Part 1 Overwintering Giant Palm Tree / Queen Palm Dillemas in Zone 6 Garden

Hey everyone! This is part one of what will be a 3-part vlog on moving in my tropical plants (&fish-part 2) for the winter time. In this part of the vlog I'm debating what to do with my giant Queen palm that has outgrown the greenhouse so will need to be overwintered outdoors. Over wintering palms in zone 6 gardens is no easy task, particularly with a Queen palm. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments please!
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[@SHARONSHORTOrchidsandGarden]

Just, don't hurt yourself! You can always get another palm, not another you!! Its probably time to donate it and star with a smaller queen..

[@TropicalPlantParty]

I agree! Pulling it down to the ground seems safer than trying to find a 25ft ladder and wrap it up. Because I can stand to the side to bring it down, but up in the air if i fall, then it's game over. I had a friend die when we were in our younger 20's from simply slipping and falling a few feet, so I don't like being on ladders over concrete very much!

[@seekingserenity1209]

It would be amazing if you could win the lottery. You could build yourself a minature gym styled building to keep your tall palm trees and plants inside year around.

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Haha! I'd prob just move to the beach! That would be fun though!

[@patsfreund9164]

You have a very tough decision ahead! If you really feel so strong about keeping it I would favor lowering it to the ground and completely covering it with leaves and mulch. You will probably have to use a block/tackle to lower it. Be sure to pack the top to keep it from freezing. You still might lose it so be prepared! It will be a big deal to raise and lower the palm without getting hurt or damaging something. Easier to see if it will survive in place and, if it dies, replace it in the spring. Just my two cents.

[@renehopkins7606]

Oh my that's a lot of work they are so beautiful when they are doing good I wish I'd pictures. Thank you for your input as big as they got this Pat summer they were probably almost 20 ft but I lost all the top of them because of this phrase and trying to keep them I'd rather just give them to someone at this point further down south further down south is about 30 minutes for me Navarre Beach it's just crazy weather here but thank you

[@geraldn.6871]

Do that plan you had at 04:45 except keep the palm standing. Wrap the trunk, cut the large leaves (you're going to lose them anyway), wrap the crown with "heating wire" and "snow cloth." That's the least work without damaging the roots if you can mulch it heavily.

[@toddstropicals]

Good luck with the palm, hopefully in the future you can relocate here to Florida as I did and not have to worry about all this.

[@moneyblue8466]

Or California

[@InkpadsPlaypad]

I suppose that since the big guy is here out of his natural environment... everything should be do to protect him...plant daddy of the year award goes to you ❤️

[@TheBarefootedGardener]

Maybe creating a big box around the whole tree, wrapping in heat cables and frost cloth will keep it alive! (So standing) there’s a guy in Montreal who has all these palms, and protects them that way. I think he has a queen palm too. Also, wouldn’t it be cheaper and better for the environment to get bulk mulch, at least for some of it. 17, 2cu.ft. Bags is roughly equivalent to a yard, if I remember correctly.

[@millerstropicalparadise3988]

Pineappledan i think his name is hes around toronto area overwinters palms has alot of diffrent ideas how to over winterize.

[@vincenzecalzone8666]

Hey Jeff. Just watching some of your old vlogs. What a beautiful Queen palm this was. Stunning palm. I'm guessing it didn't pull through the winter. Absolutely stunning while it survived though. Great work anywhere never mind in your zone. Superb 👏 👍

[@denisesorchidparadise1411]

This is a sad video for me, I have been in this situation and it's not pleasant, I regret not doing more to try to save large things over the winter, I really look forward to seeing you go to the extreme to save this gorgeous tree, give me hope, that its worth the effort to try next time I'm in this situation, I guess if you fail, ( it dies) you know you did all you could! no regrets! good luck!

[@TropicalPlantParty]

I agree, i'm not just going to do nothing and let it die, but the extent of what i should is what i've been debating. 24F in november is unheard of here, so i'm hoping that changes bc in order to do this, i have to get all of the tropicals moved into the garage first, and thats a big task for a couple of days notice!

[@onigizmo1]

i think digging it up will cause more damage to the tree. Better to wrap it up than disturbing the root since it’s already established. Goodluck!

[@thedignator]

Ouch.. difficult one.. Not doing anything is not an option! I guess you can't keep it in the garage sideways or laying flat? That will take of the warmth issue. But to dig it out.. it's going to be tough but I think it's safer than just wrapping it up. It's so big that it gets a lot of those dry frosty winds. So yes, digging it out and putting it on the patio under heaps of mulch will be the best option. I do recall (youtube) people in East-Europe doing it with their tender fig trees. They just burry their trees under a thick layer dirt and mulch.

[@TropicalPlantParty]

yeah i'm not going to do nothing, I have to try something. Leaving it standing isn't practical for a lot of reasons. I do also feel it has better chances of surviving if it is on the ground. Yes I have actually done this with my figs and aucubas when extreme temps hit, works great! ... 30 foot palm tree will be more of a challenge! lol! Worth it though!

