Hey! From Newfoundland and labrador/Canada Zone 6a.
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- MajestyPalm
- Seed
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:30 pm
Hey! From Newfoundland and labrador/Canada Zone 6a.
Hello everybody, the names Wayne , hope to have many good future discussions here!
its a majesty palm, and I've kept it since last July! and its July again!!! so I'm amused by the great health its preforming , i apply Epsom salts when fall apporoaches to keep the green coloration or to just simply keep the growth rather then a slow death. Mist it ALOT and keep it watered well.
-Wayne-
its a majesty palm, and I've kept it since last July! and its July again!!! so I'm amused by the great health its preforming , i apply Epsom salts when fall apporoaches to keep the green coloration or to just simply keep the growth rather then a slow death. Mist it ALOT and keep it watered well.
-Wayne-
Last edited by MajestyPalm on Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- MajestyPalm
- Seed
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:30 pm
heres where i live, red arrowJova wrote:Hi Wayne. Nice palm you have there! Did you keep it outside over the winter or did you pot it up and bring it in? My local Lowe's has some nice 6 foot palms like that for around $25, and I've been thinking about picking one up.
this is up north canada, from a world map or globe you can see I've grown mine indoors from our harsh winter months, but i look after it/baby it :p ,its a long task but works out afterwords. epsom salts make the plant robust and mangeable for winter months to come, cant wait for it to touch the roof, hopefully... i believe if a plant can survive a winter and improve more on the summer months, it'll grow with the amount of care given. Notice the pine trees (Black spruce).
- Okanagan desert-palms
- Clumping Palm
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- Location: Kelowna British Columbia Canada
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Majesty palm?
Welcome and congratulations on keeping it alive for as long as you have. IMO majesty palms are among the most difficult to keep alive and survive long term unless you have a humidifier during winter among other special requirements. If you see a Spindle palm or a Triangle palm among your choices next time your at the garden center choose these. They are hands down going to out perform any Majesty palm with minimal maintenance. Most people start out with majesty palms because they are cheap only to find out they now don`t like palms anymore because they die or they have to buy another to replace it. There are lots of palms better suited for indoor, outdoor use!
John
John
Okanagan Palms and Tropicals
6b-7a
6b-7a
- Paul Ont
- Large Palm
- Posts: 1384
- Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:58 am
- Location: zone 6a Downtown Toronto and zone 5a Kingston
Welcome! I think you're our first newf!
Not sure which town you're near, I'm going to assume inland since you list your zone as 5b. I'm in a colder zone (north of Kingston, Ont), but I have quite a bit of experience growing, protecting, killing, etc. many 'non-hardy', half-hardy, and 'hardy' exotic (and exotic looking) plants. So if you have questions about any of those, feel free to ask!
Nice going with the majesty palm, and welcome!
Not sure which town you're near, I'm going to assume inland since you list your zone as 5b. I'm in a colder zone (north of Kingston, Ont), but I have quite a bit of experience growing, protecting, killing, etc. many 'non-hardy', half-hardy, and 'hardy' exotic (and exotic looking) plants. So if you have questions about any of those, feel free to ask!
Nice going with the majesty palm, and welcome!
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... /71265.gif" />
- MajestyPalm
- Seed
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- Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:30 pm
- Paul Ont
- Large Palm
- Posts: 1384
- Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:58 am
- Location: zone 6a Downtown Toronto and zone 5a Kingston
I'll have to answer your questions with more questions!
"is their any palms that can survive my weather?"
Depends on what your weather is... How cold does it get each winter? How long do your freezes last? How long is your growing season? What are the average high/low temps in summer/winter? Perhaps the weather network or the canadian climate normals for the nearest weather station could help here...
"I got a musa basjoo is he hardy?"
See above. Note: Musa basjoo, though listed as hardy to -20 or whatever, will be killed if it freezes. The stem can take perhaps -3C, but not sustained cold. The underground portion can take much more cold, but again, if it freezes it will be killed. That being said, a hearty mulch of woodchips, leaves, etc. can help a basjoo survive the cold zone 4b/5a winter here.
As for the hardiest palm, people will debate that. R. hystrix will take temps to -20C or below, but is extrmemly susceptable to rot following a damp cold. Furthermore, if your climate lacks heat then the palm is much less hardy. Sabal minor is next hardiest, it doesn't have the rot problems (I did have one rot this year, a Sabal minor 'mcCurtain' (supposed to be the toughest ecotype), at that!) associated with hystrix, but the foliage will burn in unestablished plants at anything below -15C and in established plants below perhaps -17C. All palms would need protection in 5b (and anything at or below zone 6b/7a).
