Pygmy Date Palm overwinter in garage?

6 years ago

Hoping someone could comment. I have been keeping a potted, triple trunk Phoenix robellini for over ten years. I keep it outside all spring and summer, and in a sunroom during the mid fall through winter. I am in New England.

Well, it has grown quite large and I had to pot it up this summer...and now I think it is going to be pretty difficult to drag back in to my sunroom. I have an attached, unheated garage in which I keep many dormant plants over the winter - cacti, fig trees, aloes, some bonsai. There is only a north facing window in there and the temps do not typically go below the mid thirties. Never freezing.

If I situate this palm right in front of the window and provide supplemental heat if ever necessary, does it stand a chance in these conditions?

Thanks for any input!

Featured Answer

User

6 years ago

No, it will be too cold. You never state temperatures, but I can tell you that I am a few zones warmer in NJ (Zone7) and my detached garage that faces south so plenty of sun and there is some (minimal) heating. I can overwinter citrus, Queen palms, Canary Palms, Cycads, Oleanders, etc., but Pygmy Date is very risky there. In a mild winter here, it's okay, but I have suffered too many losses to risk it now. There ARE hardy DATES, but the pygmy date is quite tropical (it's not a desert or Mediterranean palm, it's southeast Asian TROPICAL in origin).

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Comments (7)

TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for the reply. Sadly, I may have to take my chances - I am not sure I will be able to get it through my doorway back into the house! I will find out pretty soon, though...
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User
6 years ago
I hear you about the size issues. The nice thing about Pygmy Dates is that they are fairly inexpensive and grow pretty fast. I had a large one that had flowered that eventually suffered bud loss in the winter, only to recuperate a nice crown two summers later but then was lost in one of those awful winters of multiple "arctic vortices". So, now I have probably three trees to replace them, I hate to have plants die but have learned to not be devastated and MOVE ON,

That's what nature does too!
palmbob
6 years ago
if your garage is warm enough to keep fig trees and aloes happy, I suspect it will easily keep your Phoenix roebellenii alive, too (not happy, as there will be too little light in there to keep it 'happy'). But likely it will survive over winter if the other plants will, as they tend to get damaged at temps lower than a Phoenix does (particularly fig trees). Do you know that actual temperature it gets in there? You should at least try to record it this winter.
TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, the lack of light is my primary concern as well. Temps usually go no lower than 40...though I have seen thirties during really brutal cold snaps. During this times, a small space heater near the plants helps.

I have also kept a large Encephalartos horridus and a large Yucca rostrata in there every winter for the past decade or so. They do very well with this treatment.

I wonder if the Palm will go dormant or will keep trying to grow under these conditions. I keep it in full sun during the growing season so even my sunroom is a significant step down during the winter. The garage will be even more so.
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User
6 years ago
"if your garage is warm enough to keep fig trees and aloes happy, I suspect it will easily keep your Phoenix roebellenii alive, too."

I am assuming that the OP is talking about overwintering the "hardy fig" (Ficus carica) in their garage, which is an outdoor tree in Zone 7 and hardy to about 0 F..

Dwarf Dates are not quite that hardy.
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TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
6 years ago
It's actually a black triana fig, which is a variety that I believe is indigenous to Southern Italy. Great fruit, btw...
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Pygmy Date Palm overwinter in garage?

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