to test for spear pull, you pull the spear. Not with all your might or you could conceivably remove a healthy spear... a sickly rotted spear usually comes out with little effort and no more than a horrific sucking sound (horrific to me, at least).

Thank you for the response.

By spear do you mean the center forming fan?

Thanks again.

The "Spear" is the closed fan in the very center of the top. Gently tug on it. Not HARD, just gently but firmly. You will instantly be able to tell if its in there good or not because it will come out with a gentle tug if you have spear pull / rot.

I would DEFINITELY be protecting your palm, at the very minimum with a very good wrapping of incandescent xmas lights. NOT LED lights. LED's give off no heat. That is the bare minimum that I would do. I personally might also wrap it with burlap, and when its going to precipitate I would cover the crown so it stays dry.

The spear is the emerging leaf. The spear will pull out of most dead palms, but the for some reason, the really tropical palms dont seem to give up their spears when they are dead (not sure if it goes for all of them or now). If a spear pulls it doesnt always mean that a palm is dead. My pygmy palm got spear pull from being too dry indoors and it grew a new one when summer came (it still hasnt grown completely normal sized leaves yet, but its working on it!)
I would protect your Windmill palm since they can only safely handle (I would say) 15F when first planted. If its raining, it could rot at close to 20F! The drier the better for sure, especially when it comes to the crown. Once they are well established you shouldnt have to even worry about them until temperatures are around 10F or colder. Wrapping the trunk in Christmas Lights and then a blanket or burlap should keep it warm. Then just keep moisture from getting in the center and your probably good to go. Also watch for overheating!
Good luck!

peanut01,
Spear pull is when you pull on the newest frond coming out of the top of the trunk and it pulls out.It's called spear pull because before the frond opens up they look like a spear.You don't have to pull hard,just a tug will do.If the spear pulls out it will be black on the end that was down in the trunk.Some people pour peroxide in the hole where the spear came from,that's what I do.Usually within 2 weeks a new spear will come out.I've never had spear pull this time of year,it usually happens in spring when the weather starts to warm up.It's caused by to much moister getting in the top of the trunk at the bud,it causes rot.A lot of people on this forum build mini greenhouses around there palms in winter to keep the moisture and cold temps. out.Palms like to be dry during cold weather,(most palms).I don't build structures around my palms in winter,I wrap the trunks in burlap if it's going to get below 20f.If were going to get moisture of any type I throw a tarp over the top of the palm to keep it out of the growing bud.Once the rain or snow passes and there is no chance of anymore I take the tarp off so the fronds can get sun.Don't leave the tarp on no longer than 5 days or the fronds will start to die from no sunlight.Trachycarpus Fortunei is cold hardy to 5f.You just don't want any moisture getting to the bud in winter.Most palms can take dry cold a lot better than a wet cold.I hope this helps.
Randy

Butiaman:

My Trachys are full encased in leaves and see no sun. They are unwrapped the first weekend in Spring and look no worse than your average college student after a late night out. They get right back into the swing of things.

I experienced spear pull once after a brutal, but ultimately succesfull transplanting. I sprayed fungicide on it and its thriving today, albeit in a cocoon.

Jacklord,
I've seen where people do your type of protection,and it worked with no problems.I tried that and it rotted a pindo palm.When I took the cage and leaves away from my palm it was black,completely dead.I have been using the burlap and tarps for years and so far I only lost one palm out of the 20 or so I have.Maybe Trachy's can take that kind of protection but Pindo's,at least for me don't like it,they want sun even in winter.They look no worse than a college student after a late night out,that's a good one Jack.

Peanut, I hope you read this today! Were getting 1-3" of snow up here tomrrow, and where you are looks more like 2-4". I would definitely cover that crown before this snow and ice event hits. Let us know what you decide to do. Hope you can get to the protection soon!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will get the crown covered with Tarp soon. I don't know how long I can keep it on before my HOA complains though. The Trachy is the center piece of my front garden. Maybe I will look for some more aesthetically pleasing protection later.

-David

Hope you got something over that crown! We got almost an inch on the ground here and it just started. I say screw the HOA. Far as I'm concerned much of what HOA's complain about to me is unconstitutional, and I'm anything but conservative. You have the right to protect your garden from weather.

A couple of little hints: Neutral colors, and or clear plastic, and, if you throw lights on top of something, its far more decorative, and any nazi like HOA is much less likely to get their little panties in a bunch.

Take some photos for us!

I went home on lunch break today and winterized my Trachy. Hopefully no real damage has been done. I did notice that the leaves which appeared dark green before are now starting to get some yellow splotching. Even if this gut would make it through the winter unprotected the damage will take longer than 1 season to repair.

I tied all the leaves together straight up. I put a blue tarp over top of it and tied it shut on the bottom. I had a little burlap so I wrapped the trunk with that. I told my wife to take some pics while she is out with my daughter playing today... I'll post later. She just got in and thought she saw someone with khakis and a blue coat on by our front porch. I don't think it looks so bad. I'll have to pray for my Oleander since I decided not to protect it this year.

-David

Ditto to cover it and give lights. You must keep it dry. Lights may be optional for your area depending on winter severity.

I would DEFINITELY be protecting your palm, at the very minimum with a very good wrapping of incandescent xmas lights. NOT LED lights. LED's give off no heat. That is the bare minimum that I would do. I personally might also wrap it with burlap, and when its going to precipitate I would cover the crown so it stays dry.

Brooklyn,

Wouldn't it be nice if this message board had a "QUOTE" function so you could quote other posters? This board is so far behind in the technology department.

