This will be my windmill palm's third winter in the ground. I purchased it from the now defunct Green Escape via mail order as a roughly one to two feet tall youngster with, as I recall, three fronds. I live near the beach, so our winters are slightly milder than even a few miles inland. The last two winters I covered the now roughly three to four feet tall plant with a small, plastic covered greenhouse I assemble and dis-assemble as warranted. That means sometime in December, and then early March. I place a gro-lite inside the top frame and mulch the base with fallen leaves. I also place a heating pad inside the structure and turn it on when the temps get really low. It has worked well thus far. In fact, this winter I might just rely on wrapping it with christmas lights and foregoing the greenhouse. Bottom line...with a healthy plant and a little work, you can maintain a live palm tree here. It's neighbors include an eight foot tall fig and now, this year, a musa basjoo banana. All face south and are protected from the west by a portion of our house. With the tiki bar I built a few years ago, it gives a nice tropical feel to the yard. The pina coladas were flowing at my son's recent first birthday party.

Trachycarpus fortunei (windmill palm) is hardy to about +6 if sheltered from wind. I've lost trunked trachys here in cold winters due to lack of protection. On the other hand, a trachy with 2'of trunk on a S facing wall of a courtyard in town has survived the last few winters with almost no damage and that is with the foliage unprotected. A double wrapping of blankets and plastic and a sheltered spot are usually enough to prevent damage. Trachys are fairly fast from seed and I can grow a plantable 1 gallon with a small trunk in 3 full growing seasons(with a lot of fertilizer and winter storage in an insulated coldframe or above-freezing garage).Sabal minor is a trunkless fan palm hardy to around zero if sheltered from wind. Although young seedlings will survive winter with a mulch, they're very slow and 3 year old gallon seedlings only have forked leaves. Sabal louisiana is faster and more vigorous, but also less hardy and winter burns except on a S facing wall.Rhapidophyllum hystrix (needle palm)is hardy to at least -5 when fully established and tolerates moderate amounts of winter wind, but anything smaller than a multi-stem 3 gallon size will not survive winter here without extraordinary protection. In general, roots of palms only tolerate light freezing; they're much more tender than the foliage.

I am going to try Trachycarpus Takil which is supposed to be more hardy than T. fortunei. I use pinestraw around the roots to help insulate them well in the winter. I have also read that good root growth and fertilization in the summer can make a big difference in how hardy a hardy palm tree ends up being.

I have heard that the needle palm is much hardier in colder places than NJ, even growing with out protection in MA and WI. I wonder if the hardiness in the first season is the key. My palms have all had exposure to both cold and hot temps, but are well mulched and fertilized well through out the growing season, in fact I have been told that it is a good thing to fertilize into October to give the root system a boost and give the plant more sugar to store up for the winter.

I fertilize palms until late Sept. The first few winters are critical with needles; very heavy mulching is vital until roots are established.

Almost everything on plants, not just palms, really drives the point home about the establishment of a good root system. I am hoping that after a few good summers that all my palms will be more hardy because of a good root system.

I am in zone 7b in Cape May County. I have a Trachycarpus fortunei barely alive after three unprotected winters in the ground. The defining winter incident which killed the growing point in the crown was a rainy evening that was immediately followed by a sharp freeze with sleet and blowing snow, along with 11 or 12 degree temps which severely damaged the waterlogged crown. The plant never grew this past swummer. Perhaps it can still be saved by cutting away dead tissue in the spring?
Other palms include Sabal minor and Rhapidophyllum hystrix which have done well. This summer I added a Chamerops humilis to the south side of my house. I built a shelter to keep wind away and keep moisture off the crown. It was undamaged after temps in the mid teens! I plan to add the blue/green variety cerifera to my collection. This one may be slightly hardier!

First year;2 (out of 6) trachys, 1 needle, & 1(out of 5 Sabal louisiana at the Willingboro Water Plant.
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first year for these 3 trachys at the Willingboro Sewage Plant(with winter mulch mound).
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second year for these 3 trachys in Trenton.
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first year planting; 3(out of 5) trachys in Trenton.
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I have two Rhapidophyllum Hystrix and a Sabal Minor McCurtain thriving in Long Branch, NJ just a block and one half off the beach. One needle palm is almost six foot tall. The needle palms are in a small alcove and the McCurtain is out in the open. The latter survived a six foot snow drift on top it during its second winter. None of the Palms have ever been protected by blankets or mulch. All three have a Southern Exposure. There is a large hedge to the west of the McCurtain protecting it from Northwest winds. They were all planted in Spring. The former in 1999 and the latter in 2002.

All of my specimens came from Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, NC. They have a lot of experience dealing with cold hardy palms. www.plantdelights.com. The fact they were raised in the middle of North Carolina and not in Florida has a lot to say about their cold hardiness.

This year, I hope to plant Trachycarpus Takil (Wagner variety) and the Tennessee Form. Also Sabal Minor Louisiana. They are currently wintering in a cold frame since I got them too late last year to plant them in the ground. Planting in the fall would be a disaster.

In the late 70's through to about 1987 I had Needle Palm growing in Hopewell Township NJ near Pennington (north of Trenton). They laughed at temperatures below minus five. They were on the south side of the house.

I saw the pictures of the Palms growing in Willingboro. Why are they so close to the wall? These things get big, hopefully, and they can possibly and regrettably damage the wall. The power of trees growing is enormous. They can crack sidewalks and damage the foundations of houses.

I thought I should enter some pictures of the Palms in Long Branch, NJ. Just follow the link below. You will see they are really humming along!

Here is a link that might be useful: Palms in Long Branch

The link in the last message to the pictures of the Palms in Long Branch NJ is wrong... it thinks its a secure site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Correct Link

Nice Long Branch palm pics! Actually, palm roots are wiry and not aggressive the way some tree roots are. It tends to be dry near the buildings and roots have plenty of room to grow away. Also, the Trachycarpus palms will not survive without protection away from the building.

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I have been growing these trees in my yard for 5 years now. With southern exposure and winter protection, these palms have no problem with the cold. I even left one of my palms uncovered this winter and it is still growing. If you are interested in purchasing windmill palms, banana palms, or other tropical like perennials that survive northern winters, give me a shout....elman23@aol.com Eric

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