Continuing our series on cold hardy palms, a large group of wind hardy palms is discussed; Trachycarpus fortunei.
T. fortunei ‘Bulgaria’
Palm grower Kiril Donov has collected this windmill palm seed from 35-year-old trees growing in Plavdiv, Bulgaria… that’s right, the one near Romania. According to Donov, these trees regularly experience very cold temperatures… After growing them to a larger size and seeing the stiffness of the leaves and their reduced size, we are fairly certain that these plants represent hybrids between typical T. fortunei and T. fortunei ‘Wagnerian’. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Charlotte’
Always on the lookout for hardy palm selections, I saw two magnificent 30′ specimens of very hardy windmill palms in the Myers Park region of Charlotte NC (3 hours west of Raleigh) in the 1980’s. We were able to acquire seeds and we gave them the cultivar name T. fortunei ‘Charlotte’. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Greensboro’
The seed for this windmill palm came from a 20′ specimen plant growing in a church in Greensboro, NC…2 hours northwest of Raleigh and generally a bit cooler. This may be the coldest place from which we have obtained seed of this wonderful trunk palm. Unfortunately, several years later the plant was destroyed when the church was expanded, so it no longer exists. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Hayes Stiffie’
Plant breeder and palm guru Hayes Jackson shared seeds of this fast-growing Trachycarpus which he refers to as its “stiff leaf shape.” Hayes thinks it could be a typical cross of T. fortunei ‘Wagnerianus’ x T. fortunei, but those who are sure don’t speak. The 20-foot-tall trunk has leaves whose tips do not become limp, as is the case with the typical T. fortunei. Hayes has grown this for many years in his Anniston, Alabama garden with no damage. Having seen it in person in 2006, I can attest that it is unique and impressive…the palm, that is. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Nanita’
Everything we know about T. takil is wrong, as palm experts discovered in 2009 that instead of growing the actual species, we all had a form of T. fortunei from Nanital, India (just northwest of Nepal). T. fortunei ‘Nanital’ has more finely divided leaves than most typical T. fortunei, along with a trunk that has a slight slope…to the Tower of Pisa. When it matures, it will develop a completely bald trunk… bring out the Rogaine! (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Norfolk’
Our seed for this came from a row of large 20- to 30-foot-tall specimens at the Norfolk Zoo in Virginia. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
Tennessee form of T. fortunei
Thanks to palm collector Will Taylor of Athens, Tennessee, for sharing the T. fortunei seed that has been growing and fruiting for years at his home in Zone 7a, between Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Will originally purchased them from a local nursery in 1996, and they have withstood -2 degrees F, with no soil protection. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
Taylor form of T. fortunei
Two windmill palms with distinctive leaf shapes were originally purchased in Florida and planted at Taylor’s Nursery in Raleigh nearly half a century ago. One tree survived and withstood our record temperature of -9 degrees F in the 1980s. Fruiting seedlings of this tree are planted around Raleigh, including the local Jaycee Park palm garden. (Resistance zone 7b-10)
T. fortunei ‘Wagnerianus’ (Syn: T. wagnerianus)
This palm is one of the true mysteries of the palm world, as it has never been recorded in the wild and is probably nothing more than a short-fronded, highly winter-hardy form of T. fortunei, hence our name change . In cultivation, palmophiles recognize it as one of the most resistant of the trachycarpus group. In stature, makes a 20′ tall trunk exactly like typical T. fortunei except the stiff, round leaves are stunningly beautiful and much shorter (18″ diameter compared to 33″ diameter for typical T. fortunei ). (Resistance zone 7b-10)
The mill palm is undoubtedly one of the most popular cold-hardy palms in the US, but you can read about many more in the other articles in this series.
