I have a pygmy date palm that I bought about a month or so ago. After I bought it is when I started to mist it along with my other palms with a humidifier for about 10 hours a day, with a plant light shining for 13-14 hours.
Yes my other trees are benefiting and looking good, however my Pygmy date is growing and new fronds are opening on the average of 1 every two days. Every other day I check it out and there is new frond coming up.
My question is, in this time of the year when it should be "sleeping", am I pushing it too hard and it should be allowed to sleep?
Also, I'de like to seperate the trunks (there are 5 trunks in one pot) but I heard with Pygy Date Palms, it could hurt the tree VERY badly when the root system is disturbed. Is this true?
? bout a Pygmy Date
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DesertZone
- Palm Grove
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I don't know the answer, but I have a pic for people to see. I hope this helps get peoples attention to your question 
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Here's to all the global warming pushers, may your winters be -30 below and four feet of snow in your driveway. Because I want you happy.
-Aaron-
hello. first post here. Im so excited to find you all!! Thanks for providing a great forum. nice to meet you all
I actually just bought one of these pygmy date palms today and was wondering the exact same thing about seperating them. it would be great to split them up but I dont want to kill it in the process.
I actually just bought one of these pygmy date palms today and was wondering the exact same thing about seperating them. it would be great to split them up but I dont want to kill it in the process.
Hello Dr.
My advice is to keep them potted. I did repot mine taking the other three out and repotting the biggy. Well it is still alive, but it doesn't look good at all. I am afraid for the future of it.
My old one, which I have had for about 6-7 months now was potted in the store with 4 others. Over the winter I kept/keep grow lights on it for 12-13 hours and a humidifier and it looked GREAT. However now, It almost seems to be taking on the charecteristics of the one I just repotted. It is almost like one trunk takes control and takes all the nutrients from the others because the one trunk is crowding out the smaller ones. None have shown signs of dying, but the biggy is THRIVING while the others are just "there".
So I guess what I would do (and is what I am doing with my old one) is to leave them together and let the big trunk take over the others. Over time the little ones will die, THEN just cut them off. After a while your one biggy will be all itself.
My advice is to keep them potted. I did repot mine taking the other three out and repotting the biggy. Well it is still alive, but it doesn't look good at all. I am afraid for the future of it.
My old one, which I have had for about 6-7 months now was potted in the store with 4 others. Over the winter I kept/keep grow lights on it for 12-13 hours and a humidifier and it looked GREAT. However now, It almost seems to be taking on the charecteristics of the one I just repotted. It is almost like one trunk takes control and takes all the nutrients from the others because the one trunk is crowding out the smaller ones. None have shown signs of dying, but the biggy is THRIVING while the others are just "there".
So I guess what I would do (and is what I am doing with my old one) is to leave them together and let the big trunk take over the others. Over time the little ones will die, THEN just cut them off. After a while your one biggy will be all itself.
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desertdave
- Sprout
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Pygmy date
That is a cool little palm. Too bad they are not hardy; those would make the neatest accent plants! Of course I have a general fondness of the Phoenix genus overall...
<pipedream> A big Canarie in my front yard would look so freaking awesome... </pipedream>
<pipedream> A big Canarie in my front yard would look so freaking awesome... </pipedream>
Who wouldn't want free pie and chips?
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Okanagan desert-palms
- Clumping Palm
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Single trunked pygmy date palm
Here is a photo of a 2 ft trunked pygmy date palm . Paid $37. 00 Canadianhttp://groups.msn.com/OkanaganPalms/sho ... PhotoID=20
Okanagan Palms and Tropicals
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6b-7a
Admin thanks for the work on the site and for the welcome! I am SO happy to find this forum.
Okanagan thats such a pretty specimen and 37.00 seems awfully reasonable for such a beautiful tree.
O.k. I need to preface this idea with a statement that I have no idea what im talking about in regards to this, or general novice level plant care.
Does anyone think it would be a decent approach if one wanted to attempt to seperate a group of these to try and remove all the dirt from the root systems by gently using a hose to wash it all off exsposing just the root structure? Once they would be seperated (if this was even possible) then what about using some rooting hormone on the roots and planting in some healthy mix and crossing the fingers waiting in anticipation? I so desperatley want to free these 5 trees from the confines of one pot. Not enough to kill them tho.
Okanagan thats such a pretty specimen and 37.00 seems awfully reasonable for such a beautiful tree.
O.k. I need to preface this idea with a statement that I have no idea what im talking about in regards to this, or general novice level plant care.
Does anyone think it would be a decent approach if one wanted to attempt to seperate a group of these to try and remove all the dirt from the root systems by gently using a hose to wash it all off exsposing just the root structure? Once they would be seperated (if this was even possible) then what about using some rooting hormone on the roots and planting in some healthy mix and crossing the fingers waiting in anticipation? I so desperatley want to free these 5 trees from the confines of one pot. Not enough to kill them tho.
