Anyone got one?

Tons of companies out there selling them. Seems like they range from $500-$5000.

Wondering who's got some really realistic ones.

For that kind of money you could get a real nice sized living palm that if properly protected could handle your Ohio winter .
I am in PA and have about 10 in the ground most of them for about 3 years or so now . Also if you are trying for the tropical look don't overlook banana plants . Some are also very cold hardy ...

I realize not everyone will be into the gardening/protecting thing and at one time I considered a plastic palm tree but, am thankful I did not go that route .

Some of my plants ...

Windmill Palm



Pindo Palm



Musa Basjoo



Here is a link to some pics of a guy I know in OH with some in ground palms ...

http://community.webshots.com/album/578459291kgjSak

If you really want plastic go for it but , I am glad I didn't !

Those are some nice looking banana plants. What type are they?

Musa Basjoo aka Japanese Fiber Banana ...

Love those nanner plants too!

May I also suggest that you can plant palms or other tropicals in containers. That allows you to bring them in for the winter if needs be, allows you to move them around the yard, and allows you to control their size.

Many of them grow very quickly, so you can order small plants online for small$$ and grow them up. I bought several small manila palms (1 gal. pots) 2 months ago and they are already 3 ft. tall.

I'm thinking 10 or 12' guys! So real ones in Ohio aren't going to cut it, and storing large ones isn't an option..

http://www.tropicalpalmtrees.com/
http://www.custompalmtrees.com/outdoor.htm
http://www.oasisillusions.com/artificia ... vmchk.html

Oasis seems to have the best looking "fake" ones, but they command a premium price over the others!

Try looking at these http://www.pacificlightsinc.com/ We got the hooter ones. Put in three, 2 12 ft and 1 10 ft in back yard last year and LOVE THEM!!! nice during the day and beautiful at night. We live in Minnesota and do nothing to them they have been in every thing from rainstorms to snowstorms. And look like the day they went in. Need to learn to add a picture

Hey Tiki,

As another PA guy, what is involved with "winterizing" these to keep them? Also, where do you find them?

Thanks!

My neighbor down the street went all out and had large metal palms installed. They are now all rusted - not a pretty sight

A quick search on www.gardenweb.com shows that some people have grown needle palms and sabal palms in Cincinnati with some (albeit limited) success. It may be worth a try...

Maybe try these cheap and cold hardy.

http://www.willisorchards.com/product/N ... tegory=335
http://www.willisorchards.com/product/S ... tegory=335
http://www.willisorchards.com/product/S ... tegory=335
http://www.willisorchards.com/product/W ... tegory=335

go to pacificlights.com and look at the hooters palm trees we have 3, 2 12' - 1 10' they come lit with led lights on them , i put them together buy myself, but i'm a concrete cont. we live in minn. and they have survived 2 hard winters with no prop. we get nothing but complements . they are made for the hooters rest chain.

Did you mean:

http://www.pacificlightsinc.com/

I've seen a bunch of the LED ones at commercial locations. Not sure about in my back yard

I've researched the same topic and Windmill palms with a little winter prep will grow in OH. Do a google search on them. I haven't yet tried it, but I've purchased 2 that will reside at my new pool and am confident they will work. They cost about $15 each for a plant that is about 2 feet tall.

Tiki how old is that Windmill Palm. do you have to do anything to that or your other Palms in the winter? Do you wrap them or anything. I live in South Jersey and want to get some Palms near my pool. I already have a big Nanner plant that comes back every year.
Thanks

tiki, What is the "spike" plant next to the palm tree?

Johnny , I don't know how old it is . It has only been in the ground for 1 year now but , I just pulled off the cover last weekend and it looks like it did the day I covered it back around Thanksgiving .
I actually bought it in South Jersey . Triple Oaks in Franklinville (Delsea Dr.) talk to Joe . I think they just got or are about to get a new shipment ...

About protection , I have some wooden frames covered in either foam or plastic sheeting and then a string of rope lights around the trunk . They are on a plugin thermostat called a Thermocube that comes on at 35F and off at 45F . My low temp was -2.2F ...

Josh , I think that is a Cordyline . Someone threw it out at the community compost pile and I snagged it and planted it . It is not hardy here and I now have it in a pot although I left it out a bit too long last fall and it may now be dead .

My daughter brought two Windmill Palms from GA this past Christmas. I'm getting ready to put them around my pool. There are quite a few in this area and seem to do very well in the winter. One guy down the street has two that are about 7 feet tall. He puts Christmas lights around the trunk in the winter time. From all that things I've read about Windmill Palms, they have a fir like material that helps protect and keep the trunk warm. However, if you have a very young tree, I think it would be a good idea to protect the trunk until it gets a little bigger.

Another very tropical looking item is Yucca - they look similar to the spikey plant, get quite large and I can attest are cold hardy. We have had them here in the Northern Red River Valley in my yard next to the grapevines around our Koi pond for 10 years. We regularly get down around 30 below in the winter.