Barb

Lot's of good suggestions....covering the glass to shade it,etc.

Unplugging the heater,I have the stuff I might want to unplug on a powerstrip
with a switch so I don't have to plug it back in and see sparks and what not.

In regard to your temps 60(F) is a great daytime temp,no worries there,Trachy are mountain palms
for the most part and are quite well equipped for temp swings!

Takil in it's native range regularly sees 15-25(F) at night and 50-60(F) by day.

My Trachys have dealt with 70(F)temp swings in one afternoon-evening,Bill and I were
kidding around about how the Washys saw 117(F) covered up still in April!
Now that's a tough palm!

Barb, that why I think I am going to buy a thermo cube that comes on at 10F (-12C) and off at 20F (-6C) for my palm hut. a trachy and sabal minors above 35F (2C) is not conducive to their long term survival in my zone I need to harden these palms off.

Those temps are fine for your trachy Barb. Look at it this way, not that it makes a big difference in your case because your hut stays right around freezing, when it warms up in there the spear grows a little and if there was something going on with it "mild fungus" theoretically speaking it will push it out. That's how I look at it at least.

Bill

Trachy are mountain palms for the most part and are quite well equipped for temp swings!

I'm not worried that I'll damage the Trachy...just that it'll never get hardy for an unprotected winter here where temps seldom exceed 0C 32F for two or three months in winter. Often a heck of a lot lower than that.

Isn't our ultimate goal to have a 20 or 30 foot palm tree survive a typical winter because we protected it well when it was young?

Covering the roof is an easy option to keep it cooler.

a thermo cube that comes on at 10F (-12C) and off at 20F (-6C)

I shied away from that one, range seemed a little TOO cold for a palm only planted one year.
Will look for a different thermocube next year.
Maybe a PLC electrician can "build/program" one.

Thanks folks.
Barb

Barb- its a pretty impressive palm hut. Perhaps stuff it with leaves or straw and forget about the heat source?

stuff it with leaves or straw

Sheesh, I'd have to find a hay farmer, and appoint him Husband #2. 😆

If I were in a zone 7, I wouldn't even think of heating it, Charles.
Alas...

stuff it with leaves or straw

Sheesh, I'd have to find a hay farmer, and appoint him Husband #2. 😆

If I were in a zone 7, I wouldn't even think of heating it, Charles.
Alas...

Only the Butia is getting heat. I wanted to spoil it because last year's leaf cage became very wet and reeked havoc on its fonds. I may return to that method next year. The Meds and Trachys have leaf cages whilte the Sabal Minors and Needles have nothing but mulch and my encouragement.

The Home Depots around here always sell bales of hay for people to make rustic looking outdoor decorations. I think that hut filled with hay would protect that Trachy.

Hay is easy--you can get it delivered (photo). I had six bales dropped of yesterday. 😀

Charles,
my avatar Butia has not had heat any of its four winters but it is pretty much defoliated every winter despite hay and cover. It recovers well in our Summer heat. Last year, I used pipe heating cable on a large but new Butia and it came through with very little leaf loss, so I support your idea to give Butia some heat. Probably not necessary to keep it alive, but it will have a much better Spring for it.

Keep us updated! --Erik

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you can get it delivered (photo). I had six bales

Honey, (calling husband), can you come help with a delivery?
His reply wouldn't be printable once he saw what was outside
.
I can see that hay would work, especially the small rectangular bales.
It's not for me though...leads to too many mice around.
And, no, I don't want a cat.
😉

Barb

W didn't even tell me she had this ordered--it just showed up.

As for cats, we have five. We wander the garden together every morning. They have figured out how to get into the new palm hut, so no mice in there. --Erik

Barb

I think the real trick in getting your palm to be cold hardy or hardier 😉

Is obviously letting it get established- as you are aware but also gradually exposing it to colder temps
in the fall/winter.

Think about where the cold hardy Trachys grow.....in the mountains.

In some places in Colorado they are already seeing freezing temps in late Aug(early)-Sept
and yet the sun is still strong.
I think this is one of the reasons John's(in Colorado)-palms are so cold hardy,these palm have a long time to adjust to cold!

It can be very hard on a palm that has not seen temps below freezing to take even 20(F)if it is sudden,
or any extended temps below freezing.
If you can slowly expose it to cold,say in 5(F) increments(maybe every 10-14 days) it should be adjusting to it,if it is healthy.

It also seems that the slower growing Trachys of the Fortunei/Takil group are more cold hardy.
My slowest growing Trachys were completely untouched by cold that(as you know)leveled my other Trachys-
the faster growing Trachys were still putting out TO MUCH growth when winter closed them out.

Hay is easy--you can get it delivered (photo). I had six bales dropped of yesterday. 😀

Charles,
my avatar Butia has not had heat any of its four winters but it is pretty much defoliated every winter despite hay and cover. It recovers well in our Summer heat. Last year, I used pipe heating cable on a large but new Butia and it came through with very little leaf loss, so I support your idea to give Butia some heat. Probably not necessary to keep it alive, but it will have a much better Spring for it.

Keep us updated! --Erik

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That is my thinking- spoil it a bit. But all things being equal, it would do just fine with a leaf cage so long as the leaves remain dry. Allowing the leaves to get wet as been my major mistake since I got into this eccentric undertaking. Not the kiss of death, but it does whack the palm good. Now I utilize tarps to cover the cages.

in Colorado they are already seeing freezing temps in late Aug(early)-Sept
and yet the sun is still strong.
I think this is one of the reasons John's(in Colorado)-palms are so cold hardy,these palm have a long time to adjust to cold!

But I thought early cold was particularly damaging to cool-loving palms like Trachy fortunei.
Mine hates the dry windy desert heat of summer, but really looks good and grows well come September (and keeps growing much later).

Then heating it in a palm hut to 45F with a thermocube... 😐 hmmm.

Because of the palm hut temps when we hit -19C -2F, I had the heating on but didn't like the 45F result...too warm.
Compounded on a sunny day.
So the trick with my old fortunei--that here puts on growth well into end Oct--is to use heat ONLY when brutal cold arrives.

And turn it off completely when it's "normal" cold, say, -10C 14F.
Your power bar on/off switch is a good idea.

Requires a bit more "staying on top of things", but totally eliminates the need for the 45F thermocube.

Re leaves, Charles:
By the time all our leaves are off, and raked, they're so wet I place them only around the exterior base of the palm hut to a height of about a foot.
Then they freeze solid.

Barb

Barb, I am thinking about pulling my thermocube also and just plugging my spot light in when temps are below 15F (-9C) and leave it on as long as temps stay below 15F.

Re leaves, Charles:
By the time all our leaves are off, and raked, they're so wet I place them only around the exterior base of the palm hut to a height of about a foot.
Then they freeze solid.

I hear you. Our county requires that leaves be put in paper bags for recycling or swept into piles which they country takes. I grab bags from neighbors, but must cover them with something until they are deployed lest they be soaked.

There is no easy way. Growing a palm is committing to lifelong endeavor. 😐