Both of those would be risky to plant in the landscape in Round Rock. You might get away with it for a few years and then we get a really cold winter and they would freeze. My ponytail palm is in a pot so I can bring it inside as needed. I lost a Queen Palm during a freeze down in the teens a while back and decided not to replant it. We are in San Antonio which is about 100 miles south of Round Rock.

Some winters here we get ice and, yes, even snow. I lived in New England for a while and some days the winter weather back here in San Antonio was worse than there. Austin area is even colder than us many times.

The attached record temps show how cold it really can get there.

Enjoy your move.

Here is a link that might be useful: Temp Records Austin

This is sad news! Does anyone have suggestions of plants like these two that would withstand some of these temperatures?

Well, as far as palms go, California and Mexican fan palms are both hardy in Austin. The Mexican one grows much faster. Texas sabal palm is one of my favorites and is native. The jelly palm is probably the hardiest of the feather palms and you might have luck with some of the date palms.

There are lots of agaves and yuccas to choose from too. Sotol is a nice native that kinda looks like ponytail palm but doesn't get tall.

Cycus Revoluta (Sago Palm) might work as long as they get established in the right microclimate before a freeze sets in. You would need to check around your neighborhood to see if anyone else has them.

There is another option...... you can always join the rest of us hauling our tropicals in for the winter and out in the summer then remembering to move them to shade when the sun is too hot. I plan on getting a greenhouse, but for now I bring them in or the hardier plants go under the patio table covered with a sheet. When it gets really cold, I throw some outdoor mini lights under there.

There are many great plants that will grow in Round Rock and once you get settled, I'm sure you'll find lots of good options.

If you get a chance in the spring, be sure to check out the Wildflower Center to see how beautiful the landscape can be here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wildflower Center

I wouldn't go into morning yet. There are many Palms that will grow here so get here and go out talking to the nursery men here. I see palms all over the place. Many of the mexican palms will grow here.

What part of the RR/Austin area are you moving to? The winter lows are moderated nearest the downtown area and nearby neighborhoods due to a small urban heating effect on calm, cold nights.

I can't say I've seen any ponytail palms in the ground in the Austin area. Without winter protection, I doubt they would last too long in the ground; but one could always try.

There are a few good sized Queen palms planted near Taco Cabanas at two locations: south of the lakes downtown & some on highway 79 neat Redbud lane. A cold winter could certainly kill them without protection, but if they are near a building facing south and have some added heat, they can do alright at least for a few years.

I have one in front of my home for 3.5 years. I planted it as a 7 gallon palm from HD that was perhaps 6 feet to the tallest frond. I've put C9 Christmas lights (w/o a sheet or tarp to trap the heat) on it to protect the trunk and bud from the winter. The coldest it has seen was 17 degrees for a low temp. Some tips were a little brown on the fronds, but it didn't lose those fronds. It is now about 22 feet tall to the topmost frond and the trunk is about 1.5-2 feet in diameter at the base. Drip irrigation and fertilizer help a lot.

I have some smaller ones in my backyard on the north side that were planted as 3 gals 2 years ago, they have handled the cold without any protection and are growing at a good rate. Others in my neighborhood have planted Queens in the past few years and they are doing well.

They don't cost very much at these small sizes, and seem to grow pretty well, so you might try them as an experiment. These queen palms might be a slightly different variety compared to those from Florida as the Texas varieties seem more robust, but perhaps that is just due to the soil and nutrients available.

If you can find them, there are hybrids between the Butia and Queen (and some other combos as well) that should handle the worst of the cold weather better than a Queen and grow faster than a Butia.

As other posters mentioned, if you want trunk forming palms, the California and Mexican Fan palms do well, with the California being much hardier to the cold and ice here. The Butia (Jelly) plams do fairly well except in heavy limestone and are cold tolerant. Sabal palms are also very tough.
Windmill palms seem to grow well and are pretty cold hardy.
Date palms seem to grow well, but a record cold outbreak cold kill almost any palm, with a trunk, as the all time low is below zero. Good luck.

Your two best ones would be windmill palm and needle palm... they do well here in Dallas too.

I don't think a ponytail palm can handle any frost, so I'd count on that as a potted plant.

I see alot of queens around here, albeit no mature ones. I think we can blame Home Depot for that phenomenon. They always stock them here and they're inexpensive.

We planted two ourselves next to our pool a couple of years ago. They look a little ragged in the spring, but bounce back each summer, so far.

We also have a Mexican Fan Palm and a Californai Fan Palm. Both have done well and grow at a decent rate.

Your best bet for a feather palm is probably a Pindo Palm. They don't get very tall, but are a trunking variety. We planted a 3 gallon one last summer, so we'll see how it does.

Other palms or palm-like plants that seem to do well here include Meditteranean Fan Palm, Windmill Palm, TX Sabal Palm, Dwarf Palmetto and Sago Palm.

I've noticed a number of decent sized Date Palms around as well, but I beleive they're somewhat marginal. I know there is a grower out near Hutto (The Woodsman, I think) that grows them. They're supposed to be better acclimated to our area than those shipped in from warmer areas.

We're not south Florida by any means, but our climate still allows for growing many semi-tropical plants.

Have fun!

We have had a queen palm growing in North Austin for about 5 years that has never been provided with any protection. It was about 4ft when I planted it and is now about 20ft. It may have been nipped a few times but has come back strong. It is about 5 ft. from the house which probably provides a bit on protection although it has grown over the roof. There is also one ponytail palm planted in the ground that survived last winter with no protection. Give them a try. You will be amazed at what will survive.

I love it! Thanks for the advise and stories. Basically what I am hearing is that I need to try it for myself and see what does well and what does not. I really appreciate it everyone.
:)

I suggest planting them if you have it already. Personally I would not buy either for planting in the ground in your area. But this doesn't mean either or both won't survive a number of years before being killed of by a cold winter storm. Many of us plant folks have favorites that require "pushing the zone or soils" we live in. Just don't expect these to live 20-50 years. You can enjoy them for as long as they make it and spend the time and or money to take them out when they die. There are already plenty of alternative palms suggested so no need to rehash them. I wish you the best of luck for yours to survive long enough for you to enjoy them but I expect that in any given 10 year period you will lose them. Micro-climates allow some respite from the margins of cold but when the real stuff hits will not be enough to stop from the cold killing these two types of palms in Round Rock or Austin.
Happy Growing David