Yes. PT = Poncirus Trifoliata. I mixed some in with other dishes and some I ate by itself. It does have seeds, and it's a powerful taste. If you like bland fruit, I wouldn't recommend it. Part of it is that some friends have recommended PT as a rootstock, so PT is a "beach head" in the citrus area that may or may not develop by grafting on, say, yuzu, or Thomasville Citrangequat. We have had new record heat here each year for the last 3 years. I'm 52 and I've never seen something like this here, so it could develop that way too. John S PDX OR

I noticed that my Trachys (while still not looking great), ARE looking much better than just a few days ago. So, don't panic if your Trachys are showing signs of discoloration or those characteristic rings. Some of the leaves will return to normal, and as long as the bud is firm, they should be good to go for the growing season. I finally broke down after those predictions of 0 F and ended up providing some protection (regular, small X-mas light, bubble wrap, and an relatively light weight (insulating blanket) I picked up at the nursery. I used the blanket more as a scarf draped around the midsection (including the growing bud but leaving the leaves at the top and the base of the palms exposed. I tugged gently at them today and they seem very firm. Careful, for those of you that are protecting with lights. I was surprised at how efficient this little set up was. The air inside the bubble wrap felt very mild (not hot, not too warm, but relatively mild). I opened it up a bit as I don't want to encourage growth at this point. TZ, it would take a monsoon to quickly melt all the snow I have in my yard. I would go out with a yard stick to measure it, but I would have to climb the glacier that borders by driveway area (it was built with all the snow accumulations we've had. I got sick of shoveling and ran out of space for the snow so now my "blacktop" is covered in a few inches of snow. I really am expecting another big time weather 'event' from this latest storm.--And though I am sick of the snow, I like it much better than the arctic cold. I certainly hope Feb. is milder, but expect it to be just as stormy--along with that other notoriously stormy month--MARCH!!

As some here know I have had 2 large windmills in the ground going on 5 years, with a smaller one added 2 years ago. As stated well by jimhardy, tropicalzone7 et al, there are huge variations of climate within zones. Oklahoma City is technically the same zone as NYC and although we got 14 inches of snow in one storm last year and had sustained single digits, the two areas are vastly different in climate. I think we should agree that a hardy palm or any plant for that matter should be rated for a zone by its ability to thrive in that zone continuously without protection of any kind. The first 2 years my Trachys went unprotected and suffered bad damage from the wind and freezing rain. My Butia lived under a tarp with a 100 watt flood light happily for 2 years but died with the same protection after 3 days of temps below 12 degrees. I am confident all my hardy palms would not thrive without protection. I even lost a big Bismarkia in a pot from the heat last summer! Here is a link that might be useful: okcpalms

We are currently working with Nassau and Suffolk County on getting a minimum 5 Acre location for a nursery. We have a 3 acre location being developed in Old Brookville. While there is a trade off between the full root system of an easily shipped 3-5 footer(Trachy), our feeling is that customers will want a legit looking palm asap so the minimum 8 footers make sense. I'm hoping that the palm's maturity will spark quicker regrowth of its root system within a max 2-year period. So during those two years, at least the customer will have a palm of substance to look at and brag about. We will be offering a 1-year guarantee on all palms provided the customer uses our winter wrapping service. We feel the crucial months for protection (before establishment of the palm) will be Dec-Feb...Possibly first 2 weeks in March. Hey, the way I see it, covering a palm in NY for 3 months-to have palms isn't that bad. Our targeted market is pool owners-who are used to officially closing/covering their pools, BBQ, deck chairs....OK, so now include your palms. A ritual they are already used too. Shipping will be choreographed to spend as little time in transit as possible. We are currently speaking with different nurseries in GA & NC. Obviously, dealing with NC would provide us with the closest and most cold hardy of the species. Our goal is to get our nursery up and running ASAP so we can get our 1st generation of NY'ers followed by future generations-hopefully winding up with "New York Tough" lines of different palms species. We will also be test planting Dates, Sabals, Washingtonias, Yuccas and Agaves this spring to see how they cope with the next winter. I'm also going to be getting some Jubaea and Butia Hybrids. We will be experimenting with chemicals, sprays...trying to stay away from anything requiring electrical. One thing we will be working with is Beet Juice. Believe it or not, there is a company that has a patent pending on beet juice as an ice melt. In STL they use it instead of salt to melt the roadways as it is all natural and not corrosive. Can beet juice lower the core water temp freezing point inside a palm? Maybe, wont know until this winter. I just hope it doesn't dye the darn palm red :). Also, purely by accident, I discovered that I have seepage form a broken line in my leaching field where cesspool water is coming up. The grass in contact with that water is lush, growing and green as can be while the grass around it is frozen, brown and lifeless. A fertilizer rich in potassium and nitrogen may do a NY palm well in helping survive a winter. Each area in the US is different, even if they are listed in the same zone. There are Fortuneis on Long Island that are 20+ tall over 45 years old living on Long Island-no protection(Not having anything to do with me...www.nypalms.com. Our goal is to get them through the first 2-3 winters and then they should be able to cope. Butias may require winter protect for 5-10 years or until they are at least 15 feet high. I'm really looking forward to experimenting with other species and sharing the finding with all of you.