How to cold protect palms

In this video I will talk all about how to appropriately protect your tropicals from cold damage. The best way to protect them is to know your zone and to keep up with the nightly temperatures each night throughout the entire winter. You can use this link to see the exact zone you are in. planthardiness...

[@hurr1canes]

please do a update i love your channel

[@Mexy071]

hi! I live in Keystone Heights (zone 9a) about an hour west of you and I am determined to have subtropical palms in my yard. I started with a royal that survived the last 2 winters with horrible coverage (blankets only at the bottom and no coverage on the fronds) lol I didn't know what I was doing. but it has grown substantially! I did lose my queen this past year even after it survived the 1st winter. seems like it got some sort of trunk rotting disease. this year I have invested in 2 young foxtails about 4 ft high, 2 bottle palms about 3ft high and a massive 3 trunk Christmas palm already established in a 50 Gallon Pot and about 8 or 9 feet high. I am worried about our winters here and feel that the bottle palms will be easy since they tend to stay shorter to the ground but my Christmas is a pretty big tree and expected to grow. I do live by a lake and Keystone Heights is a very sandy dry area full of lakes all over the place. my royal is doing great so far and has grown substantially but I have moved it this year to a more exposed area, so I know I may have to protect it more. have you had any luck with bottle palms and Christmas in our area? you have coconuts which I think are the same in sensitivity so I wasn't sure if you tried bottle and Christmas yet. I want to get this cloth you have. do you leave this cloth ON all winter? I feel like i'd want to start in November and hold until mid March depending on how long our cold wants to stay. it differs every year. thanks for your time!

[@wildtropics5354]

hey there, so I actually am very firmiliar with Keystone, I traveled there many many times and even stayed there quite a few years at lake santa fe. The palms you are growing there are pretty cold sensitive but one thing that you have going for you is they are somewhat mature. the more mature a palm becomes the more cold hardy it is. An established, mature Royal will actually tollerate down to 25 before absolute death. Christmas will tollerate 29 before absolute death. Bottles and coconuts will tollerate 30 before absolute death and foxtails about 28 before death. so the reason i say ABSOLUTE death is cause a palm can live through freezes in a way, like if one night it hits 32 for a few hours but then its shoots back up warm the next day(above 70) the palm will survive. but if the temo drops below the absolute degree, the palm will be dead inside if it remains that temp for over 4-6hours(all night). I have grown over 25 Christmas palms, right now i currently have 10 growing well but last winter i had 15 that all died from the cold(i didnt wrap them at all though). Christmas palm will grow where you are but be sure to wrap them. as for the frost cloth that im using, you can get it from most nurseries and yea you can keep them on for weeks to a few months at a time, BUT heres the thing. DO NOT over wrap the palm. in another update video i have i show a foxtail palm that i wrapped too thick and tight and it was not able to breath and the palm withered and died inside it. best thong to do it wrap them once around so air(but not frost) can breath through and if you know there is goiing to be a week where the temp is hot(which happens in jan and feb) just open part of the cloth so that the palm can breath better inside for that week.

[@Mexy071]

omg that is awesome NO ONE EVER KNOWS WHERE KEYSTONE IS!!! hahahaha small world! thank you for the info. I am stocking up on everything now so I can be ready by winter so I'm not frantically looking for what I need last minute. I was skeptical about my choice of palms until I saw your videos and now I feel great like It's not a total impossible task to have these beautiful palms this far north! I'm good about keeping up with my plants every year, I also forgot to mention I have a Madagascar baby tree that doesn't like to be below 59 *sigh* that one requires a little more work lol my goal is to have a home with different trees and plants around that a lot of people don't have around here. I love a tropical look and I have lots of bare property to work with. I have many macaw parrots I own that I house open and freely and they climb up my oak trees and are outside 24/7 so I'd like to really focus on adding tropical plants and palms to tie everything together. I call it my Miami House goal hahaha do you have an Instagram or fb page to follow?

[@wildtropics5354]

@@Mexy071 oh yes i remember many trips that i would take to keystone, its quite sad cause many of the lakes there are drying up but it is a beautiful town. yeah i would say that you are alright to have those tropicals but it will require work and even then there is always a chance that you might loose some of them. if its not the cold, then its infections and if its not that then its pests yep its a constant battle. i myself love a good challenge and i believe the result of having "rare" palms in north fl is worth it. i am totally with you on it all and do with the best of luck to you. i dont have any social media for it im sorry but i am open to amswer any questions through youtube.

[@kinzyjr9798]

@Mexy071 + @WildTropics I'm familiar with Keystone Heights and the St. Augustine area. If you want to see a really nice garden that is roughly midway between both of your locations, you should see Dr. John Rossi's garden in Hastings. This link is from the CFPACS Fall 2018 meeting and is narrated by David Casella, the palm expert at Earthworks Jax: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mp6QoZJvg8eeqKc

[@ScottyOn1]

How’s winter treating you in Florida so far? No snow up here in Ontario. So far a good winter!! That new method should help your palms!

[@wildtropics5354]

I am glad to hear that it is going well for yall up there. I hope that your palms are doing well since last year's brutal cold. So far we are averaging mid 70's to mid 80'sF each day and mid or low 60s at night. We did have a few nights in early december where we averaged mid 40s and one or two high 30's. So far its still summer here though haha

[@ScottyOn1]

WildTropics nice! Summer goes on for you! Those are some beauty temps! I hope they keep up! I’m heading to Orlando with my wife and son in March. Take care.

