Pgymy Date Palms - Zone 8 - Winter Protection????

Any suggestions for better winter protection for my pgymy date palms for the winter (January - February)? I've tried wrapping them and frost cloths. Still getting too much winter damage.

best way is to build a light box that completely covers them on all 5 sides (4 sides and top). Wrap palms in bubble wrap and insulate boxes well, and hang a few christmas lights inside box and keep palm in box from Oct until now. See a lot of gung-ho palm growers in zones 6-8 successfully do that with their palms. Some keep this palms alive for decades in the ground that way.

I do as Palmbob suggests and manage to keep my mango tree alive. I put a post in the ground that is taller than the plant right next to the tree. Then I put a 6 foot fence post at the corners and use them to anchor a roll of insulated laminate hardwoor floor underpading. That will give you a four foor wall around the plant. Toss a blanket or frost cloth over the center tall post and clamp the edges to the top of your wall. Put the Christmas tree lights inside, draped all over the plant, and then just plug them in during those cold nights.

Question, has anyone tried heat tape? That's the tape northerners use to keep water pipes from freezing. It has a built in thermostat that heats up the tape when the temps drop to 32 degrees.

Jim

According to my husband, heat tape is more economical than xmas lights. Heat producing incandescent lights are being fazed out, so we out of zone growers have to find alternatives. I'm growing Phoenix Sylvestris and Canariensis, which I'm successfuly protecting for 8 - 10 weeks, beginning in mid Dec., with xmas lights and frost cloth. I think this method would be easier than constructing a housing unit around the palm.

This message was edited Apr 25, 2011 5:49 AM