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Knnn
- Clumping Palm
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I've had some luck with that approach in the past with the addition of trimming some lower fronds, ( root disturbance will hinder the plants ability for water uptake and you need to compensate by removing some of the *older* foliage to prevent dehydration)
It's really amazing and a shame the way some growers produce these things, I bought a 3" container of C.elegans that had 23 seedlings stuffed into it!
-Steve
It's really amazing and a shame the way some growers produce these things, I bought a 3" container of C.elegans that had 23 seedlings stuffed into it!
-Steve
JESUS!!!!!!!! Thats rediculous.
So after I repotted, some of the lower fronds were drying out and I had to cut them. So that is normal?
Also, the trunk which used to be green has now turned brown. Looking at the pic, this is normal too.
So my tree may not be dying? Maybe just dehydrated and I need to water the heck out of it with a root stimulator???
Hey, I see your in Kansas. Where? Topeka here, but I travel state wide thru my job.
So after I repotted, some of the lower fronds were drying out and I had to cut them. So that is normal?
Also, the trunk which used to be green has now turned brown. Looking at the pic, this is normal too.
So my tree may not be dying? Maybe just dehydrated and I need to water the heck out of it with a root stimulator???
Hey, I see your in Kansas. Where? Topeka here, but I travel state wide thru my job.
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Knnn
- Clumping Palm
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- Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2006 2:54 am
- Location: Central Kansas , USA ~ Zone 5
I'd keep it moist but not wet and hold off on any fertilizers until some new growth is evident. Losing the old fronds is part of the normal growth cycle anyways, as long as it is pushing some new theres nothing to worry about. I'm in Tescott here, Have a pile of stuff to plant out this this year. ( maybe by the end of march)
-Steve
-Steve
So are you the "Kansas Palms" guy that I saw on "Garden Watchdog"?
If so, I have been trying to get some way to get a hold of you. I see where you will have an update in April.
I travel to Salina every two weeks and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to come by and see your greenhouse or whatever you have. Any chance?
If so, I have been trying to get some way to get a hold of you. I see where you will have an update in April.
I travel to Salina every two weeks and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to come by and see your greenhouse or whatever you have. Any chance?
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Okanagan desert-palms
- Clumping Palm
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- Location: Kelowna British Columbia Canada
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success!-ish... im hoping. The operation took almost 1.75 hours.. It was tricky. They were SO tangled up. The one thing im impressed with is how resiliant the root structure actually was. If they had been brittle it never would have worked. From start to finish the whole thing took alot longer then I anticipated, but Im always too optimistic on my time estimations.
I ended up with 9 "bigger" ones, about 6 smaller, and 4 tiny tiny babies! 19 total trees. I removed 2-3 of the lower fronds as Knnn described. I can definately see that they are stressed regarding their water uptake. The individual fingers on each frond are limpified something fierce, but the over all integrity of all of them except one looks strong. There is one of the bigger ones that looks like she wont make it, but all the rest are looking stable at this point. Out of all of them the tiny babies seem to be doing the strongest. Maybe thats due to the fact that they dont have all sorts of established fronds to worry about and they can just focus their energy on one at a time. I would assume that to be the case.
My one and only regret is that I didnt buy some little bark mulch chips to work into the soil mix. I used a regular potting soil mixed with a combination perlite/moss mixture to lighten it up. It didnt lighten it enough. I think they still hold water too long right when they are watered. My impressions are that palms like the water to basically run right thru them. It will most likely be alright, the mix isnt TOO heavy.. just maybe not ideal. they will need repotted anyway so if I can just get them over this hill we should be fine.
I will take pictures for you tonight and post them.
I ended up with 9 "bigger" ones, about 6 smaller, and 4 tiny tiny babies! 19 total trees. I removed 2-3 of the lower fronds as Knnn described. I can definately see that they are stressed regarding their water uptake. The individual fingers on each frond are limpified something fierce, but the over all integrity of all of them except one looks strong. There is one of the bigger ones that looks like she wont make it, but all the rest are looking stable at this point. Out of all of them the tiny babies seem to be doing the strongest. Maybe thats due to the fact that they dont have all sorts of established fronds to worry about and they can just focus their energy on one at a time. I would assume that to be the case.
My one and only regret is that I didnt buy some little bark mulch chips to work into the soil mix. I used a regular potting soil mixed with a combination perlite/moss mixture to lighten it up. It didnt lighten it enough. I think they still hold water too long right when they are watered. My impressions are that palms like the water to basically run right thru them. It will most likely be alright, the mix isnt TOO heavy.. just maybe not ideal. they will need repotted anyway so if I can just get them over this hill we should be fine.
I will take pictures for you tonight and post them.