Trachycarpus fortunei trim 2009

[eyefi]

hello dave, how old is it?

[daftbanana]

Anybody any experience with 'palmbooster' - this is supposed to be a 'magic elixir' for palms and I've managed to acquire some online - just waiting for it to arrive.

[redsquirrel]

daft banana,the general purpose of palmbooster is to establish strong rooting systems which of course in turn leads to healthier plants. there are other agents on the market,for example,superthrive, and if you have time,trawl through past posts,you will find other things people have used with good results. you dont say what it is you want palmbooster for,is it an established tree or a fresh import.more info would help to enable others to offer ideas as to what to use.maybe a new topic created for your tree/s would be an idea cheers.darren

[daftbanana]

Hi redsquirrel, well I have a Trachycarpus (about 2ft high) and a couple of Phoenix canariensis_CIDP's about 1.5 ft tall and I recently bought a Washy Robusta that's about 3ft high at the moment, so their all fairly young palms.

[Dave Brown]

hello dave, how old is it?

Trudi Trachycarpus is 29 years old.


See Palmbooster

[eyefi]

wow! how long have you had her?

[Mr List]

i read somewhere that cutting off the flowers gives bigger leaves the following year.

i made this bump because i am curious what happens if you completely leave it to nature regarding old leaves?

i'm definitely one for ignoring gardening advice and letting things run their course
(my thought being the plant's do fine in nature)

[Dave Brown]

I could imagine it producing more leaves during the summer if not putting energy into 30,000 or so seed, but I very much doubt it will make a difference to their size.

A fully shaggy Trachycarpus can look good, but the transition from well clipped to fully shaggy is so untidy that it won't happen on this one yet

[The Codfather]

I use miraclo grow on everything.........(pitty it cant make hair grow !) but I thought palms did not need feed ?????

[fgtbell]

two years ago I gave mine loads of 'miracle grow, baby bio and tomorite' - I ended up with all of them being really badly marked by ugly brown/black spots on their fronds. I was worried it was virus - but after holding off on the food for 2 years they are all starting to look a LOT happier.

I am not sure if palms maybe like particular nutrients - but from my Kent experience they were not too keen on what I fed them - and I am now being cautious of overfeeding them.

Sounds like symptoms of salt buildup in the soil (or pot) - from over feeding. Nutrient take-up by roots is at the maximum when the concentration is fairly low. Too-high concentrations can prevent take-up, cause scorch symptoms and (worst case) cause the problem known as "starving in a sea of plenty".

One possible solution, if they are in pots, is to completely flush through with water from time to time. This removes any salts and sets the nutrient concentration back to a low level.

Yes, palms need some very specific micro nutrients. For example Boron is required, and a deficiency will cause the fronds to curl up. The good news is that most balanced, healthy soils will provide the micro nutrients required, but if you have a very mineral soil (e.g. chalk with a very thin topsoil) then you can start to see these sorts of problems.

If you are growing in pots, it's more common to get these problems, because it's that much harder to keep the soil balanced. For example if you are growing in coir, then calcium and magnesium tend to be lacking - so then adding the micro nutrients becomes more critical.

[fgtbell]

I use miraclo grow on everything.........(pitty it cant make hair grow !) but I thought palms did not need feed ?????

I think they are heavy feeders. If you check the root system on a healthy palm, you'll see it is very dense, with lots of branches, and very deep. All those roots are sucking nutrients out of the soil.

If they are in the ground then they will take up nutrients very fast, and therefore benefit from a high-nitrogen feed when they are in active growth.

In pots, they will use up the initial nutrient dose in compost very quickly - and then can benefit from a slow release feed with all the trace elements when you pot them up; I supplement this with some extra high-nitrogen fertiliser in the Spring and early summer.

[fgtbell]

i made this bump because i am curious what happens if you completely leave it to nature regarding old leaves?

Some palms are "self cleaning" meaning that the old frond stumps naturally drop off to leave a smooth trunk. For example: Archontophoenix, Kentia (Howeas), Jubaeas and Chamadoreas.

Many however are like Trachys, and the old frond stumps (known as "boots") will stay unless removed. So - it depends on species.

[fgtbell]

Anybody any experience with 'palmbooster' - this is supposed to be a 'magic elixir' for palms and I've managed to acquire some online - just waiting for it to arrive.

I've used it and had good results... but I don't want to imply that it is some sort of "magic" product. The palms might have grown well without it (it really needs a proper scientific trial to prove one way or the other). This year I have bought few bottles of seaweed-based product to try (got a buy one get one free deal), I suspect some of them can promote good growth as well. I do think it pays to try different things and find out what works well for your specific plant.

[Mr List]

i made this bump because i am curious what happens if you completely leave it to nature regarding old leaves?

Some palms are "self cleaning" meaning that the old frond stumps naturally drop off to leave a smooth trunk. For example: Archontophoenix, Kentia (Howeas), Jubaeas and Chamadoreas.

Many however are like Trachys, and the old frond stumps (known as "boots") will stay unless removed. So - it depends on species.

how do you know when to remove old ones?

[fgtbell]

Some palms are "self cleaning" meaning that the old frond stumps naturally drop off to leave a smooth trunk.

how do you know when to remove old ones?

It's really a matter of taste... I have been known to take them off when I cut the frond off. So I make a rough cut to get the frond off, leaving a large-ish piece sticking out. Then I take that piece off with a saw, back to the trunk, or as close as possible. If you're thinking of Trachycarpus stripping - that's a topic all on its own.

There's one thing to be aware of - and let's hope it is never a problem here in the UK: Red Palm Weevil is a real pest in the south of Europe and right now is killing lots of palms dead. Apparently it is attracted to the smell of palm sap, and if it smells it, flies over and lays its eggs on the palm - the grubs burrow in and kill the palm from the inside. If you live in a country with Red Palm Weevil, you must never cut a green branch of a palm, because the smell of the sap will bring the weevils - you must only cut off branches that are completely dead.

As far as I know there is no Red Palm Weevil in the UK at the moment. Maybe it cannot survive our winters - let's hope so.