nucci60 The Needle palms and Trachycarpus Fortunei we get from Broadway Gardens are imported from Florida. So they are not as nearly cold hardy as ones grown in cold climates. So we are in the same category as you with your palms. spruceman5 I didn't know that Trenton was THAT cold all the time. It looks like you will have your hands full to keep even a Needle palm alive and healthy. Since it's still in a pot, I'm assumnig that you'll just overwinter in the house, near a window with some sun. As for planting it, in your climate, you WILL need to protect it, big time. Also, like above, those palms from Broadway are from the south and are not as cold hardy as they could be. I'm not 100% of the process to cold harden them to our climates. If you've read my posts on our protection sceme, then you know that for some of the outside palms, we just use one of those Home Depot mini greenhouses. I use sterifoam insulation on the back, sides and rear top. Then I cover the entire thing with bubblewrap (2-3 layers) and over the whole thing, I use poly plastic. Inside, I have a 20 Gal pail of water and some smaller bottles of water to buffer the temps. I use a blowdryer (hair) set to LOW (draws about 400 watts) connected to a thermostat (baseboard type that handles high current). I then set the thermostat as low as the palm can handle. This year, I'll be protecting a very small T. Takil, which I grew from seed. Hopefully, it can take low temps. Although, I am tempted to use the rope light idea! LOL Anyway, in your climate, you will need to protect that palm. Oh, by the way. One thing to consider. When we see these amazingly low temps that some palms can handle, I believe that the reference is for short-term lows. Not those long drawn out sub-zero lows that we get in Jan and Feb. Here's the setup: SETUP BEFORE FULL INSULATION THE INSIDE WITH WATER BUFFER AND THERMOSTAT/HEATER ALL CLOSED UP WITH LIGHT TO KNOW WHEN HEAT IS ON/OFF

If you have time, starting plants from seeds works well. I know thymetodig has started many things from seed. I've had success with Siberian iris, Amsonia hubrichtii, Iberis (perennial candytuft), basket of gold alyssum, among others. Check out the winter sowing forum for an easy way to start perennials. If you are up for a field trip up I-93 into NH some day, I'd be happy to give you some divisions of various things as well. Ask around in your area for plant swaps or sales, (or check on this forum in the spring and fall for postings); they are a good way to get divisions of plants, often ones that spread well. Later on you can replace them with other plants if you want, but if you are looking to fill in space, it's a way to start that is less expensive. The swaps I go to, there are always plants available for new gardeners who may not have anything to share yet. I also get perennial super 6 packs which around me are 6 good-sized plants for $10. Since they are often big enough to bloom the first year, that's quite a deal.

Embotrhium, I didnt notice any mites or aphids, but then again i didnt have enough time to inspect the whole tree. ken_adrian, I'm in Bulgaria, Eastern Europe. Its still warm...the october, november this year are like that, above or around 10 degrees now, after a rainy spring and a dry summer. And with more raining than usual almost the whole last year...outside than that i couldnt think of anything unusual. The damage is on the lower branches mainly, more on the inner side....the top 3 or 4 levels of branches seemed not to be affected at all. Unfortunately i dont know if we could make it there before the next weekend...but if not earlier i will check for mites or aphids on saturday and take a cam with me to make better pictures. Ill post them here as soon as i have them. Thanks, Hristo

If you have Doug firs - and that's what your photos show - then you have fir needles, not pine needles :-) Fir needles are tiny compared to pines and are pretty much a fact of life in the PNW, as are western red cedar pollen cones. And as noted previously, they do not need to be located on your property to create debris issues. j4c11, if you have never lived in the PNW or are not familiar with the area, I'd suggest you refrain from making comments about it. You don't need to live in a "cabin in the woods" to have a landscape that looks like the OP's. Sites like these are common to even larger urban areas where enormous native conifers abound virtually everywhere outside of the downtown core. And the landscape philosophy is really quite different than elsewhere in the country because of the proximity to waterways and salmon spawning creeks - which run through parts of very urban Seattle!! I also resent be termed an "environmental nazi" - I have lived in this area my entire life and as a consulting horticulturist (and landscape designer) I am intimately familiar with the area and its flora and fauna. In many areas, there are restrictions about trees that can be removed, even on private property, so it is worth investigating that aspect before a wholesale removal is undertaken. If you live within the city limits of Seattle, the trees and their interference with powerlines are your responsibility IF they are on your property. Outside of Seattle proper or in unincorporated King County, you might get some assistance from your local power company or who they lease out the powerline trimming contract to :-)