Wow that's cool! Quite a surprise sight in that landscape.

Thanks, purpleinopp. Yeah, even though I live out in the countryside, I get lots of people slamming on their brakes when they drive by.

That is SO cool!!

Thanks "love the yard". She now has about 10-12 flower spikes . One spike has split open to show small flower buds. I'll take another picture when she's in full bloom.

That is just crazy to think about seeing that beautiful palm tree in Cache Valley, Utah. You must get a thousand questions about it. How did you get her out to Utah? Was she originally a mail order? What size when you first planted her?

Carol

Hi Carol. I bought both of my oldest palms at a local department store in their seasonal nursery. They were just one gallon potted plants. (I also bought a beautiful Mediterranean Fan Palm that's now 8' tall and has a thick trunk. It's been outside for about 22 years.) It's MUCH slower growing than the Windmill palm. I just planted a Hesper palm (Blue Mexican Fan Palm) outside. I had a huge California Fan Palm that did very well until this year. I think it died. I'm not sure what happened. Time will tell. It looks pretty sick.

Artic, what do you do to protect them in the winter? What did you mean by "wake it up" did you uncover it?

BTW, your palm is beautiful.

Hi pcan. I have an 8' tall 4'x4' Styrofoam box made out of lumber and 2" thick Blueboard insulation that sits on top of the base made from railroad ties that you can see in the picture. We had already taken down a few levels of railroad ties. There are three screw-in florescent light bulbs in the top of the box to give it a little heat in the winter. I have to add at least two extra levels of railroad ties every year since the palm grows at least a foot each year. It's blooming right now, with about 8-10 flower spikes in bloom.

Lord have mercy.....that is just crazy. I wish I could that here in Ontario Canada. Surely a labour of love, and that is what makes us tropical lovers what we are

That is amazing but if only I had space in the yard to try such an experiment. I think it's cool even having houseplant sized majesty palms outside on the deck for the summer, but would love something that gets old enough to get the traditional palm tree trunk. Arctictropical, what would you say would be a good 'first' palm to experiment with in such a manner - the windmill palm? I guess another option might be to grow it in a pot (though probably wouldn't get 14 feet high) and take indoors for winter, but for that you would probably need a bright sunroom or greenhouse? No storing in a dark basement like ensete banana plants?

Windmill palms are the best to start with. The next hardiest would be the Mediterranean Fan Palms. Then Pindo and Washingtonia.

That is very helpful. What do you do about the top? And what do you do to protect the leaves?

I am in zone 6 and am wondering how much protection is too much and too little for a zone 8-9 plant being stored in zone 6 in winter. If indoors Ok, but if outdoors, how warm/cold is ideal?

Hi Poaky.... Zone 6? I would still suggest a Styrofoam box with florescent lights bulbs for a little heat. If your winter temperatures get below 10 degrees at night, It might kill the spear of a Trachy or Mediterranean Fan Palm. Other palm varieties are less cold hardy, so definitely need protection. My 16' Trachy died when I tried a new protection method.... bubble wrap and a heating cable. I'm pretty sure I cooked it to death. I wish I could tell you more, but I never know how warm or cold it gets inside the boxes during Winter. All I know is they have survived -39 temperatures at my place with the boxes on. The boxes work! Good luck!

I can no longer put it all off like I did in August. I have some sheets of Styrofoam from my mom ordering a kitchen Island. The boxes had some wood for a frame and lots of styro sheets. They were not all long, but I don't have to buy all the styro sheets I'll be using. I am really afraid I will cover things too early and they will cook under-cover too soon. Have you (arctic) or anyone else added lights after the initial covering? In my zone 6, there will be some 30's and 40's for awhile. Only (usually) once Dec and Jan maybe some of Feb come around the Teens and 20's are more prevalent. There are the -0 F nights that may only present themselves for at the most a few nights. Many winters may not ever reach the minus zero temps. Anyhoo, I am sorry for rambling, but will try light covering at first and then I will try burlap and lights. Arctic, please add anything you think I need to9 know. Thank you, poaky

It's nice to see someone appreciate a palm like this. Over here in my yard they grow like weed. We cut down a baby fan palm, and in a matter of a couple of months they grew back and even doubled their size. Now we just leave them growing.

It died last winter.... I didn't have the energy or will power to protect it in the same way, so I put a heating cable and bubble wrap around it, and I think I cooked it to death!

I purchased a little windmill palm. I THINK that is the name. It is the one that has no long trunk. It is the swamp cabbage palm. It is usually found in southern swamps. It can do well in drier situations, but grows in swamps, and has a 6 inch or less trunk, and is near impossible to dig up in nature. It grows in shade in the south. I had thought that the windmill was the one arctictropical grew, I know that MUST be wrong.

