I'm confused by your posting. Do you mean "hardy" as "year- round-in the ground" or "hardy" as in the sense of robust and easy to grow?? If you mean "in the ground hardy", don't understand the comment about keeping them indoors for the winter. Unfortunately, this is an important distinction because the cold hardiest of palms DO NOT make the best indoor specimens. If you want something in the ground, best bet would be a Sabal minor. Trachycarpus fortunei is much faster growing (compared to the minor) but will need definite winter protection in the ground in your zone.

I think s/he is simply saying the palms will be grown indoors through just this one winter, then permanently planted in the ground next spring. Personally, I would just hold off on buying them until spring when they can be planted immediately.

In zone 6, the ONLY palms that are likely to be cold-hardy in the long term are needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) and dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor). In zone 6 even these will probably need protection, and definitely during their first couple of winters in the ground. Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) is also a possibility, but will require quite a bit of dedication to substantial protection EVERY winter. In either case, if you have a very sheltered location, such as against a building, that will help immensely.

Thanks for the info, sorry for making my question confusing.

I had no problem understanding the post. My trachys thrived indoors over a winter. The thing im not sure about is if it is good for the plant to be growing bright and green all winter in summer conditions inside. Would this make for weak leaves when they are exposed to wind and snow?

I had the same prob understanding this post but assumed that they meant they would be growing them inside untill n/y when they plant them.
Frmmi,makes the excellent point here,as plants like these grown indoors will be weak and torn apart by wind, cold and sun when they are put out.I had a problem with my palms,tracky,sabals etc,most of which have not recovered to this day from being put out(to early)in the spring.Make sure you let them adjust slowly to sunlight and don't plant them untill at least mid may-

If you acquire your cold hardy palm (Rhaphidophyllum, Trachycarpus or Sabal) before the Spring, the best thing would be to grow it as a containerized specimen in an area that is very cool but free of frost. For me, I've been able to use garages for this purpose as they've been both bright enough and mild/cool enough for this purpose (winter temps between 35 and 60 would be fine). The idea is to avoid active indoor growth in the dead of winter as this growth would be difficult to harden off and acclimate to the outdoor conditions once you do plant outside (around mid May for your area). I've grown specimens of Trachycarpus as indoor/outdoor containerized plants until they were big enough to plant in the ground. All things being equal, the palms cold hardiness is also greater the bigger it is when it goes into the ground. Good luck!

Thanks for the ideas, I will absolutely purchase the cold hardy palms around the Middle of April to the Beginning of May so they could have a better chance to grow.

It's not a palm but, you might want to try musa basjoo. It's nice and tropical looking and I don't even have to mulch mine and they come back every year.
hth
Chris
Knoxville TN

I just want to jump in here real quick with some questions, just because I am hearing conflicting things.

Some say that they have had great success with planting out the hardier palms (needle/ sabal as late as October or so, in as low as zone 5.

Others say if its not in the ground by june to hold it as a containerised plant and overwinter it in a garage or basement.

I realise this may be zone dependent but which of these is really tru? What about those who have palms in pots that need to to in the ground but do not have basements nor garages or other "cool" but not freezing places to store them for the winter?

I know for me personally, I do not have either and i would really like to know. Im in a zone 8A, and have a fantastic very warm micro climate that easily pushes well into 8B territory, and is VERY protected from the strong and cold NW, N, and NE winds of winter. So is august too late to put anything in ground even in a protected location?

Im just trying to get clear on all the different things I have heard are "the best" to do.

Thanks!

I hope this is a answer!lol As far as putting the palms in the ground now goes,I have not had a problem with late planting,if you mulch before the weather gets cool the soil can stay warm for quite a while.In southern Iowa where I live, soil temps don't go below 50F untill late Nov,usually,this can be inproved upon with mulch,more mulch,soil holds its warmth.The reverse is true in spring when sun is warming soil the mulch should be pulled back so soil can warm up,if you don't do this the ground will stay cold for months depending on depth of mulch you have down,but with late planting you better baby your plants through the winter big time,the lowest my trachys saw was a dry(meaning covered,no frost and dry soil) 9F.As far as keeping them in a garage,the idea is not to incourage new growth during the winter,basically to "freeze" the new growth which will be weak if they grow indoors.There is nothing wrong with growing trachys or needles indoors during the winter at all,its just that the new growth will take a beating from sun and wind,and even 30s and 40s will be chilly for them if put out in the spring.In my house with south and west windows,it really started to warm up in march and april so my trachys and other palms really started to grow again,and having just adjusted to being potted up and brought inside in the fall,they had a hard time being put out in the realitive cold of spring and stalled for a while,and the new leaves were tender early in the season,it really was'nt untill the second set of leaves came out that they started to adjust,so it makes sense if you have a garage that has stable cool temps and a little sun or at least can provide some light,that this is a easier transition in spring then going from a warm house to cool ground and cold nights right away

Thanks for the advice