Chippy

I think they will be fine I have 2 windmills in zone 8
they have yellowed a bit but they are still healthy
they have been through 20-15 temps...
I think they will come through with flying colors !

Good Luck !!

A maessage for Chippy7- We are unfortunately not done with this crazy, mixed up winter! It is likely that we will get a succession of cold spells over the next 4 to 6 weeks. If one of these spells comes on the heels of a snowstorm, the low temperatures could be very low! A low of just 15 degrees is hard on a trachy, in some cases. Without protection, or special siting in zone 7, the palms may suffer catastrophic damage, especially if moisture gets involved with a severe freeze event. The anniversary of Newe York City's all time record low of -15 occured in the month of February. While a repeat of this kind of cold in zone 7 is unlikely, never say never! Be prepared to offer some kind of protection, if necessary, at least until your palms are really well established. Good wishes for the life of your palms, your link to the tropics and subtropics!

Thanks for your replies. I see that its getting much colder. Last night was one of the colder nights.
The coldest I could really recall in Long Island is 4 degress or so and thats kind of rare in my opinion.

Temps are supposed to be on the low 20s but what concerns me is the wind during these cold spells.
Ill keep an eye on the weather to see if I should protect them or not.
Most likely not as I have a newborn in the family and I don't even have time for anything lately. So these palms may be up for a challenge!! :-)

-Chip

My T. fortunei has seen lows of -12C or 10F without protection and has no signs of damage. It is still young and is just starting to develop a trunk. I would push it further, but I do not want it to defoliate.

When the mercury dips below -12 I put a garbage pale over the plant and wrap it up in heating cables that are used to prevent water pipes from freezing. The heating cable keep the inside of the pale about 10C above ambiant temperature.

Well, tonight and tomorrow night will be the true test. Besides my Windmills looking lighter green, they look fine and healthy.
Weather forcast for tonight is a low of 12 degrees with winds of 20mph which makes it feel like 0.
I wrapped the cages with plastic to try to prevent the wind from killing them and hopefully if I have time tonight, will cover the top as well.
Crossing my fingers in LI, NY!

Well, I may have to say RIP to my Fortunei's. All along I thought they looked bad in the 25-35 degree weather we were having.
I checked them this morning after getting a 10 degree night with winds and they look horrible.
I had a cage built around them in the early winter but never filled them with leaves as its been warm.
In a desperate attempt last night, I wrapped the cage with plastic and placed a plastic sheet over the top. Not the best job, but figured it can only help.

Anyway, I looked at them this morning and the leaves are no longer stiff. They appear to have their insides "sucked" out of them. They seem shriveled.
Not looking good. Kind of stinks cause this real cold is only forecast until tonight then the middle 30 degree weather comes back.
Oh well. Anyone have any pictures of windmills that went through real cold and survived in the spring? Curious to see what they looked like in the winter.

RIP 2007 Taylor Form and Fortunei Windmill! (At least it seems)

THanks all!

Don't give up yet. I would certainly protect them in future cold weather snaps. Throw something over them when it gets below 15F. I believe more importantly, is to protect with plastic if you have snow or rain. cold and wet = rot. try to keep the crown dry and see what happens in the springtime.

Hey chippy, here is my windmill that is in the ground as of today. The fronds are a little mangled because i had it covered for the last 5 days because it has been cold here at night. Other then that it is doing ok. It has seen 15 with no protection and is doing great. the only reason i convered it this time was because we were calling for upper teens at night for about 5 days. Tonight it is going down to about 20 so i will keep it uncovered and probably cover it tomorrow night.

it has been in the ground since early may of last year.

Thanks for the pic. Mine is much bigger and was planted around the same time as yours.
Mine kind of looks the same. Very tired looking and looks like the life was sucked out of it.
What do you plan on doing with the branches that are wilted in the spring time? If the plant is still alive, will the leaves perk up or do they need to be cut back?
Also, is there anyway to tell if its still alive or you can only tell in the spring time?