[@wildtropics5354]

@@ScottyOn1 I hope yall have a great season and a great time in Orlando!

[@davidirwin1549]

Will the frost cloths protect down to 0 - 5 degree nights in January for "cold hardy palms such as Windmill, Sabal Minor, Needle Palms or does more need to be done ?

[@wildtropics5354]

Those are cold hardy indeed but that is far below freezing and so if you are to use cloth then try to make sure that it is not tight across the fronds but is covering the palm fully with space sepperating it from the palm if possible. The cloth will keep moisture out from inside it and allowing it to freeze but the frods in contact with the cloth will still likely burn due to such cold temps. As well if you have a heat source you can add inside that will help too.

[@northeasthardytropicals541]

Nice 🌴

[@eijiroinouye4115]

Is that a Jubae? Do they grow there?

[@TheJames2929]

Hey bro how did your palms come out of winter??

[@wildtropics5354]

They turned out great! Not one death or any damaged plants. It was a mild winter but the cloth helped for sure! I'll make an update video soon.

[@richszalkiewicz8601]

I live in Northeast Ohio. I have a 25gallon Coconut Palm. It’s doing great in a pot on my patio but I will need to protect it this winter. Do frost cloths protect against temps in the 20s for many days? If I were to bring it indoors will southern exposure sunlight coming through a window be sufficient for the coconut palm?

[@wildtropics5354]

these are great questions. so that far north with snow and such cold temps frost cloth will not be much help. tropicals really struggle to live purside of a tropical or subtropical climate. so your best bet would be to immulate a tropical climate by keeping it indoors. yes sun exposure there should be sufficient. thing about having a coconut in a pot is the risk of overwatering. coconuts hate having "wet feet" try not to overwater it

[@renehopkins7606]

I have two queen palms that I wrap with moving blankets every year and they're about 15 ft now can you give me any other ideas that would be better or easier for me I live in northwest Florida temperatures drop down to the twenties sometimes in the winter. Sometimes even with the moving blankets the prawns turn brown any ideas would be grateful thank you

[@wildtropics5354]

they should be able to survived down to the low 20s especially if they are mature with a lot of trunk on them. the fronds may burn but the palm should still survive. moving blankets are quite heavy and hard to put up. you can try using Antitranspirant Spray to help protect the fronds from burning if youd like to take extra precautions leafguardianspray.com/when-to-use

[@renehopkins7606]

@@wildtropics5354 ok thanks for the info.

[@pipsmith5767]

could you not grow a hardier alternative to coconuts such as Beccariophoenix alfredei

[@wildtropics5354]

YES! i want one so bad but they are hard to find. found one once and let it get sold right from under me.

[@pipsmith5767]

they are fast to germinate-rare palm seeds sold the very high altitude form (they say takes moderate frosts)-I germinated a few and gave them away as houseplants as these are way too tender for my climate. They really do look like coconut palms

[@wildtropics5354]

@@pipsmith5767Beccariophoenix is very similar to the genius on the coconut and alfredai is the fastest growing species. Absolutely on my collectors list.

[@pipsmith5767]

one on e bay but don't know whether they ship to the US. I find it ridiculous that we can find many species available in Europe and we cant grow them as its too cold

[@popstarkirby1993]

Im Planting Coconut Palms in South Flroida Lowest if Seen Is 56

[@wildtropics5354]

it is a great climate for them! I lived for 2 years in West Palm Beach FL and everything there grows so well.

[@rise-fromashes]

So I just bought my first windmill palm and it’s inside because of storms that are here right now and I had a question why are the fronze hope I’m spelling that right but they are starting to close on my windmill palm but the ones on the top of it aren’t could this be a result of the plant being shocked or is it something I need to be concerned about because I googled it and nothing came up So I was hoping you might know.?

[@wildtropics5354]

when you say closing up, are they still spread our in a palmate fashion but just folded up. What color are the fronds? How do the merit stems look as they shoot out in the new spears?

[@rise-fromashes]

WildTropics the fronds are a very healthy green color and the stems are shooting straight up and more fronds are coming in on those and when I said the fronds were closing up they were closing up like you would fold a paper hotdog style but what I think was happening and I could be wrong was The palm was trying to find light and another thing that is interesting to note is that only the bottom fronds are closed not the top ones and it could be a result of me bringing it in side but I have no idea

[@wildtropics5354]

@@rise-fromashes it sounds like it is still in a healthy state, i would not worrh to much about it. there doesnt sound to be any sign of stress induced on the plant and it is continueing to grow well. when you can, it would belp to be back outside. It might be that it is getting too much direct sun. if it is a juviniel still them that could be it. most juviniel palms do not like direct sun for too long.

[@Tarantulaflytrap]

What's the brand name of the frost cloth that you used for your palms?

[@wildtropics5354]

honestly I wish I knew, but I do not. I ordered it from my local nursery but I do know that it is 4oz cloth.

[@Tarantulaflytrap]

@@wildtropics5354 I'll try to see if my local nursery has any professional grade frost cloths similar to the ones that you have!

[@aquaticescapesaquariums]

500 watt! you must be rich lol

[@Tarantulaflytrap]

How are your palms holding up so far?

[@wildtropics5354]

they are doing great! thanks for asking. This winter isnt nearly as bad as last winter. I sure wish i had the frost cloth and lights last year.

[@hebneh]

They appear to be ghosts.

[@popstarkirby1993]

and I don't think we have had 56 anyways