Potted palms in rain?

[Mohsen]

I have been running out of space in my property so keeping many palms as potted is inevitable for me now...

I am having some in open space and under rain...my question is , is it a good think or bad thing for palms?

I am no using any source so they will discharge the excess of water freely ...

Any experiences about pros and cons would be great as this question might be many others too .

[sashaeffer]

As long as they are tolerant to the sun they will get and it rains often enough I don't see harm in it. It's what I have to do myself.

[Hamal]

As long as the substrate drains well when it rains long and hard, I do not see a problem. When it does not rain however, you must not forget to water them regularly, especially if they get a lot of sun.

[PalmatierMeg]

If they are tropical palms beware of exposing them to cold rain & cold weather - below 10-15C. Cold, wet weather can trigger rot & fatal infections in tropicals. The year I lost 30+ species I had a day of freezing rain and temps around 5C. It was the first and only time it rained here at temps below 10C since I moved here.

[palmsOrl]

I second what Meg said.  I have lost a number of palms over the years to cool/chilly wet conditions, although these conditions are not that common here during the cool season.  This happened in fall 2012, as I had just purchased a number of small palms from the Searle sale (I always get the healthiest palms from here).  I kept irrigating heavily as the weather cooled way down and lost a few to crown or root rot.

Meg, did you actually have frozen precipitation there in Cape Coral in 2010?  I had light wet sleet on and off for a few hours that one morning.  No freezing rain at my location and maybe I was imagining it, but I could have sworn I saw some tiny flakes mixed in with the drizzle/rain/sleet.  Due to the rarity of the event, I was really looking closely! 

[PalmatierMeg]

4 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I second what Meg said.  I have lost a number of palms over the years to cool/chilly wet conditions, although these conditions are not that common here during the cool season.  This happened in fall 2012, as I had just purchased a number of small palms from the Searle sale (I always get the healthiest palms from here).  I kept irrigating heavily as the weather cooled way down and lost a few to crown or root rot.

Meg, did you actually have frozen precipitation there in Cape Coral in 2010?  I had light wet sleet on and off for a few hours that one morning.  No freezing rain at my location and maybe I was imagining it, but I could have sworn I saw some tiny flakes mixed in with the drizzle/rain/sleet.  Due to the rarity of the event, I was really looking closely! 

Strictly speaking, I didn't see ice fall from the sky. But temps started around 40F and fell to 35F by evening. It sure felt like ice while I raced around trying to move pots inside that afternoon. When the rain stopped and clouds cleared it got even colder. The next night was an all-time low for me: 28.5F. I had palms dying for the next 9 months. Death toll wouldn't have been nearly so high if the weather had stayed dry.

[Pip]

I couldn't imagine those weather conditions Meg described happening in the area of Sydney Mohsen lives. Rain in winter usually keeps the temperature stable and above freezing point. The pots just need to drain or else the plams maybe at risk of fungus attack or root rot.

[Pip]

The intensity of the rain may be a factor to concider. Pelting down wind assisted raindrops can shread palm leaves.

[Mohsen]

Thanks for the useful inputs,

At the moment I keep Livistona nitida, Livistona chinensis, Jubaea chilensis and Butia capitata in open area under full sun...I guess they should be cold hardy and happy there...

[Steve Mac]

Rain is terrific,

Our potted palms respond noticeably better to rain water than to tap water. It may have more dissolved nitrogen?

Also one of the advantages of pots is that you can move them around to catch more sun in winter than a planted one.

Which you should do, this will offset the disadvantage that a potted plants roots will usually be a bit colder than a planted ones roots on a cold night.

So forget that neat and attractive border at the end of your pool, if that is not the most sunny, and put them where they will get the most sun in winter.

Especially morning sun to reduce to length of time of cold, if not the degree.

[Mohsen]

3 hours ago, gtsteve said:

Rain is terrific,

Our potted palms respond noticeably better to rain water than to tap water. It may have more dissolved nitrogen?

Also one of the advantages of pots is that you can move them around to catch more sun in winter than a planted one.

Which you should do, this will offset the disadvantage that a potted plants roots will usually be a bit colder than a planted ones roots on a cold night.

So forget that neat and attractive border at the end of your pool, if that is not the most sunny, and put them where they will get the most sun in winter.

Especially morning sun to reduce to length of time of cold, if not the degree.

Thanks Steve

Fortunately that spot is where the first sun rises so right sopt at least for winter I guess...