Windmill palm in zone 6

13 years ago

Hello,

This multi trunk palm was purchased from a seller in Moultrie, GA. Here is a photo taken last year in June. I received and planted this palm in early Spring of 2009.

These photos show how I protected it this past Winter.

1" PVC Pipes and Connectors

1 - 4 mil. Plastic Sheeting (10'x25')

Bungy Cords (Lots)

2 - Flood Lights (Color Optional)

Ground Stakes

1 - 4'x4' Piece of Plywood (Top)

I folded and stapled the sheet nice and tight.

These are photos taken this Spring.

Now to learn how to care for this baby. We love it so much, I'm thinking of buying another for our Pirate theme backyard.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (19)

jimhardy
13 years ago
Great job!

You have a beautiful yard matey!
0
knotz
13 years ago
Love the Pirates!!!...Oh, the palm looks great too :)
0
Related Discussions
Should I wrap my Windmill Palms this winter? Zone 8 (Dallas, TX)
Q
Comments (3)
Joe: I am in USDA zone 7a so for the first two years I wrap my palms in frost cloth for winter protection and use small Christmas lights on them on the very coldest nights. After the palms become establshed I generally leave them unprotected and they seem to do fine. If the lower fronds (branches) are 50% or more green, leave them on since it will help them grow faster in the Spring when they will have more surface area to photosythesize. If the fronds are brown and dead you can trim them off if you like. Even in USDA Zone 8a, winter protection for the first couple of years can't hurt since Trachys can die at highier winter temperatures in the first couple of years in the ground than some other hardy palms. I have even lost needle palms in the upper teens and Trachys in the 20Fs. It is cheap insurance while the palm establishes itself and has a healthy root system to deal with the cold. A good heavy mulching in late Fall will help protect the roots from the cold. I do this evey year to be on the safe side. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
...See More
Windmill palm in zone 6
Q
Comments (3)
They cant grow without protection in a zone 6, but they can definitely grow with a little extra protection. It also depends on what zone 6 you are in. Palm trees hate freezing weather with wet weather. If you have a very hard freeze after lots of rain, or lots of snow, and then the constant thawing and melting that comes with snow, then your palm will rot at higher temperatures. So protection from winter rain and snow is very important. I put plastic garbage bins over mine with Christmas Lights around the palms. It keeps them out of the cold winter rains and wind and also adds a bit of extra heat to them on those colder nights. Works well in my zone 7! Good luck! -Alex
...See More
Zone 6b windmill palm
Q
Comments (25)
Well I did kinda chicken out and protect it as advised by pretty much everybody who responded, with christmas lights, burlap and a plastic bag, so I didn't put it to the unprotected test like I originally planned. However, it has been unprotected for the last couple weeks, all of which have been lows in the low 20s or even mid teens, and highs in the 30s to no more than 40. It is looking good, but the leaflets are still closed up. It's part of the coping mechanism for the cold weather, but I'll try to get a pic up tomorrow. Came out very well, seeing as I didn't use any mulch or lights over the ground for warmth to the root zone, AND it was almost November by the time I planted it.
...See More
Palm tree or large leaf tree/plant for zone 6?
Q
Comments (11)
I think treeguy's suggested temperatures for start of leaf damage to these hardy palms are even a bit optimistic. Siting, wind, and cold duration can affect the damage to palm fronds. Last season we hardly got below zero here in 7a, but the incredible duration (no winter warm-ups) and winds did a number on all my minors and trachys. Needles fared a bit better but still showed some cosmetic damage, depending on siting. You may want to consider large-leaved tropicals used as annuals (or dug and stored), if you have the inclination -- plants like Elephant ears, bananas, castor beans, cannas, coleus, and smaller blooming annuals and foliage plants for a riot of color and variety of leaf shapes. Or large-leaved deciduous hardy trees/shrubs. If you want hardy broad-leafed evergreens, you're going to be very limited in zone 6. Everyone has a different idea of what 'tropical' means too. Some even consider Tree of Heaven to be rather tropical.
...See More
mutiny
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for looking.... Please go to youtube and check out my videos. Type in "dolphconn" and enjoy!

Thanks again.
0
tropicalzone7
13 years ago
I think it really fits the pirate theme yard well. I definitely think you should plant some more. And I think that these are one of the cases where a windmill palm looks better with the fiber on the trunk than with it shaved off.

