Everything looks real good. Well done !! Good I wish winter was over!!!! How is the needle doing? do you still have the wagnerianus?

Thanks Mike. I wish winter was over too. Only a couple more months til we start warming back up again. That being said, there is still a lot of winter left.

The needle isn't doing so good. I think it got transplant shock, because when i took it out of the pot, all the dirt fell away from the roots. Most of the leaves died off, and then we were running the sprinkler too close to it this past summer, and it got crown rot and lost the spear and one leaf. Pulled right out. I don't think its gonna make it to next spring, so I didn't even bother protecting it. I guess I'll use it as a test specimen. If it makes it, then I'll know needles really are hardy here, especially because that small one is in such bad shape. I also have the 10 gallon needle i bought off you and the one in the pics is a 25 gallon and measures 4 feet tall. I picked that one up from HD of Panama City Beach this past August. The 2 larger ones are protected right now with hay bales, and are looking very green and healthy.

I do still have the Wagnerianus, its still in a pot and overwintering in my garage with my many other plants and palms. I figured it was too rare to risk planting in the ground, at least until it gets bigger.

How are your Filifera doing? Still have them in the ground?

I had both in the ground but I took one out in july because it was to close to the sabal minors. I left the other one in the ground. Its doubled its size. Its still in the ground with about 30% leaf burn right now and the trunk and stems and center spear are all still green. I have it covered with plastic. It looks like its going to make it. It looks like all of your yucca are going to make it too!! You chose wisely the kind of yucca you wanted to test this year. Is that aloifolia the same one you got from me? The one I had died wasnt hardy enough, that one seems to be doing good!! Wanna sell me a peice of that one? lol its seems to be very hardy!!!

Things are looking good. I uncovered my Sabal Minors the other day when we hit 50 (two strait days) I let it air out and sprayed them with Wilt Proof. Knock on wood there does not seem to be any bitter cold nights in the future. In fact the 15 day forcast on the Free Press website shows temps above normal for most days. I think 8 degrees is the coldest night we've had. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike- I planted a yucca rostrata, 2 Aloifolia (yes, both are the ones I got from you), a Gloriosa, 3 recurvifolia which survived from last winter, a lot of filamentosa and a baccata or banana yucca. I hope they all survive, but I really like the Gloriosa. It seeks to be holding up well to both cold and ice/snow. It grows really symmetrical.

When and why did yours die? How far into winter did it survive? They seem to get top heavy when they trunk, so I'm thinking about staking it back so when another heavy snow storm comes it doesn't fall over. It is already leaning a little. Although it may just be leaning toward the sun. We should probably wait until spring to dig it up, and to make sure it will survive a zone 6 winter.

Andy- I also have a giant sabal minor, about 6 feet tall that I didn't take any pics of because its all wrapped up in its enclosure. Too much of a hastle to get the plastic tied back down once I remove it. If it does survive this winter, it should really start growing next summer with an established root system. I can't wait until springtime when everything is uncovered and to see what survives and what doesn't. I should be able to take some nice pics of my yard then.

Looks good congrats !

Thanks for the nice comments. Sorry I didn't have better pics, I'm still learning. This spring I'll get the whole yard in bloom, bananas and all.

Islandbreeze-
My Sabals aren't that big but it is there 2nd winter in the grownd. Knock on wood it's been really mild a lot of high 30s. I do have 4 potted ones also. Two of which started to push up fronds split into 10 sections. I repotted them last summer because there was no soil left in the bottom. The roots looked like giant bulbs. I can see whey they do well in cooler climates. with proper care it would be really difficult to get those bulb like roots to freeze. I am going grow them in pots as longs as I can before putting them in the ground.

I think that's what the grower did with my minor, and that's why it grew so big. When I got it, it was really badly rootbound in a 15 gallon pot. When I took the pot off and tried to loosen the dirt up, it was like a solid piece of wood. Not sure if there was much dirt left in there, or if it was all that bulb-like rootball molded to the pot. The whole thing was very heavy anyway, so I didn't waste time investigating. I just stuck it in the ground. I am afraid though that I didn't fertilize my stuff enough last summer. I was afraid of burning them with fertilizer, so I only used a little bit. Mike on the other hand, also got some big minors, and said he plants his stuff with a lot of fertilizer mixed into the dirt. His minors have grown more leaves than mine, and he hasn't said anything about them burning, so I guess that's what I should have done too. That's okay though, mine should have established root systems by next spring, and I have a lot of palm fertilizer ready for them. Big bags of it that I picked up while in Florida.

The minors did burn very slightly. I water them so heavily I am sure it helped. I soak them till the dirt is floaded and squishy then I would stop I did that every day and they loved it. I guess they love water. I watered them and the bananas the same way and they all grew massive. my minors both bloomed and I have seeds now. The flower stalks would have been taller if I didnt shock the roots. Next year it should have some nice established roots.

Very Nice. I also live in SE Michigan. Beautiful specimens. I just got into this Fall of 2006; so, only a handful of plants that include Monkey Puzzle, Chinese Windmill Fan Palm, Cholla, prickly pear cactus, Musa Basjoo, and ornamental bamboo.

Any suggestions as far as yuccas, or agaves that willwork in SE MICH.

Looks like we'll be in the teen next week, and then a big long warmup throughout January according to long range (40's) mostly.

Where'd ya get the prickly pear cactus from? That's a plant I'd be interested in planting, but everywhere I look only sells unrooted pads. I want something with roots.

As far as yuccas, obviously yucca filamentosa is the big one. That's the yucca you see planted everywhere around here. Some people consider them a bit of a weed, but they're a great plant. Yucca Rostrata is the big trunking one I have in my first pic. If kept dry, they're supposed to be hardy to zone 5. Yucca Bacatta, not in any of the pics, gets thicker leaves than filamentosa, but I believe is as hardy, and may or may not trunk. I'm also trying yucca aloifolia and yucca gloriosa. This winter, primarily next week, will be the test for all of these yuccas. I'm just experiment and hoping at this point. I can let you know this spring what's worth a try, and what dies on me.

