Hardy Tropicals UK

I'm finally going to be able to buy a small Trachycarpus on Thursday, I don't know the size of pot, but from earth to tip it's about 80cm with the beginnings of a small trunk, so it's not a big plant but it's good and healthy.

I'd love to plant it out straight away so my question is, is it too late in the year to put it in the ground? Or should I keep it in an unheated conservatory this winter and plant it out next year?

I don't often have the money to buy more than seeds or tiny plants to grow on so I don't want to lose it. Many thanks

I let mine settle in its pot it came in for about a month Keri, the pot was broke so I had no choice but to re-pot.

The reason it was'nt planted is because this place is not permanent.

I will say, go ahead and plant after preparing its new home, planting now gives time for the roots to stabalise before winter.

See what others think first Keri.

Good luck!

I would plant it out now.

If it goes really horrible in the winter then protect it.

Hi Keri. I will probably be in the minority here but I would keep it in the pot and drag it inside the conservatory when the bad weather comes then plant it next spring. I am probably being over cautious here but it would be a shame to lose it if we have a hard winter.

I'd go with now, I planted a similar sized one two weeks ago that hadn't moved in a pot, since then a spear has opened and a new spear has put on about 4 inches so god knows what the roots have done.

You can almost hear the plant let out a sigh of relief

I figured frost is a good 3-4 months away still it'll have time to get it's feet settled.

I planted a chammie a few days ago. Go for it

Normally I would say plant it out. But if you cant afford to replace it then I would re pot it, drag it inside when it freezes and plant it in the spring. After all its not that big so no problem.

So good I posted twice.

Plant it as the ground is warm and moist and at least three more growing months to go this year.

Yes plant it out, it will have a good few months to get its roots down before the winter sets in...

Yorkshire Kris wrote:Plant it as the ground is warm and moist and at least three more growing months to go this year.

id definately go with this Keri, 80cm is a decent size for a young fortunei to go out,i have planted one in september before without even a leaf drop..and im guessing your climate is similar if not better than here.
only thing i would add is water it well until it gets much cooler. dont throw any fertilizer at it as you want the growth you have to really toughen up.

Plant it out, you should have no problems. I was debating the same last year, around the same time and I am so glad I did, they all had plenty of time to grow roots.

Definitely plant out now, but protect in it's first winter if cold weather strikes. That applies whenever it was planted during the year, as the hardiness is less while settling in.

Thanks all, I was hoping it would be ok to do it this week

Would a nice deep mulch and some fleece over the top for the coldest times be enough to see it through its first winter?

sounds good to me