[@ChameleonSoul]

Omg I have my property full of queen palms, so funny we all try to grow things that are not for our area, I want to grow guavas but they freeze in my area 😪.

[@anniejefferson7614]

TIMBERRRRRRRRRR. LOL. Once she's down wrap it. It would be fun to watch it go over. Lol. Sorry I have to cut back trees in Maine and it's always a blast. Can it be chopped halfway and it will grow back. Throw a tarp over top.

[@bluovalgal]

I agree with Digna's Tropicana... doing nothing is not an option. I think laying the palm on its side, covering the pathway, cutting off the fronds, and covering the whole tree would be the best option. Wish I could send you some So. Cal heat! Though we're experiencing cool nights, we're still having summertime heat. Good luck and looking forward to seeing what you decide to do.

[@TropicalPlantParty]

lol, I really just need to move somewhere warmer! Time is a definite issue, that is why I released this video right away. Im hopeful the forecast changes, but i have to plan as if it's not going to. Going to be getting a good workout this week!

[@sv4673]

What about Christmas lights then those big rolls of bubble wrap to wrap around the palm. Followed by plastic wrap. Followed by old blankets followed by more plastic wrap. Maybe then you maybe able to keep it up? 😘

[@manuelkarolizzo332]

I never overwintered a queen palm because the temperatures here don't get further down 32F° for more than 3h but i think the best choice is to have it sit on the pavement with frost cloth on it and some heat cables, maybe some old cloth and some burlap. I had a lot of luck overwintering my chamadorea outside because they retain the heat of the heat cable and probably , if you have some warmup thought the day it will survive the winter with really little damage ;)

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Yes, during winter even though it is fridgid, the sun is strong and if it is wrapped and insulated it should retain the warmth, that is one of many reasons that keeping it close to the ground seems like the best option to me. Thank you!

[@manuelkarolizzo332]

Tropical Plant Party you are welcome 👍🏻

[@Salmiyaguy1]

A queen in Zone 6!!!

[@noahhunter5650]

So I just bought a Queen Palm, 5 foot tall, and I live in TN. I don’t have a garage to store it in during winter and was debating just planting it and winterising it myself. Any advise or tips? I would love the help!!

[@kathymacomber5115]

At a certain point you will have to “let go”!😞

[@TropicalPlantParty]

I know Kathy... I think I may be going in that direction, just haven't decided yet. :( I can always get a new palm, and a more practical, slow-growing and more cold hardy palm to put in it's place. Like a Pindo, they grow slower and are much more cold tolerant. hmm...

[@kathymacomber5115]

So sorry

[@billzart3293]

I agree with Barefoot Gardener’s idea about building box for it, but I think it would be more manageable and the palm more likely to survive if you were to build the box on the ground rather than with the palm standing up. It wasn’t clear from the video, but I assume that the palm is “planted” in the ground, but still in the container, thereby limiting any damage by removing it. If that indeed is the case, then wrapping the fronds as suggested in frost cloth and then building a three-sided box on the ground might work. You would need a space heater right in the middle between the fronds and the trunk, a remote Wi-Fi thermometer and a Thermocube to make sure that the box never got too hot or too cold. Since the trunk is thin, the plywood box would not need to be very large. Keeping the palm from touching the concrete would also need to be addressed. I’ve tried lots of techniques in the past, but nothing this extreme... yet. I have a 16-foot foyer in my home and a giant atrium at my office so overwintering my own oversized palms is not quite that challenging. However, whatever you do, you’ll just have to do more of it next year if you’re successful. Please post an update. Good luck!

[@renehopkins7606]

I'd have to build a 20 ft or more tall house. Anyway the cold got to them this time. But not the center. Next year I really have to have a plan.

[@parkersplantsandpets9211]

Where’s part 2?

[@missanna208802]

Where do you live? Like what city (if you would give that out) or if not, what part of your state? I would love to compare your climate to my own to see if I might be able to get away with doing something of these things in zone 5, but I think our summer heat and dryness is going to be a bigger challenge than keeping stuff warm enough for the winter.

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Hello! I'm in zone 6a/6b in St. Louis, Missouri.

[@Salmiyaguy1]

@@TropicalPlantParty Couldn't you just get a ladder, recruit a buddy and wrap that queen palm. Seems doable to me.

[@renehopkins7606]

Northwest Florida

[@renehopkins7606]

@@Salmiyaguy1 that's what I've been doing. Its getting harder to do because it keeps getting taller lol.

