Only the 7th hit on google...

http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/TreeGallery/auscabbagepalmc.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: cabbage tree link

Cordylines are pretty ubiquitous in Britain, especially round the coast. I don't think they'd grow in zone 7 - they are pretty hardy, but maybe not that much. Some yuccas have a similar look though, & there are a few true palms you can grow - trachycarpus, sabals and the needle palm. Sure the other folks here will be able to help you more with that!

Most of scotland is technically zone 8 & zone 9 on the west coast; parts of the highlands are zone 7. (Of course the zone system doesn't make much sense for a maritime climate...)

Here's a pic of some trachycarpus at logan botanical gardens in Galloway:
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Alex

Wow! Cabbage trees! Never heard of them! I am sooooooo glad you didn't just google it and find out for yourself and KEEP IT TO YOURSELF! I am sooooo glad you chose to SHARE your interest on the FORUM where PEOPLE COMMUNICATE about things of INTEREST.

In case anyone is interested, I am being sarcastic to those "only 7 hits on google" phrases. Sure, s/he could have googled it and found all info him/herself, but then I wouldn't know about cabbage trees! Amazing the things you learn when you visit FORUMS where people are supposed to TEACH EACH OTHER!

As Alex says, it's the maritime climate. Western Scotland's climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream, resulting in a narrow temperature range, so although its summer temps are much lower than in Virginia, its winter minima are much higher.

I seem to remember there was an article on the limits of palm hardiness in the Palm Society journal, maybe 15-20 years back, which concluded that there is NO palm which can survive having its roots in frozen soil. I presume this means frozen below the top inch or two, as you might expect in moderate frosts. Is this still the conventional wisdom?

I must admit to being puzzled as to why so many North Americans are so obsessed with growing palms and other tender plants so far outside the zones they thrive best in. But having looked in at this forum often, I see that this subject provokes heated debate at times!

With a cage built around it ,stuffed with straw, I have successfully overwintered cabbage trees in CT for 3 seasons now

Hi there, well just to add to your confusion about exactly where Cordylines can and cannot survive, I live in Staffordshire which is not exactly on the 'balmy' maritime south coast of the UK and we now have them in almost every village and town around here, and no doubt much further north than us too! The regular green ones and also the bronze variety grow easily to several metres high and I have yet to see some with any sort of winter protection, and it is cold and WET here believe me. The more mature ones are often seen in flower also. Garden centres are stuffed full of them all year round as well as varieties of Trachys and Chamaerops and I saw Bismarck palms this weekend too. Inverewe Garden is the famous Scottish location where all manner of exotics are able to grow, as you rightly say by courtesy of the West coast's Gulf Stream.
Gill.

You saw bismarcks in the ground in England ?

Oops, sorry, perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. I was just carrying on from the statement that cordylines are in each and every garden centre over here as well as the other varieties of palms I mentioned, including the bismarcks...they were all potted in the GC. No doubt they do end up in gardens though, will check the info out on the tags when I go back as it was a large DIY store we seem to visit a lot!! It didn't occur to me this time to do that, I just read what they were. What made me make a beeline for them was their strange colour which was a deep bronze-purple, and they were around 3ft high or so. From what I've been reading/seeing on-line, that is the juvenille colouration and they are spectacular when mature.
Oh....I didn't buy one!
Gill.

Oh sorry.. I just read wrong i guess.. Bismarcks are my favorites i have one in a pot it's about 2 ft tall
with gorgeous 1 ft fans they are a maroon and silver color.
Get one you will enjoy it !

babywatson, are you maybe refering to cabbage palms (sabal palmetto)? They're definitely cold hardy enough to survive Scotland, as I think Edinburgh, not sure if I spelled it right, is a zone 8. Although I can't imagine Scotland gets warm enough summer temps to support sabal palmetto. I do know on another posting on this forum, somebody provided a link to pics of trachycarpus fortunei growing in Edinburgh. I recall them saying that because of low summer temps, trachycarpus fortunei is the only palm that can grow in Scotland.

I don't think we're talking about Sabals here. Think cabbage palms is being used to refer to Cordylines (green and burgandy colored varieties. They are fairly cold hardy and yet don't require the high summer heat that Sabals tend to require.

Potted Cordylines over here are on sale for around £5 each for a decent plant of say 2ft in height, once in the ground they romp away and look very similar to a 'proper palm'. A tree company a few miles from where I live sells mature Jelly Palms at £699!! as well as Dracaenas, Agaves and Phormiums and other cold hardy palms and exotics. Tree ferns are now 'the UK in thing to grow' and can also be found in large DIY stores locally.
Other 'true palms' such as Jelly and Chinese Windmills can be seen in London as the city areas create a micro-climate that provide good conditions for them. The Edinburgh palms are probably growing at the worlds most northerly limit according to what I've just read.
Cordylines are also known as Torbay Palms in the UK and have been grown for decades in the south coastal towns around Torquay, and in many others, so much so it has been adopted as the tourist symbol for the Torbay area. Canary Isl palms also grow there. As I said, in almost every place here you will find a Cordline growing somewhere and maybe other true palms if you are lucky.
Gill

Here is a link that might be useful: palms in Scotland's Logan Gdns.

Those are some scraggly looking windmills. I would assume its from high winds, because it looks like the taller palms are in rougher shape.

Dracaenas do awesome here in the Midwestern U.S. They grow extremely fast in our summer heat, and survive a good portion of our cold winters here in pots outdoors. I pulled one of my potted Dracaenas against the house and under an overhang, and it has survived several days that haven't gone above freezing, as well as a nighttime low of 14 fahrenheit.

Yes, suppose they are, but I would love to be able to grow even a VERY scraggly one that big, and outside permanently!!
My 3 types of hardy windmills are still inside the seeds!!
Gill.

Beeen to the DIY store today, I did a detour to the gardening section to check out the info on the Bismarcks while d/h went his merry way down the 'spare bits for gas fires that keep switching themselves off unexpectedly' aisle (boriiiiiiing, but VERY necessary as it's freezing cold here at -2C) anyway, they were priced up at £39.95 or 79 of your dollar thingys. Way out of my league especially if they're going to croak it! One already had, it looked in a terrible condition. They were all around 2.5-3ft high with 5 or so leaves. Label said not fully hardy and would need some protection outdoors. Will have to wait till they land on the bargain trolley or we win the lottery!!