I'm guessing this is probably not a good idea, but that's why I wanted to check first! I have a Chinese Fan Palm, Livistona Chinensis, that has three trees in a three gallon pot. Is it possible to separate these three by being careful with the root stock, or am I just as likely to lose all three if I break so much as a single root on each? Absolutely no intention of just lopping through them with a cleaver, just not sure how gingerly I need to handle this. Thanks all! Best, Darryl
Most palms recover very well from damage to their root systems. L. chinensis is assuredly routinely heavily root-pruned before transplanting.
Good news then, I suppose. Basically, be ginger with it, and do the best I can? Really appreciate the input on this one, as I enjoy them terribly, and would hate to lose them by trying to help them. Don't want to leave the three in the one pot, as they certainly won't all survive like that over the next 20 - 30 years... I'd read something last week I think that said something about palms putting out roots directly from the base of the trunk, and that if one were snapped, it became immediately useless, and wouldn't grow anymore; that the tree would have to send through another in its place. Any of that sound right to you?
I think that's the case. What's really striking is that palms often get ALL their roots cut (or at least given a very, very short haircut) and they pop back. I think your gentle treatment (maybe aided by a big bucket of water??) should do minimal harm.
Rare to get these as singles, always seem to be in multiples. I got good advise on hosing the soil from the roots, which eases the task of separating the roots from multiple plantings. Cheers, LPN.
