Cold Hardy Palm Trees In New Jersey

12 years ago

There are a few varieties of cold hardy palm trees that do well with a little protection during the winter months. I have been doing this for years now and have had great success. Contact ELMAN23@aol.com if you want more details on how to bring the tropics to NJ.

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fabaceae_native

12 years ago

Just to warn you Rafael, TyTy has a horrendously bad reputation, and I've heard their advice is just as awful as their service and plants. I hope you get lucky though...

I doubt you'd have trouble with a windmill palm in NJ, but regardless of size it's probably a good idea to protect it somewhat the first few winters. I've seen loads of them in botanical gardens in the NY/NJ area with no winter protection though...

My small windmill croaked from a freak -23 night last winter (I'm in zone 6 so usually have few nights that even get to zero). I don't imagine -40 is needed to kill even a very large specimen however.

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Comments (16)

gardengr
12 years ago
are you kidding would love to know more
elman23
Original Author
12 years ago
Banana palms are the easiest ones to grow with little maintenance. They die down after the first freeze every year. I just mulch over a few inches and every spring they pop up. They love full sun. The one in front of my house gets to 12' tall every summer. Windmill palms also do very well in NJ. I cage them in for the winter months to proctect from snow and ice. They are cold hardy to 0 degrees. Shoot me an email at elman23@aol.com I sell these palms out of my house in the spring time. Eric
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The grow cables are supposed to be underground with no part of the cable overlapping or exposed while in operation. I use a similar cable as far as heat output is concerned. This cable is not to be overlapped or to come into contact with the ground while in operation. It is designed to be used to keep waterlines from freezing and includes a thermostat that turns it on/off at 37/43*F. A 30 Ft section with thermostat cost me $50. How does the cost of the grow cables compare? Most Bananas need to be kept from freezing. Putting them away for winter should occur before the first frost. I keep my palms at 22*F or higher for the winter.
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Joe, I live in the Myrtle Beach area also (Murrells Inlet). I have been growing different types of palms from seed for a while now. The trouble with palms are that the fast growing ones are not native to this area thus they have many problems such as cold in winter months, too humid in summer months. I would still recommend the washingtonia robusta (mexican fan palm), or the washingtonia filifera (california fan palm) they are the 2 fastest growing palms for this area with the robusta being the fastest. However the robusta is more sensitive to the cold so you must be prepared to protect it, especially while it is young, (would make a nice container palm for a couple of years). Now the filifera is more cold tolerant than the robusta but you need to remember it grows in a dry arid climate so it struggles with funggal attacks while it is young in our hot humid climate we have. The filifera grows somewhat slower than the robusta and you will still need to offer some protection while it is young from both cold and humidity. Pindo's grow slow but will not be hurt by our cold and after some time they can get to 20' tall. Sabal's are easy to grow from seed as well but will take some time to look like a palm. I am not an expert just some stuff that I have picked up from this board, I hope it helps. David Stallard
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That must have been fun to walk around a place so close to home and check out all the cool palms.As far as what you said about the protection methods,I think people would be surprised at the difference putting a clear frame of any type over palms or cactus makes.There are quite a few cactus that grow in places that go below freezing,and even below zero in many cases,and that includes several of the Trachycarpus palms,what a difference keeping cold rain, dew and frost off of fronds and petioles in winter as the water makes its way into the crowns and refreezes over and over again.Nice pictures!I made my "final" two purchases to fill in my last couple of spots I had open for this year,a sabal birminghamn and a echinocereus caespitosus for the cactus garden.Good luck with yours!Post some pics when you get everything planted
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Needle palms and Sabal minors should both do fine. I would protect them their first few winters, but once they are established they will be fine with your winters. Sometimes I don't protect my Trachys and they do fine and I have seen unprotected trachys do well here in NYC (also a zone 7). There is a nice sized trachy in my neighborhood that got protection last winter, but it looks like it will not be getting protection this winter so hopefully it makes it. That palm was partially underwater from Sandy's storm surge, so the salt water probably was not too good for it, so far it doesn't look like it was harmed though. I've seen other trachys get just a wrapping of burlap around the trunk and they make it out of winter with no problems. I think protection from precipitation during the winter time is really important for palms in cold climates. Too much water on the crown during the cold weather months can promote rot, especially when there is a lot of freezing and thawing from day to day. I havent protected any of my palms yet, but from this point on they will all be protected from rain, snow, or temperatures below 25F. I'm growing a Mediterranean fan palm, a Silver Serenoa, a Livistonia chinensis, 3 trachys, 2 butias, and a Sabal minor. They have all done pretty well with the winters here, most of them do get protection, but the protection is not that extensive. This year I'm also trying a Silver Mediterranean fan palm which is supposed to have more cold tolerance than the green form, but less moisture tolerance, so we'll see how it goes! Good luck! -Alex
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jimy
12 years ago
Bananas are not palms, they are large perennials that die to the ground every winter like cannas. Trachycarpus (windmill) palms do ok with protection from wet snowloads. Mine planted in 1996 as a 2 year old seedling is 13 feet now.
jimy
12 years ago
Bananas are not palms, they are large perennials that die to the ground every winter like cannas. Trachycarpus (windmill) palms do ok with protection from wet snowloads. Mine planted in 1996 as a 2 year old seedling is 13 feet now.
elman23
Original Author
12 years ago
Wow, 13 feet....thats pretty impressive being grown from a baby tree. The key to growth and survival in NJ is definitely placement in relation to the sun. You are right, bananas arent palm trees but a perennial plant. However, they resemble a palm tree which is why i refer to them as such. If we want to get technical, they are called the musa bajoo. Great, low maintenance plant to bring that tropical feel to your yard. The one in my front yard gets to 12-14 feet every summer. Let me ask, do you still protect your 13' windmill in winter? Eric
jimy
12 years ago
I don't protect it anymore, i just go out at all hours of the night during blizzards to keep the heavy wet snows from bending the fronds. it is sighted on the east side of the house protected from winds, and gets only an hour or two of morning sun in winter.
RafaelNJ
12 years ago
Hey Guys,
I just ordered a few Windmill and Needle Palm trees from TyTy to plany by my pool. I live in Newfoundland, NJ and read up a lot on these palms before buying. One thing that struck me odd when I spoke to their sales rep they said they do not recommend to protect the tree at all once they are 3 feet or larger. I bought a couple that are 4 to 5 feet so now I am not sure if I should protect them in winter, I do some people online protecting even much bigger speciemen. They said in all the years only one time they had to replace a tree that size and it was due to -40 degree weather in Idaho. Also they suggested not to use any fertilizer after planting. Do you guys have any input to this? I would love to talk about the plants you have for sale elman, was thinking to plant some musa basjoo as well.
mrvideo
11 years ago
Hi,
I just purchased a property on the Bay in South Jersey. I am interested in growing Palm Trees in large Pots on my deck. I have Southern exposure, and full sun all day. Can someone suggest the best palms, and the size of planters I should consider. Also, is it possible to bring the palms inside over the winter, or is it better for them to die off, and restart in the spring ?
steve_nj
11 years ago
Trachycarpus can be grown in containers and brought in when temps fall below 20. Containerized palms will not survive hard freezing of their roots.
User
11 years ago
In a container, you will have to protect any palm in NJ . Probably the best for containers in full sun and a LONG outdoor season woud be....

