Fertilizer for my Windmill

[plantguy]

Hi everyone. Last year I purchased a 30 gal Windmill Palm which I have in the ground here in Long Island, NY. It has been wrapped in frost cloth since the start of winter. I checked in a couple of times & it looks good/ green. My question is what type of fertilizer & how much should I use once spring arrives. Thanks, Vinny

Edited March 13, 2009 by plantguy

[ghar41]

Hi Vinny,

Welcome to palm growing! Windmill palms and the group of palms they belong to, Trachycarpus, grow in cool as well as warm weather. I have found it safest to feed them, first, by mulching the surface of the ground with decomposing plant materials. I also use coffee grounds (free at Starbucks) This will give you a slow feed year around, give the roots protection from temperature changes in summer and winter, as well as conserve moisture.

During the growing season I also use Fish Emulsion fertilizer at the rate recommended on the directions. I like it because its less likely to burn.

Good luck!

[Kathryn]

Welcome to PalmTalk Vinny!

I don’t know much about Trachycarpus and growing them in cold weather, but a good all around palm fertilizer that is readily available is Dynamite. It is time released and releases only when ground temperature are 55ºF or above (I think), so you should apply it this spring. You may be able to get it at your local Home Depot.

[plantguy]

ghar41 & Kathryn,

Thank you very much for the info. This helps me alot.

Vinny

[palmchap]

I have a fairly large windmill that is about 10-12 years old. I live in Arkansas and the palm came from Louisiana by way of a landscape contractor who was placing large ones around in a new subdivision. He told me that they loved lime so I mixed some into the ground when I planted it three years ago and each year I put more around it just adding it on top of the soil. It is very healthy and in fact is putting on huge seed pods right now. Some palms that come from limestone areas love it while others like acid based soil. You just might try adding some when you place your fertilizer.

[plantguy]

Palmchap- Thanks for that tip. I have plenty of lime around that I use for my fig tree's. I guess I'll put it to work on my palm also. Btw, about how tall is your palm being that it's 10-12 yrs old?