Rare 8a Palms?

[plantguy]

Does anyone know of some rare, cold hardy palms that I could order seeds for from rare palm seeds? If there is even a chance I'd like to hear about it (if you could say its a guess it would be appreciated)!

[Tom in Tucson]

I'm not certain of their availability, but I think these species are offered occasionally:

Sabal minor - various forms
Trachycarpus - several species
Nannarrhops ritchiana
Chamaerops humilis - the gray forms may be hardier

There are some others, but they are even more rare

[Meangreen94z]

I think you are limited on rare species. You don’t have to buy from them, but PDN again is in close proximity to you and has done extensive testing in similar weather. I would look through their list.
http://plantdelights.com/Tony/Articles/ ... rdy-Palms/
https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/art ... ee-weather

[plantguy]

I'm not certain of their availability, but I think these species are offered occasionally:

Sabal minor - various forms
Trachycarpus - several species
Nannarrhops ritchiana
Chamaerops humilis - the gray forms may be hardier

There are some others, but they are even more rare

I think I've heard of all but Nannarrhops, but please share those even rarer ones!

[Tom in Tucson]

I'm not certain of their availability, but I think these species are offered occasionally:

Sabal minor - various forms
Trachycarpus - several species
Nannarrhops ritchiana
Chamaerops humilis - the gray forms may be hardier

There are some others, but they are even more rare

I think I've heard of all but Nannarrhops, but please share those even rarer ones!

Rhapidophyllum hystrix Needle palm
Chamaedorea microspadix and a couple other species (some trunkless)
Rhapis excelsa and hybrids may freeze, but sprout back

[plantguy]

That's super helpful! I didn't know rhapis could survive 8a!

[Bananaguy]

Where do you live in NC? I grew a needle palm in zone 5 for two years and it flowered. Put a hoop house over it in winter. One winter it had snowed a lot but it had warmed up to I dunno 50degrees. With the sun reflecting off the snow and the hoop house being in full sun it baked. I was at work for 12hrs so had no way to remove the cover.

[plantguy]

Sa.e as you I would guess. There's only one 8a patch I know of here. About 55min. from PDN.

[Paul S]

This is a commonly held wish in the UK - people want to grow rare palms that no-one else has because they read something on the internet that proves they are, contrary to received wisdom, hardy. In truth there are virtually no palms that haven't been tested and the fact that they aren't common is the telling thing. I know of several people over here who dismiss the hardy stalwarts and choose, instead, borderline hardy plants - trouble is you end up with a garden full of tatty, half dead things that, even after a mild winter, barely recover to a small green tuft poking out of the crown before getting clobbered again. Personally I prefer to have a garden full of healthy palms, even if they are the same as the ones down the road, perhaps concentrating more on making effective plant combinations than simply having another box ticked. I do have some unusual palms in my own garden, which is large enough to accomodate a few, but the overwhelming numbers are palms that are commonplace over here. That way, as and when they do get cold damage, your eye is not drawn to a significant part of the garden looking rubbish.

I am not saying this is your motivation, rather just making a general observation about growing 'rare' palms.

[plantguy]

I think I understand what you're saying, and I would say that I am slightly similar, albeit in a Tony Avent kind of way... Living 55min. away from him influences you a lot

[Bananaguy]

I know Tony well and yes PDN is awesome and have a bunch of stuff from there. He can grow a ton of stuff in his 7b microclimate we can’t in 8a with our 55” of rain and humidity.

[plantguy]

Yes, your absolutely right, but I may be moving to a potentially greater one myself... By an ocean (not close enough for salt spray) in 8a Virginia Beach. It could be possible thanks to the ocean for 7b temperatures due to the cooling effect of the ocean, with 8a winters! Imagine the possibilities! Potentially almost every plant in PDN's catalog!

[Bananaguy]

I have no idea about Virginia other then it gets cold. No idea on weather or zones.

[Meangreen94z]

Zilker Botanical Garden

Sabal mexicana sign

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Sabal mexicana

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Young Sabal ‘Riverside’

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Trachycarpus fortunei sign

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Trachycarpus fortunei

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Trachycarpus takil sign

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Trachycarpus takil

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Serenoa repens sign

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Serenoa repens

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Serenoa repens

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[Meangreen94z]

Chamaedora microspadix

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Chamaedora microspadix

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Sabal brazoriensis

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Arenga engleri sign

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Arenga engleri

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[plantguy]

Beautiful!

[Paul S]

Zilker Botanic Garden looks amazing. Never heard it discussed before. Thanks Daniel.

[Rivera]

Does anyone know of some rare, cold hardy palms that I could order seeds for from rare palm seeds? If there is even a chance I'd like to hear about it (if you could say its a guess it would be appreciated)!

This thread is a little old, but still quite young in palm years and it seems unlikely you've filled your garden in a matter of months.

I agree with Paul S; filling your garden with marginal species is setting the stage for a horror show. However, I'm resurrecting this thread to mention you may be able to grow uncommon to rare species in the butia genus, outside of the common odorata (capitata). Also, consider looking into the trithrinax genus. Finally, although chamaerops humilis is very common it is a highly variable palm available in many forms, some uncommon and others quite rare.

Expect to protect your plants while they are young. Even in coastal California, some palms that are considered safe to grow in my 10b garden suffer damage on abnormally chilly nights when they are still young and tender.

Good luck!
-Chris