Advice For Moving Palms

[Jeff985]

Hello fellow palm enthusiast,

I will be moving soon to a warmer part of the Houston area. I will be taking most of my palms and plants with me. I’m not concerned about moving most of my palms, but there are a few that I have questions about. I have three archontophoenix cunninghamianas that we’re planted about 10 months ago and have grown considerably. I have attached a photo of it. I’ve read that these don’t transplant well, but this is one of my favorites and if possible I’d really like to take it with me. I also have three Phoenix Sylvestris with about seven feet of trunk. I’m not worried about them surviving transplant but I wonder if it’s necessary to cut off most of the fronds. I’ve seen websites that say yes and some that say no. I bought them about a year and a half ago and when I did they had most of the fronds removed and they are just now getting close to having a full canopy. I’ve included a photo of one of them also. 

[Reeverse]

The Archontophoenix will be toast eventually in Houston.  Probably easier to leave them and start over. Unless you have a skid steer not worth it. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

If you love the Kings try to move em the new owner will kill them anyways so why not try lol 

[Jeff985]

1 minute ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

If you love the Kings try to move em the new owner will kill them anyways so why not try lol 

Especially since there’s not going to be a new owner. I’m renting the place out. I’m just wondering if there’s a chance of survival and looking for tips. 

[AZPalms]

43 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Especially since there’s not going to be a new owner. I’m renting the place out. I’m just wondering if there’s a chance of survival and looking for tips. 

I’m guessing they have a chance with the warm weather ahead. I moved a King last year, small 3g palm after being in the ground about 6 months. Hasn’t missed a beat. Get a large rootball if you can. I’d keep it well watered in shade to get it established. 

[The Gerg]

Tell your future tenant the rent goes up $100 per month for every palm they kill. 

[Xenon]

13 hours ago, Reeverse said:

The Archontophoenix will be toast eventually in Houston.  Probably easier to leave them and start over. Unless you have a skid steer not worth it. 

You'd be surprised at how long they can last here. 10 years or more with some luck, especially in the core of the heat island. There have been mild stretches long enough for fruiting foxtails and mangoes. 

[Jeff985]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

You'd be surprised at how long they can last here. 10 years or more with some luck, especially in the core of the heat island. There have been mild stretches long enough for fruiting foxtails and mangoes. 

I’m moving to Seabrook. I bought a house two blocks from the bay. There are large pygmys in the area I’ve been told survived the 2010 freeze. It’s my understanding that cunninghamianas hardiness is very similar to pygmys. 

[Fusca]

14 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

I’m renting the place out

Jeff, I'm considering some rental property myself and I was told by the managment company that I could add a "landscaping clause" to the rental agreement so that the renters are at least aware of the need for upkeep.  Whether they comply is a different story, but at least they are held responsible if they don't.  If you're close enough to check on the plants/palms once in awhile you'd have a better chance of keeping stuff going.  Just an option should you decide not to move everything.

[Jeff985]

20 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Jeff, I'm considering some rental property myself and I was told by the managment company that I could add a "landscaping clause" to the rental agreement so that the renters are at least aware of the need for upkeep.  Whether they comply is a different story, but at least they are held responsible if they don't.  If you're close enough to check on the plants/palms once in awhile you'd have a better chance of keeping stuff going.  Just an option should you decide not to move everything.

I’ve considered that but I really want to take them with me so I can continue to enjoy them. I’ve put a lot of time and money into it and now I’ll have more space to expand my collection. 

[DoomsDave]

 

@Jeff985be warned that Archies can be tough to move, though yours appear small enough that the job will be easier. This is the right season for it, since summer heat and rain will help a lot; I'd pot them and keep them shaded and moist till they re-establish.

Also see my PM (private message).

Welcome to Palm Talk!

[Jeff985]

26 minutes ago, DoomsDave said:

 

@Jeff985be warned that Archies can be tough to move, though yours appear small enough that the job will be easier. This is the right season for it, since summer heat and rain will help a lot; I'd pot them and keep them shaded and moist till they re-establish.

Also see my PM (private message).

Welcome to Palm Talk!

Thanks Dave. I’ve read they don’t transplant well, but I’m hoping I can pull it off. Does anyone know about the Sylvestris. Should I remove the fronds?

[DoomsDave]

17 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Thanks Dave. I’ve read they don’t transplant well, but I’m hoping I can pull it off. Does anyone know about the Sylvestris. Should I remove the fronds?

