Nice palm! Should grow out of the damage pretty quickly maybe by mid summer.

Looks very nice! My windmill palm grew really slowly its first year and okay its second, but this year its starting to get much taller and fatter! I think the expression is first year it sits, second year it crawls, and third year it leaps, or something like that! Either way, its already very healthy and 10 years from now, its going to be a pretty significant palm! My guess is that it will be mature enough to flower about 5-8 years from now.

Good luck!
-Alex

Looks good and as mentioned it will improve.
Make sure you keep it watered in during the warm weather.

Your potting soil looks very peaty and DRY. Trachys are not really drought tolerant so make sure your soil is actually retaining moisture when you water--peaty soils are notorious for both retaining excessive moisture (when wet) AND resisting moisture (when dry).

Mine was just about that size when it went in the ground over 10 yrs ago now.......and here's how he looks this morning (I finally went ahead and pruned some drooping fronds).

I probably went through a succession of 4 different sized mini-greenhouses I built for Winter protection before using only Christmas lights and eventually nothing at all. Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I think this guy is now ready for any Winter we may get here. And let me tell you, the last few have not been easy. Of course, I'm right next to a big ocean that buffers our temps. Not so sure you'll ever have the option of just letting it "bare" all seasons. Regardless, good luck and be patient.

Wow,thats great! Its a good size! Im going to try mine in zone 6 next year with my needle and musa basjoo. I hope my windmill does good like yours! Does it flower?
-Hunter

Hunter, perhaps you might wait a few years to get that palm to a bigger size before planting it outside. Windmills get hardier with age and exposure to winter temps. I think a very young windmill like that would need lots of protection for years.

Guys like Jim Hardy can give more insight.

Windmills normally experience spear pull until they get to about a 7-gal size. You would do better to grow it up 2 or 3 years in a pot prior to planting out.

All depends on how much protection is given.

I definitely agree that trachys get more cold tolerant with age, but I havent had problems with my windmill palms in the ground even though they were 3 gallon sized when I planted them. The windmill palm that recieved no heat (only a garbage bin to keep rain and snow off of it) had some slight discoloration on the newest frond when it grew in the spring, but the spear didnt pull. The windmill palms that got christmas lights, a frost cloth, and a plastic garbage bin had no damage at all and actually grew a bit during the winter.
-Alex

@jimhardy: Im thinking of putting christmas lights on it,followed by an old blanket or quilt, then put a trash can over it like Alex does. Would that work?

Hunter, once you get it (palm fever) it's hard to shake, ain't it????? lol

It should work,see if you can get a(on35/off45F) Thermocube to plug your
x-mas lights into(inside the enclosure),you may also want to invest in a remote
thermometer so you can make sure your system is working in the right range.

Check out the link below-

Here is a link that might be useful: Thermocube

Agree with everyone here. If you DO plant it out (or leave it out in a pot) you MUST protect it, and protect its crown from rain/snow/ice. Also, you MUST monitor the temps. When they get above 35F those xmas lights must go off. Also, if sun hits it during the day the same applies. I killed a small windmill because it got too hot. The xmas lights were left ON, and it went above freezing (not by alot) and it really heated it up. I was shocked to find it probably over 90F. Thermocube, and also possibly some sort of remote system and/ or timer. Even a few hours if its 40 out and you have xmas lights on with sun shining on it can cook it. I know, I've done it.

Also, make sure you get the incandescent type xmas lights, and NOT the LED type. LED types give of almost no heat and will not give you almost no benefit other than looking nice.

good luck with it! Look forward to many updates and watching your nice little palm grow!

Thanks guys!
Nova: So,would the on at 35 and off at 45 thermocube be too hot for it?

Absolutely not but you need to monitor temps
inside the enclosure to see how warm it gets
on a sunny winter/early spring day.

I believe Ken is referring to the outside temps....
you need to find out how much over the outside temp
your enclosure will be.
Ex;my styrofoam enclosures never go more than 10F above
the outside temp,so it's never a problem.

As long as your enclosure doesn't heat up more than
30F or so over outside temps in sunlight you will be fine,
just remove it on days in the high 40s(+)-your palm will
enjoy the fresh air!

As long as it is set up not to overheat you don't need timers or
anything else,the Thermocube will keep it in the proper range
but you need to test it out with a remote thermometer.
Remember that once we get into February the sun is much stronger.

