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There is a restaurant in Alexandria VA (on Duke Street) that plants all kinds of Palm trees in front of the building every summer and lets them try to hold out against the elements every winter. I noticed one winter was so mild the trees survived. But the 5 degree temps during one cold night the next year killed all the Palms. New ones were planted the next spring. This has been going on for 5 years now.
Quick story:
I grew up in So Cal, where palms are abundant. Went to grad school in Amherst, MA, and had a girlfriend who had never been to CA. As we were crossing over the Sierras near Tahoe, she got excited about how we were going to see palm trees. I laughed it off and said "There aren't any palm trees in Northern California, wait until we get to the south coast.
Well, imagine how she ridiculed me when we saw many palms dotting the landscape in the Sierra foothill suburbs of west Sacramento.
The thing with palms is that there are so many species (hundreds, maybe thousands) and they all have various climate needs. Austin, where I am now, has days almost every winter when it will stay below freezing for at least 24-36 hours, yet many palms will survive the winter just fine here without showing much damage. Other palms will die back somewhat and then regenerate from their base when the weather warms. And still others will leave your yard in the middle of the night, trying to bum a ride to Key West.
Any reputable nursery will carry the right varietals for the area where you live, but I don't think you'd find any palm species at a nursery in Fargo.
Mediterranian fan palms seem to be the most cold tolerant. They can handle temps down to 10 f for short periods of time. Best to grow them on the south side of your house. I grew those and Banana plants for many years in Ft Worth.
I've heard of Palms growing on the sw tip of Ireland, due to the mild gulf stream weather. Again: The Mediterrean fan palm is very hearty. Put it on the Southside of your house, away from the north wind, wrap them in plastic during extreme cold spells. They grow fast and are beautiful.
I've heard of Palms growing on the sw tip of Ireland, due to the mild gulf stream weather.
Yes! It's true, and there is a microclimate in Scotland that also supports subtropical plants. Really weird stuff, that's extremely far north but the Gulf Stream is a powerful heat transfer machine.
The most cold tolerant palms are; Needle Palm (from the American southeast) A green fan leaved trunkless palm. Cold hardy from about zero to 10 below zero. Specimens as far north as Cape Cod, Connecticut, Rhode Island on the east coast. This palm is very cold hardy but likes heat in the summer. Can be grown as far north as Vancouver BC on the west coast.
Dwarf Palmetto- -nearly trunkless blue-green fan leafed palm from the American south. Can be grown as far north as Connecticut and Rhode Island on the east coast, and northern KY, Southern Illinois. Also on the west coast as far as Vancouver BC.
Cold hardy to zero- the 'McCurtain' sub species from Oklahoma hardy to 10-15 below zero.
Trachycarpus Fortunei (and variant sub species) The most cold hardy trunking palm. Deep green fan leafed palm from Asia- can be grown as far north as the panhandle of Alaska, on the east coast Long Island, Connecticut (I have two)Rhode Island, Cape Cod.
Cold hardy from 5 above zero to 5 below zero. Pic is Trachycarpus fortunei in my CT back yard.
Last edited by skytrekker; 03-18-2008 at 04:33 AM..
This is fairly easy to determine (if palms will grow in an area)...some palms - very select - will make it in a US Gardening Zone 6. Many more will survive with care in a US Gardening Zone 7. Once you hit 8 or higher, you'll have no problem with palms.
Thus, check the gardening zones. Zone 6's will be pretty hard-pressed, but a very few select will make it with tons of care and protection. I wouldn't plant any unless I was in a Zone 7 or higher.
I lived in Albuquerque, NM - a solid Zone 7 in areas except for the foothills - and palms are starting to gain more popularity. Yet some die there if in bad spots or planted too high in altitude.
Thus, I would think places as mentioned near the coast on the east like NC, VA, etc. could do palms due to the coastal effect. Atlanta could do them too. Albuquerque can do them...most Texas cities outside of the panhandle can do them. I have even seen Washingtonia Filiferas (California Fan Palms) growing in Tulsa, OK.
However, to grow them "north"...I would really only suggest places like Vancouver that really don't ever get severely cold, or Portland, OR. Need to be coastal (and not colder coastals like NYC).
I wouldn't do them anywhere in the Midwest, due to the cold winters and lack of sunshine in winters.
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Palm trees in Alaska?