As for agave, there's not much at all that'll work in zone 6. I don't recall the name, but it looks like a blueish rosette and needs excellent drainage in winter. In my opinion, I would give different yuccas a shot first before I try agave.

We've been very lucky with low temps so far this winter, I know it technically just started, but we all know Michigan winter starts before the calendar says so. At my house, we've only got down to 14 degrees F once. Next week is gonna suck, and its going to be a true test for my yuccas. Most of them are trunking yuccas, and hardiness reports vary from zone 6 to zone 8. I'm hoping for zone 6. 40s throughout January sounds awesome. Hopefully we can thaw out, keep the ground from freezing too deep. The top layer of ground here is just starting to freeze and become hard, maybe about an inch or 2 down. I'll try to remember to let you know how everything survived in the spring. If you want winter updates after cold spells, just mail me or post here. Since none of my yuccas are protected, its easy to see how they fared after weather events.

Ryan I have some huge agaves in the ground. I had to use 24"x24" clear plastic mini greenhouses over each one to keep them dry. They all look great!! I have blue agave americana, variegated agave americana, agave harvardiana and agave neomexicana. I also have some cactus Opuntia macrorhiza I bought it it said that name. It had kind of large pads. I also have some Opuntia humifosa and Opuntia imbricata. They are all doing great in my yard.

Thanks Mike. Agave Neomexicana is the one I was thinking of. Wow, I had no idea you had that many different types. Are all of those zone 6 hardy? From what I've read on both yuccas and agaves, zone 7 seems to be the cut off zone for many of the different types. They must be kept dry, isn't that correct? They're beautiful plants, but I'm just too lazy to cover anything but my bigger palms. I figure yuccas can handle more winter moisture, that's why I lean toward them over agaves, but I would like to give one a try this coming spring.

to me they are worth the effort because the rest of they year you dont have to do anything to them. Just keep them DRY all winter, throw clear plastic over them thats it. In the blazing summer heat they grow alot and I like the flowers that the cactus put out.

Mike-Did you pick up all of your agaves from out of state, or were they mail order (or local purchase, although I doubt local)?

I guess we all have different lengths that we are willing to go to to protect our exotics. I would like to try an agave next summer. I have a raised bed in the center of my yard, also where I have my trachy planted, that gets a ton of sun in the summer. It would be perfect for a plant like that.

They have prickly pear planted at the Detroit Zoo in a raised bed, and I highly doubt it gets any protection, because of the size of this clump. It's at least 8 feet wide. Really inspires me to try it here, although I'm sure the rabbits would eat it. The deer and rabbits already ate some of my bamboo, which is supposed to be deer resistant. Go figure. Paid $100 for that bamboo too.

They agave and yucca are from out of state. all the cactus I have stay out un protected they grow like weeds and get out of control fast. I trim pads off and toss them in the trash. I threw some cactus pads over the fence aross the alley and they are growing over there now. If you want some let me know.

Would you need a wood cold frame? I have an extra one because I had to pull my fortunei out of the ground.

Does anybody think If I made the protection shown in the picture 17th down, would this work on a potted 3 foot Washingtonia Robusta in Zone 6b-7a? I would also wrap the Washingtonia Robusta in burlap. One thing I don't want to do is use heat because I am scard of a fire. The Washingtonia is in a pot so I may need to dig a hole and plant the pot into the ground so that the roots don't freeze.

Thanks, Palmlover1

Planting the pot in the ground will limit the roots access to moisture outside the pot,although this method is used successfully in warmer zones it is NOT a good way to go where soil freezes.If you want this palm to live you will need to give a little somewhere.

Is there absolutely ANY WAY how to protect a Washingtonia Robusta in a pot? If not I guess I will either plant it in the ground or bring it inside.

-palmlover1

Frmmi, yes I may be interested in your coldframe. How big is it? What city are you in?

Palmlover, a robusta would not survive in zone 6 without a heat source, even if it were heavily mulched. I can't even get my basjoos to come back from the roots in zone 6 even if they are heavily mulched. My windmill survives because it is a zone 7b palm, while a robusta is a zone 9 palm. Any palm in a pot in zone 6 would also need a heat source to survive. If the roots are frozen, like Jimhardy mentioned, then they can't take up water and will die. You're best off bringing the pot inside for the winter, or at least into a garage with windows.

islandbreeze:

Would it work if I built a mini greenhouse with bubble-wrap around it too?

Thanks, Palmlover

The thing is,foliage hardiness and root hardiness are not the same 10F-20F foliage survival is very likely but the same temps will kill the roots,then they turn to mush and when it starts raining again in spring and warms up,spear pulls,roots already dead and rest of palm goes bye,bye.

Shelby twp. and its 5 feet tall and the base is 4x4

palmlover, It is really to late in the season to plant a robusta,which is unlikely to survive anyway, in the ground.That should have been done in April.I have a chance on ebay for a 7 gallon needle palm for $50, but won't plant it because it almost August.Try to gett your robusta through the winter indoors andplant it next spring.

Nucci60:
If I plant my Robusta in the ground in April what could I do to protect it during winter without using electricity?

-Palmlover1

ZER0,unless you want to build a leaf cage 2' higher and wider than the palm with a cover over the top to heep it TOTALLY DRY,I believe this will give you 20F of protection.I have heard they do this in Japan,I will try this with my smallest washy this winter.F.Y.I,I planted 2 trachys Nov 1 of last year and they both made it through the winter,they were in the umbrella g/h.