype here in So. Illinois, without protection. If you would like a very cold-hardy trunker, var. louisiana is probably your best bet! It can be just as hardy as S. minor, but it may lose a little hardiness once it forms a trunk? However, it's worth a try and I will gladly send you seeds (no charge) if you're interested! 😀

Regards, Zach