I think the Sylvestris will be a lot easier, on the palm if not on the mover. (They're heavy and spiny.) I wouldn't go too crazy chopping off leaves. The big thing is try to get a big rootball, at least a couple feet across. (If a more experienced person has other ideas, I'll defer to them.)

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, Jeff985 said:

I’m moving to Seabrook. I bought a house two blocks from the bay. There are large pygmys in the area I’ve been told survived the 2010 freeze. It’s my understanding that cunninghamianas hardiness is very similar to pygmys. 

Congrats Jeff to a lil bit nicer climate for Palm growing, now were really neighbors haha Cant wait to see what you can do with more room and easier zone

[Jeff985]

7 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Congrats Jeff to a lil bit nicer climate for Palm growing, now were really neighbors haha Cant wait to see what you can do with more room and easier zone

Thanks. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll have to have you over to see it when we get settled in. 

[Merlyn]

On most of the *successful* Sylvestris transplants around here, they seem to leave about the same number of fronds on as shown in the original picture.  I've seen a few places try to transplant ones with "full crowns" including fronds drooping well below horizontal.  These seem to inevitably die, as they have far too many leaves compared to the amount of roots available to take up water and nutrition.  I've seen people hack them off to a "shuttlecock" appearance for transplant, this seems to work for Dactylifera but not as much for Sylvestris.

I'd probably cut off any bad looking lower ones (I see two in the photo) and try to transplant with a couple of feet diameter rootball.  The palm will probably "eat" the lowest set of fronds for nutrition to grow new roots, usually in the first 2 weeks after the transplant.

[Jeff985]

4 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

On most of the *successful* Sylvestris transplants around here, they seem to leave about the same number of fronds on as shown in the original picture.  I've seen a few places try to transplant ones with "full crowns" including fronds drooping well below horizontal.  These seem to inevitably die, as they have far too many leaves compared to the amount of roots available to take up water and nutrition.  I've seen people hack them off to a "shuttlecock" appearance for transplant, this seems to work for Dactylifera but not as much for Sylvestris.

I'd probably cut off any bad looking lower ones (I see two in the photo) and try to transplant with a couple of feet diameter rootball.  The palm will probably "eat" the lowest set of fronds for nutrition to grow new roots, usually in the first 2 weeks after the transplant.

That’s good to know. Thanks for the info. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

3 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

Thanks. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll have to have you over to see it when we get settled in. 

Sounds like a plan , looking forward to your future palms !! 

[Jeff985]

Mission complete. It’s too early to say if it was a success. It’s been a week now since the palms were moved. The kings initially showed signs of stress but seem to have stabilized. The foxtails didn’t really seem bothered by the move. One of my sylvesters is showing some leaf tip browning but not too bad. The other Sylvester I’m worried about. The guys I hired to help me didn’t know what they were doing and they left pretty much no root ball. It has a lot of fronds browning. What was surprising about the experience is how fast pygmys roots establish. I had one that was planted just three months ago and it was much more difficult to dig up than my foxtails and kings that had been the ground for a year. 

[Merlyn]

I had a Sylvester in a 45g pot that went dry for about 2-3 weeks last September, it definitely browned a lot of leaf tips before it stabilized.  It was probably 50% browning on all older fronds.  I was concerned about it when I planted it in November, because it really hadn't recovered and started growing new fronds.  For most of the winter it just sat there, but it's growing new fronds at a pretty good rate now.  They are still about 1/2 the normal length, but it's getting there!

I'd guess that giving it consistent water near the trunk will help, maybe spray the leaves in the early AM or evening to help it absorb a bit more water?

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

2 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

Mission complete. It’s too early to say if it was a success. It’s been a week now since the palms were moved. The kings initially showed signs of stress but seem to have stabilized. The foxtails didn’t really seem bothered by the move. One of my sylvesters is showing some leaf tip browning but not too bad. The other Sylvester I’m worried about. The guys I hired to help me didn’t know what they were doing and they left pretty much no root ball. It has a lot of fronds browning. What was surprising about the experience is how fast pygmys roots establish. I had one that was planted just three months ago and it was much more difficult to dig up than my foxtails and kings that had been the ground for a year. 

Glad your move went well dont forget to mark your fronds to take the guess work out of it. Lots of water for the next 2 weeks too =) 

[HtownPalms]

I hope they make it. This slight cool front we are getting on Wednesday along with moderate rain chances for this week should help.

