I planted a windmill palm last summer and it was doing very well and over the winter i wraped the trunk with landscape fabric and built a greenhouse. come spring the plant looked good but the crown had roted and pulled out. Do's anyone know what i did wrong? I live in zone 7A just outside Phila. Pa. Thanks DakotaJim
Sounds like you killed it with kindness. Well you may not have "killed", only set it back. A doucing of fungicide in the crown and the rest is up to the palm to recouperate. These palms only need protective measures when temps dip below about 12f without rebounding during the day. Zone 7a is a borderline region for T. fortunei anyway, but many have made the grade there. Trapping moisture in the crown and not allowing it to breathe will lead to bud rot. There are hardy palm forums in the East that deal specifically to your region. There maybe a link on the top of this page to such a forum/message board. Cheers, LPN.