[@margaritakostova614]

Hey jeff! I’m pretty new to tropical plants and I’ve been trying to keep this huge Christmas palm alive in my apt in NYC 💀 … it’s not doing great but some fronds are opening up this week which is a really happy sign for me! My question is, how often do you water your Christmas palms in the winter? The soil in mine has been pretty wet even after 2/3 weeks of no watering :(

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

I don't know what to tell you, honestly. I think you're in for a lot of work trying to bring it down to cover it, which may be for nothing if you have a particularly cold winter again. But you're attached to it, so I understand trying to save it. Personally, I'd probably just cut it down because I'm lazy. If you want a more practical answer, look at a cost analysis. [What are you going to spend in materials to protect it for the winter? How much will it cost for a crane to come in and raise it again in the spring (that's the only way it is going back up)? How much is your time worth? ] After figuring all that out, can you buy a new one, or maybe something else, for the same amount?

[@TropicalPlantParty]

All good points! I had thought a lot about the cost and laying it down would be cheapest, I have a wench i can use to pull it back up in the spring time. But there are the other things like you mentioned, especially is it worth the time?...idk! lol. It's a queen palm, they grow so fast, even if i can protect it this winter, how much longer could i really do this for? It's already taller than my garage, which is one reason i can't just build a structure around it, it wouldnt' be safe for me to try and get that high, it wouldn't be safe for people around it during the windy winters if the structure were to come apart, it wouldn't be nice to neighbors because that would be such an eye-sore and my HOA doesn't allow free-standing structures, so it would have to bolted to the patio which i'm not going to do because that's damaging to the patio.... so much to process! If it dies this winter I could totally plant something more practical too, something that stays smaller and is more hardy, like a Butia, I can protect those in winter much more easily and it would be a few decades until that got too tall to protect. Oh well, i'll figure something out. Right now i'm trying to stay focused on moving all the plants inside that don't stand a chance against freezing temps bc it is going to be 22F here in a couple of days. Once they are taken care of, i'll see how the queen held up and move on from there. Too much! Need to just move to florida! lol! Thank you for your help! :)

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

Life at Jeff's house right now: tenor.com/view/panic-spongebob-patrick-scared-running-gif-7888576 Hope you get everything else taken care of, at least. 🤗

[@jujudreamz84]

😂😂😂😂😂 Ur great Love ur vibe

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Thank you!

[@vinsoriano493]

How many years have you had that queen Palm? planted one in zone 8a and it died the first frost years ago

[@TropicalPlantParty]

about 14 years. However it used to be in a pot and got stored in a greenhouse during winter. It finally outgrew the greenhouse so i had it planted in the ground this year, thinking (probably rightfully so) that this would be the last year i would have it.

[@weswall7737]

Do u still have that palm now?

[@adiposerex5150]

Would Wiltpruf be an option on the Queen Palm?

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Absolutely! Tomorrow when the rain stops i'm going to drench the entire palm with an anti-transpirant. :)

[@renehopkins7606]

I have 2 ,15 ft queen palms, and its getting harder and harder to wrap and cover them.😫

[@texastravelers210]

What zone do you live in ?

[@renehopkins7606]

@@texastravelers210 I'm not really sure .northwest fl. Where I'm at it's always five degrees colder or hotter than what they say on the Weather Channel so I try to take that in consideration

[@texastravelers210]

@@renehopkins7606 thanks for the quick reply . I assume you're somewhere near the same hardiness zone as I am 8b/9a . I'm literally a few miles from a 9a zone (20-25F) . 8b is 15-20F . Look up cold hardiness zone and type in your address you'll find your exact hardiness zone if you're interested in. Anyway I planted a 5 gallon queen palm last year in May. Few days before Christmas, here in San Antonio, the cold front brought us 5 nights of freezing temperatures 16,21,24,28 and 30F . Fortunately the air was dry but the wind was intense on the first night so the windshield was a lot colder . Daytime temperatures were slightly above freezing on the second day and after .I wrapped my queen with one thin bed sheet and covered it with a bucket . No other heatsources did I apply to it. I uncovered the palm each time when it got above freezing to warm it up. Down the road it survived well , fronds already grew close to 3 inches . I take good care of my palms. I fertilize them 3 times a year with a slow release fertilizer and don't over water or under water. Each time when you can expect a freeze deep water the roots and lay down a few inches of extra mulch. Keep weeds away from the trunk. This will give you a few degrees of cold hardiness. Queens can handle brief freezes pretty well even under 20F but I would wrap them when it gets below 25F apply a heating tap or Christmas lights when it gets under 25F to make sure they survive. Whenever it gets in the mid teens just pray and hope it will survive. For your large palms use pool poles or similar to use it to cover the bud with frost cloth. Get creative if there's a will there's a way . Only a healthy one will have a better chance of survival. By the way how long did it take for your palm to reach 15' ? How tall was it when you planted it?

[@renehopkins7606]

We've had the palms about 4 years...

[@QarsherskiyGal]

What state is this in?

[@karolylakatos3902]

Hi Sir! Where do you live?

[@TropicalPlantParty]

Zone 6a/6b in Missouri.