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They tend to grow thicker rather than higher in the first few years. Once they hit their max base diameter, up they go. Yours looks nice and wide at ground level so up she will go. With adequate water, you will soon see a foot of trunk growth a year. It's a nice looking Palm.

Nice job holding back winter on that palm....looks flawless!!!

Oh no Jim...sad to lose some after so many years.

Which palms did you lose?

.....Phil

I think it will be fine Barb, The spear doesn't look too bad, the top of the spear isn't great looking where it touched the roof, but it's the bottom of the spear that's critical. I have had many pull over the years with the palm surviving, and all looked far worse at the bottom than yours. I would ...

Amazing job on the Agaves!!! Not even one mushy leaf to cut away...you sure have the magic touch.

Really nice and tropical looking. Thanks for sharing.
........Phil

Good luck with nursing your Phoenix back to health. Hope it's a good spring for you so that it sees some early warmth to grow out the damage.

The 23 watt CFL's (100 watt equivalent) get fairly warm, but not too hot to touch. The cooler bulb temp means that they are less likely to overheat the box as has happened to many who put too many C9's in their protection, or have thermocubes fail in the "on" mode. The foam boards are expensive, but ...

Interestingly, CFL's actually produce quite a bit of heat. I switched to them after reading Arctictropical's posts from Z4 Utah on another forum a few years ago. He kept a med fan palm going for 20 years with 2 CFL's in a 4 ft box of 2" pink styrofoam in temps down to -25F. Also a 14' high Trachy ...

Yup, the two 23 watt CFL's did the trick. The min/max's showed -11c mins outside the box and +3c inside. No sign of overheating with warm weather and the bulbs on 24/7.

Hi Barb, Great to hear that your CIPD might be alive!!! I drove 2 hours east of Vancouver to the cottage on the weekend to check on the place and to peak at the palms. Looks like after 3 months in it's Styrofoam box the CIPD is fine. Not a mark on it despite being 5' tall and jammed in a 4' tall box ...

Sorry to see your Phoenix is lost, especially since you have had that one such a long time.

Glad everything else looks so good.
.......Phil

Wow 905, that's truly a labour of love...very impressive.

NP, A picture of the protection would be great to see on a palm that big. There is a good sized CIDP in one of Vancouver's eastern suburbs that I drive past occasionally. It has a decent sized box built around it from Coreplast. Thing must be 15' tall, but the one in your picture looks even bigger ...

I haven't been able to peek directly, as mine are way out at the cottage, a long drive from here. But what I do have is a couple of web cameras monitoring the place for security. If I "take a peek" on the Drop Cam website at night, I can see my boxes glowing off in the distance, so I know the CFL's ...

Hi 905, Interesting your comment on the warm water in spring. I was just reading a fellow on a UK forum doing the same thing. He gets 8 stems per season on his Jubaea when others over there get 4. Could the warm water or soil heat in spring really double the growth? I note some good with black ...

Do you ever fire up the soil heat cable in the spring to speed up the early season growth?

Is there any brand of heat tape that performs better for you? I have tended to be energy wasteful, and just leave the CFL's burning all winter due to past losses with thermostats that failed, and stories of failed heat tapes and defective thermo cubes in the early 2000's, but perhaps that's all in ...

I wound up doing things a bit different yesterday when i got out here. The little newly planted Phoenix went from 3'6" to nearly 5' in one summer. I ran a drip irrigation line to it and had black painted stones around the base to heat the soil in spring and fall...guess it worked. So instead of ...

Curious to know what you eventually went with. In answer to your questions, dark all winter is fine if you don't get too many extended warm spells. A couple of CFL daylight bulbs are better if it gets warm enough to grow a bit. Only minor watering is typically needed if it's really dry and warm, and ...

It looks like it's going to hit -6c at my cottage in Harrison this weekend, so it's time for me to drive 1.5 hrs out from North Vancouver and screw my styrofoam shelters together to cover the CIDP and other tender stuff. When Trachys grow just fine unprotected at my house in North Vancouver, I have ...

That's pretty amazing.

As long as your garage is in the 30-45 degree range, the palm will be near dormant and doesn't need light, or much water. If your garage is often over 50, the palm will be trying to grow and will need light. When it warms up a bit in march, try moving to the front of the garage, and leave the door ...

One never knows what is behind some of those mansion walls, but if I had to guess, the biggest non trachy in Canada outside of the aurboretums is likely the one you mentioned, Brian's Cloverdale CIDP, biggest Jubaea are probably Jeff's in Victoria, and your's is likely the biggest Butia. You could ...

Wow, that's a truly impressive palm. It makes one a bit curious to know if there are any bigger Butia in Canada.

I am aware of one nearly as tall in the Vancouver area, but no where near the girth.

Your's look simply amazing in your yard. A traffic stopper for sure.

It really doesn't sound too likely that the sadder trachy will live, but the one pushing in the middle could possibly have a chance. It really depends on how prime the spot is in your garden. If you aren't in desperate need to have something nice there, then why not give it a chance. Unfortunately ...

Hi Everyone,

I am really enjoying all the stories, photos, and knowledge displayed on this board.

I am inspired by all the folks who have so much success in some truly un-palmlike climates.

Cheers,
Phil

Jim,

Curious to know more about the surgery. How do you know how far to cut without going too deep into the bud? I have tried the drilling thing before, but was always scared to go deep enough.

Did you just keep cutting till the mush was gone, or is it more of a planned operation.
........Phil

The zone here (Harrison) is a bit worse than Vancouver, but has horrible arctic blasts for a few days every few years, so the full styrofoam box, C9 or CFL routine will be needed. If that works for more than a few years, I am going to have a big problem.

Thanks Barb, Just got in from planting a 4 ft CIDP at the Cottage at Harrison Hot Springs. With the wicked arctic outflows we get out here, I may just be trying Jim's surgery technique next spring. Kinda hilarious that it's hot and sunny, and I am already back to thinking about styrofoam...lol ...

I am glad to see the little guy growing out the damage. Did you spray it with copper fungicide or anything?