Did you say you are in z8 ?

What are your minimum winter lows?

Stefano,
thank you for sharing your protection methods here.
Of the various palm forums, this one is the best for exchanging winter protection ideas.
As with you, and Duncan (in Canada--he was -23 oC today!), I use the thermostat controlled pipe heating cable.
I'll place mine in the next few days and will share photos.
--Erik
P.S. -- congrats on the shark pups!

Did you say you are in z8 ?

What are your minimum winter lows?

In general winters never go under - 6/7 °c here, but last winter I registered - 12 °C and one day - 15 °C. I use protections to all the younger palms planted in the ground during the last spring.

Hi Seba, welcome to the forum.

Erik, Jim and others using heat tape/cables:

I was under the impression that it's too hot to have the cables touching the plant itself? Is this the case?

Thanks!

Duncan,
I know Stefano from another forum. He is a great guy and knows a lot. I am glad he is here.

As for the pipe heating cables, I am always reluctant to give advice on these as there are several models out for sale. I don't want to give advice based on the ones I use and have it applied to a different product.

Despite that, the ones I have used for years on exposed PVC water pipes in the horse barn never feel hot, or even very warm, to the touch. Yet pipes never freeze. Last winter was the first I used them on plants. I checked often and they never felt hot or even warm to the touch, yet the two palms with them kept their foliage through winter vs. palms without (all mulched and covered, of course). The tape was not on the leaves, but the little bit of heat on the trunk and spear seemed to help the leaves as well.

Anyway, I am "sold" and I'll buy a few more today. --Erik

Welcome to the forum! That looks like a good protection method so far! Wo wohnst du in Deutschland?

Hello seba, welcome.
That's a gorgeous Butia...tying those recurving fronds the opposite way is like wrestling 😉

I've never seen ROUND heat tapes...ours (in Canada at least) are flat and about one inch across, not very thick.

We have a heat tape wrapped around a water pipe in an uninsulated building.
I warm my hands by grasping it tightly when I shovel snow from the door.
Never gets too hot to touch, but it is definitely warm.

Seba, hopefully you don't have a cold winter like last year, but at least there was lots of snow for insulation.

Barb

I don't use the heat cables so I don't know anything about them.

I mainly use X-mas lights.
I like them because I can screw in/unscrew a few bulbs for more/ less heat.

I think in your climate you could just make a sleeve out of a couple old
blankets and some plastic wrap and cover for the coldest events or rain and cold.

I don't know if the heat cables will let off enough heat to keep those leaves warm enough.

Maybe just a light bulb( or of course X-mas lights 😉 )at the base would keep it
warm if you have enough insulation.

One thing that's a must IMO is a remote sensor(thermometer)to monitor temps,
it's just as easy to fry your palm as it is for it to get to cold.

Stefano,
thank you for sharing your protection methods here.
Of the various palm forums, this one is the best for exchanging winter protection ideas.
As with you, and Duncan (in Canada--he was -23 oC today!), I use the thermostat controlled pipe heating cable.
I'll place mine in the next few days and will share photos.
--Erik
P.S. -- congrats on the shark pups!

That's fine Erik. I hope to see your pictures.

Stefano

Hi Seba, welcome to the forum.

Erik, Jim and others using heat tape/cables:

I was under the impression that it's too hot to have the cables touching the plant itself? Is this the case?

Thanks!

Mine are 30 watt cables. One I used them for snakes too. When I touched them I didn't feel too hot. I know there are also 100 watt models: maybe they will generate too hot.

I don't use the heat cables so I don't know anything about them.

I mainly use X-mas lights.
I like them because I can screw in/unscrew a few bulbs for more/ less heat.

I think in your climate you could just make a sleeve out of a couple old
blankets and some plastic wrap and cover for the coldest events or rain and cold.

I don't know if the heat cables will let off enough heat to keep those leaves warm enough.

Maybe just a light bulb( or of course X-mas lights 😉 )at the base would keep it
warm if you have enough insulation.

One thing that's a must IMO is a remote sensor(thermometer)to monitor temps,
it's just as easy to fry your palm as it is for it to get to cold.

Sorry, but I am not agree: I think heating cables are better than Xmas lights! The firsts are available in many wattages and are professional instruments used in different situations (herpetoculture, aquaculture, hydraulic, protected crops and so on): they generate a uniform heat in all their lenght and many have a thermostat inside like mines. Even thought X-mas lights are frequently used and seems to give some results, they seem an approximate, less scientific method to me. T

Not sure what your agreeing or disagreeing with or what scientific has to do with it,
my question is whether they(cables)provide enough heat to keep your leaves protected-
I know they are very efficient at warming pipes or whatever they come in contact with.

I think they will do a fine job of keeping the area they contact warm,hope they will save the leaves too.

Definitely keep an eye on the temp inside the protection and let us know how this works for you.

I'm sure there are as many ways to protect a palm as there are people to try it.

Good luck-

Not sure what your agreeing or disagreeing with or what scientific has to do with it,
my question is whether they(cables)provide enough heat to keep your leaves protected-
I know they are very efficient at warming pipes or whatever they come in contact with.

I think they will do a fine job of keeping the area they contact warm,hope they will save the leaves too.

Definitely keep an eye on the temp inside the protection and let us know how this works for you.

I'm sure there are as many ways to protect a palm as there are people to try it.

Good luck-

I simply think that if a lamp bulb burns out duringh the night or when you are in the office, your palm could freeze in one night, especially if you live in zone 5b as you do. Heating cables never burns out as lamp bulbs do, so they last potentially forever. I live in zone 8, so I protect with heating cables only my younger palms. Maybe the best lamp bulbs in your case should be infra-red bulbs (the same used in snake cages, as they generate more hot than light), controlled by a thermostat. Moreover I prefer to not use lamp bulbs as they broke if some rain enters the palm protection. Where I live, in zone 8, cold hardy palm leaves burn only if they come in contact with the snow (and I protect all my not-Trachycarpus palms) but they regenerate very quickly in spring/summer. For example every summer my younger palms double in size (I have very hot summers)