I wrapped my frame with 6ml clear plastic to keep the water out and off. Most importantly put plastic on top of the frame to keep the moisture out from above. Last year I put the plastic on top of the frame early (like in Nov) to keep the rain out and then wrapped the side in Jan to hold the heat in. Kind of all depends on your nightime lows, which we did not get single digit lows until Jan last year. Good luck.

I out wintered a trachy Wag and fortunei here last winter in inland CT a zone6/7. The lowest temp was zero. I bought plastic greenhouses and covered them. Also both where mulched, and their trunks covered if it became too cold. Both where kept try. Both plants in a very protected southern location.

These palms are very tough, but have their limits. Even here they are not 'theoretically' hardy.
Along the CT shore-a zone 7 they may do better, but there is less heat then inland.

My two palms came through very well. Some outer leaf damage, but no spear pull. They have put out 5 leaves thus far.
There are a few other growers in CT, Rhode Island and south eastern Mass.

I think the big deal with spear pull is trachy's are watered way to much or the ground does not drain well
enough , and the reason i say this I had 1 that suffered spear pull and nearly died when we got single digit nights last winter.. but the other one did not suffer at all it
is very healthy... further investigation showed the ground wasn't draining under the one that suffered.. Neither
one had protection .

I haven't tried leaving my palms outside yet. I would really hate to lose them after the time, money and care I've given them. The problem with winter in my area is... January can actually be quite warm sometimes. This year for example, January had many days with temps in the 50's and 60's and sometimes the overnight low would be above freezing. On days like that you hate having your temperate palms covered at all. Then a few days of very cold weather come along and you have to rush to get them protected. So, consequently, they go indoors for 3 or 4 months.

Amen southern il boy. I dont plan on leaving my Trachy out until it gets alot bigger. It's only 2ft tall. I know people say it'll be hardier the earlier you put it out but why leave it outside in the ground if I can still pick it up in it's pot. I'm going to buy a bigger one soon and plant it in the spring.

Bob. I only speak for myself. If your tree is too big or not, if you have a good location for it outside go for it. I just dont have the balls to do it yet.LOL! Good luck! Keep us posted.

Thanks everyone for your good information. I will be keeping all three Trachys outside this winter, wrapping them and protecting them from moisture. I'll also protect them with a copper based fungicide. We also get some warm days in January, and while I'm officially in zone 5, I truly believe this part of Michigan is in zone 6, it seldom gets below zero here.

Josh, there's a great feeling when you actually decide to keep your tropical outside over the winter, providing you've given it proper protection. I'd say, go for it! Try it with one plant, and see how it works. I'll also be keeping 3 of my 7 Musa Basjoo Bananas out. The others I'll bring into my 4 season sunroom so I can enjoy the tropics all through the winter.

I'm keeping a Musa basjoo out for the first time this winter. I also have a dwarf (something) I'm keeping inside in a pot. I'm giving some basjoo pups away and overwintering some inside. I have a 12-13ft basjoo that will stay in my basement cut down a little with very low light. I just got it 2 weeks ago and its still unbelievablly in a pot. Its too late to plant that.

Bob-
My trachy is going on its third year in the ground here in SE Michigan. I live in Grosse Ile, where do you live? It seems like I'm about a half zone warmer than you are, as last winter we only got down to -5 for one night as our coldest temp, but our weather is, I'm sure very similar.
My advice for you is, you're on the right track, but instead of covering with plastic, us a light colored tarp. Plastic creates solar heat very quickly, and even though its 20 degrees out, when in the sun, your structure can reach up to 60s or higher. This might not sound so bad, but one of my stuctures got up to about 100F one day when I wasn't home. Going from a temp of 15 to 100 can be very stressful if not lethal for a palm. I would recommend either covering the whole plant in a leaf cage with straw, and then putting a tarp over it, or building a frame, mulching the ground a little, then use some form of artificial heat, such as a screw-in bulb style ceramic heat emitter for when temps drop below 10F, and then covering the whole thing with a light colored tarp. If using plastic, you would have to create a vent that you can open and close. You would have to open the vent pretty much anytime it's sunny out to avoid overheating. That's why I'd recommend a tarp-they're more breathable(no need for a vent).
If you have any other questions, feel free to email me. Hope this helps.

Well, here's one way to protect your palms. And it works a treat!

Larger Palm... Framing it
{{gwi:1116947}}
Yes, that picture is from last fall and the palm looked pretty ratty. But it's had a good summer and looks amazing now. Will posts some pictures soon. Help give ya'll some motivation from Canada! LOL >:D

Covering it
{{gwi:1123174}}

Smaller Palms....
{{gwi:1116945}}

Islandbreeze and Blondboy47, thanks for the info. The pictures are great! I wanted to post some pictures of my garden, but had problems getting them to upload. Not too computer savy!

Islandbreeze, I'm in Berrien Springs, about 15 miles north of Notre Dame (hopefully, they'll learn to play football soon!)

I was aware of the problems that plastic can cause, but didn't realize how much of a temp. increase can happen!

Josh-
Watch that potted Basjoo inside. Mite City!

Hi Andy. I'm prepared with a pretty good 3 in 1.(Safer brand)

Hey Blondboy,

I recall that you posted sometime ago a diagram on how to rig that greenhouse with heat from a blowdryer. Can you repost it?

Thx,
Phil