Awesome palms!! They look great as always! It must be a lot of work, but Im sure its worth it!
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

That's awesome.

I love that first picture with the mountains in the background.

The Washys really are fun aren't they?

I think we will have some monsters on our hands next year.

Mine put out about 10 new leaves this year and I would
think 15-20 with some heat next summer.

Enjoyed your pics.

Beautiful palms! you have a bullet proof protection system for your palms. wow that trachys huge! what will you do when it gets 20+ ft.? i can only imagine protecting a 20 ft. palm every year but then again i can only imagine being without a 20ft. palm. your cali fan palm by cali palm do you mean washington filifera? are the leafs a limeish green or emerald green? the only reason i ask is from the picture the bottom of the petiole it is red which looks much like a mexican fan palm (washington robusta.) both great palms but if a robusta it means quicker grow and samaller protection (width wise.)

This was the first time I noticed those incredible mountains in the back ground! Wow, what a view and palms too!

Can't believe you keep youw washy in such good condition!!!
Do not cover your palms just yet. I'm popping in for a coffe and to admire that sight!!!

Thanks everyone. Good luck with your Washingtonias. James, you know better than I do on whether or not I have a Mexican or California Fan Palm. Maybe I have a Mexican Fan palm. I've never been able to determine the difference!

There's no way! That's impossible! Not very cold hardy palm trees that can survive in your area which can see temps a tad bit below -30F? That's unbelievable! What's your secret? No seriously! I want to know. How do you do it? 0_0 If you can do it, then growing Rhapidophyllum Hystrix in zone 5b should be easy like growing a regular plant here. Wow. I can't wait to hear (well, actually see) your response!

Hi mcgyvr. Wow.. this is an old post! A lot has happened since then. My Windmill palm got too tall to cover with my Styrofoam box and railroad ties. I covered it with bubble wrap, a heating cable, more bubble wrap and black plastic, for the first time. I don't know if it survived. Time will tell. My Mediterranean Fan Palm (oldest) is still doing well under it's 8 foot box since it grows so slow, but the truck is huge (not pictured here). It's been outside over 20 years. I planted all of these outside when they were only about a foot to 2 feet tall. I made boxes out of 2" thick Styrofoam blue-board used in construction, and pine lumber, covered with clear plastic. I have 3 screw in florescent light bulbs in the top for heat. That's it! My California Fan Palm died for some reason, not from winter kill. However I planted a Hesper Palm (Mexican Blue Fan Palm outside last summer. We'll see what happens when I take off the protection at the end of March.

you and Jim make me think I can grow anything here in 6B lol false sence of hope I would think but I'm trying a little more every year.

You really inspired me with this stuff when I lived in Salt Lake. Now that I live in Tampa, I can grow anything I want. I actually moved one of my small trachys here. I think, with protection, it grew even faster back in Utah. But I never had any luck with Washy's.

I actually watched for your yard, the last time I drove through Logan. Looking good!

I'll have to give that a shot. I wonder if I could succeed in growing pinnate palms even though those aren't as hardy as fan palms. :-)

Quick question, can I get away with growing a pindo palm with the suggested protection in zone 5b?

Arctictropical- That was a nice palm you had growing there! Too bad about it succumbing. Have you thought at all about giving a Filibusta a try? I know you guys get a lot of snow where you're at, so I'm wondering if it was just too wet or humid for the California Fan. I never had any luck with them, but Filibustas grow like weeds for me.

Washys are very root sensitive to cold/moisture combo.

island breeeze do you have som filibusta ground planted up there? if so I think I might have to try one if I can find a true from of one and not somthing with a filibusta label on it

No, none in ground here. But have 2 potted.

I may or may not try Washys again. But I did plant a Hesper (Blue Mexican Fan Palm) last Summer. We'll see if it survived this Spring! And I will try another Pindo Palm this Summer.

Hey arctic tropical what ever happened to that windmill of yours did it push through and survive?

Hi Mile High. It did not survice. Sad but true. It just outgrew it's tried and tested method of survival... Styrofoam boxes with florescent light bulbs. My Mexican Blue (Hesper) fan palm is doing great. I planted my Pindo palm outside this Spring, so I expect them both to survive winter and do well next Summer. I'm almost ready to plant another Mediterranean Fan Palm outside again. I have two Waggie Windmill palms growing inside for the time they get put outside. I will never quit growing outdoor palms, even is the older ones get too big and die.

arctic tropical, this seems like a turning point in my dream to grow palms in my backyard I'm still not fully discouraged yet because i do have to consider i am in Zone 5b which is almost 6. The lowest i have seen temperatures get is -15 and those are pretty rare we'll get into the -6,-7,-8 from time to time. you are in zone 4 are you in zone4a or zone4b? also what are the temperatures you think fried your windmill? from what i read windmill palms can tolerate negative temperatures once fully mature (while covered from winter snow/winds) also i had a question could i grow pindo palms in zone5b? i wanted to try Washys but i don't really see it living in the winter. i mean one days its gonna get really tall and its gonna be hard to protect it so it will die.

hope to hear from you artictropical