Help With Palms.

Question

Hello, I just ordered my first palm seeds (Bismarck, Canary Island and regular dates). I have seen mixed info regarding their cold hardiness, I live at the very bottom of zone 7b ( few miles from 8a). Should I start trying to germinate the seeds now or wait until spring? Also, I know that they are cold hardy when mature but when is that exactly? Thanks for your help and have a nice day.

Answer 1

You could go ahead and start germinating them in pots indoors. You will likely need to grow these in containers and move them indoors in winter. These may be too large for container culture but it may take them years to reach an unmanageable size.

A Bismarck palm is only hardy in zones 10 and 11, quite a stretch from your 7/8.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/bismarck-palm/growing-bismarck-palms.htm

Canary Palm is hardy in zones 9-11, probably not close enough to your zone.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/canary-palm/canary-island-palm-trees.htm

Date palm is a relative of Canary palm and hardiness varies by type of date palm, but similar to Canary. They are both very large trees.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/date/date-palm-tree-care.htm

This article tells more about date palms and which palms are more cold hardy:

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/palms-and-cycads/date-palm.html