Bismarckia growing tips needed..........

[trioderob]

hi folks - first post here.

was wondering if anyone has any growing tips for the silver bismarck palm.

right now I have a 15 gallon potted plant in full sun.

I live in the inland san diego area.

would like to grow the tree to a huge size in as fast a time period as I can.

(how long before planting in the ground, watering, feeding etc...............)

thanks !

[palmazon]

Put it in the ground (careful with the roots), pitch a handful of PalmPlus/Vigoro for palms/whatever in with the backfill, water in, and soak it once or twice a week.

[Kim]

Hi there, welcome to Palmtalk! Well, you got the first part right, you picked a very good palm for your location, they love your inland heat. Second part, follow the gorilla's instructions and you are good to go! Definitely put it in the ground if you want it to grow to a huge size as fast as possible -- this will not occur in a 15-gal pot! Now is a good time to plant, go for it.

[bgl]

Hi, and welcome to the PalmTalk Forum! And make sure you plant the Bismarckia in a location where it's not going to get shaded out by other palms/trees.

Aloha from the Big Island!

Bo-Göran

[sonoranfans]

hi folks - first post here.

was wondering if anyone has any growing tips for the silver bismarck palm.

right now I have a 15 gallon potted plant in full sun.

I live in the inland san diego area.

would like to grow the tree to a huge size in as fast a time period as I can.

(how long before planting in the ground, watering, feeding etc...............)

thanks !

Welcome to palmtalk trioderob,

Plant it ASAP, ensure good drainage, and water as directed by palmazon. Because you sometimes have a wet winter and Bizzies hate those, make sure your drainage is good so the roots dont stay too wet. One way is to plant on a high spot, or ensure the soil drains well or better, both. Bismarckias love heat, they grow fastest in the heat. As Bo says they also love sun, dont shade this palm at all. Mine put out 10 new fronds a year with our 80 or so 100+ degree days a year.

[trioderob]

I was told these trees did most of their growth over a 8 year period.

what kind of growth rates have you guys found to be typical with this palm ?

[MattyB]

Trioderob,

Here's a quick article that might help with improving drainage; something Bizmarckia will appreciate.

Welcome and good luck!

Palmpedia Primer On Palm Planting Article

[sonoranfans]

I was told these trees did most of their growth over a 8 year period.

what kind of growth rates have you guys found to be typical with this palm ?

I wouldnt latch on to any one stat regarding growth. Bismarckias are medium growers, around 1'-1 1/2 a year after the trunk comes out of the ground. A 15 gallon will have a trunk in 3 years or so. At that time it will start growing faster. In some areas they are slow, especially if they dont see high soil temps for but a few months a year. Bismarckias love the desert heat, dont plant them too close to anything else, they will get around 20' wide and will look best if not crowded. In the desert, they like a deep soak every 12-14 days. Bismarckias develop a deep root system so a deep soak is essential to best health. Slow watering around the root zone for 6-8 hours every 10-14 days depending on temps has done very well for me. In winter water very sparingly, once a month or less in a wet winter zone. In winter, I also skip watering events entirely if it rains substantially(0.5").

[Gan Eden]

Hello,

I have a Bizzie which is 1.5m high. I'd like to ask if it is a good idea to mulch the base or do they prefer the soil to be open?

[Phil]

I was told these trees did most of their growth over a 8 year period.

what kind of growth rates have you guys found to be typical with this palm ?

Bob,

Welcome to the Group. I'm sure you were shocked to see this blatant warning posted here. This is from Dave's Garden website where where one cannot link to their pictures without formal approval. I too made this mistake one time. Therefore, stay away from their pictures unless you get permission from them. Most people posting here give credit when pictures are linked from the Intenet, but that's not enough with Dave's Garden. You simply get this warning.

Regarding Bismarckia, good heat and sun are essential. And, be careful with the roots when planting. In my experience, this species will take down to the low 20's when well established.

Phil

[trioderob]

I was told these trees did most of their growth over a 8 year period.

what kind of growth rates have you guys found to be typical with this palm ?

Bob,

Welcome to the Group. I'm sure you were shocked to see this blatant warning posted here. This is from Dave's Garden website where where one cannot link to their pictures without formal approval. I too made this mistake one time. Therefore, stay away from their pictures unless you get permission from them. Most people posting here give credit when pictures are linked from the Intenet, but that's not enough with Dave's Garden. You simply get this warning.

