Would I be able to grow a palm tree in Pittsburgh, PA?

Question

Would I be able to grow a palm tree in Pittsburgh, PA?

Answer 1

Only in the summer months...unless you get yourself an indoor plant and bring it out in the summer and keep it inside in the winter.

But if you are talking about one of those super tall palm trees you see in Miami & California you're out of luck.

Answer 2

Some palms are hardier than others, and I grow several types outside in central England.

The palms generally considered to be the hardiest are the :

* Chinese Windmill Palm - Trachycarpus fortunei   http://www.bh-froe.com/ZC/images/Trachyc... and http://www.banana-tree.com/catalog%20ima...

* European Fan Palm - Chamaerops humilis http://www.palmsnc.org/photos/sp_26_1.jp...

* The Needle Palm is possibly the very hardiest palm - Rhapidophyllum hystrix.  This has some sharp elements, as you'd guess from the name, which have put me off from growing it.   It's not a tall palm, to around 6' or 8', and grows up to Delaware and Ohio, so should be fine for you.  Some info here:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/5718...

There's a grower here who has some info too: http://www.chillypalmtree.com/NEEDLEPALM...

Both Trachycarpus and Chamaerops are reasonably easy from seeds, otherwise you will probably find local stockists.  The most local that I have visited to you is Lancaster, PA - several times during the winter.  You may get some cold that's worse than England,  but I have known of some palms growing in Manhattan, where it's possibly colder?  

Winter protection can be given too for other palms, if needed, such as surrounding your palms with netting stuffed with straw or dried leaves, or making a square enclosure, with say 4 wooden posts,  stapling plastic onto it, and then filling with straw/leaves, otherwise garden fleece allows water and air to pass through, and will increase the internal temperature by several degrees.  I add this as it's worth considering many plants, not just palms, that can survive with a little protection.  Another option is to grow them in tubs, whilst smaller, and bring them inside.   Young plants are generally more cold sensitive for their first year or two, but maturity allows them to develop their hardiness.

Also, do you know Paradise Beach, which is located on Neville Island, between Mckees Rocks and Coraopolis, across from the the Neville Island Sports Complex? http://www.paradiseislandbowl.com/paradi...  There are some palms there, though I believe the ones that they have are not fully hardy - they may move them or provide winter protection: perhaps you could find out from them.    Tel: [phone]

Final ideas - I also grow Brahea armata, Sabal minor and Butia capitata.  I've lost one of the latter, in an April freeze one year,  after a harsher winter that had possibly weakened it first.  The Brahea and the Sabal originate from southern US.  Brahea has beautfiful blue fan shaped leaves, I love it, though it may possibly suffer from too much water during the cold - mine are doing fine with our cold English plentiful rain supply!

Some photos here:

* Butia Capitata:  http://www.raintreetropical.com/nursery/...

* Brahea armata:  http://www.neotropic.com/images/bra_arm1...

* Sabal minor:  http://members4.boardhost.com/speps/msg/...

I'm in swampy Louisiana next Friday, so could probably collect some Sabal minor seeds, if you'd like to try growing from seed.  Let me know.   Hardy palms are one of my specialities, and happy to help if you've got any questions etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob

Answer 3

Only in the summer and then you'd have to take it inside in the winter.  And I don't believe it would do well inside.  They have a fairly high light requirement which they wouldn't get in the house.

Answer 4

the answer is a YES. but pittsburg is cold and only a select few.

the first one is the needle palm. native to the east coast region and has been growing no protection outside in the new york city botanical gardens. it can survie to 0 with little damage. can survive to -5 no protection, and with protection can survive to -10. this is a bush palm. will only grow 5 feet tall. it likes being on the south side of the house away from wind and near the walls of the house.

the next is a sabal minor. this is a close relative to the sabal palmetto the state tree of both florida and south carolina. the differences are that the sabal minor is a dwarf and wont grow as tall, also is cold tollerant, and has really distinct blue leaves. this also wont form a trunk, at leat not for many years.

this next one will form a trunk in about 4 years fom see. in a nice medditeranean enviorment it will grow next to the california fan palms at 40 feet tall. this is the windmill palm. native to the mountains in china this palm can seen frosts and freezes as well as snoe. it grows its fastest when temps are in the 40s-50s-60s-and70s, and will stop growing in the winter. it is ONLY cold hardy to 5 degrees so it will need protection. when young all it may need is an empty pot over it with a blanket or leaf pile over the pot.

when it is older wrap like people wrap figs. they wrap the trunk with burlap or plastic. they wrap and wrap. some put a blanket on the trunk. and then wrap with more plastic. then the wap the leaves so the weight of the snow doesnt break them, then they put a copper based fugiciide in the spring to prevent rot.

http://sunpalmtrees.com is a good place to start looking for info.

remember the palms at the nursury canniot survive the winter or at least not the ones like majesty palms and butterfly palms

ebay has alot of cold hardy palms and their are some online nursuries too

HERE ARE A FEW WEBSITES AND PHOTOS TO GET YOU STARTED.

windmill palms in vancouver

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl...

pindo palms are nice and a bit cold tollerant too

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=...

needle palms are perfect for a fence for saftey and a tropical look

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl...

google search of windmill palms

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=win...

photos of a sabal minor

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showima...

a page on the windmill palms relative wagners windmill palm. much stiffer leaves for the wind

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/5741...

pittsburg is a usda zone 6 so heres a google search for windmill palms in zone 6

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=win...

a page on winndmill palms

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2255...

ebay search for windmill palms

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll...

ebay search for needle palms.(blue needle palms arent cold harrdy) http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll...

ebay search for sabal minor

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll...

good luck and dont by palms too large becuase a cold winter can kill them. also plant palms in the spring so they can get used to the ground. if you are buying somalll then you can buy them now, but plant them in the ground next spring. it will give you time to look at some more cold hardy palms