Peanut, Look forward to your photos! I hope you got that crown taken care of before much moisture got it. If snow DID get in before you wrapped it up, after the snow stops tomorrow when its sunny and above freezing I would unwrap that crown and leave it for the day to allow the moisture to dry out. moisture trapped in the crown when its closed off could be even worse, but if you allow it to air out during the daytime in the sun for a couple days then re cover it it should be ok. you may even be able to get away with leaving the crown uncovered on days when it is going to be sunny, just covering it only when you know you are going to get any precipitation.

Butiaman:

The leaf cage had a similiar effect on my Butia. Did not rot it, but nailed a bunch of fonds. I thought it was the result of my negligence in not putting a roof on the cage and consequently allowing the leaves to get soaked. So this year I have put tarps over all leaf cages. And the Butia is protected by a mini greenhouse and 100w bulb.

Here are the pics of my protection. Some of the snow hit the crown but I shook most of it off.

Thanks again for the advice. My wife bought this palm for me on our 9th Anniversary.

-David

Here is a pic of a cold weather burnt palm this summer in SC.

That definitely looks like enough protection and I hope it makes it for you! Nice pic of a flowering sago also!
Good luck!
-Alex

A house around the block on top of a hill has this palm growing. It has been there 3 years now with no protection at all. It has also seeded every year as well.

I forget what type it is. How does the cold tolerance vary between the palm in the photo above and my Trachy.

-David

David,
I'm no Sabal palm expert but that looks like a S.minor.There not actually as cold hardy as a T.fortunei.They will take wet cold better,they grow naturally under the canopy of large deciduous trees in swampy areas.If that is what that is.Maybe somebody else on here could tell you for sure which Sabal palm that is.
Randy

Definitely looks like a Sabal minor, and they are usually more cold tolerant than a windmill palm (on the east coast), but they need a lot of summer heat to grow unlike Trachycarpus. I notice that Sabal minors grown natively in warmer climates are less cold tolerant than northern populations, but faster growing than northern populations and also possibly a little larger. I got my sabal minor a year ago from Lowes and I think that it must have been grown in a warm climate because it is very tender to the cold (damage begins around the upper teens or low 20s!) However, it really quickly recovered even though these palms are known to be on the slow side when it comes to growth. Most sabals are cold hardy to 5F and might come back from 0F or even slightly lower. Im pretty sure that they are native to areas of the Southeast (such as coastal NC) that do have record lows in the -5F to 0F range, so they can probably take temperatures around that for brief periods every few years. They also are a bit less prone to spear pull than Trachycarpus. Downside is they dont usually form trunks (only very old specimens occasionally do show their underground trunks above ground). They grow in sun and shade, but the warmer and wetter during the summer, the better. They dont like winter moisture though.
Good luck!
-Alex

I wish I could experience a single success with S.minor. But my experience growing one as even a containerized plant makes me think they are surprisingly temperamental. They either just sit there and do nothing despite summer heat and humidity that can bake a coconut, or die upon transplanting. Maybe part of the problem has been that I've gotten mine bare rooted and they transplant less readily than other palms. I do have a couple Sabal louisiana that seem more robust--one of which was planted out in the early summer and looks quite good. I suppose I'll give the minor another chance, but in the meantime, preferring my Trachys, Needles, Louisiana, Pindo, and Med fans for life out in the cold.

Hey Peanut, Dont forget to uncover the top of that windmill on sunny days so it can breathe a little!

Whoevers Sabal Minor that is its a very nice one. I have one I planted in ground last spring and it is doing fantastic. Its about a foot from the southeast corner of the house (front) and it put up 2 and 1/2 leaves just last summer. It is starting to get pretty big. So far it seems to be unaffected by the cold we have had. It's out there unprotected other than about 4" of mulch piled in/ around it. I think the fact that its close to the house, and its on the south side so it warms up a bit, even on days when its only in the 20s. I hope it continues its seemingly vigorous growth next spring and I get 3 more leaves out of it.

Here's a pic of my T. fortunei that I took this afternoon. There's another similar one on the other side of the stairs. Will post a pic of the Pindo tomorrow.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Dixieboy post pictures on this forum showing them in coastal wet places in winter.There is one on here now with him standing next to a very large one.In the picture he's wearing those waterproof boots and a coat.That's why I thought they grow naturally in ares that stay wet in fall and winter.I thought I read that somewhere also before I saw his pictures.Maybe I'm wrong.
Randy

Butia, they DO seem to tolerate COLD/WET better than many of the 'cold tolerant' palms--at least in my experience.

Are we talking Sabal Minor? Those are are more swampy type palms. You see them more often in swampy areas. In the south, drier areas away from the swamps you see alot more saw palmetto. S. Minor CAN grow in drier places, but from my experience they tend to proliferate more in swampy / damp / wet areas.

I pulled the tarp off the top of my Trachy, to allow for the sun to get in. I will pretty much keep it off unless moisture is in the forecast. The leaves haven't browned at all but don't look extremely good either. I will take a pic to share to get your thoughts. I wonder if that Sabal Minor is a special one with a little more Cold Tolerance. As I said before, this S.minor has been in the ground 3 years with no protection. It is not up against the foundation of their home or anything of the sort. The only saving grace in my opinion is that the sabal is on the South side of their home and on top of a hill to provide for good drainage. They also have about 6 small Needles in their front garden as well. They have been growing for 3 years too. Very slow growers but very healthy looking. I attempted to grow some Needles at my house in a dry part sun location and they did not make it. I may end up trying out a S.Minor in the locations where the Needles failed.

Maybe this year I will collect some seeds from my neighbors. What is the best time to cultivate S.Minor seeds? My neighbor told me that I am welcome to have all the seeds. If I harvest too early do the seeds continue to mature off the plant? Or do I wait for the seeds to dry on the plant?

Thanks again
David