God hasn't made any baby palm seedlings that are hardy to -20F.

Wenike, personally I wouldn't put really young palms outdoors, not in that zone (similar to mine).

Look around HD or other big box stores for Trachycarpus fortunei (windmill palm) or Raphidophyllum (needle palm, not easy to find), or a Sabal (tough to find).
Keep it indoors in a spare room (cool) in a pot for the first couple of winters, outdoors from late spring to early fall, before planting it in a protected area near a building where it doesn't receive cold northwest winter winds.

Once it's planted out, you'll need to protect it with various methods, probably including heat tape or Christmas lights (not LED).

When you're ready to protect it for its first winter, lots of people here have posted great protection pictures and advice.

And if you're young...you can start palms from seed. 😆 😆

Browse winter protection topic here:
http://www.palmsnorth.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15

Or maybe someone on the Seed Exchange from the U.S. midwest:
http://www.palmsnorth.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

Keep us posted what you find, please.

Nature has yet to produce a palm that is relaible in zone 5. Needle palms can take some zone 6's, mostly those in southerly latitudes (Tennessee and South), or in remarkable microclimates further north.

A mature, established, needle palm might be able to survive -20F, but it would definately be damaged and useless as a horticultural specimen. Oh, and needles are subject to spear leaf pull after long freezes...

Wenike,
I would go for more mature stuff unless you plan on protecting with heat. Heat still might be necessary anyways for a few years depending on the spot you put it. You will never get away from at bare minimum covering them from rain and snow for the winter. I'm in a solid 6b where temps hardly ever get to zero even single digits don't happen all that frequently, we do have our share though. The only one I could leave out is a needle palm and have it look nice in the spring. Even that would require a super spot out of the wind.

Don't let this persuade you, here's a place that sells smaller things out of NC.
http://www.plantdelights.com/

Hope this helps,
Bill

Jeez, there was no posts when I started typing. Now Barb and Paul bet me.

Bill, ha ha, quick fingers... 😆

Glad you posted that Plant Delights link.
Fabulous nursery, excellent customer service, superior plants, outstanding packaging so they arrive in A-1 condition.
And Tony's quarterly newsletter is a delight to read.

Wenike, you WILL find nice palms at Plant Delights nursery.
And being in the U.S., you won't get stuck with needing phytosanitary certificate and border inspection, and all that crap we Canadians are subject to when buying from great nurseries in the U.S.

Plant Delights is probably ready to send you some nice palms right now!
(You're welcome, Tony!!!)
😆

Barb

I would also check e-bay and Alligator alley for seeds and
plants.
You will have(as mentioned)greater success with more mature palms,
Trachys and Sabals and most other "cold hardy"palms are starting to gain some resistance
to cold after they begin putting out divided leaves.
Check the prices before you buy,some places prices are kinda silly!

My in-laws live in Michigan. To them, palms come inside for the winter.
If you want to plant them in the ground, the tips above are great.
As for sources, mail-order (as you've seen) gets you the best selection, but small plants unless you
The trick a few of us zone-challengers use is to take driving vacations to the South and shop a zone or two below us. Bill showed us palms he bought recently in NC. I bought palms in Dallas last October at end-of-the-year sales to keep in the house over winter and plant in May.
It doesn't make financial sense to drive South just to buy plants vs. shipping, but if you have a vacation budget anyways, you might want to use it this Spring for a road trip to NC, Texas, etc.
The internet makes it easy to search store locations, inventory, sales, etc. to help plant (pun intended) your route.

Wenike, I have to agree with everyone that posted above, and I can tell you from my own experiences that the needle palm is probably your best bet. I'm in a northern 6a, and I have needle, trachys, and a few others planted in the ground, and the needle is the only one that made it through the winter completely unscathed. When I uncovered my needle palm a week ago, it looked exactly as it did when I covered it up last fall. Actually, it was pushing the spear leaf up through the leaf pile that I had it covered up with. I'll probably cover it up again this winter, but after that I'll probably just let it tough it out on it's own:) My two trachy's seemed to be doing fine when I uncovered them, but now they are looking pretty rough, and I'm not sure if they are going to make it or not... So if you want to play it safe, in your zone, I'd say go with the needle palm... Not sure if I would recommend a trachy, since I'm not even sure if mine are going to pull through or not. Hope this helps.

Jova

Check out my website at www.pennyspalms.com. I have "advanced" 2-3 year old Sabal minor seedlings.

Check around and look at everybody's prices,there are sellers on e-bay that have
3g B.capitatas for $9 and....
T.fortunei for much cheaper.

Jim,
my wife's the ebay queen; it still makes me nervous.
Are there particular sellers you like/don't like?
You can use PM if you want to be especially candid.
--Erik

Eric
I have had no problems with anyone really,it depends on what you want-
For instance,I am really into Trachys and right now there is someone offering very rare seedlings
of Geminisectus and Oreophilus,2 palms that are especially hard to find,the ladder will round out my collection of the
original 8.
The former is a recent find from Viet Nam.
I ALWAYS check e-bay first before I buy anything-last week I got a nice chainsaw for $70including shipping

I think this thread was pulled up for someone to advertise 😈

Jim,
thanks for the reassurance.
When "jungle music" did not have the "travelers palm" I promised my wife in exchange for her letting me get two (2!) females for my male C. radicalis (I got her a little royal palm instead), she quickly went on ebay and ordered one. We'll see how it goes.
If you search terdalfarm on ebay you'll find us, but it will all be horse stuff....
--Erik