How long has it been in the ground?

13 F actually isn't that bad for a windmill but the damage may be cold-related (cold damage is also influenced by sun exposure, lack of snow cover, maturity of the palm and number of years in the ground.., etc). On the postitive side, as long as you are seeing new growth, the growth will eventually revert to normal (maybe not this season). There might have been some damage to the bud; I have seen this mulitiple times with various palms, and they always grow out of it..., eventually. My Pindos and Canary Island any Pygmy Dates have shown this pattern. Protect it though this coming winter, getting zapped twice in a row may be too much. Good luck!

(Zone 7A/NJ)

Thanks for the comments, it has only been in the ground for a little over a year (14 months), it’s been really hot here lately, 105 today and over 100 the last few days. I thought I was going to lose it due to poorly drained soil this spring because we had a ton of rain. When I planted it I dug a hole about 4ft wide and 5ft deep and filled it with cactus/palm soil. I later later learned this might create a bathtub effect with our clay soil, been too lazy to fix it, and it’s still alive and green, looks healthy except the short fronds.

Very few palms are tolerant of water-logged conditions (though there are a few..., Cat palms and Majesty among them), but Trachys, like most palms need excellent drainage. Also, keep in mind, Trachys do NOT grow best in very hot weather, being temperate to subtropical zone palms, they grow better when highs are under 90 (unlike Sabals that are real heat lovers), so this may be another reason you are not seeing decent growth, and if there are structures near it (your house, garage, etc...), those temperaures you hear being officially quoted my be much COOLER than what your palm is actually experiencing (reflected heat). Finally, have you been feeding (palms are relatively high feeders).

P.S., If you want to expand your palm collection, I strongly suggest you consider Sabals, many are heat and cold tolerate to Zone 7. Sabal minors are among the most cold tolerant of palms. I also like Sabal 'Louisianna' as it is faster growing (but a bit less hardy then S. minor). Sabal bermudana (Bermuda Sabal) is probably my favorite Sabal but probably only hardy to Zone 8.

Unfortunately there’s no way around the poor drainage here in clay central, I’m a huge fan of things being in ground and not pots, but we had almost no rain (.02in) in July and less than a half inch so far in August according to my weather station. I do water it every 3-4 days if there is no rain at all, I also fertilize with palm fertilizer granules every other month, and once a month give it fish fertilizer. It is planted about 3ft from the brick garage, so you’re probably right about the reflected heat. However it is on the east facing side of the garage and gets shade from about 1pm on