My mexican fan palm was very dead but the spear would not pull at all. Eventually after pulling with a very good amount of force (much more than I usually to to get palm spears out), It finally pulled but that wasnt until a few months after this was dead. I didnt even bother trying to save it because it grew only 2 leaves the previous summer which was less than my needle palm! But if your washy was nice then use jims method. I dont think it has been tried on washys yet but if it works for you thats another palm that is sucessful with this method. It worked well for trachys but not so well for butias.

Yeah, sorry I didn't get photos of the Mexican Fan Palms in Chincoteague. Here is one link to the citation about Chincoteague and colonial era Sabal Palmetto. Google "Sabal Palmetto Chincoteague, Virginia" and there are other articles/discussions. http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/sabal_palmetto.htm I know I've hashed this out before on this Forum, but 2003 and 2006 updates to the USDA zones place the entire Delmarva Atlantic Coast (from the Atlantic Beaches of DE all the way south to Cape Charles, VA) in zone 8. The Delaware Bay Coast and interiors of the Peninsula--Dover & Georgetown, DE and Salisbury, MD are indeed are zone 7b. Those areas are often 10 degrees F colder on winter nights than those of us hugging the coast. The AHS update even places eastern Cape May County NJ and the southwestern corners of the of Maryland's Eastern Shore along the Chesapeake in zone 8(a). http://www.ahs.org/publications/the_american_gardener/pdf/0305/USDA_Map_pp_30-35.pdf I've only seen one mature, hurricane cut Sabal (8' tall) in Southern Delaware, a few miles inland inland from Bethany Beach at a garden center. It's wintered over the past two years and the crown is mostly burned, but it's been greening up. I think hurricane cut is a big mistake here as they don't recover well in marginal areas. It might have done better planted right in town Bethany Beach. Smaller, potted Sabal Palmettos with a good root ball and crown intact would have a better chance of long term survival, but they are hard to come by. I have a test bed of Sabal seedlings in an isolated, protected back dune area among other beach shrubs, grasses and such. I'll report on if they survive the winter. There are several other local Sabal enthusiasts with them in their gardens. There are probably more than I realize or know of.

It could be a filifera, sometimes I've seen robustas with trunks like that when they are growing slowly so I wouldn't completely rule that out either (could always be a hybrid between the 2). Filiferas are definitely better for your climate, they would probably do very well in a 7a in the Desert SW. -Alex

10C or 50F is not a chance for a Washingtonia. I went through that and gave up 7B/8A climates and long terms survival for any palms other than Trachys, Sabals and an occasional Butia. Even in zone 11 here they don't look at their best. My Washingtonia was killed at 14F just one night of 14F and one day of 30F was enough for all my Washies. In fact Wash. filifera is not doing well in a rainy climate or a semi-shade or both, I would not take a chance either in a rural area zone 8 with any of the Washies. 8 years experience talking. Now I am in a zone 11 without much heat, so it may not be a true zone 11 since the low temps March the 11B but high temps are never above 80F. Even the 80F is reached a couple days a year for short periods. I would say Washies are best for zone 9 and up, maybe marginal for 8B. That's it. Your Washie is dead or dying and even if it comes back, it will not last long. The next winter will kill it. It is now too weak to survive. Move to a warmer zone. I lost too much money playing with borderline zones. Get your plants one or half zone below yours and you will be safe.