Not sure if you dug them from the ground and put them in pots. Both palms will defoliate at about 30F, and die in the upper 20s unless well protected. I put my foxtail(15ft) in the ground last year because it's too big to move the pot around. I know it will eventually croak during a hard freeze. I put a floodlight on it during pending frosts. That works pretty well for me. Fishtails: Caryota obtusa (7ft) I pull under a covered patio and put a floodlight on it during frost. The Caryota no(14ft), I drag inside the frontdoor and stand up in my foyer during winter. The fishtails grow outdoor in high shade, the foxtail in full sun till about 1PM then shade.

Where are you located? I have a mature Fishtail growing in full sun, but coming up from the corner of my house so it is protected, but not from above. It once was over 30' tall, but Hurricane Jeanne took my two oaks and put them IN my house. So, they cut the fishtail to the ground to rebuild that area. It has grown back since and is now about 20' tall and has 5 stems. If protected, they can tolerate a lot of cold. Exposed, they suffer from 26-28F w/frost but do not die back until it gets down to 24F. They can acclimate to full sun but require moisture and frequent fertilzing. Foxtails are similar in all ways except once they're gone, that's it because they are solitary. However, if protected Foxtails can take a bit of cold, too. Both grow poorly in low light. Greg in New Port Richey where it doesn't rain very much this summer...argh!

Howdy Greg, By my name you can identify me as a Houstonian. That's in SE Texas. The two Caryota species I grow are different from the clustering Fishtail you are growing(likely Caryota mitis). It is said Caryota obtusa sny. C. gigas will tollerate temps down to 27F when established, but Caryota no is far more tropical. I have seen burn on the leaves at 35F. I bought these two without the understanding that they are the two largest species of Fishtail. Now the question is what to do with them in the next couple years when they get too large for me to protect from freezing. It is possible, i suppose to grow my Fishtails in full sun over the next couple years, but they will shurely show burn from the sun. Although this summer we have been recieving a great deal of daily rain, we ordinarily endure searing heat throughout the long summer. Fishtails look far better when growing in partial shade while small. This is a "stock photo" of a Caryota no in Fla.
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