I'm going to assume that your best bet in Newfoundland will be Trachycarpus spp. (fortunei, wagnerianus, nanital, nanus etc.) since the summers are mild and the winters cold. These will need protection of 1-1.5 zones to look their best in your climate. However, they do form trunks, so that is a bonus. If you want something that looks more exotic, i.e. has feather leaves, you're going to have to invest in something like Butia or Jubea and these are zone 8-8b palms that will need some serious help to get through your winter unscated...
Or, you can stick with the potted palms and just carry them in and out all year! I'm an adventurer so I perfer to plant everything and see how they handle the long cold. I just like to test the extremes...
Here are a few of my recent pics, keep in mind that everything I grow would be possible in your climate:
Potted T. wagnerianus, I'm running out of excuses not to plant it:
<img src="http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/44774 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00062">
Opuntia polyacantha 'Crystal Tide', my favorite hardy cactus flower:
<img src="http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/42603 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00102">
Echinocereus rechenbachii... Also quite a nice plant, this one I've grown from a small seedling, it's first flower:
<img src="http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/9409/ ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00054">
Paw-Paw tree, 4th year in the ground:
<img src="http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/44571 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00035">
One of the hardier bamboo's, Phyllostachys aureosulcata... Tallest culm is c. 20 feet this year:
<img src="http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/44035 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00029">
And finally, Musa basjoo, is slow this year due to the cold, only c. 7 feet right now To the left is a particularily sad looking M. velutina:
<img src="http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/42066 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00031">
I'm going to post pics of my blooming R. hystrix as soon as the flowers open!
Feel free to PM me for more info!
"is their any palms that can survive my weather?"
Depends on what your weather is... How cold does it get each winter? How long do your freezes last? How long is your growing season? What are the average high/low temps in summer/winter? Perhaps the weather network or the canadian climate normals for the nearest weather station could help here...
"I got a musa basjoo is he hardy?"
See above. Note: Musa basjoo, though listed as hardy to -20 or whatever, will be killed if it freezes. The stem can take perhaps -3C, but not sustained cold. The underground portion can take much more cold, but again, if it freezes it will be killed. That being said, a hearty mulch of woodchips, leaves, etc. can help a basjoo survive the cold zone 4b/5a winter here.
As for the hardiest palm, people will debate that. R. hystrix will take temps to -20C or below, but is extrmemly susceptable to rot following a damp cold. Furthermore, if your climate lacks heat then the palm is much less hardy. Sabal minor is next hardiest, it doesn't have the rot problems (I did have one rot this year, a Sabal minor 'mcCurtain' (supposed to be the toughest ecotype), at that!) associated with hystrix, but the foliage will burn in unestablished plants at anything below -15C and in established plants below perhaps -17C. All palms would need protection in 5b (and anything at or below zone 6b/7a).
I'm going to assume that your best bet in Newfoundland will be Trachycarpus spp. (fortunei, wagnerianus, nanital, nanus etc.) since the summers are mild and the winters cold. These will need protection of 1-1.5 zones to look their best in your climate. However, they do form trunks, so that is a bonus. If you want something that looks more exotic, i.e. has feather leaves, you're going to have to invest in something like Butia or Jubea and these are zone 8-8b palms that will need some serious help to get through your winter unscated...
Or, you can stick with the potted palms and just carry them in and out all year! I'm an adventurer so I perfer to plant everything and see how they handle the long cold. I just like to test the extremes...
Here are a few of my recent pics, keep in mind that everything I grow would be possible in your climate:
Potted T. wagnerianus, I'm running out of excuses not to plant it:
<img src="http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/44774 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00062">
Opuntia polyacantha 'Crystal Tide', my favorite hardy cactus flower:
<img src="http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/42603 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00102">
Echinocereus rechenbachii... Also quite a nice plant, this one I've grown from a small seedling, it's first flower:
<img src="http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/9409/ ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00054">
Paw-Paw tree, 4th year in the ground:
<img src="http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/44571 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00035">
One of the hardier bamboo's, Phyllostachys aureosulcata... Tallest culm is c. 20 feet this year:
<img src="http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/44035 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00029">
And finally, Musa basjoo, is slow this year due to the cold, only c. 7 feet right now To the left is a particularily sad looking M. velutina:
<img src="http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/42066 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00031">
I'm going to post pics of my blooming R. hystrix as soon as the flowers open!
Feel free to PM me for more info!
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... /71265.gif" />
- MajestyPalm
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- Large Palm
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- MajestyPalm
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- Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:30 pm