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Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:23 pm
by Cardiffcol
Just got this from Homebase for £20 bargain!!! Such a shame you can't plant them out, but for that price I couldn't walk past. Out of curiosity has anyone tried this planted in the ground outside??

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:32 pm
by multim
They are a beautiful small palm, readily available and usually at a good price. You can plunge plant it outside in the warmer months in shade/semi-shade as the leaves will scorch in strong sunshine. I understand that these are not an all year outdoor palm for the UK. I don't recall seeing any at Tresco, although I may be wrong?

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:17 pm
by jezza
It's a summer patio plant. Not hardy for our winters. They can take full sun all day if acclimatised to it. Don't plunge the pot you'll have roots grow out the bottom into the ground.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:36 am
by DaveP
Cardiffcol wrote: .... Out of curiosity has anyone tried this planted in the ground outside??
Between 2001 and 2009 I had one that stayed outside all year round, first in a container and for the last few years planted in the border. It had a 1.5m trunk when 2009/10 killing winter arrived. I have another smaller plant that has been outside for a the past 18 months. The soft fronds are very prone to radiation burn on cold clear nights so mine is tucked beneath the canopy of a Dicksonia.

Great plant Cardiffcol - well bought! It will need potting on in the spring - they like plenty of root room so a good sized pot will keep it happy.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 4:33 pm
by Nathan
Yep before the recent cold winters I had a few outside growing happily for several years, one even flowered. The best looking one was grown in shade & it had longer & softer fronds, one that was acclimatised to full sun grew shorter & stiffer fronds icon_thumleft

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:24 pm
by stephenprudence
There was one outside nearby from 2006 to 2008, but succumbed in 2008 and gradually declined until the owner threw it out.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:45 pm
by GREVILLE
Knew someone more than twenty years ago who dared to try a specimen sized one planted out in his high ground garden in Hampstead, North London. He succeeded in keeping it for some years by using thermostatically controlled heating cable and a temporary purpose built 'mini greenhouse' that was ventilated in milder weather. Looked good sharing a border with a particularly leafy Trachycarpus and a large clumping Musa basjoo. He was a bit of a pioneer doing this in the early nineties.

I also saw a large one in a very secluded garden not far from me that was unceremoniously pot planted in the lawn with the top of the pot sticking out. As this was in the mid-noughties in a run of very mild winters it survived until the 2008 winter claimed it.

I have no trouble leaving my potted one outside in cold but frost-free temperatures into the winter, only coming in before my first air frosts are recorded.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:42 pm
by Conifers
jezza wrote:It's a summer patio plant. Not hardy for our winters. They can take full sun all day if acclimatised to it. Plunge the pot and have roots grow out the bottom into the ground.
Errr, no! Don't let the roots grow out the bottom into the ground, or it'll be stuck there when the winter arrives to kill it!

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:47 pm
by jezza
Conifers wrote:
jezza wrote:It's a summer patio plant. Not hardy for our winters. They can take full sun all day if acclimatised to it. Plunge the pot and have roots grow out the bottom into the ground.
Errr, no! Don't let the roots grow out the bottom into the ground, or it'll be stuck there when the winter arrives to kill it!
That's what i meant. sorry it wasn't clear. Have edited it.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:55 pm
by GREVILLE
I've heard of some pot planting their palms and lifting them out before winter cutting all the extra roots right back to the pot. They then repot them in the next size up and put them back in the ground by the following summer. This obviously won't work with all varieties but I suspect P. roebelinii wouldn't object to this treatment.

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:00 pm
by Rob S
GREVILLE wrote:Knew someone more than twenty years ago who dared to try a specimen sized one planted out in his high ground garden in Hampstead, North London. He succeeded in keeping it for some years by using thermostatically controlled heating cable and a temporary purpose built 'mini greenhouse' that was ventilated in milder weather. Looked good sharing a border with a particularly leafy Trachycarpus and a large clumping Musa basjoo. He was a bit of a pioneer doing this in the early nineties.

I also saw a large one in a very secluded garden not far from me that was unceremoniously pot planted in the lawn with the top of the pot sticking out. As this was in the mid-noughties in a run of very mild winters it survived until the 2008 winter claimed it.

I have no trouble leaving my potted one outside in cold but frost-free temperatures into the winter, only coming in before my first air frosts are recorded.
Yes i remember him he was a regular customer, can't remember his name but i think he was in the rag trade and spent a fortune on plants, wonder what's left of his collection?

Re: Phoenix roebelenii

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:08 am
by Nathan
I spotted a Phoenix roebelenii yesterday growing in front of some flats on the Eastern Road in Portsmouth, not sure how long it has been planted there but it will be interesting to see if it survives the winter as it is in quite an exposed spot...