I just put a 3 gallon one in the ground this spring in Mass. near the coast.(z6). I have read that needles can take the cold of zone 6 with protection, but they need hot, humid summers to live. How large is yours?

Its in a 6 gallon pot right now. I got it a few years ago. Your right about the summers. Thats just the thing are summers are not very warm only a few days of 30C and its drops to 18C again until fall and it starts getting cold. Last night we had our first patchy frost. The stars were amazing because it was cold and clear. In our climate we will need protection. I might get away without heat but broadway said I will need a small portable house and maybe some heat and mulch. are extreme coldest temp was -35C in 1994. Deadly for palm. Zone 5 has the worst temperate brutal extreme winters. There is very little to plant in this zone until you reach zone 6. The can survive a long term if I was in the okanagon zone 5 (kamloops) because its very hot and dry winters. Thanks for some help.

Have you tried this site "palms north"? lot of canadian palm growers on that site. this will be my first year so we will see what happens. I would like to find a 7 gallon or larger, but they are hard to find in the northeast states. most people bring them up from georgia or the other southern states. Good luck!

nucci60
The Needle palms and Trachycarpus Fortunei we get from Broadway Gardens are imported from Florida. So they are not as nearly cold hardy as ones grown in cold climates. So we are in the same category as you with your palms.

spruceman5
I didn't know that Trenton was THAT cold all the time. It looks like you will have your hands full to keep even a Needle palm alive and healthy.

Since it's still in a pot, I'm assumnig that you'll just overwinter in the house, near a window with some sun.

As for planting it, in your climate, you WILL need to protect it, big time. Also, like above, those palms from Broadway are from the south and are not as cold hardy as they could be. I'm not 100% of the process to cold harden them to our climates.

If you've read my posts on our protection sceme, then you know that for some of the outside palms, we just use one of those Home Depot mini greenhouses. I use sterifoam insulation on the back, sides and rear top. Then I cover the entire thing with bubblewrap (2-3 layers) and over the whole thing, I use poly plastic.

Inside, I have a 20 Gal pail of water and some smaller bottles of water to buffer the temps.

I use a blowdryer (hair) set to LOW (draws about 400 watts) connected to a thermostat (baseboard type that handles high current). I then set the thermostat as low as the palm can handle. This year, I'll be protecting a very small T. Takil, which I grew from seed. Hopefully, it can take low temps. Although, I am tempted to use the rope light idea! LOL

Anyway, in your climate, you will need to protect that palm.
Oh, by the way. One thing to consider. When we see these amazingly low temps that some palms can handle, I believe that the reference is for short-term lows. Not those long drawn out sub-zero lows that we get in Jan and Feb.

Here's the setup:

SETUP BEFORE FULL INSULATION
{{gwi:1129774}}

THE INSIDE WITH WATER BUFFER AND THERMOSTAT/HEATER
{{gwi:1135379}}

ALL CLOSED UP WITH LIGHT TO KNOW WHEN HEAT IS ON/OFF
{{gwi:1129776}}

blondeboy,pretty cool!! what is the water for? Is it heated by the sun, or do you add warm water?

nucci60

The water acts as a buffer. Since water takes longer than air to change its temperature, it keeps the inside temp more even, if I can say it that way.

As for being heated by the sun, I guess in a way it does. I know that the inside temp during a sunny day does rise, so I'd assume that the water absorbs the heat as well.

No, I don't add warm water. Except for last winter, which was warm, I normally don't open the mini house. Only maybe 2 times during a warm spell to see how things are.

If I think of it in time, I'll probably paint the blue pail black to see if that absorbs more heat.

Blondboy,
How tall is that Home Depot "mini greenhouse"? I need to come up with something to protect my 3 to 4 foot Washy I grew from a Phoenix area seedling. It is too nice to allow to freeze to death. I am in zone 7b, with mostly zone 8 winters since I relocated to the lower end on New Jersey neat the Delaware Bay.