Best medium for Cat Palm?

[newtopalmsMD]

I live in zone 7a (Olney MD) and have 2 6 foot cat palms that are outgrowing their 3 gallon pots.  (They are about 6 feet tall and falling over with each gust of wind)   I want to move them to a bigger pots where they will live outdoors about 1/2 the year and spend colder months in my basement, under grow lights (unless there is a chance they will do well in a 40 degree F garage all winter)  What is a good size pot to move them into and what is the best medium in which to plant them?  Potting mix? a mixture of sand and potting soil? something else?  Thanks

[Silas_Sancona]

11 hours ago, newtopalmsMD said:

I live in zone 7a (Olney MD) and have 2 6 foot cat palms that are outgrowing their 3 gallon pots.  (They are about 6 feet tall and falling over with each gust of wind)   I want to move them to a bigger pots where they will live outdoors about 1/2 the year and spend colder months in my basement, under grow lights (unless there is a chance they will do well in a 40 degree F garage all winter)  What is a good size pot to move them into and what is the best medium in which to plant them?  Potting mix? a mixture of sand and potting soil? something else?  Thanks

If they were mine, i'd step them into something equivalent to 7gal containers.. You could go as big as a 15gal size but that might be too big. Then again, Cats can fill out fairly quick.  Soil-wise, Straight potting soil might be ok, but might also retain too much moisture for too long in the cooler months depending on what is in it.. I'd incorporate something like Turface, some Pumice, and maybe some course sand w/ the potting mix to help lighten up the soil, and allow it to breathe better.. Did something similar w/ some Metallicas / ernesti augusti i had in the past and they loved it.. No issues w/ heavy wet soil at all.. Turface helps keep soil moisture levels even between watering.. Best place to find it is any Landscape supply store which also stocks supplies for baseball fields.  Hope this helps.

[oasis371]

Some Cat palms are surprisingly chill tolerant, I have overwintered my C. metalica y Bamboo Palm in a chilly garage (where the temps dropped to 28 F. this past winter.  But I would not try that 

with a Cat palm as I suspect that they are more tropical.  These palms are super water loving; so overwatering should not be a concern, on the other hand, they go into decline quickly with missed waterings.