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Buying guide - what to look for when purchasing a palm


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Posted (edited)

how about a guide to buying palms ?

Gurus your feedback and addition comments are most welcome !

1) decide how big a palm you can afford- with palms bigger is better. while seedlings sound nice - in reality some species are slow and unless you are in a place like Nicaragua or Hilo it will take forever for the seedling to grow to any respectable size. spend the money if you can on the slow growers !

2) determine if its a fast grower - in that case a smaller plant will be fine to purchase. something like a Bizzie can become a monster in a 7 year period.

3) look for the best palm out of a grouping- there may be one 5 gallon out of 50 pots that is noticeably bigger and more vibrant - that's your "money" plant.

4) for colorful palms -look for the palm that has the most vibrant colors - assuming its not a runt - thats a "money" palm too.

5) determine if the palm is "root bound" to the pot - do not buy palms that are overly root bound or have been in the same pot too long. the roots are the key to health - bad roots=bad palm. a palm that is in a pot is a bonsai. better to buy a palm in too large a pot than too small. some growers say to not put a palm in too large a pot but my experience says its a safer bet.

6) be sure you understand if the palm has been "hard grown" in other words if the palm has been grown in Hawaii under 60% shade cloth - it will go into shock in full Cali sun. you need to have a shade cloth tent ready to protect it - before you buy. you DO NOT want to set back a palm with leaf burn.

7) with regards to prices - anything can happen. a expensive nursery can have a fantastic price on a nice palm defying logic. a grower known for prices can be very high on something.

8) if you find a rare super palm or an exceptional example don't be afraid to pay more for it

9) plant you palm right away unless its winter - palms in pots are bonsai

ok guys I will pass the ball over as there are very experienced folks here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edited by trioderob
Posted

The first two things I look for are:

- I want to see a new spear. Sometimes small palms are "in between" spears. If I have a choice, I'll take one with a fresh unopened spear.

- I like to see nice white (or lighter colored) firm roots through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Not always a sure sign of healthy roots, but usually a good sign. Black/dark mushy roots are a no-no in my book.

animated-volcano-image-0010.gif.71ccc48bfc1ec622a0adca187eabaaa4.gif

Kona, on The Big Island
Hawaii - Land of Volcanoes

Posted
  On 7/27/2015 at 9:55 PM, Dypsisdean said:

The first two things I look for are:

- I want to see a new spear. Sometimes small palms are "in between" spears. If I have a choice, I'll take one with a fresh unopened spear.

- I like to see nice white (or lighter colored) firm roots through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Not always a sure sign of healthy roots, but usually a good sign. Black/dark mushy roots are a no-no in my book.

Same as above "and" I also look for the thickest base. :)

Pete

Posted

I like #3 & #8. I would have said the same as #3. Dean and Petes advice is also very good of course since they are gurus. :)

A couple weeks ago I bought a 15g Attalea Cohune. The grower really helped me in choosing the "best" one. We looked for the bigger more robust looking. But then the grower noticed that another was holding on to more fronds (smaller than the first). And that it had a long unopened frond and another already poking itself out the center. He said that's gonna be the fastest one so I bought it. Especially with a slow grower you need to pick one that looks to be more robust.

Posted

My up-coming comment has been discussed before, but I disagree with "bigger is better" in all cases. I think that's perhaps true up to 15g size...but if I compare my Archontophoenix and Syagrus planted as 15s, to those planted as 24" box, the former certainly get their feet down faster and clearly overtake the 24" box plants in 1-2 years. Not sure why, but with these fast growers, bigger isn't better for me.

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

Posted

At 56 and living in a climate where palms either have to be protected for winter or brought inside I look for cold hardiness, and speed of growth. I've learned the hard way to buy as big as I can afford.

Posted

My personal guideline is to try and buy at least a 7 gallon (if available). The rest you all have seemed to cover already!

Posted

don't forget to check for bugs, fungus, rot...

Grant
Long Beach, CA

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