i live in the TN/KY border in zone 7(?) and i have Sabal minor, palmetto, mexicana. . .but the s. palmetto and s. mexicana r on the hardiness border. . .I have 2 Mediterranean Fan Palms (Chamaerops Humilis) and i put a trashcan over one last and this winter. . .it defoliated but grew at least 10 new fronds within 2 months. . .

First of all, WELCOME!!

I live in a coastal zone 7. Winters arent particuarly warm, but dont get below 0 except during record or near record beaking occasions. This is my first year with palms outside after many years of research. I have a sabal minor aka dwarf palmetto, needle palm, pindo palm, and windmill palm all outside of the winter. I think windmill palms are your best bet for a palm that forms a trunk, pindo palms are (in my opinion) the most beautiful of the cold tolerant palms. The pindo palm is the most cold hardy feather-like leaf palm, and cold tolerant to about 15 degrees, but I think when its estabilhed it can handle more like 10, and maybe even 5 when it gets really big (with damage of course).
Medditeranean fan palms are a great chopice for a drier or more southern climate, but a great palm to try farther north with protection from severe cold and moisture. The blue one is supposedly a bit more cold tolerant than the green form.
Im not sure if when you say "chinese palm" you are refering to a trachycarpus or a livingstonia. Trachycarpus (windmill palms as they are more commonly called) are cold tolerant to 5 degrees and fine in a zone 7b once they get established. If its in a good microclimate and given protection until its mature it will thrive in a 7a and maybe even a 6b with some evtra care. Livinstonias are a bit harder, but I find them more cold tolerant than given credit, but they will never make it in a zone 7 and especially lower without protection.
A lot of people on this fourm also grow mexican fan palms which are more a zone 8b-9a palm, but they protect them well, and they are fast growers so any winter damage will quickly be replaced by new leaves in the spring.

I think just about any palm rated zone 9a or lower can survive in zones 4-8 if given protection, but of course the ones that are too tender to grow in your zone's cold will need a lot of warmth to keep them going (protection of some type with artificial heat) and will never be able to survive a winter without help. And oneday they might get too tall to protect!

Good thing about growing cold tolerant palms is most are pretty widely available at good sizes on the internet, and expecially in the southern states.

Good luck and sorry for the long post!

If you do try growing from seed,try planting where you want your palm outside, in the spring.
There is growing evidence that sowing directly into the ground significantly increases cold hardiness.
The only caveat is they are difficult to protect when young as palms don't begin to reach their full hardiness until they begin to produce fan leaves,at least.

What type of protection can i use on palms what about burlap i heard that helps. I want to try something that is a gamble a want to try a chilen wine palm in my region. I know there hardy to 20f but can i pull it off with protection. Also may the seeds become "SUPER SEEDS"
Like the ones found in bamboo that make it adapt to the climate.That would be a landscapers dream.

I wrap the leaves of my palms up with a piece of rope, and wrap the palm in x mas lights. Everytime it rains or snows during the winter I throw a garbage bin on top to keep them from getting wet (moisture is a palm trees worst nightmare when combined with cold). When temps go below 20 I put a frostcloth on the palm, a garbage bin on top of the palm and the frost cloth and I put the x mas lights on. Temps in the garbage bin stay about 20 degrees warmer than outside. I do this to all 5 of my palms and it takes about 15 minutes to protect them all.

I think a chilean wine palm would be a nice palm to try, but I dont think its worth while on the east coast because they are difficult to find especially in large sizes which is nessecary because of how slot they go, and not only would the cold winters damage them, but the warm summers would bring stress on them as well. I know the tried one in florida (saw a a pic, I think it was in Orlando in shade) and it looked pretty much dead, and it eventually died from the summer heat (Florida does have more intense heat than you do though).
Also it seems that if you take seeds from a palm growing in the north it will not carry the trait to its offspring, unless it is geneticall more cold tolerant than otehr palms of the same species and not just more established.

If you want a really nice gamble you should try a mule palm. Its a cross between a queen palm and a butia AKA pindo palm. The downside to this palm is expensive because it will fruit, but the seeds of it can not be sprouted (its called a mule palm for this reason because mules are a mix of a horse and a donkey and cannot reproduce to make more mules, they have to keep crossing horses and donkeys to get more mules).

try: sago palm, european fan palm, pindo date palm, snow banana, high platue coconut palm,