This information is specific for Maryland and a certain USDA
hardiness zone and may not apply to your local conditions. For
more information on this topic, choose a related topic link above,
submit a questions through Ask an Expert, or contact your local county Extension office.
The Eastern Shore is rated at Zone 7. Few palms will survive outdoor temperatures that get to 0 degrees F.
If your site is a little warmer than that, here are a few of the more cold-tolerant palms to look at: Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), Himalayan windmill palm (Trachycarpus takil), and the Needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix). They appeared to do OK in a study done in Ohio, as seen on the following Web site: http://www.palms.org/palmsjournal/2002/ohio.htm . Check the temperatures there against what you get locally.
Keeping the palms in pots and providing artificial heating and wrapping could reduce winter injury, but if you really like that tropical palm, just keep it in a container and bring it inside when temperatures get below 40 degrees.
If you need more palm information, check out this information from the University of Florida: http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/palm_prod/palm_production.shtml .