Thanks,Jim. I will definetly invest in a thermocube and remote thermometer. Sould I do the same with a needle,sabal minor,Trachy wagenerus,and musa basjoo? I want to try those,too. I think they are a little more cold hardy.

If you use the same protection(same kind of enclosure/sun/#of lights-etc)for all your palms you MAY
not have to monitor temps for all of them and they all can be on the same Thermocube.

The Basjoo(if it is big enough)shouldn't need more than a huge pile of leaves and a cover if you like.
I barely put any over some that I didn't really want growing where they were...about half way through
winter the leaves came off one,I kicked them back over-both clumps came back.

Yes, Jim is correct. I was referring to the temps OUTSIDE of your protection / enclosure. I suppose I should have been more clear on that. If it is 35, with bright sunshine, and you have the xmas lights on inside any cover/ enclosure, even with decent ventilation the temps INSIDE the protection / enclosure can soar. This is even more likely to happen if you have the lights wrapped around the trunk and / or pot closely / somewhat tightly. That's why I say around 35-40F outside temps the light/ heat source should go off. Windmills and Needles, even S. Minor can easily handle temps in the 30s with no problems. I would rather have mine face a straight 35F with no protection than have it risk it soaring to cooking temps.

Of course I'm sure you already know that your coconut will have to come in, period. Those will only survive outdoors in at best a zone 9, and even that is pushing it.

Thanks Jim and Nova. I know my cocos has to go in along with most of my others as well.
My cousin who lives in orlando,florida zone 9b,had two foxtail palms in his yard. They both froze. One froze one winter and the other the next. He also had some christmas palms that froze. I do believe zone 9 is pushing it very much for a cocos nuficera. Im not sure if they could survive zone 9 at all.(Unless maybe a micro-climate)
-Hunter

Nice thing about the TC-3 thermocube......
it turns the lights/power off at 45F

I am definetly going to invest in one of those Jim. Thanks for showing it to me. I will also invest in a remote thermometer.(One I find a cheap one that does good,lol)
-Hunter

Also, try not to get too heavy of a blanet. Just a light blanket that keeps the air flowing, but some extra heat in, is good enough! My meditteranean fan palms didnt have a scratch on them after this past winter low of 7F with just christmas lights and a garbage bin (no frost cloth like some of my other palms). Mediterranean fan palms are really only hardy to about 15F or so before damage begins so Im sure that it was pretty comfortable in there for the palm. Windmill palms are even more cold tolerant so even no blanket should work in your new zone 6, if your worried about the fire hazard (and the thermocube is a great idea!).

I dont think Coconut palms are pushing it in a zone 9b, because usually, they do really well (I've seen coconuts with fruit on them in Orlando before). The past 2 winters in Florida have been way below usual and thats why tropicals are dying off fast! The city of Orlando is probably more of a zone 10. Even with these past 2 record breaking winters, Orlando only went down to about 28F which is just shy of a zone 10. With Protection during the worst of winter, maybe 2 out of 20 years, coconuts would do great in Orlando, but fruiting isnt likely so they are definitely a marginal palm in a zone 9 and really need zone 10b and up to do there best (Miami/Fort Lauderdale area and south to the keys is safe for coconut palms)

And you wont regret getting a remote thermometer! I had one in my pindo palm shelter for the 1st year and it was really helpful in determining when it was too hot or too cold in there (fortunately it never did get too cold). You dont want your palms going above 65F in the winter because then it will start growing again and new growth is always very tender to things like cold (that goes for most plants, but palms only have one growing point!)

-Alex

Thats cool! I would love to see a picture of the 17 footer!

This is my first year with a musa basjoo (inspired by my next door neighbor's huge 3 yr old musa basjoo), a couple of baby windmills, a sabal minor, a hardy sugar cane ornamental grass, some yucca, bamboo (from a 10 year old established zone 6 MI gardener's grove of bamboo), 2 mexican fan palms, a chinese fan palm I put in the ground and a pygmy date palm/phoenix robellini in pot (chinese fan palm will be dug up and taken inside for winter as will the phoenix robellini) and a couple of elephant ears. Anything I have to know other than what's written about here? Does the elephant need protection? There are some at student rental houses in town that are gigantic (I'm in Ann Arbor in the Huron Valley). The abundance of information is a bit daunting. I have Francko's book (obviously!). Thanks for any help (BTW, I was- and still am in another garden- a dedicated prairie/native flower gardener before the palm bug bit thanks to the Vanilla Ice program and my parents who used to own a landscaping business in mid Florida).