Trachycarpus Fortunei worth £139?

[cordyman]

They seem to have decent bushy heads and conical shaped trunks which look attractive

£139




or





£260








£139 shorter £260 taller ones





£450

[Conifers]

I'd be very worried about root damage done to crush them into such tiny pots. They probably hacked off about 98% of the root system to get them into those. Will they be able to regenerate new roots before the crown dies from lack of water and nutrients? Not sure!

[Steph]

It isn't cheap but they do look nice and there's a good selection, guess its down to how much you want one and who else is selling what locally...
This time of year, I'd be inclined to wait & see which online nurseries do a 50% off sale.

[Nigel]

When you see the wood nailed to the pot to support the palm you know its been field dug and lifted without any time to reroot properly.
There will be some cheaper, and better rooted in spring.

[huporhaha]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...........never, never, nil. zilch, nooooooooooooooooooooo, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Why?
Top growth looks like they are worth every penny but pot size in relation to top growth

Sorry but in my experience what goes on under the ground matters in direct proportion to what is going on above ground.

'nuff said

[cordyman]

Thanks i'll give them a miss unless they go on sale!

Don't Trachycarpus's easily reroot anyhow or is it the fact they've been left in small pots for an extended period of time?

[Conifers]

Don't Trachycarpus's easily reroot anyhow

Yes, but there's limits to just how much they can do. The root system before digging will have been larger than I've drawn here, I was if anything underestimating when I said 98% lost on digging, it'll be more like 99.5% lost. In that size pot, you're effectively dealing with an unrooted cutting. Hupor is exactly right with "what goes on under the ground matters in direct proportion to what is going on above ground".

[Conifers]

Excellent article on tree root extent: http://hellis.biz/tree_root_systems.aspx and note that in this respect, palms are no different to any other tree.

[redsquirrel]

it is indeed excellent ,i was under the impression Trachycarpus roots grew out to the drip line,i soon learned this wasnt the case when planting the next one,found roots under the lawn much further away from the trunk than i anticipated

[cordyman]

Great article and pic.

Plenty of nurserys sell this size Trachycarpus so what size pot would be considered ok? Pic would be great in paintbrush Nigel lol!

[Nigel]

Great article and pic.

Plenty of nurserys sell this size Trachycarpus so what size pot would be considered ok?

There is nothing wrong with the pot size. Its the fact it was sold with a wooden frame to hold it in place because it didnt have any roots. When you buy a Trachycarpus you need dig in the new soil and it should be full of small roots. If its rerooted properly prior to sale its not neccessary to construct wooden frames to stop it falling out of the pot.
Have a dig in the soil on the edge of the rootball inside the edge of the pot to see if its rerooted with lots of small roots.
If its full of small roots its a good plant.

[cordyman]

Thanks Nigel.

I'm going to wait for the sales i think

[cordyman]

Would this be a better or worse buy?

looks bigger trunk than the £139,

but smaller pot,

but no wood in the pot?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALEAmazing-b ... 3cbb6006ff

[Conifers]

No way I'd buy that! No roots at all!

[Yorkshire Kris]

That's a very expensive Trachycarpus cutting!!

DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!