In the central highlands z6/7 , we stop ferts around labor day. Needles and minors get a good dose of piling mulch around a week or so before Thanksgiving. Desert yuccas get a mulching of pea gravel to add to their mounds or berms.
Musa Basjoo is mulched over after the trunks have fallen or cut. If they are old established colonies , they usually mulch themselves. Sabal Palmetto x Birminghams usually need a heaping pile of mulch and a throw over covering during ice and snow storms. I placed a plastic outdoor table over one last year during bad weather and thats all it needed.
Windmills need to be mulched very good and all around after mini-x-mas lights have been strung up and down the trunk from the spear area to the bottom of the trunk. A string of 100 per 2 feet of trunks seems to fare well . Liting up the lights when the temps are below 15* F is a safe investment for sure. Should an ice storm or bad snow occur , throw a tarp of the fronds during that 'event' it dosent happen often and your palm will love you for it in the spring.
A requirement however is placing a plastic bag over the growing spear in winter. You take a small hand towel or old tee-shirt and wrap around the growing spear of the windmill in the crown , then place a plastic bay over the cloth to keep it dry and keep out moisture from setting up in the crown (this causes fungus and spear pull...maybe death of a tree) You only need to do this covering of the spear before bad weather and remove it afterwards. Here , we have heavy winter rains one day followed by clear cold nights afterwards. I do this covering before the rains to keep moisture out that could freeze later. Washington Robusta needs to be kept dry !!!!! My moms have about 4 feet of trunk so I take a plastic garbage can and cut out the bottom. upside down I slide it over the palm (fronds cut off for the winter) fill that with hard chip mulch then take a towel and wrap around the crown that now has no fronds.
I then plan another trash can over that (upside down ) and place something on top to keep it there. This keeps it dry untill easter. you can remove the top on warm winter days for fresh air to circulate and keep down fungus problems. here are some robusta protection pics....keep in mind smaller wqshies could be protected much easier.
{{gwi:1291734}}
{{gwi:1291735}}
LOWES sells outdoor grill covers , many sizes that can slip right over small plants during bad weather and they are cheap to use. If I could only find one for my 7 foot tall sable palmettoes..lol
Those washies return fast , here it has returned by memorial day with plenty of fast growing fronds :
{{gwi:1291737}}

Hello Jeff :)
got any palms at your place ?
Lowes on Nolensville pike , south of Southern Hills has some nice 5 gallon windmills for $16.
That would overwinter in the pot inside your house just fine and a planting in your east or west yard in the springtime would look nice..lol..
{{gwi:1274480}}

Hey Rob! glad to see you posting again. We are about to begin our second winter as palm growers. We didnt lose anything last winter thanks to all the help you gave us in preparing for cold weather. The mini lights and spear covering seemed to do the trick just fine here in K-town. The Livistona chinensis came back for us as well, but didnt get near the size it was last year.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we are headed for Myrtle Beach again this year. Last year while we were there we drove down the coast a little ways to True Blue Nursery and picked up an Oleander, fatsia, and a Camellia. This year I want to bring back some Palmettoes for sure.

Doug

Good to see you here also Doug.
YES...get a palmetto.
Than have done well here...keep the snow and ice off them (first year or so) during bad winter 'events' no heat required BUT...
should a freeze from HE## hit us....do anything to cover them and keep them near zero or above..and dry..
They will do fine in the house untill late march or so...
Im so glad you got thru the winter just fine...it was mild though..my lowest low was only 11*F...that a z8a low .LOL.
I can only hope for a oncore.LOL
Dont plant anything in your yard you will regret later.
I have to s.magnolias thats on my hit list...they grow to fast,drop too many leafs...and block needed winter sun...
talk wit ya soon intimidator

Rob !!! Where have you been ? It's great to see you posting again, you have been missed !

Cheryl

Dang dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would assume that you know what Lowes has over here by our place only because you've been here---which really hacks me off that you didn't come by being two minutes away. You're killing me! Call or email me ASAP before you drop back off the face of the Earth again.

That needle palm bit the dust this year and we got some other kind from Lavonne's uncle that looks like crap now too. I'm a plam killer. On the bright side though...our banana has bananas!

Robert Ogletree if you were by here and didn't call, my wife is VERY upset with you too. Now she's wondering if she said or did anything to make you mad at us. She's probably thinking that I did something actually.

Let me reiterate
CALL ME or EMAIL ME!!!!

Stupid question, but is it possible to get a Washie or a Robusta to acclimate to our Zone 6b-7a winters as they grow larger? I know that either of these have a tough time under 15F.

I just put away 4 bags of pine straw for the really cold weather in Jan-Feb. Is it wise to have more to mound the palms in it?

You all should see the palms I saw in Washington, DC today, a 6 foot Trachy and a small grove of needles and sabal minors.

Question: Do you put pine straw in the inside of the trash can for insultation?

I have Sago an Windmill Palms outside. I've seen a McDonalds and some other business/residence that have wrapped the entire trunk? of the windmills with burlap and keep it that way the entire winter is this good. It has been a mild winter so far do I need to do this? This is my first winter with palms. And do I need to do something to my Sagos?