Its a very nice needle palm! I think its a great size for $2 dollars so although it may be a little small, it was worth the price. I havent had luck with asking home depot to ship certain plants. I actually went to a home depot away from my location and asked if they could ship a plant to my location, but they said they couldnt and all of their plant shipments are random for the most part. -Alex

"Very nice covers. I was wondering, do the christmas lights really work? and Shouldnt you use a clear covering to give the fronds light. I have a homemade greenhouse that I built around mine and use clear hard plastic around the frame to let in light. I have been afraid to use anything dark. I once killed a palm by covering it up with burlap and clear pastic, it got snow and ice in there and rotted. So far my greenhouse has worked...just too bad, mine is already on, it was 72 here in NYC today." Yes the Xmas lights work great. I use the clear ones rather than colored, and I also include one CFL bulb. They get enough light from these to remain comfortable. They don't mind the full sun once uncovered like some other plants do (they don't get sunburn). Growth surely slows to a crawl over the winter but that is just fine. They pick right up once the sun is beating on them again and they are getting regular water in the spring.

Josh, how do you wrap the trachy's fronds as shown in the top two photographs? Are those fronds that tough, and yet that flexible? I have a trachy outside that is now approaching 6'. I've thought about wrapping them up like you do, but I'm afraid that they'd snap if I tried that. How do you hold the fronds together so they don't flop all over while you're intially trying to tie them together? Right now I have my palms in styrofoam boxes (very similar to what arctictropical has described he does in numerous postings). So far this fall - it aint winter yet! - we've (Minnesota) seen temps down to five degrees above zero (F), but inside those boxes with only one or two bulbs the temps have never gone below 35, and are usually between 40 and 60. dln949

Bend strip of lattice into arch shape and secure the ends to the cylinder structure, making an arched top. This is great for repelling snow/rain. I continue with the insulation to the top, leaving the very top open for light(not sure if it's a necessity though). Finish with covering with a large clear plastic furniture bag and secure around the structure with bungees. This process is good because if plants are getting too tall, you just add another cylinder or half cylinder on top of the original to make the structure taller. They look like mini silos when done. If you live in a zone that's colder than mine, just put an extra strand of lights in there.