| The Windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, tree has | | | | interconnected that the merristematic growing point |
| been extrensively planted and grown during the last | | | | in the center of the windmill palm tree is insulated |
| five years in most Northern States and in Canada, | | | | from the cold. After several years of aging, the |
| much to the incredulous surprise of environmentalists | | | | brown-black hair covering the windmill palm trunk |
| and climatologists. Tropical palm trees are not | | | | turns grey in color. In Europe, a tourist can find very |
| generally believed to have cold hardy characteristics | | | | old, tall windmill palm trees where the hair covering |
| sufficient to survive in non-tropical locations where | | | | the trunk has eroded, exposing a grey, slick bark |
| temperatures often plunge to depths below zero. | | | | trunk with a regal appearance. The fan-shaped leaves |
| The windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, can survive | | | | are covered with a thick green waxy coat on the |
| cold weather because of two characteristics: slow | | | | surface and the leaf margins are lined with sharp |
| growth and a brown-black burlap-like hair that | | | | teeth. |
| insulates the trunk from winter ravages. | | | | Windmill palm trees are in high demand as a tropical |
| The windmill palm tree, Trachycarpus fortunei, has | | | | looking pool tree or for landscape planting near patios |
| been reported to grow 20 feet tall in the United | | | | and door entrances. Some landscape gardeners |
| States, but the windmill palm is not a native tree here | | | | prefer to plant a windmill palm tree as a shade tree |
| and has only a short history of growing in the United | | | | or as a specimen tree accent. Although most windmill |
| States, after it was imported into Florida from | | | | palm trees are grown as single trunk specimens, |
| Europe. Many windmill palm trees in Europe are | | | | double trunk windmill palm trees or triple trunk |
| growing as tall as 40 feet. In optimum conditions, the | | | | specimens can be ordered from mailorder nurseries. |
| windmill palm tree can grow one foot per year, and | | | | Windmill palm trees can be grown in containers, but it |
| the trunk is tall and slender-one foot maximum in | | | | seems ridiculous to grow a cold hardy tree in a |
| diameter-and the base is smaller in diameter than the | | | | container, if it will tolerate cold weather when planted |
| top, as is the case with many other palm tree | | | | outside anywhere in the United States. The windmill |
| species. The width of the windmill palm tree canopy | | | | palm tree can be grown in containers when they are |
| is about 15 feet and the leaves are fan shaped and | | | | small, but often in an office situation, the windmill |
| can grow 3 feet long. | | | | palm tree is not suitable, since touching teeth on the |
| The brown-black burlap-like hair that covers the trunk | | | | leaves can be an unpleasant experience. |
| of the windmill palm is dense and so thick and | | | | |