Beautiful palm and very nicely themed yard too! Good luck!
-Alex
0
statenislandpalm7a
13 years ago
Nice palm and welcome to the forum
0
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
13 years ago
LOVE IT!!!

Laura in VB
0
tropicalzone7
13 years ago
I just realized (from your zip code) that you live in CT. Very impressive yard. I assumed you lived in Georgia!
0
jimhardy
13 years ago
Magnolia looks nice too.

Do you have a pirate flag in your yard too?

I seem to remember this yard from somewhere....

possibly another forum-
0
mutiny
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks again for comments.

Yes, we do live in Stamford, CT.

No, never lived in Georgia, just purchased palm from their web site.

Yes, I have pirate flags all over my yard. Must have seen my videos on youtube.com

Sorry, I don't know how to respond to individual questions.
0
tropicalzone7
13 years ago
You should buy some spanish moss and hang it on things for the summer months. They would make a nice "pirate theme look". You can get some at a good price on ebay. I tried some in my zone 7 last winter and most of it made it. I dont think it would make it in a zone 6 (or even well in a zone 7 during the average winter) so if you have an unheated garage it will do well in there with an occasional dip in a bowl of water (thats what I did with mine!). They dont like too much water in the winter and they dont seem to do too well indoors during the winter because of the heated air.

Good luck!
-Alex

Good luck!
0
brooklyngreg
13 years ago
I agree, buy another since you know how to winterize them properly and get so much enjoyment from it:)

I like the Spamish moss idea too. You can buy it cheap on ebay. TZ7 did:) If you decide to buy spanish moss - place it in the palm structure it to winterize it too. They die in temps below 15 and icy weather.
0
tnwindmill
13 years ago
Very nice tree. Would you mind telling me the name of the nursery you got it from? I had a similar enclosure for some of my windmills. The only problem I had was we had lots of gusty storms. My plastic got shredded a number of times, and took a lot of work to keep it together all winter. I hope this winter will let up. Thanks for posting the pics.
0
mutiny
Original Author
13 years ago
I purchased it from "willisorchards.com"
0
cindip1
13 years ago
NEED HELP!!! we have had windmill palm for about 4 yrs now. we went on vacation for 3 weeks .....when we got back it had brown dead fronds on it. i don't think the girl took it out once while we were gone so it had no sun. now it has a white growth coming out of the trunk.... what is it? and what can i do to make my palm live and grow again??????
0
tropicalzone7
13 years ago
White growth coming out of the TRUNK sounds like it could be flowers! How tall is it? If its a mature tree than that could be some blooms coming out of the trunk. If you can post a pic that would really help! Also if the fronds on top are still green or the emerging spear is still green, it should be fine. If you have an doubts pull the center spear and if it pulls out than it has rot and is pretty much dead. If it stays firm than its probably alive.
Good luck!
-Alex
0
tropicpalms
13 years ago
very nice palm super over wintering job!!! back yard looks amazing! how large or how many years have you had that chusan? i think willisorchard is in Virginia? ill look for one if i can get it cheaper here and send it to u im sure shipping will be a lot! but anyways really great job! -Justin in VB
0
mnpalms
13 years ago
Awesome windmill, great looking yard! Great job on the protection also.

Isn't Willis Orchard part of/same as Ty-Ty?....
0
tropicpalms
13 years ago
yes my bad you are right mnpalms not in va
0
stlucy
12 years ago
Mutiny,

Looks like a great winter protection. Do you have trouble burning leaves if they are against the plastic on a sunny day? This obviously doesn't come apart easily. How do you keep it from overheating on warm days? I have just gone through my first winter with a windmill palm in the ground and am looking for a better way to protect it without burning it and having to wrap and unwrap it every other day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
0

Windmill palm in zone 6

Comments (19)

jimhardy

knotz

Related Discussions

mutiny
Original Author

tropicalzone7

statenislandpalm7a

Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia

tropicalzone7

jimhardy

mutiny
Original Author

tropicalzone7

brooklyngreg

tnwindmill

mutiny
Original Author

cindip1

tropicalzone7

tropicpalms

mnpalms

tropicpalms

stlucy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Windmill palm in zone 6

Comments (19)

Related Discussions

mutinyOriginal Author

mutinyOriginal Author

mutinyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

mutiny
Original Author

mutiny
Original Author

mutiny
Original Author