[Jeff985]

5 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Glad your move went well dont forget to mark your fronds to take the guess work out of it. Lots of water for the next 2 weeks too =) 

Almost forgot. I found one of those bismarkias at the Lowe’s on Bay Area Blvd. They had another one but it didn’t look too healthy. It’s spear appeared to be rotting so I just got the one healthy one. 

[jreich85]

Don't give up on your Sylvester. I moved two to my new house about a year ago and ended up hacking the roots of one more than I would have liked to. It browned up and had some bad spears, but like others have mentioned, I began to give it lots of water and it is now healthy. 

[Jeff985]

21 minutes ago, jreich85 said:

Don't give up on your Sylvester. I moved two to my new house about a year ago and ended up hacking the roots of one more than I would have liked to. It browned up and had some bad spears, but like others have mentioned, I began to give it lots of water and it is now healthy. 

Thanks. That’s reassuring. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

7 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

Almost forgot. I found one of those bismarkias at the Lowe’s on Bay Area Blvd. They had another one but it didn’t look too healthy. It’s spear appeared to be rotting so I just got the one healthy one. 

Thats awesome you found 1 i hope they become more common =) 

[Jeff985]

9 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Thats awesome you found 1 i hope they become more common =) 

They actually have one planted in front of the store on the north end. It’s huge. Looks like it’s been there a while. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

At the bay area Lowes ? Has to be new i would definitely mber seeing one there haha 

2 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

They actually have one planted in front of the store on the north end. It’s huge. Looks like it’s been there a while. 

 

[Jeff985]

22 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

At the bay area Lowes ? Has to be new i would definitely mber seeing one there haha 

 

It’s easy to miss. It’s right up against the building next to the contractors entrance. It’s out grown it’s spot. It’s overall height is probably 20 feet. Fronds aren’t able to hang down normally. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, Jeff985 said:

It’s easy to miss. It’s right up against the building next to the contractors entrance. It’s out grown it’s spot. It’s overall height is probably 20 feet. Fronds aren’t able to hang down normally. 

Hmmm gonna have to make it a point to go see it now haha. Not alot of tall Bizzies around here. Definitely more by where you moved too ..... 

[Jeff985]

7 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Hmmm gonna have to make it a point to go see it now haha. Not alot of tall Bizzies around here. Definitely more by where you moved too ..... 

Yeah. There are a few in my new neighborhood. Not a lot though. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

On Toddville road there are a handful of trunking Bizzies =) 

[Jeff985]

2 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

On Toddville road there are a handful of trunking Bizzies =) 

Check out what I just bought for $180.    50 inches of clear trunk. 

[jimmyt]

Nice for you brother! 

[Jeff985]

3 minutes ago, jimmyt said:

Nice for you brother! 

Thanks. I’m dying to get home and plant it but my wife’s dragging me around to antique shops now. 

[jimmyt]

Oh no!  The agony................ 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

18 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Check out what I just bought for $180.    50 inches of clear trunk. 

What nursery is that doesnt look familiar to me ? Anything else there worth mentioning? 

[Jeff985]

2 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

What nursery is that doesnt look familiar to me ? Anything else there worth mentioning? 

Flamingo nursery in Galveston. Right next to Home Depot. They had some pygmys that had about 40 inches of trunk for $100 and some huge ones for $380. They had large foxtails for $250, big bizzies and of course the usual stuff. Various dates, Queens, and sabals. I actually stopped in looking for a small royal. I figured if I could pick up a small 7 gallon for around $30 I’d try my luck but they didn’t have any. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, Jeff985 said:

Flamingo nursery in Galveston. Right next to Home Depot. They had some pygmys that had about 40 inches of trunk for $100 and some huge ones for $380. They had large foxtails for $250, big bizzies and of course the usual stuff. Various dates, Queens, and sabals. I actually stopped in looking for a small royal. I figured if I could pick up a small 7 gallon for around $30 I’d try my luck but they didn’t have any. 

What sabals did they carry or just the norm ? Palmetto and minor ? How much were the bizzies and how big were they ? I may have to visit there this weekend =) 

[Jeff985]

23 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

What sabals did they carry or just the norm ? Palmetto and minor ? How much were the bizzies and how big were they ? I may have to visit there this weekend =) 

Just the usual palmetto. Bizzies were pretty big. Hurricane cut though. I didn’t ask how much they were.