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Many small palms very close


David_Sweden

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I got this Chamaedora Elegans 2 months ago, about 20 stems for $4, that's not much per stem! Sorry for dragging the commonest of common palms to this advanced forum but the chain store that sold it don't have much support. I know it's a solitairy palm but I like the way it looks when there's a lot of them in one pot, also when bigger, it's like its own little jungle.

It is (or they are) full of life, many new fronds already, but some stems are as small as 3" while others are up to 2'. But I'm a bit worried what will happen as it grows, since they are placed so close. Will the small ones get crushed or will they adapt? Can I do something? I'm already turning it every two days so that all of them get enough sun, and help the smallest ones by making sure they're not hidden in the jungle, but I haven't attemped anything at root level. I think I read palm roots are rather fragile so I haven't dared to pull them apart, and I can imagine the roots being incredibly tangled. I could also try to do something next spring when time for repotting but I'm not sure what, I can't think of much to do without disturbing the roots. And it will get even worse as it grows I suppose.

I'm hoping someone has experience with 2 or more palms growing close together? E g the Phoenix Roebelenii is often grown in threes even though I think it looks very nice just on its own.

The first two images show this cluster of palms, the last picture is a ~5½' specimen I found on the internet, that's what I'm hoping to get in a few years.

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post-10152-0-18383000-1405090085_thumb.j

post-10152-0-82720400-1405090128_thumb.j

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Many growers combine more than one palm in a pot. It's more desirable to the customer. BUT, it's almost always with the most common species, species that produce heaps of seed. Can't ever remember seeing a triple Pelagodoxa in a pot. :)

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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What will probably happen is that the stronger, more vigorous stems will live while smaller, weaker stems die. That's what happened when I planted a potful of D. lutescens seedlings years ago. Out of at least 100 stems fewer than 10 survived to maturity. I remove any clustering stems to keep the clump open. Growers toss handfuls of seeds into pots then sell them as "clusters." My personal thinking is that C. elegans is a solitary palm and should be grown that way or perhaps as a triple. D. lutescens looks so much better when planted singly and allowed to cluster naturally.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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I agree with PalmatierMeg, the stronger ones will survive. This seems to be happening with my mom's chamaedorea elegans. Some of them are dying off, while others are growing.

Chamaedorea Elegans do seem root sensitive to warn you. I am the opposite of you. I only wanted single palms, so I bought a small pot with 7 palms and separated them. Only 1 survived!

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Chamaedorea elegans tolerates low light, crowded roots, and a ton of abuse. IKEA must be selling these by the million. This is THE most common house plant palm on the planet, it's a tough kill, but, apparently some people still manage to kill them.

I agree with PalmatierMeg, the stronger ones will survive. This seems to be happening with my mom's chamaedorea elegans. Some of them are dying off, while others are growing.

Chamaedorea Elegans do seem root sensitive to warn you. I am the opposite of you. I only wanted single palms, so I bought a small pot with 7 palms and separated them. Only 1 survived!

These are not particularly root sensitive, but it's pretty common to kill palms by separating them out of a community pot once they've gotten to a fairly good size. It can be done if you have a misting chamber that gives the individuals a chance to recover from the root trauma and re-generate the roots.

But if you treat them as a clump, no problem, the roots won't cause you any grief.

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I had a neglected old dish garden with a clump of C. elegans. I just planted the clump as is and so far they are doing fine. The whole clump is getting larger and they are spreading out a bit as they grow away from each other but there has not been a few that have overpowered the clump yet. I would prefer them singly or in groups of odd numbers but planting the clump was a better option than throwing them away and I didn't want to try to separate them.

So many species,

so little time.

Coconut Creek, Florida

Zone 10b (Zone 11 except for once evey 10 or 20 years)

Last Freeze: 2011,50 Miles North of Fairchilds

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Chamaedorea elegans tolerates low light, crowded roots, and a ton of abuse. IKEA must be selling these by the million. This is THE most common house plant palm on the planet, it's a tough kill, but, apparently some people still manage to kill them.

I agree with PalmatierMeg, the stronger ones will survive. This seems to be happening with my mom's chamaedorea elegans. Some of them are dying off, while others are growing.

Chamaedorea Elegans do seem root sensitive to warn you. I am the opposite of you. I only wanted single palms, so I bought a small pot with 7 palms and separated them. Only 1 survived!

These are not particularly root sensitive, but it's pretty common to kill palms by separating them out of a community pot once they've gotten to a fairly good size. It can be done if you have a misting chamber that gives the individuals a chance to recover from the root trauma and re-generate the roots.

But if you treat them as a clump, no problem, the roots won't cause you any grief.

They were pretty small, and I carefully separated them while they were submerged in a bucket of water. It was too much for them. Good thing they're common and cheap.

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Chamaedorea elegans tolerates low light, crowded roots, and a ton of abuse. IKEA must be selling these by the million. This is THE most common house plant palm on the planet, it's a tough kill, but, apparently some people still manage to kill them.

I agree with PalmatierMeg, the stronger ones will survive. This seems to be happening with my mom's chamaedorea elegans. Some of them are dying off, while others are growing.

Chamaedorea Elegans do seem root sensitive to warn you. I am the opposite of you. I only wanted single palms, so I bought a small pot with 7 palms and separated them. Only 1 survived!

These are not particularly root sensitive, but it's pretty common to kill palms by separating them out of a community pot once they've gotten to a fairly good size. It can be done if you have a misting chamber that gives the individuals a chance to recover from the root trauma and re-generate the roots.

But if you treat them as a clump, no problem, the roots won't cause you any grief.

They were pretty small, and I carefully separated them while they were submerged in a bucket of water. It was too much for them. Good thing they're common and cheap.

Doesn't matter if you use a bucket of water or not. It's afterwards that counts. They need to be in a super humid environment for at least a week so that they don't desicate while they re-generate at the roots.

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I would just cut the smallest of. Leave 5 to 7 strongest for now and reduce one by one by the time. They flower at early age so on the end leave happy couple only.

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Thanks for all the input! Seems that I shouldn't take any action at root level then. I hope they will spread out like Jerry's so that they all survive. BTW all stems are growing and the 3" ones with just one little frond have all begun to get another frond now, but very slowly.

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