Airmandelt,

I live in zone 8a (technically zone 8b for the last 15 years) and I have successfully grown W. Robusta, Queen palm, Phoenix Dactylifera, and Canary Island Date palm with protection.

You probably already know this but there are so many things you can do to better the chances of a tree's life in winter cold. The south side of any house (and up next to the building ) is one major help. I had a small Robusta (I later gave it away) on the south side of my house and only 4 feet from the exterior wall. It was not wrapped and even when our temps dropped to 18F it had virtually no burn on the leaf tips. Also, burlap and strips of insulation can do a marvelous job at wrapping the trunks not so cold hardy palms.

Another good thing to use is the fat christmas tree lights wrapped around the trunks of trees and the wrap over the lights. Just that little bit of heat can generate enough warmth to keep it alive.

There are so many other things that can be done. Walt, where are you? Walt from Lake Placid, FL, is a definitely authority on ways to push your zone limitations.

Darell,

So what are your cold protection methods for Phoenix palms? They're difficult if not impossible to handle or work with near the growth point. The short needle like leaflets are brutal. Is it just the Xmas lights?

Cheers, Barrie.

These sites have some really good info on cold hardy palms:

http://www.hardiestpalms.com/
http://www.junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-coldhardy1.htm

Las Palmas Norte,

I attach a pvc pipe to the Pheonix palm trunk. I then tie the fronds to it and wrap Xmas lights all the way around it. I then put an outer wrap of burlap that protects it against frost. A few of the fronds get a little crispy on the edges but it is minimal.

My personal list for palms with best cold endurance would be:

Trachycarpus (several varieties)
Chamerops (European fan palm), like the blue-gray variety best
Sabal louisiana
Washingtonia filifera (supposed to be slighly hardier than robusta)

If you like cycads (what palm lover doesn't) give Cycas revoluta a try (expect some leaf damage though).

This is my first winter in attempting to get some palms through the cold successfully. But so far, so good. I have a Washington palm and a Mexican Fan palm in the ground, and 1 Chinese fan palm and another Mexican Fan palm potted.
We've had temps in the low 20's, and no severe damage has been inflicted on any. The 2 potted palms are very close to the house (less than 3 ft. from the wall) and are doing fine. The 2 in the ground, although heavily mulched, have suffered very light frost burn, but nothing major. Washington filifera and Washington robusta would get my vote for the best palms to grow in North/north central Georgia. They're easy to care for, relatively cheap, and grow moderately fast.

I live in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grow Canary Island Date palm, Washington fan palms, Queen palm, citrus, Swiss Cheese plants, philodendrons, etc. and I don't protect anything during winter. Everything does beautifully! I even have a Majesty palm that dies back in winter, but quickly comes back from the roots when the weather warms up! I, too, like to push the boundaries. I don't think I'm doing anything special, it all just seems to do well for some reason. I live in zone 8, like you. Maybe it's our humidity? I don't know, but it's fun!

"I have had great success with Washingtonia filifera, Livistonia chinensis, and even Syagrus romanozoffianna."

You will have to excuse me but I am skeptical of your claims. I have been growing palms in Atlanta for 8 years and I know that Livistona and Syagrus will not survive outside. We saw 8º a few years back and even my Washie with lights showed the effects that year.

Can you show photos how they've grown over the years?

I too live near Shreveport and grow all these palms (z8a) but I do not protect. I have gotten to the point that if they die, they are not worth growing. My Queens look awfull ditto for C. Livistonia. Whashys are pretty much good- burn pretty bad but regrow so fast each summer that they are worthwhile. Beau99 lives in the city of Shreveport and enjoys a nice micro climate that I, living rural, do not. He gets away with a lot more than I do! Lucky guy.
Alex, Darrel lives in Z.8 a/b....I travel much thru that zone here in Texas and yes, the palms he mentions grow pretty well there. Sure, some burn but they make it just fine. Now, 20 miles South of Atlanta....huhmmm....the elevation I think is higher there (than this part of Z8a) and the winter lows tend to be lower. I would never bother with Queens or Livistonias. Washingtonias, yes, I would give them a shot. They will lose their crowns at about 22 degrees and look like crap but will look great again by early July. I have seen S.Palmetto growing about 50 miles S. of Atlanta and they seem to be doing fine.
Probably Darell is equating our Texas Z8 with Atlanta Z8....just not quite the same. We are warmer and our cold snaps are shorter than yours in Atlanta. Zone 8 is the weirdest zone in the country. I got my degree in hort at a college in Zone 8 Oregon....ha ha ha. THAT zone 8 is, like, on another planet.

http://www.vandea.com/garden/palmsofmacon.html

Macon, GA palms.