That palm looks great ! I'll be uncovering my palms in another 1.5 months... 👿

Thanks Cameron...nah, you're warmer than me by 1 degree!

Maybe spring's in February this year 8)
Barb

That is outstanding! Your coldest has been 8 oF lower than mine, and weeks earlier. You've seen what I have. 🙁
Is it the wind protection you credit, or the genetics behind this palm? --Erik
Edit: or the FreezeProof?

Thanks Erik, but it ain't over yet...still February to go.

Interesting question. Wish I knew.

I've hedged my bets, not willing to lose it with only one method alone.
But it was risky to not supply heat.

protected from wind (bucket), protected from cold (airspace inside bucket), bucket might not being enough (applied Freeze-Pruf), hardly any snow.

Genetics PLUS what can be done to help the palm for at least the first few years is my guess.

Killing a palm in open air in its first or second winter tells me nothing except it was too young to be outdoors. And what a waste!

After year 2, 3, or even 8, it'll be closer to what the CRDB says it can withstand.

Our brief cold spell this winter is nothing compared to last December's arctic outflow that lasted 2-3 weeks each time it arrived, and we had a couple of them.

Your palms did considerably better than I guessed they would, Erik.
When I heard your forecasted temperatures, saw the open land with no obvious microclimate area...felt they'd be happier tucked right up against the south side of your house.
Thanks goodness they're OK.

Barb

The rest of January looks wonderful here: highs near 60 oF, lows about 40 oF. We were forecast to get to freezing this morning but bottomed out at 38 oF.
Our coldest temps are always in December/January so I'm not worried about single-digits again.
March is what worries me as we swing from the 80's oF to the 20's oF fast and things just rot. I was just outside applying copper fungicide to leaves and spears.
If my Trachy makes it, I'll do more for it next winter.
As for microclimate, yes, I chose the worst option I had available. 😳
Anyways, keep sharing your photos and stories for the rest of us to learn from.
--Erik

Erik,

That's quite the swing 80-->20F in March, 80 sounds wonderful. 😉

Your trachy will make it, they're real troopers!

Woke up to a mini blizzard today, a skiff of snow resulted.
Definitely not over yet for us.
Everything will stay uncovered unless temp really dips.

I continue to learn from everybody here too... 😀
Barb

The palm looks great Barb! Should pull through no problem. I plan on getting some more trachys too this spring and using your no heat method. feels like spring here too. It's 42f right now and sunny. I actually saw some geese flying over head today! Early spring?? Shouldn't get my hopes up too hight. Like you said we still have February to go!

Thanks Scotty,

You're lucky there are so many decent nurseries that stock palms in Ontario!

Your yard will look even nicer than now when more Trachys are planted out!
And the solid fence will give them a nice microclimate.

I sure hope your neighbours appreciate the view they'll soon have.

I'm such a chicken and wouldn't put a young Trachy outside for a few years.
More roots = some leftover healthy roots if some die from really cold soil.

The only thing I applaud when it's dying is a fungus gnat...
Barb

That Naini is hanging tough!

One theory out there now is that the more kinked trunked Trachys are more hardy than unkinked.

Yours looks like a tough one.

That's great news!
Have you got a link where that's discussed?
It would make interesting reading.

Mine looks like one part of the trunk is in this time zone, the other half is...well, heading somewhere else. 😆
Barb

Mine looks like one part of the trunk is in this time zone, the other half is...well, heading somewhere else. 😆
Barb

😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

The guy would put that out there is John from the"Growing Palms in Colorado Springs USDA 5b website.

You would have to look back through his threads on the Forum site I gave you.
There is also an excellent commentary on winter damage to Trachy leaves there that he posted in response.
Every forum should have it in their archives!

Barb,
please post here when you find the links Jim refers to.
Short term, I need to know what to do with damaged trachy leaves. Long term, I need help selecting Trachys that are extra-hardy.
--Erik

Nainital looks lousy today.

Looks like I'll learn about leaf damage this way!

Bummer! 😐
Barb

PS--Jim I searched for that guy/site, but got only "Sorry, Hometown has been shut down"
Anybody know of another link to John of Growing Palms in Colorado Springs, USDA Zone 5b?
My searches took me to Gardenweb twice.

The photos are great even if the damage is not.
My leaves are showing increasing evidence of damage from the cold of 10 days ago. That is why I sprayed the copper fungicide yesterday.
We have at least a week of warm weather so they are all enjoying sunshine and relative warmth. I'll take photos again later in the week for comparison.
As of now, the Ch. humilis and Butia with supplemental heat to the trunk have the best-looking leaves; the unheated Butia and Trachy show much more leaf damage. The poor Trachy is the worst of the bunch.
--Erik