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RHOPALOSTYLIS

Rhopalostylis is a small genus of feather palms from New Zealand and the South Pacific.  They are the most southerly growing palms in the world (R. var. oceana coming from 44°S latitude in the Chatham Islands), and are known for their tolerance of cool weather.  In spite of this, I am not too optomistic about them growing in the Pacific Northwest north of southwest Oregon, since I have never heard of one surviving a temperature lower than about -6°C/20°F. Like Archontophoenix, they are very cool tolerant palms, and very easy and fun to grow (though much slower than Archontophoenix), but they are just not much for surviving Arctic blasts.  R. sapida is the most common species, and its hardiest provenances are probably from the South Island of New Zealand.  Most plants found in California are of North Island origin.  The other species of Rhopalostylis, R. baueri and R. var. cheesmanii are from more northerly islands, and are even less cold hardy (though I would still not hesitate to try them in Curry County, Oregon).

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