Hi, S.I.palm. I don't grow one personally, but there is one down the block from me that has been here for years. It seems to have no problems with heavy snow loads, ice, or hurricane force winds. Don't know why they are are not more common here in zones to 6b to 7b in nj.. Never see them at garden centers or the big box stores.

Got two in z6. One's about 20' & the other a bit shorter after 8 seasons.

My observations are, at least after getting fully established (a couple yrs), cold isn't really an issue. But snow loads can be damaging. Ice could be very destructive.

Mine were purchased from a NE Alabama source, so typical coastal-plain sources may not be so cold hardy.

I'd recommend getting more than one -- cold can hurt them when very small -- I lost a couple.

Thanks I will protect it in the winter while it is in the grass stage.

"Don't know why they are are not more common here in zones to 6b to 7b in nj.. Never see them at garden centers or the big box stores"

Because they're very difficult to accomodate in nursery practice, with their massive deep taproot and very slow 'grass stage' seedling growth.

There's one or two small, gaunt specimens in botanical collections in southern England (around 51ðN), which will likely be the northernmost of the species in the world. Very slow-growing due to lack of summer heat.

Resin