How to transplant palm trees



The co-creator is Maggie Moran

Want to create a tropical paradise in your own courtyard? Palm trees are a common tropical plant. It is no exaggeration to say that seeing palm trees is like seeing a sunny beach in a tropical city. Palm trees can block storms, have large leaves, provide ample shade, and hardly need extra complex care after planting. If you want to plant palm trees in the front and back courtyards of the mansion, read the steps from the beginning to learn more about transplanting palm trees.



Type, size, planting location


1

Pick the type of palm tree you like. From small palms and sago palms to large coconuts and queen palms up to 15.2 meters in height, the size of palm trees varies according to the species. The amount of light and cold resistance required for growth of different types of palm trees are also different. The following list lists several common ornamental palm trees and their required light intensity and cold resistance data:

Palm varieties suitable for growth in temperate climates:

Cuba or Florida has big leaves. Cold-resistant temperature -5° C; full light to half shade.

Sago palm. Cold-resistant temperature -6° C; filter light to full light.

Canary date. Cold-resistant temperature -7° C.

Queen Palm. Cold-resistant temperature -7° C; full light.

Palm varieties suitable for growing in cold climates:

Mexican foxtail. Cold-resistant temperature -9° C.

Kale coconut. Cold-resistant temperature -11° C; full light.

Jelly coconut. Cold-resistant temperature -12° C.

Chinese palm. Cold-resistant temperature -13° C; full light.


2

Choose palm trees of different sizes according to budget, aesthetics and operability. What size palm tree to choose, mainly need to consider the following three points:

Budget: Small trees are cheaper, but big trees are more expensive. Smaller palm trees may cost 6,700 yuan, while large palm trees may cost more than 6,000 yuan, or even tens of thousands.

Aesthetics: Do you want to watch the young trees thrive, or do you want to use them directly as decoration? The grown palm trees are much more expensive than the saplings.

Maneuverability: The price of mature palm trees is relatively high, and additional costs are required for transportation and lifting. If the planting location you choose is relatively remote, which is not conducive to truck access, you should choose to plant saplings or smaller tree species.


3

Pick a planting location. Due to the large size of mature palm trees, the entire planting process requires the assistance of heavy machinery, so it is best to choose a location that is convenient for trucks to enter and exit. In addition, planting in a gentle front yard is much more convenient than planting in a steep slope or backyard.


Expert tips


Home gardening expert

Palm trees are good landscape plants because their roots are not invasive. Horticulturist Maggie Moran explained: "Palm trees have very shallow roots, usually only about 90 cm. They are not invasive, so you can plant them near swimming pools and other buildings. However, I still recommend that you plant them. At least 1.8-3.0 meters from the swimming pool."



4

Do not choose places where underground pipelines and lines are buried to avoid accidents. Carefully check the urban public facilities construction plan with the house design plan. If you have any questions, you can also call the local urban construction bureau to obtain a plan of underground facilities near the transplant site. Damage to underground water pipes, natural gas pipelines, oil pipelines or telephone lines during the excavation process may cause serious public problems, leading to unnecessary disputes and disturbances.



Tree pool


1

First place the tree to be planted near the transplant site. Doing so can easily measure the size of the root ball, compare the tree pool, and check whether the size is appropriate. Some palm trees can be planted in deeper tree ponds without affecting the root breathing.

Take the Mexican horse palm (large silk sunflower) as an example. Mexican palm palms need to be buried in a deep pit, and the top of the root ball can be 1.2-1.5 meters above the ground. Of course, the best way is to understand the best depth of the tree pond for various palm trees, which can also save the step of setting up support afterwards.

As for other tree species, you cannot bury the root canal or trunk; if you have any questions about the optimal tree pond depth for a particular palm tree, please consult a professional arborist before planting.


2

The width of the tree pond is at least 30 cm greater than the width of the root ball, and the depth is 15 cm greater than the height of the root ball. Then put about 15 cm of sand at the bottom of the tree pond. Use a ruler to measure the width and height of the root ball in order to dig out a suitable size tree pond.

If the planting soil is clay with poor drainage or geology with more rocks, it is recommended to perform a simple drainage test before planting. Dig a hole about 40.6 cm deep in moderately humid soil (extremely dry, too dry, or too humid soil is not conducive to testing). Then pour enough water into the pit. If the water can be drained within 1-2 hours, the soil has good drainage. If the water can be drained within 12 hours, the drainage of the soil is acceptable. However, if the water has not been drained within 24 hours, the soil has poor drainage. The soil quality should be modified before planting.

Make sure that the depth of the tree pond is sufficient to put the root ball in and cover the root cap slightly. But it should not be too deep to bury the trunk, otherwise the moisture may rot the trunk. Planting with a slight exposure of the canopy is better-but it must never show most of the root ball. Palm trees with exposed root balls are called "tip-foot trees", and they do not support well after they grow up. On the contrary, if the tree pond is too deep and the tree trunk is buried, the moisture may corrode the tree trunk, causing disease and decay.



Planting


1

Remove the packaging (usually burlap or plastic sheeting) from the root ball and expose the roots to the air. Don't shake the soil that is originally entangled with the roots, otherwise the roots may become fragile due to lack of water, and the roots will become thinner, causing the entire plant to die. Also avoid opening the roots in the root ball. Although it may seem to open the roots of the tree, the roots can absorb more air, but in fact, doing so does more harm than good.


2

Put the tree in the tree pond, making sure that the root cap is slightly lower than the surface of the soil. Generally speaking, only need to keep the root cap about 2.5-5.1 cm below the ground. Then pile the soil to fill the tree pond (backfill).


3

Straighten the trunk. Palm tree trunks usually curve naturally, so it is not necessary to stand the trunk completely upright (perpendicular to the ground level).

Find the front of the tree, that is, on the sunny side of the tree. According to the planting position, the sunny side should face the viewing direction. If palm trees are planted in the front yard, the sunny side should face the street; if they are planted in the backyard, the sunny side should face the house.


4

Backfill the soil to basically cover the root crown. It should be backfilled with a certain proportion of lime sand and then watered. The backfilled lime soil has better drainage and has a certain degree of hardness, or it can save supporting steps.


5

Build a barrier with mud. Like a berm or a dam, a barrier is piled up with dirt around the periphery of the tree pond. This will help retain moisture for the newly planted palm trees. After the barrier is erected, it is ready to be watered. This barrier ensures that there is enough moisture to prevent the roots of the palm tree from hardening.