Im upset cause I went nuts looking for one my size which is about 4 ft tall and I didn't take care of it.
The smaller one I don't care what it does though I tried protecting it.
Having a newborn this year and the warm weather we were having threw me off!!!

I guess time will tell! :-/
-Chip

P.S. Does anyone have a picture similar to this in the winter and one in the summer that recuperated?

In a more desperate attempt to salvage this palm, I'm going to throw some Christmas lights at the bottom on the ground.
I'm going to use a 100 light set of the small ones around the tree on the floor.
My assumption is that the heat will rise over the tree and help it out.
Or should I just spread the lights over the palm?
Any other ideas are greatly appreciated!

Chip....Actually the fronds aren't wilted. they are just a little mangled because i had a garbage can over it. They ar all still completely healthy, i should of took a close up of the fronds.... They got like that because they are to big for the can so they got smashed some... the same thing happened to the fronds back in the begining of dec (we had an artic blast) The fronds looked the same and about 2 weeks of it not being covered it bounced back completly! I expect the same thing to happen again once i can keep it uncovered for a couple of weeks.....Also I know mine is still alive because there is no brown on any of the fronds in fact i haven't lost one all winter. The crown and the spear emering is nice and tight. I haven't seen a pic of yours so i really can;t say if yours is doing ok or not...but if it is like mine it is doing fine and should look good come may.

Why not just plant questionable 'tropical' specimens in a big plastic pot and leave it submerged so that some roots can find their way through the drainage holes, and in any given year when there's a dangerous cold spell, you can pull out the plant with the pot and store it in a garage or shed and replant it as needed - most of the rootball will remain intact, most plants should not suffer a setback as a result of the root trauma.

My experience with Trachys may both encourage and discourage you. First of all, they may look a little better if we get a mild, damp stretch. The bad news is that the worst of the winter damage will likely NOT show until about March. Spears will likely start to pull in the spring. You may lose several spear leaves, and yet have the plant make a recovery. Damage is cumulative, however, so that another tough winter next year could wear your Trachy out so that it simply gives up the struggle to live.
As for my palms in zone 7b, I recorded 15 degrees, but everyone north or south of me was colder by two to 7 degrees. My Washy looks washed up, but could still recover. Its trunk was wrapped in pine leaves. My Mediterranean Fan Palm was completely unprotected, but favorably sited. It appears to have suffered NO damage. Likewise, my Needles and Minors look good.

Thanks for your replies!
I looked at it last night when I got home and maybe it is alive.
Im not sure if Im supposed to see brown indicating damage? I dont see any brown anywhere.
I just see that the leaves are wilted and the color of the tree changed from a nice green to a very light green.

I put Christmas lights around the base to try and give it some warmth though last night wasnt even close to the night before so it should be happier today.
I placed about 300 of the mini lights around the base to make the heat rise over it.
Palmfan, how long have you had your trees in the ground? And what part of Jersey are you?

Thursday night we had lows of 10 degrees with 20mph winds here in LI,NY, which really beat it up! lol

-CHip

P.S. I will try to take pics of it tomorrow as I'm stuck working alllll day today. :-/

Dear Chippy,
I am in the lower part of Cape May County in zone 7b. Actually I feel I am almost 8a. I recorded 15 degrees early Friday morning. My Washy looked fairly good up to this freeze. Now it looks really dead. My Mediterranean Fan Palm looks great, as do my Needles, minors, Agaves, and trunking yuccas. I had nice Windmills that survived two winters before throwing in the towel, so to speak, They had a wilted look after exposure to 11 degree temps. In the spring I had a lot of spear pull, but the plants recovered well after their first winter, but not their second winter. They simply ran out of steam. I an NOT optimistic about your plant's chances, especially if we are hard hit a few more times, which I think will happen by the second ant third weeks of February. Lont term survival in zone 7a is likely dependent on both siting, and protection from winter wind and moisture in the crown. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden does well with a Trachy that has greenhouse like structure placed over it for the winter. I am not sure it is being protected this winter. Perhaps it is now too tall.
If my Washy fails, I will plant a Trachycarpus wagnerianus in its place since I have read that it is hardier and more resistant to crown rot.
Best wishes,
Palmfan

