Transplanting R. Rivularus

[Sabal Steve]

I have an Ravenea rivularus that a neighbor has expressed an interest in. It is about 7' tall, and in about 30" pot. I plan to plant it in the spring. I'll just yank it out, possibly with the aid of a shovel.

Any thoughts?

[Pip]

I like to smash pots. A new pot is easy to come by as are imported in huge numbers from Vietnam

[Rafael]

Ravenea rivularis demands no special requests about transplanting. It's tough almost like no other palm.

Thats my experience

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

I like to smash pots. A new pot is easy to come by as are imported in huge numbers from Vietnam

Man I wish that were the case here! Aesthetically acceptable pots are as much as the plants. A 30" diameter pot is $100 here. Makes my head spin. Sure wouldn't take a hammer & smash one.

[Sabal Steve]

I like to smash pots. A new pot is easy to come by as are imported in huge numbers from Vietnam

I like to smash pots. A new pot is easy to come by as are imported in huge numbers from Vietnam

Man I wish that were the case here! Aesthetically acceptable pots are as much as the plants. A 30" diameter pot is $100 here. Makes my head spin. Sure wouldn't take a hammer & smash one.

The pot is gorgeous. It retailed for $500.00, but I picked it up for $100.00. I just can't justify smashing it for a R. rivularus! Haha.

That palm was probably 2' tall when I put it in there 2 years ago, and I haven't done much of anything to it.

But, I have a few other palms that have went, or will go in these pots, that I will consider smashing if the need comes to remove the palm.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Sabal Steve

[Pip]

I like to smash pots. A new pot is easy to come by as are imported in huge numbers from Vietnam

Man I wish that were the case here! Aesthetically acceptable pots are as much as the plants. A 30" diameter pot is $100 here. Makes my head spin. Sure wouldn't take a hammer & smash one.

I used to work in a retail showroom for a landscape company that imports landscaping products in Bali. The Bali made pots were the premium range the cheaper range pots were suplied by another wholesaler who sourced their pots from Vietnam. We never had that many of the cheaper range as the very same pots are also found in the big box and independent hardware stores.

I always told people if they want to keep the pot for a very long time to either keep plants in a plastic pot inside the ornamental pot or choose a shape where the plants can easily be removed.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Since it's in a pot, it technically is to be planted, not transplanted. That said, if it weren't for the value of the pot, I, like Pip, would take a hammer to it. Since it's a valuable pot, just take a hand spade and shove it in at the soil's edge (between the soil and the pot) all the way around the circumference and, if need be, remove some loose soil. You can carefully bounce the pot from an inch off the ground lightly to loosen the rootball. Ravenea are tough and, even if you lose lots of soil from the rootball during the process, the palm would be very bothered as long as it's planted well after removal from the pot.

[Josh-O]

tell your neighbor he/she can get a 7' footer at home depot for 40.00 bucks and just save the trouble

save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!...........save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!.............

[Jim in Los Altos]

Since it's in a pot, it technically is to be planted, not transplanted. That said, if it weren't for the value of the pot, I, like Pip, would take a hammer to it. Since it's a valuable pot, just take a hand spade and shove it in at the soil's edge (between the soil and the pot) all the way around the circumference and, if need be, remove some loose soil. You can carefully bounce the pot from an inch off the ground lightly to loosen the rootball. Ravenea are tough and, even if you lose lots of soil from the rootball during the process, the palm would be very bothered as long as it's planted well after removal from the pot.

Should say "the palm would NOT be bothered".

[Pete in Paradise Hills]

tell your neighbor he/she can get a 7' footer at home depot for 40.00 bucks and just save the trouble

save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!...........save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!............save the pot!!.............

yes, we are not talking about some rare, hard to grow palm. Heck, even WalMart sells Ravenea Rivularis...

[Josh-O]

Since it's in a pot, it technically is to be planted, not transplanted. That said, if it weren't for the value of the pot, I, like Pip, would take a hammer to it. Since it's a valuable pot, just take a hand spade and shove it in at the soil's edge (between the soil and the pot) all the way around the circumference and, if need be, remove some loose soil. You can carefully bounce the pot from an inch off the ground lightly to loosen the rootball. Ravenea are tough and, even if you lose lots of soil from the rootball during the process, the palm would be very bothered as long as it's planted well after removal from the pot.

Should say "the palm would NOT be bothered".

[Sabal Steve]

Thanks for all the input everyone,

Good to know that this should be an easy planting. I called it a transplant because I will definitely disturb some roots.

I anticipated removing it from the pot before it grew to big anyways, mainly because of the shape and the mouth that tapers inward.

I enjoy many common palms, but the Ravenea is just too needy, and ill suited for me at this point.

Thanks again!

[Really full garden]

What about removing some soil with a strong water pressure little by little until the palm can be removed,it might be necessary to trim some roots while its still in the pot.

[Sabal Steve]

What about removing some soil with a strong water pressure little by little until the palm can be removed,it might be necessary to trim some roots while its still in the pot.

Funny that you should bring that up; that was one of my thoughts. I'll give it a good soaking before I yank it to loosen it up, and I was planning to try to lift it out as I do that.

[Really full garden]

What about removing some soil with a strong water pressure little by little until the palm can be removed,it might be necessary to trim some roots while its still in the pot.

Funny that you should bring that up; that was one of my thoughts. I'll give it a good soaking before I yank it to loosen it up, and I was planning to try to lift it out as I do that.

Actually try to wash out some of the soil,not just soak it. I had to do this to save a favorite pot.

[Sandy Loam]

My experience with bulbous-shaped pots like that is that it can be very hard to remove the tree once the rootball has grown to a certain size (not just palms), i.e. wider than the rim of the pot. So, once you poke around in there, the size of the rootball may dictate whether or not you can remove the tree without destroying the pot -- -- bearing in mind, of course, that the tree can't stay in there forever or else it will eventually burst the pot anyway! You'll probably want to replace the Ravenea Rivularis with a plant that won't grow so big and can stay in the pot forever.

Pots with sides that go straight up and down (or which are wider at the top) make removal a lot easier if it is a tree that will tolerate having some roots clipped out of the drainage holes ---- or even ripped out of the earth beneath the pot, as has happened to me many times.