Successfully overwintering palm trees: How to overwinter planted palm trees outdoors and indoor palm trees indoors. With expert tips for after-winter care.

Certain palm species can survive the winter outside

The world of palm trees is diverse. There are also specimens that can withstand snow and frost. But which palm species are hardy? When do palm trees get too cold? How do you overwinter palm trees in the room - outside in the pot and in the garden bed? And how do I properly care for palm trees after winter? We will answer all of these questions for you in this article.

When will the palm trees get too cold?

When it gets too cold for the individual palm trees depends heavily on the species. Indoor palms that are outdoors throughout the summer - for example on the terrace or balcony - tolerate only a little cold. If the temperatures outside fall below 20 °C, it is time to bring the indoor palm back into the room. For hardy palms that are outside in pots, you should start taking protective measures for the winter before the first frost. The roots in the pot can freeze easily and should therefore be protected before temperatures drop below zero for the first time. With hardy palm trees in the garden bed, you should take a close look at the respective species and their frost tolerance. As soon as temperatures drop and approach your palm's frost tolerance range, it is important that you take protective measures - preferably when temperatures are still five degrees above the stated frost level. This way you play it safe and don't endanger your palm.

Summary: When do palm trees get too cold?

  • Indoor palms: At temperatures below 20 °C
  • Palm trees outdoors in pots: before the first frost
  • Palm trees in the garden bed: As soon as the temperatures are five degrees above the indicated frost hardness

Winter palm trees indoors

Although different types of palm trees have very different requirements for their winter quarters, there are some general rules of thumb for all palm trees in winter. First of all, it is important not to expose the palm to large temperature fluctuations. She therefore dislikes drafts and changing locations in the apartment too frequently. It is better to palm at the beginning of Novemberto provide their winter place and leave them there until spring. In general, for all palm trees, temperatures should not fall below 10 °C. Otherwise your palm will get too cold. However, most palm species do not like it warmer than 20 °C in winter either. Therefore, a heated winter garden or a bright place in the stairwell is more appropriate than the warm living room.

You can find more plants for the conservatory in this post.

In the house, palm trees need an evenly tempered winter quarters

Light also plays an important role for palm trees in winter. The location should therefore be as bright as possible. Please do not expose the plant to direct sunlight. Since growth slows down in winter, less watering and no fertilization are necessary during this period. Before watering, check the substrate for moisture with your finger. The top layer of substrate should always be dry before watering again. To do something good for your palm tree when the indoor air is dry in winter, you can spray it with water from time to time.

How are palm trees overwintered indoors?

  • Avoid temperature fluctuations
  • Keep temperatures above 10°C
  • As bright as possible, no direct sunlight
  • Water only now and then
  • Do not fertilize
  • Spray with water from time to time

Wintering palm trees outside in the bed

In fact, there are some types of palm trees that can withstand the cold winter with frost and that can be planted permanently in the garden. In general, you should not plant palm trees until they are at least four years old. Before that, the young palm trees are still too sensitive to the cold. If the palm tree is old enough and firmly rooted in its place in the garden, it is important to protect it in winter. The most important thing here is that the roots of the plant are well protected from frost. This is especially true for palm trees that are less than ten years old. Because by then the roots have not yet reached deeper layers of soil where they are less likely to freeze to death. Therefore, protect the sensitive palm roots with a 20 to 30 centimeter thick layer of mulch made of leaves, brushwood or straw.

Then it's about protecting the aerial part of the plant. If you have a palm tree with a trunk, wrap it in a jute sack or straw mat. The palm fronds are tied together individually or as a whole and the palm tuft is also wrapped with jute or a straw mat. So the palm is well protectedand insulated to get through the winter months. Snow is also a good insulator and should not be removed.

Snow insulates palm trees in the garden and should therefore not be removed

How are palm trees overwintered outside in beds?

  • Protect roots with a layer of mulch
  • Bind palm fronds together
  • Wrap the tuft of palm with a jute sack or straw mat
  • Wrap palm trunk too
  • Snow helps insulate and should not be removed

Wintering palm trees outside in pots

In the case of palm trees in pots, a distinction must be made as to whether the respective species is frost-tolerant or not. If it is not a frost-hardy palm species, the plant must be overwintered indoors. However, if you have a winter-hardy specimen, then with the right precautions, your palm tree can also spend the winter in its pot outdoors.

At the end of autumn, bring your palm to a sheltered place, for example near a house wall. To protect the bucket from frost from below, the pot should be placed on a wooden board or a Plexiglas pane. Insulate the tub and protect the roots from freezing by wrapping the planter several times with bubble wrap, coconut fiber or jute. If your palm tree has a trunk, this will also be wrapped with insulation material. Finally, protect the tuft of palm by putting a jute sack over the palm fronds. So nothing stands in the way of a successful hibernation of your palm. Care in winter also means that the plant is only rarely watered and no longer fertilized at all. In the spring you should then remove the frost protection in good time after no more frost is to be expected, because under the many layers of insulation material it quickly becomes too damp for the palm tree when the weather thaws.

How are palm trees overwintered outside in a pot?

  • Move the palm to a sheltered place
  • Frost protection from below
  • Insulate Bucket
  • Wrap Trunk
  • Put the jute sack over the palm tree
  • Water only rarely
  • Do not fertilize in winter
  • Remove antifreeze early in spring

Fertilize palm trees after winter

In the spring, the overwintered palm tree slowly has to get used to the sunlight again. If palm trees are placed too quickly in the blazing sun, they can get sunburned. To avoid this, in the first few weeks of spring, palm trees in pots should only be exposed to the sun for a few hours. ToAfter two to three weeks of adjustment, they can then move completely to their bright, sunny summer quarters. Spring is also a good time to repot your palm tree if it is getting too crowded in its pot. Once the plant's roots have penetrated the entire substrate in the pot, it's time to repot.

After the winter, your palm will get more light and warmth and it will start to grow stronger again. Now you can water more often again. However, you should definitely avoid waterlogging, because palm trees are very sensitive to roots that are too wet. In the spring you can also start fertilizing again so that the palm tree grows well. The nutrients can very well be given in the form of a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect. It supplies the palm trees with all the important nutrients in a sustainable and gentle manner throughout the summer. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer with organic long-term effect is ideal for palm trees in pots and in the garden. In contrast to a liquid fertiliser, with our Plantura organic universal fertiliser, you do not have to fertilize every two to three weeks.

You can read more about how to properly fertilize palm trees here.

How to take care of palm trees after winter?

  • Slowly getting used to the sun again
  • Repot if necessary
  • Water regularly
  • Avoid waterlogging
  • Fertilize once in the spring with a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect

You can also read about expert tips for overwintering hemp palms or yucca palms in our special articles on the subject.

Palm trees should be slowly acclimated to the sun again after winter so that they don't get sunburned

Hardy Palm Species

So-called hardy palms can sometimes even tolerate temperatures down to -25 °C. We have put together an overview of hardy palm species and their frost tolerance for you below.

Which palm species are hardy?

  • Blue Needle Palm (Trithrinax campestris): Hardiness down to -15 °C
  • Blue Dwarf Palm (Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera): frost resistance down to -10 °C
  • Chinese Hemp Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei): Frost tolerance down to -18 °C
  • Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix): Frost tolerance down to -20 °C
  • Wagner's Hemp Palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus): Hardiness down to -16 °C
  • Blue Yucca(Yucca baccata): Winter hardiness down to -25° C
  • Feathered Yucca (Yucca filamentosa): Winter hardiness down to -25° C
  • Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor): Frost tolerance down to -20 °C

Learn more about hardy palm species in our special article.

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Trees