Soil for trachycarpus

[palm789]

i usually plant them in my pure garden clay but i heared that in pots its completely different,so what is the most best absolute best soil to plant a T Fortunei in.

[Pal Meir]

If the palms are already adult you may use your garden clay (= ?) as well.

[palm789]

3 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

If the palms are already adult you may use your garden clay (= ?) as well.

one 30cm and one 40cm trunks,excuse the garden its a work in progress

[Pal Meir]

If your garden clay is something like a sandy loam or so it is ok; don’t worry the Trachies are very tough. What they don’t like is drought.

[Pal Meir]

This Trachy is potted in sandy loam:

[palm789]

22 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

If your garden clay is something like a sandy loam or so it is ok; don’t worry the Trachies are very tough. What they don’t like is drought.

im new to this kind of stuff but can you describe to me what sandy loam is

[Pal Meir]

3 minutes ago, palm789 said:

im new to this kind of stuff but can you describe to me what sandy loam is

It is a clay with ±sand:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loam

[palm789]

no sand in my soil just clay and stones but i can buy sand also coarse grit but what type of sand is needed.

[Pal Meir]

You should test if your clay allows enough drainage of water; if not add something to it for a better drainage or use a container which is not too large.

[Pal Meir]

If you are not sure add some ±lots of LECA to your clay; it is not so heavy as sand.

[palm789]

leca? the little brown ball pellets?

[maxum2610]

Trachycarpus love clay. I have 5 in the ground in soil consisting of mostly clay and some sand for more than 15 years (lost count). Three Fortunei and two wagnerianus. In pots I have many, in a mix of clay, hydro clay pebbles, pine bark and compost. Love these palms (excuse the mess but the ponds being redone).

[palm789]

what is the mix ratio for just sand and clay for ground planting trachys and trachys in pots?

[maxum2610]

Sorry, it seems I expressed myself poorly. Clay and sand is the natural soil in the garden. I estimate it's at least 65% clay. Extremely slow draining, but the trachys seem to love it. Only be sure when planting in the garden the soil does drain at some point. I dig a couple of deep (50 cm to 1 meter) holes with a post hole digger at the bottom of the hole where the palm will go and fill these with clay balls, just to be sure they're not standing in water.