Palms Cypress House, Key West
January 16, 2007
We arrived back safe and sound 5 am Thursday morning from our much needed vacation to the sunny south. We stayed at the historical Cypress House bed & breakfast in Key West, Florida for a few days then in a condo in Hallandale, Florida. The gardens at Cypress House were filled with lush tropical vegetation and talk palm trees. Wood decking formed pathways through the gardens allowing guests to stroll under the shady canopy of the palms.
Palms are generally viewed as being tropical plants but did you know there are some cold hardy palms? There are even palms that will grow in Michigan. The Needle Palm Rhapidophyllum hystrixcan withstand temperatures to -10ºF even though the growing zones are listed as Zones 8 to 10. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation hardiness map that is US Hardiness Zone 6 -10ºF. Well, that gives me the idea to try growing a Needle Palm just to see if I can. We live in Canadian Hardiness Zone 6A but have a warming effect because we are on the water so it just might work. I will likely have to find a Needle Palm online and hopefully it will clear customs. Wish me luck and I'll report back.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2007
