»Before & After« Pix of Potted Palms

[PalmnutVN]

Blimey Pal! You certainly have the Midas touch where the cultivation of palms in pots is concerned!

I spend countless hours watering, feeding and attempting desperately to keep my palms looking good in pots..... in a tropical climate..... and still they look nowhere near as nice as yours

[Kai]

Awesome Pal. I like your "workplace". I wonder how I can bring some palm trees inside my house without my wife going crazy on me? I should start small, maybe she wont notice them...

That's the way I do it. Let the living room collection grow very slowly and make sure it looks nice and integrated with the rest of your furniture. Make your palms blend in if you will.

Choose your species wisely as you don't want them to look crappy and the wife will start demanding for you to discard of them...

[Danilopez89]

Awesome Pal. I like your "workplace". I wonder how I can bring some palm trees inside my house without my wife going crazy on me? I should start small, maybe she wont notice them...

That's the way I do it. Let the living room collection grow very slowly and make sure it looks nice and integrated with the rest of your furniture. Make your palms blend in if you will.

Choose your species wisely as you don't want them to look crappy and the wife will start demanding for you to discard of them...

Thanks Kai. Makes sense. I'll give it another shot with something small.

[Pal Meir]

Awesome Pal. I like your "workplace". I wonder how I can bring some palm trees inside my house without my wife going crazy on me? I should start small, maybe she wont notice them...

That's the way I do it. Let the living room collection grow very slowly and make sure it looks nice and integrated with the rest of your furniture. Make your palms blend in if you will.

Choose your species wisely as you don't want them to look crappy and the wife will start demanding for you to discard of them...

Thanks Kai. Makes sense. I'll give it another shot with something small.

Yes, you have to start e.g. with a cute minature Coconut (S. weddelliana) and not with a real one (C. nucifera):

Or with a palm bonsai as this 12 years old and only 22cm "tall" Chamaerops humilis v. cerifera and not with a Bismarckia:

[foxtail]

Sir,you're a Master. Great looking palms.

[Pal Meir]

Here other photos of Syagrus weddelliana (Lytocaryum weddellianum), before and after 470 days:

2014-04-01:

2015-07-15:

An ideal small palm for indoors! (The small pot on the right is for comparison; it’s the same as in the older photo.)

[Pal Meir]

And here (not so spectacular) a Phoenix roebelenii, before & after (almost) 6 years:

2002-11-03

2008-09-27

[Pal Meir]

Livistona chinensis var. subglobosa, before & after 7 years:

1982

1989

And here the parent tree (centre) on Aoshima Island, Kyûshû, Japan in 1979:

[Pal Meir]

Another Chamaerops humilis, 10 and 27 years old:

Before & after 17 years

[Pal Meir]

The 2 photos above were taken on 1972-11-09 and 1989-09-07.

[Ken Johnson]

Livistona chinensis var. subglobosa, before & after 7 years:

1982

Livistona chinensis 1982.jpg

1989

Livistona chinensis 1989-09-07.jpg

And here the parent tree (centre) on Aoshima Island, Kyûshû, Japan in 1979:

Livistona chinensis-1979-02-28.jpg

I love those Japanese Livistonas!

[nomolos]

Awesome growth of all species

[Pal Meir]

Awesome growth of all species

Here an example of limited growth, a bonsai before & after 13 years:

Chamaerops humilis 2002 & 2015

This palm was placed the last 12 years outdoors – also in winter – as long as possible at 51.5°N. It was grown up from seed of a palm from Palermo/Sicily in 1986 and is now 29 years old.

[doranakandawatta]

(10) Before and after 28 years:

Chamaedorea seifrizii 1980 & 2008

Chamaedorea seifrizii 1980.jpg Chamaedorea seifrizii 2008-02-19.jpg

I am impressed!

Will I be able to show some "before and after" in 28 years?

and, as Dave wrote, these palms are the best indoor palms I have seen.

Thanks

Philippe

[Pal Meir]

Before & after 7 years:

Washingtonia filifera 1982 & 1989

Before (still in its habitat) & after 2 years:

Satakentia liukiuensis 1987 (Hoshidate) & 1989

[Pal Meir]

Before & after 17 years:

Phoenix canariensis 1972 & 1989

[JT in Japan]

Awesome growth of all species

Here an example of limited growth, a bonsai before & after 13 years:

Chamaerops humilis 2002 & 2015

Chamaerops 2002+2015.jpg

This palm was placed the last 12 years outdoors – also in winter – as long as possible at 51.5°N. It was grown up from seed of a palm from Palermo/Sicily in 1986 and is now 29 years old.

Spectacular. I like the choice of pretty pots you use, Pal.

JT

[Pal Meir]

Before & after 5 years:

Howea forsteriana 1972 & 1977

I regret that I didn’t take more photos of all my other palms in those old times.

[Kai]

Very cool stuff Pal! As an indoor palm grower I want to learn all your tips and tricks!

[Pal Meir]

Very cool stuff Pal! As an indoor palm grower I want to learn all your tips and tricks!

