Collector plams also has some smaller(cheaper)waggies for about half the price of the larger ones.Waggies are a the best Trachys at dealing with wind.

Jimhardy, waggies are so cool. I have one nice potted one but do not have the "nerve" to plant it. I have lost four trachys over the last two winters and I can't sacrifice a waggie.Are your's in the ground?

Think I'll weigh in here on my experience with a trunked waggie in a protected site after a zone 8 winter. I had rather severe spear rot/pull. We did have several small snowstorms. The first one had temps in the teens after the snow. There was snow in the crown. Probably that stiff freeze with moisture did the damage. Yet I had a citron and a lemon tree seedling that were fine after being overlooked in the backyard through the 3 inch snow and 18 degree temps! My sabals and needles were fine. Nearby trachies at a restaurant by the bay were okay ( older trees). I do NOT think long term survival is possible in zone 6 without extensive protection, but there may be someone out there on this forum with different experiences.

nucci60 mine are in the ground,I will be using covered leaf cages in the ground for these and I have ordered 2 more just in case these don't make it.
palmfan,I think the key with trachys zone 7 and north is that they must be kept dry going into winter(mid to late fall)and only watered in winter during warm spells,I also believe that keeping ALL moisture("weather" its frost,condensation or rain) off all of the plant, as it all finds its way to the crown(everything drains down)and spraying with fungicide before winter,in the middle and in early spring

In seven winters--6 of them unprotected--my waggies have suffered little damage and have never had their spears pull, even after lows of 6 and 7 degrees. Then again, we don't generally get a lot of snow, so maybe that's the difference.

As i can't really comment on waggies (as they are bullet proof for me)i think Jim has the right idea with regards to protection, even if you are a bit bordeline i think its worth giving your plant every chance of survival.

Some people in the UK say that a couple of inches of snow gives extra insulation to the palm, but if that thaws then freezes this can be very bad news for a young establishing plant. A rain shelter is a great idea, then if it gets really cold you can cover easily.

I think it is important to keep in mind how mush moisture there is in the winter,esp in winter,even if it is warm zone 7-8 or whatever.Trachys grow(the known cold hardy ones)in mountain regions where although there is much snow and cold they usually see alot of sun like many mountain regions and fairly dry air,by not watering mine much in winter I am able to control the moisture around the plant which I do keep covered from outside moisture,this way during mild periods of sun during winter I can water when they need it anyway,(warm spells)and this allows me to open the cover during the day and let them dry out so that when it does get cold again I am not sealing in moisture.this means watching the ten day outlook closely.Some may say it sounds like alot of work but I love doing this as plants and weather have been hobbies since I was a little kid.

Jimhardy, Idid all the protection methods you stated (fungicide, wilt-pruf, leaf cage etc. and still lost four trachy Fs in zone six. I even covered the tops on snowy and rainy days in winter. Zone six is tough for palms.The needle survived three winters fine though.

Were they gone when you pulled the protection?What did they look like when you pulled protection off?Did the palms get any water from underneath?I have heard it is best to totally close them up with plastic around leaf cage with only a few holes,was the soil dry when you wrapped them and were the leaves that you used dry?just trying to figure out what went wrong,thats a bummer!I hope you have better luck next time.

jim,They all spear pull. When new spears appeared (it's now June) they were dwarf sized leafs.Though I treated with fungicide again, the little leaves slowly turned black and the palms died.I would not wast to totally enclose a palm in plastic.Ironicaly one small two quart trachy did make it along with my needles. All basjoos came back also.Leaves were very dry when I caged them.

That is such a drag,Franco in, palms won't grow here claims 80% survival in zone 6,I wonder what went wrong?It can be so perplexing as so many factors are involved with palms in northern zones,I think the trick is to mimick as closely as possible there native growing conditions,cold and dry being preferrable to cold or cool and wet.One other thing,probably obvious,is a strict attention to planting in spring,next year I will be much more carefull to acclimate my palms to spring weather and wait for soil temps to warm up,palms must be as healthy as possible going into winter,I also will start with larger sabals if possible as I think the small ones are not as tough as more mature plants,larger plants have deeper root systems and more stored food which is also important

I have franco's book, which is great. A friend on another forum has had trachys survive in New Hampshire, zone 5, but he uses Christmas lights. I have a couple (not the waggie though) in the ground since spring. we shall see.As far as washies and butias and the like, I wouldn't attempt myself without heat.I kind of like the tropical effect of bananas without the all the worry.

I hear ya on the nanars,they are like big fireworks in the garden.I think what I was getting at in the previous post of mine is palms that are in a mini g/h.I'm curious weather you uncovered your palms at all during the winter.I saw in a old post by Iowa palms that he only used a leaf mulch with his sabals,I asked him if he ever uncovered his sabals during the winter but I have not heard back yet.Something else that might work is using ropelights around the whole palm,up to the growth point at least,and then covering with leaves or whatever,these are cheap,hardly use any electricity and I think would provide enough warmth to keep palm dry,they need to be wrapped very close together to provide much heat,they can also be connected to other strands very easily.I wonder also if it is a good idea to create an air pocket right around the trunk with a lose wrap around some sticks are the like to keep leaves or whatever you protection is from directly touching the trunk

Beautifull new waggies arrived today,check it out-

Nice plants Jim, well done. These have to be the best trachys to grow in every respect.

They are a fav for sure and I will find out what they can do as far as cold hardiness this winter.

T-head,the Takils,Princeps and waggies have to be my 3 favs,if I can really say I like any more than the other.The growth habits of these palms are so different even in similar var,look at the difference between these two fortunei,the one with the straighter leaves has to have some Takil blood or Latisectus or I don't know what but the one with the droopier leaves sure looks more like what I picture when I think of Fortunei.First pic is Fortunei,second pic is ?x?

Those are some cuties, especially the one on the right! Nice, pretty ,tight little figure! LOL

Just saw some posted on Palmtalk for half the price. Don't know if they ship though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waggys

Donray,maybe your on to something there,the one on the right maybe female,I'm not sure I thought of them that way but now that you mention it,waggies are pretty cute little happy palms!
Lemon,They wrote those waggies are in 5g containers,does not look like it,shipping would be $40.00 or more,anyway nice looking palm and a great price.Collector palms also has some between mine and the ones in your link for O think 17ish.Thanks for posting

I had mentioned before that I was looking and couldn't find. I bought one palm from that eBay seller in TX. I received it so fast I hadn't bought the pot and soil for it yet and had to run out and get some. So I put the palm (with roots wrapped) on my kitchen counter. When I returned from Home Depot, I was greeted by some uninvited stowaways... FIRE ANTS! Lol. The hole counter and stove had tons of them all over. I freaked out. They were coming out of the roots.
But I like my palm. Was worth it. These pics are from the same day of arrival:

Yea,waggies are awesome!they may turn out to be the best cold hardy trachys period!and free ants,what else could you ask for?

Hi all,
My waggies have been a big hit with everyone who visits me. I've even had relatives beg me to give them one. I have 5 now and they've grown quite a bit in the last 18 months since I bought them. They're in pots and I bring them in when it goes below 25 over night. But I don't worry about them when it deeps to 32F. My other palms I bring in at 35F because they won't tolerate any cold.

Get a Waggie, you'll love it.