How do you guys keep your potted palms from blowing over?

[PalmX]

I've got some big ones and a random gusty wind can take them right down.. 

Due to where I have to keep them for optimal sunlight, they are not placed around anything that I can anchor them to. 

I've tried tree stakes but they look kind of ridiculous and I'm concerned it will girdle their trunks.

Any Ideas? Thanks.

[kinzyjr]

One trick that works pretty well is filling the bottom of the pot with stone.  It makes the pots heavy, but they won't blow over.  Another trick for small cups/pots: get a drink carriers from a fast food joint.

[Allen]

You will most likely have to repot into a heavier pot.  If you know a storm is coming you can go out there and water them well to make them a little heavier.    Is this nursery pots or decorative?  Nursery pots do have some ugly wire contraptions you can get as well.    My only other idea is if it is on the ground you can drive some re bar stakes around them.  

[lzorrito]

Normaly, during strong winds, I water the pots heavily (I mainly use fast draining potting soil) and tie them up to each other (must drill small holes on top and pass the fine rope through). I also use duct tape (it depends on the pot shape) around them in order to achive a large steady base. This Winter I'm thinking about using car luggage straps...easy and fast to apply.

Edited August 6, 2020 by lzorrito

[realarch]

I generally keep palms in the plastic pot and then place into a decorative container. I just throw a sandbag in the bottom which works pretty well for most wind conditions. 

Those nice large ceramic pots are expensive, impossible to move, and most likely destroyed with palms planted  directly into them. 

Tim

[Fusca]

20 hours ago, PalmX said:

I've got some big ones and a random gusty wind can take them right down.. 

I'm willing to bet the mortgage that the palms of concern are Syagrus romanzoffiana!   

[oasis371]

My potted palm area get wind protection from two garages that run perpendicular to each other, others get bunged to the house, others are so heavy, it would take a hurricane to knock them down. 

PS., Ha, ha, the Syagrus romanzoffiana (Queens) are the ones that keep bunged to the house.

[piping plovers]

I purchased the largest, fattest, squattest clay pots I could find at H*me D*pot, filled about 2" of pot bottom with crushed stone and then placed my potted palm into the huge clay pot.  Has worked for most windstorms.  If you have these on a lawn/dirt surface you can set the big pots a couple inches in ground to give extra friction from tipping. The clay pots made in Italy with the thick rolled lip on top seem to be the heaviest and make attractive cache pots for your palms.  I considered making concrete pots using molds of large pots, but I got a good deal on the clay ones so I no longer had the need for that project.  They can be $$ but you can use them year after year and eventually pot into them if needed.

[Dimovi]

Buy or cast a wide concrete pot with a large base. I saw a bunch of videos on YouTube of people making pots by casting it over a pile of wet sand.

Something like that 

 

[chad2468emr]

On 8/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, Fusca said:

I'm willing to bet the mortgage that the palms of concern are Syagrus romanzoffiana!   

This made me laugh because its so damn accurate - the only one's I'd ever had an issue falling over were R. Rivularis and small coconuts, but the same "poofy frond / small trunk and low weight" principles apply, hahaha. 

[piping plovers]

18 hours ago, Dimovi said:

Buy or cast a wide concrete pot with a large base. I saw a bunch of videos on YouTube of people making pots by casting it over a pile of wet sand.

Something like that 

I like that idea!

[piping plovers]

 

On 8/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, Fusca said:

I'm willing to bet the mortgage that the palms of concern are Syagrus romanzoffiana!   

I had an idea of what Syagrus looked like but was not sure,  Yup!  Just looked that one up and see how that would be a problem!  I see those all over when vacationing in south Florida.

[wimmie]

I'm using 3 iron walkingsticks over the edges of the pot to secure them (in)to the ground.