Phoenix Roebelenii

[real_ale]

i need advice on this palm, eg how hardy, soil type,( on the label is said not in direct sunlight?)

£23.95 a my local veg shop on the pershore rd stirchley 4 ft high

[themes]

i need advice on this palm, eg how hardy, soil type,( on the label is said not in direct sunlight?)

Not Hardy for you and me. Unless you live in an exceptionally frost free protected area in Cornwall it is still touch and go. Great palm for patio in the summer. It takes time to adjust to changing light levels and its leafs can get burnt if it is not introduced slowly. For Conservatory

[Gaz]

Not hardy for the vast majority of the UK. We keep ours in a pot and it goes out for summer. One of the easier ones to over winter, never had any trouble keeping it - but do water well if inside the house for winter.

[Nathan]

I have 2 planted outside & one has spear pulled after this winter (though it spear pulled a couple of years ago too) So even here they are marginal & I got just -2C this winter... They are great for indoor/outdoor palms though & the beauty is that they stay a managable size so are easy to bring indoors or into a greehouse over winter...

I did happen to notice on the news earlier (when Obama was arriving) that the Phoenix roebellenii planted on Downing Street have survived the winter... I aslo noticed the Queen has a good sized Trachycarpus at Buckingham Palace too!

[Devonian Jungle]

There has been a P. roebelenii in Plymouth for many years, growing a nice little trunk and it looked really healthy. Sadly, our recent winter has killed all the fronds (-6C). The fronds have not gone crispy, but the slimy black-brown that bananas get when heavily frosted. It's probably dead, but there is the smallest chance it will recover. I planted one outside in Feb in a part of the garden that gets full sun all day. Maybe not the exactly the best idea to put it in full sun immediately, but apart from the tips of the fronds turning orangey brown it has put out a leaf! It has coped with -1.4 so far, so it should survive for the majority of the year outside. I think Dave B has a massive one He probably knows a lot about them.

[Nathan]

Mine that has spear pulled twice is planted in shade & the one that is ok is in full sun. I think the extra warmth from the sun even in winter is beneficial in keeping them alive if planted outside in the UK, they do adjust well to growing in full sun...

[mixiepalms]

I think Dave B has a massive one He probably knows a lot about them



no comment lol,

[Devonian Jungle]

lol

[Cathy]

About 4/5years ago when I was as green as the average healthy palm, we bought a P. Roebelenii about 4ft tall and paid £79 for it, from a 'canny' olde roadside fruit/veg/flower shoppe in Somerset. The display was very pretty.
It was summer, I was very pleased with it and I did not even consider that it might not be hardy.
It died when winter came. A mild winter, not like this last one. Proper dead it was. Gone.
Lesson learned.

Cathy.

[Troppoz]

Even considered marginal in the cooler parts of Australia...

Here they grow very well - I have a couple in the garden but one near a path might have to go soon as its getting a bit stabby...

[musa_monkey]

My experience so far is that it is a nice palm but not at all hardy.
Mine was in either the garage or heated greenhouse all winter and still turned brown.
In fact i chopped the thing back last night after being fed up looking at it, the stem was solid so i have some hope it will grow back.

[Adrian]

Excellent palms but not hardy Im affraid, means you have to work at it to keep them

[leewatson1980]

Hi Guys, I brought one of these for a fiver at the begining of the year from B&Q, should have been £50 but they had managed to brown it off so let it go cheap, I took it home and it seemed to green up placed in the shade and then after a few weeks maybe a month it started to wilt and spear pulled so did a bit more reading and got conflicting views where to place it, in the end I put it pretty much in fun sun sitting on a 1-2in deep ledge in my pond and within a few days it picked its self up and seemed a lot healthier, it hasn't grown any new fronds but i am hopeful for next year, my question is how do i get it though the winter? I've just potted it up in a slightly bigger pot and brought it in the house, its in a room with windows on three sides but not in direct light.

any feed back would be much appreciated.

I didn't create a new post because I thought it would fit nicely in this one.

[cai williams]

If I am correct in saying that phoenix roebelinii is the pygmy date palm, then it would look great in a conservatory, which is what I have done
However, if you are intending to plant it out, make sure you check you are on the south coast somewhere.
During the summer I water it once a week with a litre. However during the winter i water it with approx. half as much

(now to leewatson)I still have to congratulate you on 'greening' it up from B&Q conditions!

regards your chum cai

[leewatson1980]

Cheers Cai, I will just leave it be and see how it goes, looks ok so far, I guess time will tell.

I did nothing special to bring it back, just watered it really.
Alan titchmarsh now fronts the gardening section at B&Q and according to a cousin who works there, he reckons they've been told to get there act together or he will take his name away from it.

Lee