Carolina Gardening: Washingtonia robusta a goner?, 4 by donnacreation

donnacreation wrote:
My rural area in Sumter County had a zone 8b winter, with 3 morning lows @ 17f. I didn't wrap my palms until the end of Dec, and then I unwrapped them 2 weeks later. It was so sunny and warm in January, I couldn't bare keeping them wrapped. They did get hit w/1 morning low of 17 and heavy frost. Also several lows in the low 20's.

I cut away all of the fronds on the Sylvester that had cold damage - just little brown spots that were only noticeable up close. Anyway, it's heavily pruned and next winter, if I bother to wrap them again, I'm not unwrapping them until early/mid Feb.

Bottom line, none of the Phoenix cultivars are cold hardy in zone 8a. They're also not being marketed at Loews and HD this summer, but boy did Walmart market them like crazy. The tag says cold hardy to zone 8a, so I hope all those who bought them save their receipts and return them for refunds next spring.

The Washingtonia looks good, but the trunk is so narrow at the top, I don't know if it can survive a cold winter.

I also protected 2 queen palms, and I didn't remove their protection until mid Feb. This will be their 3rd year inground, and they're really taking off. Not sure if I'm going to bother protecting them in Dec either.