I planted a palm tree from the Rio Grande in my back yard which is in North Texas (Fort Worth). Of course it gets a lot colder here in the winter then it does where the tree is from. We have nights that at times can get as low as 20 degrees F. How do I go about keeping this tree alive during the winter. I heard conflicting recommendations from non-experts. The person I bought it from recommended I cut off the palms and cover it in a blanket underneath heat lamps to keep it warm. Another person who owns a nearby tree shop recommended just spraying the palm leaves with water when it gets about 20 degrees to prevent wind burn. What should I do? the palms are turning brown and it doesn't look good. I enclosed a picture of the tree.
Phoenix roebelinii (dwarf date palm) won't be hardy to temps to 20f. They may take a rare brief light frost with quick rebounding temps by morning. The dead fronds are dead and won't green up or regrow. Any of the recommendations you've recieved won't work for various reasons. You'll likely have to construct an enclosure which can be covered in a heavy (6 mil) clear poly. Heat can be added in various ways and as needed. Cheers, LPN.
Apon a closer look at your photo, it does look like there's still plenty of green healthy growth at the growth point. So at this point things look ok, although it may take quite some time before it grows to it's former glory. If you get any further cold spells, it will do more damage so protection is recommended during and only for those periods. Even a quick wrap of burlap will certainly help. Another thing ... cold damage often takes months to manifest itself. You won't likley know the full extent of the winter damage until April. Cheers, LPN.
