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Can a Foxtail Palm Survive in Zone 8?

14 years ago

I just bought my palm today from houston but i live in College Station 80 miles north of Houston. But we are categorized in zone 8 even tho we get the pretty much the same temp as houston about 2 to 3 degrees difference. My question is can they surivive in CS and and will they be okay to plant in August. They are pretty big they are 12 ft tall overall.

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Comments (11)

david_
14 years ago
No they can't because they barely make it in zone 9b. Sorry but its true and it will die with temps below freezing any length of time. If the freeze does not kill them fungus will.
rubtherock
14 years ago
They're the same hardiness as queen palms which do great in zone 7b with a little protection. Should be easy in zone 8.
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david_
14 years ago
They are not the same hardiness as queen palms for sure and I would like to see the pics of queens growing in 7b long term.Queens never get hurt by temps in the 20s but below that is damaging and death. Here queens never get damaged but foxtails get damaged often when the temps go below freezing and frost will burn the fronds bad but queens no.If you need more evidence try the other palm message boards that have more people growing them outside.
Central_Cali369
14 years ago
Nope, many times internet facts can be misleading. I grow queens and grew a foxtail at one point. Queens will get slight frost damage at about 27F but can survive to about 20F or a bit less with considerable damage. It can take over a year for them to recover and have a full crown. I know this from experience. Because of this long recovery time period, an annual hard freeze (below 20F) would spell out death for a queen palm.

Like David said, Foxtails will not tolerate frost at all. They are definately a strictly tropical palm. I lost mine to fungus after they experienced low 30s. Keep it as a potted plant on your porch or patio and bring it indoors in the winter. or you can use it as an annual if you'd like. Believe me, they do not survive in zone 9b, just like David said.
rubtherock
14 years ago
Sorry for posting wrong info. This is what I've been told and we've all seen the thread about the queens sustaining no damage at 14 degrees.
david_
14 years ago
rubtherock its OK I have read things before on the internet and then I found out later it was all wrong. I didn't mean to sound argumentative I just wanted them to get the right info.
us_marine
14 years ago
I say go for it anyway. Its worth a try( its reminds me, of me trying to grow coconuts palms in NorCal).If your trying to grow it outside without protection, then it probably will die. But if you don't mind doing what it takes to keep it alive, I would give it protection. Mainly something to keep the cold rain off, keep cold out, and maybe a heater to warm it. Good luck.
royalpaulm
14 years ago
7b NO. Not even 8b. I have seen them up in Jax, FL zone 9a but they look pathetic....1 or two fronds after a typical winter. They are light frost tolerant, but temps below 28 and heavy frost will severely damage, or kill.
kiku_09
Original Author
14 years ago
Damn!! Well this sucks, now I can't even return the tree so I guess I'm just gonna have to plant it. Hopefully my 300 dollars wont go to waste :(

Can someone give me a simple way to protect my palm the tree? step by step?
royalpaulm
14 years ago
Kiku with good protection u might be ok...I mean a 2 zone jump is done frequently on this board, I'm just not the one to provide help.
Thomas Wellington
6 months ago
After 14 years, any update?

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