Queen palms. (probably the most tropical--my neighbors love them)
Mediterranean fan palms
Calif. or Mexian fan palms
Canary island or pygmy date palm (of these two, the Pygmy makes te better house plant)
Windmill palms (Trachycarps)

I don't grow bigger than in the 20 gallon size. Queens are in these are they are pretty tall (twice my height st least)

You might also consider bananas as they are quick and tropical and can be stored in the basement over winter.

I don't do
r.l.c
11 years ago
i had purchas my wind mill palms from ty ty i do not think i would purchas there again they arived in pore condition i could only save 3 fronds on each tree out of about 10 they tell me that they do not ship on the weekends but acording to shiping records they sat in a back room over the weekend i called them and was asked well what do you want me to do about it. should i cut off the remaining fronds and hope for the best i live in upstate ny i have a sago palm that made it through last winter with no protection at all the fronds died off i clped them and it came back beautiful i was amazed
r.l.c
11 years ago
i had purchas my wind mill palms from ty ty i do not think i would purchas there again they arived in pore condition i could only save 3 fronds on each tree out of about 10 they tell me that they do not ship on the weekends but acording to shiping records they sat in a back room over the weekend i called them and was asked well what do you want me to do about it. should i cut off the remaining fronds and hope for the best i live in upstate ny i have a sago palm that made it through last winter with no protection at all the fronds died off i clped them and it came back beautiful i was amazed

{{!gwi}}
rkrasseltjr
9 years ago
I transplanted a Thompson Yucca in late July. It was about 8 feet tall. I live in PA. Does anyone have any recommendations for trying to get it through the winter?
PRO
CT Palm Trees
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
You can grow windmill palm trees, pindo palm trees, needle palm trees, and probably Med. Fan palm trees. These would all need some protection during the winter. Burlap, mulch, and maybe a light that gets warm enough to keep temps from getting TOO cold! You can also rent them seasonally. Palm Trees In New Jersey, New York, CT
Chrissy Sheridan-Realbuto
3 years ago
What type of palm is

Cold Hardy Palm Trees In New Jersey

fabaceae_native

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Cold Hardy Palm Trees In New Jersey

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