Chicken Little

Personal admission here. I chickened out. My intention was to abandon my tried and tested method of protecting some of my key palms(W. Robusta, B. Capitata) that I’ve used in the past and come up with some new fangled way of overwintering them.

The change is being necessitated by the upward growth of the Mexican Fan Palm, which has fronds over 8 feet tall. I just haven’t been able to come up with any workable solution for protecting the crown of the plant that doesn’t involve building one of my pathetic shanties.

My first attempt at constructing a frame out of PVC pipe - a huge aesthetic improvement over the rickety wooden structures of past winters - was a total and embarrassing FLOP. So, I’m back to the wood and plastic motif of the past.

I began construction last week, and will finish up on Saturday. Ok, this year is really maxing out my ability to cover these palms with a house-like structure, so I really need to come up with something by next winter. I'm sure my neighbors, who will have to look at this all winter long, are keeping their fingers crossed.

Mexican Fan Palm Before Winterization

I had to throw in a picture of my Mexican Fan Palm before I give it the Winter Treatment. Note that I'm 5'6". The palm and the massive grove of bananas to the left, have all but covered my ugly, 100-year-old garage. In the second picture, note the feathery fronds of the Pindo Palm to the left of the Washingtonia.

Coping Mechanisms

So what am I going to do this winter now that the Washingtonia Robusta in the back yard is taller than my garage and the pavilions I have built for it over the last 3-4 winters just aren't going to cut it anymore (due to my poor carpentry skills, largely). Picture from last winter:

I also have a really nice Pindo Palm (Jelly Palm, Butia Capitata) next to it that will need some form of protection. Ok, here is my thinking on the W. Robusta:

1. Heating cables will be wrapped around the trunk (about 3-4 feet tall) and will extend into the crown.

2. A blanket will be wrapped around the heating cables.

3. (Ok, this is where it looks like Jed Clamplett Construction Company steps in....) I'm thinking about encaging the crown - which is about 7-8 feet high - in chicken wire, covering that with clear plastic, and adorning the fronds of the crown with Christmas lights.

I will take some before and after photos and post them. It should be interesting what I come up with. Also note in the picture the gray pot to the left of the palm shack. That was protecting my nascent grove of bananas which now number in the double digits and are several feet higher than the garage. Photos are coming.