Regarding Bismarckia, good heat and sun are essential. And, be careful with the roots when planting. In my experience, this species will take down to the low 20's when well established.

Phil

phil-

thanks for the info.

and i will be sure to give credit on photos or not post where indictated.

rob

[Peter Pacific]

Hello, I put my Bismarck palm in the ground about three years ago, it was about three feet high, and now it is massive! It is just a spectacular addition to my garden and the silver blue leaves give such a contrast to the surrounding color. Make sure you give it lots of room and full sun. Good Luck. Peter

[bgl]

One additional observation: at our location Bismarckia nobilis will add just over a foot of trunk per year. Since they like heat, it's conceivable they may grow just a bit faster down by sea level, where temperatures tend to be somewhat higher.

And Phil - I find Dave's Garden's approach offensive, to say the least, since I have noticed that they have used photos WITHOUT permission and WITHOUT giving proper credit!

[Gan Eden]

Sorry to sound rude or anything, but am I invisible or is it because I'm not from the US that a) i never got the same welcome note as trioderob when I joined 2 month ago, or i have bad body odour as my question has gobe completely ignored?

Is this site truly International or just for the US as I have noticed that members outside the US are few in number and don't appear to get the same acknowledgement, but I could be wrong.

Cheers

[Alicehunter2000]

It was the body odor

Just kidding.......welcome to PalmTalk.......I haven't been on for awhile or I would of surely answered your post Unlike these other snobs on here

[bgl]

Lee (Gan Eden),

A belated welcome to the IPS PalmTalk Forum! And I'm sorry you didn't get an appropriate welcome when you first joined back in February. I was curious, so I looked at the threads you have initiated and I believe your first thread was the one in which you asked for good palm nurseries in Australia. Since most of us don't live in Australia, my guess is that not too many Forum members paid attention to that particular thread, and thus didn't realize that you had just joined. The best way for a new Forum member to make himself, or herself, known to the rest of the Forum members is to start a new thread and give it a name like "Hi - I just joined", or something along those lines.

Aloha from Hawaii!

Bo-Göran

[Gan Eden]

Hi Alice and bgl, thank you for your warm welcome and no worries mate, as we always say over here! haha :-)

[Kris]

Dear Lee

First of all a warm welcome to you,my friend..even i have few bizzis growing in our garden.I must say i have been observing each & every palm that we are growing but i was never impressed more with any other palm than this bizzi.reason it is the least maintanence palm to my knowlegde goes.i hardly water it,neither do i give any fertz schedule.but the vigour it is growing in our clayee soil is simply stunning.I love them.

in the following stills is of those bismarkias that were raised by us from seeds !

1)

2)

3)

Here is a still as to how the palm seen in the first still has grown after one year in the ground...

4)

Hope to see some visuals of your palm too !

Lots of love,

Kris

Sorry to sound rude or anything, but am I invisible or is it because I'm not from the US that a) i never got the same welcome note as trioderob when I joined 2 month ago, or i have bad body odour as my question has gobe completely ignored?

Is this site truly International or just for the US as I have noticed that members outside the US are few in number and don't appear to get the same acknowledgement, but I could be wrong.

Cheers

By the way dear lee,hypothitically speaking if this forum is only for U.S members,then how come iam from india able to post so many And even make some many new friends from around the globe...including the U.S ?

[Big Tex]

Plant it ASAP, ensure good drainage, and water as directed by palmazon. Because you sometimes have a wet winter and Bizzies hate those, make sure your drainage is good so the roots dont stay too wet. One way is to plant on a high spot, or ensure the soil drains well or better, both. Bismarckias love heat, they grow fastest in the heat. As Bo says they also love sun, dont shade this palm at all. Mine put out 10 new fronds a year with our 80 or so 100+ degree days a year.

We have heavy clay here so I have my palms planted high. They do very well and like you said, they do love heat. These long how 95+ summer days make them grow quickly. This one is in pretty good shape considering it went through a hurricane and then winter in the last 8 months.

[Phil]

Trio,

BTW, below is a 5 year old picture of the Bismarckias at Balboa Park. Yours will look like this is a while.

Phil

[Brad Mondel]

can you help me with mine?