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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Late July Update: Zone 7 Palm Trees

Hi everyone, sorry it's been quite a while. I recently visited home to see how things were doing in my parents yard. Things are growing a little bit slower. It could be because it's a cooler summer than usual up there this year, or maybe it's just because I wasn't there to keep things fertilized BUT the exception to that rule are the palms. everything is growing pretty well.
I lost my sabal birmingham this winter, but everything else is recovering.
I have 2 sabal minors, a chamaerops (mediterranean fan palm), Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Needle palm), 3 Trachycarpus fortunei (windmill palms),  and a Livistona chinensis (Chinese fan palm).
Here's how they all look!

My Chamaerops in the ground since 2010

Sabal minor also in the ground since 2010. It used to be much bigger. It's strunken in side over the past few years. 


My other Sabal minor. Planted this one in 2015. It had a massive scale infestation which nearly killed it. It seems to be overcoming the scale. Unprotected last winter.


This trachy was also unprotected this past winter. And it did pretty well! Believe it or not, I've had it since 2007. It spent a long time in a pot. It was my first "hardy" palm.


And the king and queen of the backyard, my two trachycarpus. They were tiny palms when I planted them in 2009. They have a really nice growth rate and are now over 6 feet tall. Lots of fresh fronds on it this summer. I think they'll start flowering next year.




Love the silvery coloration underneath the fronds.


And my needle palm is in its second year. No protection this winter and past winter and no issues at all!

My Blue Chamaerops is much smaller and was never protected. It totally defoliated this past winter, but it's coming back. They are pretty hardy. I think in a sunnier and drier spot it'd be happier. I've had it since 2010 so it's SLOW.


My Livistona has also been in the ground since 2010 and is basically a dieback perennial. Totally defoliated this past winter. Not a hint of green. I thought it was dead, but it came back! All it needs is one more frond on each trunk and it'll look full again. 


And onto a few of my tropical palms. 
My coconut palm is still in it's original pot. I bought it in 2009! It's a pretty care free palm. I just bring it in when the nights get chilly and keep it by a sunny window. 


My Adondila ties the yard together. This year it's a little less full than other years, but overall still healthy and happy. Also a pretty care free palm indoors and out. It overwinters under the skylight in my parent's kitchen.


My bottle palm is a little trickier. Last summer it had a ton of green fronds going into spring and then they all got sun burned and it looked awful. But it's looking much better this summer. Another frond or two should really give it a nice look. In the meantime the trunk is looking great! 

And while my Livistona outdoors struggles, the two I have indoors are really healthy and happy! They've seen temperatures in the 20s and spend a pretty good amount of time outdoors during the winter. The cordyline also spends a lot of time outdoors.



Queen palms are very tricky as indoor palms. I've struggled with them, but I got this one for $30 at the end of last summer and it still looks presentable so overall I'm happy with it. It really needs to grow another frond or two before winter to look good. The trunk on this one is actually larger than the one in my yard in Florida.


And a few bonus pictures. Snug Harbor on Staten Island had a few great looking additions. Plenty of healthy basjoos, several nice sized monkey puzzle trees, and even a few palms. I figure those palms go indoors during the winter.






Thanks for looking!