The one I have gets no long trunk, so can't be the same as yours in the top picture, Arctictropical. I tried the Med fan palm. They were little divisions, or babies. They turned brown. I think my soil is too moist. We got a ton of rain. The word "Meditteranean" kinda says it likes drier soil. I should've never got it. I would imagine Utah has a dry climate. Unless we get a drought like the 80's, I need moist soil plants. My western native Quercus Fusiformis "live oak" from Arizona, is showing me that it hates my weather, by growing VERY slowly. It has been okay with the cold, as far as living, but obviously wants desert, and hot sun to grow well.

Update: Any palms I had in the last post, I don't have anymore. I am now growing sabal Minor. I had overwintered them last winter indoors and out. We had a mild winter overall. I brought them in when it got really cold, and left them out when it was warmish. We had many days when it was in the 60's F, and the nights were in the 40'sF. I will plant 1 out this winter and use something i just found out about from a fellow GWer, the THERMOCUBE. You plug your lights into it, and it comes on when it gets below a certain temperature, and shuts off when it is over that temperature. There are 3 different temperature limits, depending on which one you get. There is the T-1, T-2, and T-3. I can't recall exactly the temps, but, the T-3 is 32F-43F approximately, the other 2 are colder, in 10 degree increments of each other, or close to that. That would help to stop "cooking" plants that are plugged into lights. The lights would shut off once the temps got to the temperature that is on the Thermocube. And they would come back on once the temps got below the maximum temps on the thermocube. I hope this helps someone. I know winter is a long ways off, but, it helps to prepare what you'll need then, and the stuff you need may be hard to find in fall.

Arctictropical, I was wondering if you had any info on what kinda soil a palm likes? I will be making a raised bed for my palms. One is a Needle palm that isn't too picky about soil. I had a Windmill palm, but, it died while still in a pot. I got it bareroot last month. I thought it should've never come bareroot in May, but, I put it in a pot in good potting soil. I don't know if I should've put it in shade right after transplant (likely) from being bareroot, or if I watered it too much, but, the pot has good draining potting soil, or why, but, it's all turning brown. I may get a Trachycarpus Princeps instead 1 gardenwebber says they are better in many ways, thicker bigger fronds, less damage to fronds in winds. I will need to protect it in my zone 6 anyway, so i may get a Pindo palm, Tr. Princeps. Anyway, whichever I pick, I wonder of you did anything to your soil, or if you use a palm fertilizer, or which palm is trouble free, slow growing, because I can only protect so long, not as long as you did with the Fortunei likely. I know that magnesium is important in the soil for many palms, and lime can be for some, dolomitic lime would be a good additive to soil making a raised bed? Dolomitic lime is supposed to have magnesium in it. But, your in Utah, and minerals in your soil may be a common thing, no need to add a thing. Basically, I have good soil, but, i have a raised bed form, and I have some clay soil, bagged cow manure, bagged topsoil with lottsa sand in it, and some heavily organic "raised bed soil" from Lowes. I can get some of my native topsoil to add too, but, not ,much I'll have to dig it up from someplace in my yard. I have some peat moss (which may not be the best additive) and I have some of the coconut coir stuff to mix in, the fine stuff, not the mulch kind in bigger pieces. I guess if I use the peat in small quantities I can add the dolomitic lime and it wont be too alkaline. Am I overthinking this? I already tried the soil and mulch forum, I'm still waiting on the experts there for help. You likely have all the minerals in your soil in Utah. I just don';t want to throw fertilizer on them and my soil isn't good enough.

Hi poaky1. Funny thing is, I have never worried about a specific fertilizer. I've always used a common garden fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. That's it! We usually have an iron deficiency problem in our soil, but palms don't seem to be bothered. Just plain old garden dirt has worked fine for me!

Okay, but, your soil is likely different than mine. That's the problem. I may just order a bag of palm fertilizer online to add to my raised bed once I get it filled up. I only have a Needle palm now. My Windmill is dying, pretty much dead. I may replace it with a Trachycarpus Princeps, but the Trachy Fortunei is hardier. I will be protecting it though, so a may get a Princeps instead, they have thicker leaves, and I know I can use dolomitic lime for the magnesium source, and they like alkaline soil. They grow slower, which is good when you are covering for winter, etc. I don't know if Needle palms need extra Magnesium though, like other palms.

stay away from the princeps, there prone to canker and rot so easy even in good climates. zone 6 is no place for princeps unless in a greenhouse.

Hi Miketropic, I have gotten a Trachycarpus Fortunei "windmill palm" replacement since my last post, and planted it in my native soil. I have sprinkled some palm fertilzer and lime with magnesium on top of the soil. I have yet to fully mulch the whole bed, I may add some topsoil over the native soil before I mulch it all, my native soil especially where I planted the Windmill palm is very rocky, it's right against the foundation of the house. This house was built in 1976, and the workmen didn't go and remove the topsoil as much as they do these days, but, I will be adding a tiny layer of topsoil over the soil that's there now, but, not much at all. The Windmill palm looks 100% better than the 1 I ordered and immediately potted. So I guess those who said to put in my native soil were right all along.