My cerifera variety has very innocuous spines which I originally attributed to its smaller size. After seeing Chaemerops in Florida with quite small spines, I would have to say that my good sized plant here in New Jersey has spines which come fairly close to the nasty ones on my Mx Fan Palm. I have to be extremely careful around my Mediterranean Fan Palm, or I will be painfully jabbed! It is a beautiful palm, and will not be removed like I once removed an Opuntia cactus that I backed my derrierre into many years ago! [I can almost hear you folks laughing!]

I see alot of the Green forms on the net.growing in peoples yard,some very large.Why I am trying the blue form is because its another color besides green,its blue alright, it almost looks like a glowing powdery blue next to the dark green lawn,and yes its more cold hardy.I try growing plants in general with different leaf color and shape and texture.To me it makes for a more interesting landscape.If everything was green,to me most landscapes would look pretty boaring.Im not saying that people that have all green plants have boaring landscapes,because you can have a good looking yard with all green plants.There are many shades of green.I have many plants besides palms that are a different color besides green theres ,red,yellow,blue,purple,etc.Im talking about leaf or stem color not flower color.Ive been looking on the net. at a silver Sabal minor,because its another color.Theres actually a palm that is red,but its not cold hardy enough for me.I look more at leaf color,shape,size,and texture, than bloom color.Most plants bloom for only a short time but leaf color last all season long.Dont get me wrong this is just my opinion.I ordered a Phoenix Sylvestris,I know Im pushing the cold limits of this palm,but Its has silver fronds.You all here on this garden forum have insrired me to see if I can grow a palm that is rated zone 8.

One thing I should add about my needle palm is that the pups below it didnt have spear pull. I think I dug it out a little too quickly and it really might have recovered if I left it in the ground for a little while longer. I got both my Sabal Minor and Needle palm from Lowes and there is a chance that they never experienced cold which also might explain the spear pull on my needle after 14F and damage on my Sabal Minor even with protection (The damage was only on the tips and pretty minor and it grew out of it with no problems). Age, winter cold with moisture, and care from the nursery it came from really effect the cold tolerance in my experience. A palm grown in a zone 8a outside all year long, has a better chance surviving in a zone 7 than that same palm species grown in a zone 9, or worse, a greenhouse! Palms also seem to be happier if they are dry in the winter, especially the growing point. Needles are definitely the most cold hardy palm once older, but when younger, they seem to be more tender than other palms. I think that an established needle palm can probably survive a SHORT duration of 0F and maybe a little lower. -Alex

I am still in the process of seeing if my date palm will germinate but I dont think it will. One thing I must add is that the dates were in the refrigerator and now that I think about it, that might be the reason why they wont come up. They will take a long time to fruit (probably around 10 to 15 years from seed (maybe a little less in a really nice climate like san diego). And about that 2,000 year old date palm, it came from a seed in a tomb. Even better it isnt just any date palm, but a judean date palm (not 100% positive about spelling) which is now extinct. So its really cool to think about bringing an extinct species back on the planet especially something that has been gone for 2,000 years. They had to treat it with some fancy chemicals and the first leaf was white and a little discolored, but all the leaves now are green and healthy. It is getting close to fruiting age and is around 5 years old so if its a female, it might make some fruit and seeds. Apparently it has lots of medical purpose so who knows what it can cure! If a 2,000 year old extinct date palm seed can germinate so can yours! Heat is important and just waiting. I hear they can take a while to sprout, but if you see green shooting up, it shouldnt be long. They are nice plants and even though its great to buy an expensive date palm thats ready to fruit, its really nice to start one from a simple seed and watch it make fruit of its own. Good luck!