My Takils and some of my Yucca Trees all get the lighter green, yellow color to them from the lower fronds being the worse to the up fronds every winter, I think it has alot more to do with moisture combined with cold then just the cold ..... I pay more attention to the crowns for rot and to see if the compacted fronds that were just emerging are burnt .... I usually only wrap the trunks in burlap up to the crown, seems to be enough .... for zone 7, unless we really get hit hard and for a prolonged time with cold and moisture this has worked for me ... if we get a snap you can always throw plastic or covers over the palms until it passes .... I try to limit the amount of moisture these plants are exposed to more then the cold, the moisture in my opinion is the death nail for palms and yucca's in the winter more then the cold.

Don't give up on the tree. While you're using lights and protection, make sure you aren't causing a buildup of heat. Trees of your size can defoliate and come up with new spears in late spring. Where are you located? I'm in 6a near detroit and brought in a 5 gallon fortunei a couple weeks ago when nights reached low teens a few nights and the pot was frozen solid. It looks fine, what kind of temps did ur tree endure? I don't know why your tree is having a hard time when it's that big and in zone 7.

hey spataro why not show a picture of your coconut palm?? i understand you got it for a STEAL!!!!!

Thanks for your replies.
I wasn't able to find the time to snap a picture but will try this weekend.
In my opinion, it looks much better than it did since we had those really cold nights.
Not sure if I put the Christmas lights on correctly, I just put them around the base of the tree to make the heat rise upwards. Don't know if it really helps or not.

I see some really cold weather coming my way again (about 14 degrees) and with the wind, could be trouble.

I guess time will tell when the spring comes!

I do have a question, if the branches or leaves die from cold, will they turn brown in the winter? Or I have to wait until the spring to see what gives?

Thanks all!
-Chip

I killed a "takil" and the leaves were crinkled, dry and split during the winter when it was killed. So i don't think you'll have to wait for an answer after looking closely and maybe taking a pic

if a palm is hardy to 0, does that mean the leaves could survive this crap??

The leaves will burn at that temperature. The plant will also die if it does not come out of freezing for an extended amount of time.

I agree with turtile, basically. Palms rated to 0 are not rated to endure prolonged spells of this type of cold. A young Needle Palm would even have difficulty with prolonged hard freezing like that forecast for Detroit. I lost a young Needle in 1989 due to repeated hard freezes in late November and December. It never even hit 0 in New York that December! What was a zone 7a winter statistically, was actually much more difficult than a typical zone 7 winter, simply because the cold was so persistant. This February, I fear, will be quite severe for palms, and their worried caretakers. I expect temperatures to average well below seasonal averages, although the winter as a whole will probably be above average on account of the mild December and first half of January. The next two weeks will potentially be very severe, especially if widespread snow cover is present at the start of a cold snap. Palm lovers, consider yourselves warned!

Guys

I know what you mean it was sleeting and snowing here yesterday luckily my trachys have not been hurt though.

I will try to take pics this weekend to see what everyone thinks, however, in my opinion, it is not dry or split or anything.
Basically its the leaves (not sure of the real name) are a little wilted and the color is light green instead of the usual dark green.

We have some cold weather coming our way with lowest predicting 10 degrees (without the wind) but will warm up into the mid 20s to 30s shortly after that.

-Chip

How important is sunlight on a windmill in the winter?

I wasn't able to take pics as I bundled both trees up pretty good (finally found some time).

We are having some 10-15 degree weather and with the wind is darn cold!

Will they be fine without sunlight? I plan on unwrapping the top once it gets warmer out.....

-Chip

Here are my pictures of them covered:
larger Fortunei....

{{gwi:1114845}}

Here is my small Takil:
{{gwi:1114846}}

And here is a smaller Fortunei which was in the garage until yesterday.... Looks like its still alive.

{{gwi:1114847}}

-Chip

chip, oh yeah the one in the pot is for sure alive! hopwfully the two you wrapped up will live also.