I grow it in 9B, and have seen it in a 9A environment... I have around six clumps of it around the property... They just need 'freeze protection' on those one or two cold nights we might get here in West Central FL. ~LCA.
Thanks LCA. I know someone who is plannng to put in 10 of them in "the villages" about 8 miles south of Belleview fl. And now i think that they will loose them if they do.
The villages? That retirement community? That's probably a 9A area. They could probably make it happen with a sort of 'microclimate'... Having those arecas in near full sun, along with some sort of overhead canopy for winter frost protection would get it... I have a towering grandfather oak which gives me the frost protection I need for my 10A plants. I'm a true 'zone pusher'! As longs as something catches all that frost, the areca ought to be alright... Good Luck to 'em. ~LCA.
If you give them freeze protection, you can grow them in zone 2 . . . but that's 'cheating' ;-) I'd still say zone 10, if you want to grow them outdoors with no protection at all. And in a retirement community, you have to assume no protection will be available . . . who will remember to do it, and how, in 20 years time when they are several metres tall??
What I mean by 'protection' would be some sort of overhead existing canopy to 'catch' the frost... Something like a HUGE oak tree. That's what I use. I grow zone 10 palms in a 9A environment. Frost is what does palms in. Not neccessarily cold weather. My palms have taken it down to 23F. Prime example was this last winter... If I didn't have the frost protection, the frost laying on the fronds, would have done them in. Don't get me wrong, there are some palms that are for strictly tropical environments, I can't grow them here, nor will I try. Some palms can be done in at 35F, and show damage at 40F... ~LCA.
