Although larger, this is my second Phoenix canariensis, purchased from a local garden centre in May or June of 2005. I re-potted it into a larger terracotta pot and it spent it's first winter inside my polytunnel and put on a reasonable amount of growth. By May of 2006 it had outgrown the available space in my polytunnel and was moved outside. Whilst growth slowed considerably outside it has done well and survived it's first winter with no cold or frost damage, although it is looking a bit tatty at the moment due to some occasional heavy winds. The winds were also responsible for it blowing over a few times, not helped by the pot being quite tall and narrow, eventually causing the pot to break in various places. Not wanting to re-pot in the depths of winter, I wrapped some cling film around the pot to hold most of the pieces together and avoid the roots being exposed to the cold, dry air. It doesn't seem any worse for wear, other than the tatty leaves and I will re-pot it in late spring into a larger wider pot, which will hopefully lend some extra stability. Hopefully the re-potting won't detract too much from summer growth.