To soon?

[Mrs Ava]

To put my Pheonix palm back outside on the deck?  Has sunny Essex seen the last of the hard frosts??  It is a big brute and taking up valuable seed tray room in the conservatory and greenhouse (2 smaller ones in there!)  Saw some at a garden centre last week planted outside along their front wall!  Are they not as tender as I have been led to believe??

[Mimi]

Dont think so Emma.  My two have been outside all winter.  Mind you apart from a couple of cold snaps it hasnt been too hard a winter.

[Roy Bham UK]

Small ones are as cheap as chips now and peeps just buy and let die. They are hardy down to minus 6.3°C you only need to tie up the leaves and wrap lots of fleece around them and put em in a lean-to, car-port shed or greenhouse, I left a bigun out in a pot all winter, no protection, too heavy no room, probably dead.

I would think you are on a safe bet down there in sunny Essex where it don't rain much, because they can rot at the root if they get a regular soaking.

I’ve been neglecting my sub-trops since the Lottie came along.

[Mrs Ava]

Good to hear Mimi.  I have a fan palm....you know...the one that begins with C and that stays out all year.  Not like me to molycoddle plants, but Ava loves his tropical plants so I try my best not to kill them!  I think the olive will come out also, maybe do the lot at the weekend, up against the house, then keep an eye on the weather.....

Just seen your post Roy.  Cheap as chips!!  Listen here, if it isn't free, it is expensive in my book!  Bought these in a shop in Barnstaple a couple of years back, and they weren't cheap, altho knowing me, they weren't that expensive either.   

[campanula]

yep, EJ, get it out. I had a long palm saga last year but the phoenix i planted for a client has come unscathed through its second winter with just a bit of fleece stuffed in the crown. (First year, we practically built a greenhouse around it as it cost £350 (against all my advice, my client wanted a 'taste of africa'). Even more infuriating, there is one in the next door garden to me which has been left in a pot with no protection for thew last three years, even though it is still a tiddler and it looks fine.
cheers, suzy

[Mrs Ava]

I got it out    then put it away again before offending the neighbours, and instead, moved my palms out.  What a lot more space I now have to fill with seed trays in the conservatory and greenhouse!  Thanks for your advice peeps.