I'm new here, and I apologise for not knowing the latin name for my plant. We bought it last summer and it did well in its pot on our east facing third floor deck. This winter we covered it with burlap, surrounding bubble wrap which we thought (perhaps erroneously) would provide better insulation than newspaper...anyway, it's not looking so good right now and I would like your advice.
Burned by cold weather, causing dead portions. If roots intact will perk up later. Yellowishness probably because potting soil leached of N by watering and rains, a nutrient which can also become scarce anyway during cold weather. Palms often need to be well-fertilized to look good in this region, even in the ground.
Thanks Ron. Can you please suggest: best nutrient mix should pot be larger? next winter, what should we do that will better protect it?
10-5-8 is what I use on my palms ( also referred to as palm food on the label) Does the plant look pot bound, then give it a bigger one..other wise it's probably fine, that or put it in the ground.
What you have there is a Windmill palm - Trachycarpus fortunei. (Chinese fan palm - Livistona chinensis is a completely different palm.) Container grown palms and plants in general are subject to more winter damage having their root system above ground. Ron B 's advise is spot on. Carol ... where'd you get your 10-5-8 ? Cheers, LPN.
Foxglove nursery here on Salt Spring was selling it. Plain sort of box called 'Palm Food'. Did you want me to go and pick you up some if there is any left?
I assume that this "palm food" product is sold in consumer quantities? The last of my Osmocote 18-7-12 is nearly used up and I bought that in a 50 lb bag. I'm kinda looking in that direction again. I have a thousand palms to feed! Cheers, Barrie.
lol....ok now that I have stopped laughing....yeah...it comes in a average size box, but as I have one palm and a few cycads...not much call for the big sizes. lol...what was I thinking....lol
Hey no problemo Carol! I like to change up the fertilizers sometimes and it's always nice to check out what others consider useful. Cheers, LPN.
hi, your Trachycapur fortunei 's leaf become yellow, so maybe the reason is that you coverd it too obturation. Keep breezy and don't water too much in case the root will be rotten, but keep the leaf wet, you can sprinkle some water on the leaves. I come from China, the plant is very common here and don't worry about the plant, it have a great live!
An occasional small handful of magnesium sulphate (epsom salts) will help keep it greenER. ( Along with your palm fert.).
pot or planter Currently this windmill palm is in a pot 12" high by 16" wide at the top. The tree is about 30" high. We're going to repot it but we also have a planter on our deck that is deeper. ( We live in an apartment that has a planter between our deck and the neighbour's deck. ) Do the roots go deep or wide? If it is not contained by a pot, will it spread its root system too wide in our planter, making it difficult to remove when it gets too large to keep and we have to give it to a friend for their garden?
I think if you don't repot it, and put it grow in the garden, you have to give to your friend, the root will grow large.