Thanks, Kai. In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s it was always an up and down of try and error. There was no internet, no palmtalk, no one I could ask. Even the botanists in the botanical gardens here didn't know much about growing palms. —

Here another before & after 5+4 years:

Trachycarpus fortunei 1972 & 1977 & 1981

[Pal Meir]

Here an update for Rhapis micrantha before & after 6 years:

2009 (only the left one is R. micrantha) & 2015

[Howeadypsis]

Oh man these are fantastic, and you're in Germany with similar climate to me I imagine (north east England, winters to -15C or lower)

Makes me want to get growing again!

I want seeds...

[Howeadypsis]

Oh man these are fantastic, and you're in Germany with similar climate to me I imagine (north east England, winters to -15C or lower)

Makes me want to get growing again!

I want seeds...

[BS Man about Palms]

Pal, those palms are some of the best indoor palms I've seen.

What kind of heating system do you have? How do you keep up the humidity im Winter?

I used to live in Ohio, a climate much like Deutschland, and forced-air heating made things dry as the desert in the winter. Many plants died, usually from drying up.

It is a normal central heating system for living rooms, nothing else. All my palms regular by them selves the humidity during the heating season, so that the air has almost the same humidity as during the non-heating seasons.

There are many kinds of central heating systems. (BS Man is a heating/AC person so maybe he'll chime in.)

Any thoughts on what your system is? That is a vital, critical issue to others in your situation.

Sorry, I just looked in on this thread.

Dave, its all about what you are trying to achieve. If the building envelope is strong, I.E. well insulated, your need to run heat will decrease. As Pal alluded, having water, or damp pots about will raise the humidity and thus the "enthalpy" and everywhere will feel warmer. If you wanted to make a house like a greenhouse it wouldn't be too hard. However as the humidity increases, the possibility of surface corrosion and some rot and/or mildew would increase too. As a general rule that alone keeps homeowners from letting their home get too damp As a whole I would think air movement is the biggest problem to avoid pests that like damp, low air movement conditions.

I actually have a few indoor plants that look ok I think mainly because I mostly ignore them and rarely water them.

But to my eyes, Pal has become an expert! Well Done!

[Klynnh]

Hello I'm a newbie here and I'm in Albertville alabama in this area code 35980 not sure what zone I'm in and this is the first year I've ever been able to grow ANYTHING IN MY 42 year without them dying on me in the first month. Black thumb is not even the word for it! I try so very hard because I really love plants and flowers. I've managed to get all the plants I have to live for a couple of months now struggling to keep the outside and inside plants alive. Someone I know gave me what I think is a potted majesty palm that was on a slow decline to death when I first got it. I put it beside an east facing window and watered it about 3 times a month. It was sprouting new shoots going and coming and started to get really big. Then it started getting top heavy and leaning and then it started turning brown on the top of the fronds and the lower leaves on the fronds started looking like they were just reduced in size all the sudden (lower ones weren't brown) just the ends of the fronds in the crown. I took it out of the pot it was in because it appeared to be outgrowing its space. Me and my friend did this very gently without taking the soil that it was in from around the roots and put it in another slightly larger pot than what it was in and put the same kind of soil that it was in back in the new pot with it. I trimmed the brown off the leaves and then the ones I trimmed among ones I did not trim are slightly turning yellow and it's looking like it's dying slowly now. It's getting sun from a window it's not overwatered or standing in water it has good draining soil and pot and it's always about 70degrees in my house. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease tell me what to do I want this tree to live so very bad!!! Thanks in advance and God bleeds you all!!!

[Pal Meir]

@Klynnh: If your plant is really a "Majesty Palm" (Ravenea rivularis) it seems to me that you didn’t water it enough. In its habitat this palm is growing near and even inside rivers. Maybe the information on this link is helpful for you: http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Ravenea_rivularis

[Pal Meir]

Before & after 5 years:

Phoenix dactylifera 1972 & 1977

[dalmatiansoap]

Bravo Pal Meir! Is it still alive?

[Pal Meir]

No, it didn't survive my long absence during a world trip from 1977 to 1980 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/palmeir/sets/72157632154007557) as many others of my palms ...

[dalmatiansoap]

No, it didn't survive my long absence during a world trip from 1977 to 1980 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/palmeir/sets/72157632154007557) as many others of my palms ...

Awesome adventure!

[Pal Meir]

Another Chamaerops before & after 2+20+4 years:

1981-12-16 (almost 2 years old)

1984-01-08

2004-11-10

2008-09-26

[benko]

Another Chamaerops before & after 2+20+4 years:

1981-12-16 (almost 2 years old)

Chamaerops_2 1981-12-16.jpg

1984-01-08

Chamaerops_2 1984-01-08.jpg

2004-11-10

Chamaerops_2 2004-11-10.jpg

2008-09-26

Chamaerops_2 2008-09-26.jpg

Hi Pal, that looks great. I really admire what you have achieved over the years and I hope for the same success (when I move to a bigger place).

Just out of curiosity, have you ever grown Rhopalostylis sapida indoors?

[gyuseppe]

(9) Before & after 19 years:

Chamaedorea metallica 1983 & 2002

Chamaedorea metallica 1983.jpg Chamaedorea metallica 2002-07-14.jpg

I'm curious to know where you found the Chamaedorea metallica to beginnings of the 80s?

[Pal Meir]

Another Chamaerops before & after 2+20+4 years:

1981-12-16 (almost 2 years old)

Chamaerops_2 1981-12-16.jpg

1984-01-08

Chamaerops_2 1984-01-08.jpg

2004-11-10

Chamaerops_2 2004-11-10.jpg

2008-09-26

Chamaerops_2 2008-09-26.jpg

Hi Pal, that looks great. I really admire what you have achieved over the years and I hope for the same success (when I move to a bigger place).

Just out of curiosity, have you ever grown Rhopalostylis sapida indoors?

Yes, I had only one R. sapida grown up from seed in 2003. But I gave it away (as all the other palms), I don’t rember to whom, to the Vogelpark Walsrode or the Botanic Garden of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

[Pal Meir]

(9) Before & after 19 years:

Chamaedorea metallica 1983 & 2002

Chamaedorea metallica 1983.jpg Chamaedorea metallica 2002-07-14.jpg

I'm curious to know where you found the Chamaedorea metallica to beginnings of the 80s?

I got my first Chamaedorea metallica seeds from A. Schenkel in Hamburg on 1982-04-22.

Here a pic of a couple of the seedlings taken on 1984-01-08 (together with L. weddellianum):

[Phoenikakias]

Hello I'm a newbie here and I'm in Albertville alabama in this area code 35980 not sure what zone I'm in and this is the first year I've ever been able to grow ANYTHING IN MY 42 year without them dying on me in the first month. Black thumb is not even the word for it! I try so very hard because I really love plants and flowers. I've managed to get all the plants I have to live for a couple of months now struggling to keep the outside and inside plants alive. Someone I know gave me what I think is a potted majesty palm that was on a slow decline to death when I first got it. I put it beside an east facing window and watered it about 3 times a month. It was sprouting new shoots going and coming and started to get really big. Then it started getting top heavy and leaning and then it started turning brown on the top of the fronds and the lower leaves on the fronds started looking like they were just reduced in size all the sudden (lower ones weren't brown) just the ends of the fronds in the crown. I took it out of the pot it was in because it appeared to be outgrowing its space. Me and my friend did this very gently without taking the soil that it was in from around the roots and put it in another slightly larger pot than what it was in and put the same kind of soil that it was in back in the new pot with it. I trimmed the brown off the leaves and then the ones I trimmed among ones I did not trim are slightly turning yellow and it's looking like it's dying slowly now. It's getting sun from a window it's not overwatered or standing in water it has good draining soil and pot and it's always about 70degrees in my house. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease tell me what to do I want this tree to live so very bad!!! Thanks in advance and God bleeds you all!!!

What kind of fertilizer have you applied and what is the quality of irrigation water?

[benko]

Another Chamaerops before & after 2+20+4 years:

1981-12-16 (almost 2 years old)

Chamaerops_2 1981-12-16.jpg

1984-01-08

Chamaerops_2 1984-01-08.jpg

2004-11-10

Chamaerops_2 2004-11-10.jpg

2008-09-26

Chamaerops_2 2008-09-26.jpg

Hi Pal, that looks great. I really admire what you have achieved over the years and I hope for the same success (when I move to a bigger place).

Just out of curiosity, have you ever grown Rhopalostylis sapida indoors?

Yes, I had only one R. sapida grown up from seed in 2003. But I gave it away (as all the other palms), I don’t rember to whom, to the Vogelpark Walsrode or the Botanic Garden of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Thanks Pal, I have a seedling and I hope it does well. Do you have any pictures of it? Did it outgrow its space?

[trioderob]

Herausragende

[Pal Meir]

Another Chamaerops before & after 2+20+4 years:

1981-12-16 (almost 2 years old)

Chamaerops_2 1981-12-16.jpg

1984-01-08

Chamaerops_2 1984-01-08.jpg

2004-11-10

Chamaerops_2 2004-11-10.jpg

2008-09-26

Chamaerops_2 2008-09-26.jpg

Hi Pal, that looks great. I really admire what you have achieved over the years and I hope for the same success (when I move to a bigger place).

Just out of curiosity, have you ever grown Rhopalostylis sapida indoors?

Yes, I had only one R. sapida grown up from seed in 2003. But I gave it away (as all the other palms), I don’t rember to whom, to the Vogelpark Walsrode or the Botanic Garden of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Thanks Pal, I have a seedling and I hope it does well. Do you have any pictures of it? Did it outgrow its space?

Oh sorry, I checked my old documents: It wasn’t sapida but R. baueri I had grown up from 2003 to 2008. It didn’t make any problems and was a very easy grower.

[Pal Meir]

Herausragende

Vielen Dank!