Washingtonia seedlings and rain?

[ZPalms]

I always tend to bring my washingtonias seedlings out from the yard when it rains so they don't get over watered but how do they take rain? do they yellow up if they get too much water? is it better that I am taking it out the rain so they aren't getting drenched? because lately it seems to be raining very frequent here and I'm unsure if leaving them out in the rain is more beneficial to them or not or does it come down to drainage of the potting soil?

[aztropic]

If there are holes in the bottom of your pot,I wouldn't worry,even with frequent summer rains. These palms will take as much water as you give them, as long as they are actively growing.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

[ZPalms]

38 minutes ago, aztropic said:

If there are holes in the bottom of your pot,I wouldn't worry,even with frequent summer rains. These palms will take as much water as you give them, as long as they are actively growing.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

Only if the soil drainage is good right? I'm unsure how well my soil drains like the other day I made a forum post about it but I can't tell how good my soil is when it comes to drying and drainage because the bottom looks wet but looks moist but doesn't- and I feel through the tiny holes and it's not gushing with water like its soggy, I really need to get one of those soil sensor things

Edited July 19, 2021 by ZPalms

[aztropic]

Don't need a soil sensor. Outside summer,drainage holes,daily rain - NO PROBLEM! If it was planted in the ground,with standing water,THEN it might be a problem. Quit worrying...

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

[ZPalms]

 I wouldn't worry so much if I knew to add something else to my mix to make it better, I'm scared of them sitting in soggy soil bags, the next time it rains I'll leave them out but I'm nervous!!! appreciate it!

[aztropic]

I gave you the seeds for free! You have NOTHING to lose. Absolutely NOTHING to worry about. I grow about 30 Washingtonia filifera plants each year for sale, and water them EVERY SINGLE DAY over the summer. Your fears are unfounded!!! 

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[ahosey01]

7 minutes ago, aztropic said:

I gave you the seeds for free! You have NOTHING to lose. Absolutely NOTHING to worry about. I grow about 30 Washingtonia filifera plants each year for sale, and water them EVERY SINGLE DAY over the summer. Your fears are unfounded!!! 

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

My garden probably has at least 600 volunteers attempting to sprout at any given time.  Can't pull them out fast enough!

[aztropic]

There is another palmtalker here in Phoenix (coasta)  that is just as concerned as you are that he might do something wrong and kill a palm or 2. Relax! You can't save them all! The palms that DO survive in your area are obvious keepers - the ones that die were never meant to be!

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

[ahosey01]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

 I wouldn't worry so much if I knew to add something else to my mix to make it better, I'm scared of them sitting in soggy soil bags, the next time it rains I'll leave them out but I'm nervous!!! appreciate it!

These are growing in near-standing-water at the Hassayampa River Preserve, fyi.  Like, within 1ft of the shore of a pond in pure silt/clay/mud.  Also common on the shores of Lake Havasu with some roots that are permanently submerged.  You can't really give them too much water per se, but they could be in standing water that doesn't have any hydrologic movement and fouls around the roots, or they could be in too humid of conditions depending on the filifera/robusta composition of the palm.

More than likely you're doing them a favor by leaving them out when it rains.  So definitely do that more, not less.

Edited July 19, 2021 by ahosey01

[ZPalms]

11 minutes ago, aztropic said:

There is another palmtalker here in Phoenix (coasta)  that is just as concerned as you are that he might do something wrong and kill a palm or 2. Relax! You can't save them all! The palms that DO survive in your area are obvious keepers - the ones that die were never meant to be!

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

 I want as many as possible to survive I love all my seedlings!! I'll try to relax!

[JohnAndSancho]

14 minutes ago, aztropic said:

There is another palmtalker here in Phoenix (coasta)  that is just as concerned as you are that he might do something wrong and kill a palm or 2. Relax! You can't save them all! The palms that DO survive in your area are obvious keepers - the ones that die were never meant to be!

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

This is great advice. 

 

I don't give Dirty Sanchez tons of extra water, but lately we've had a thunderstorm every day here and it's SE TX so it's humid and swampy. It's humid enough that I'm basically plucking mushrooms out of most of the patio squad almost daily. He's also in a pretty good sized (16") pot and my apartment manager for some reason won't clean my gutters, and he's in a corner - so he gets tons of rainwater. I think they'll be fine - something that I've learned is to stop over thinking and just let my palms do their own thing. When I get into the adult substances, I do hug them and talk to them and tell them I'm proud of them - but in all honesty, other than that, it seems like the less I baby them, the better they do. I pay attention to how they react when I change something up, and if it works, I keep it going. 

 

All the species of palms have been thriving and existing a lot longer than we've been alive. If they're still green and growing, rock on. I wouldn't worry about rain unless you get enough to the point where they're literally underwater. Another bonus to using the grow bags is they're breathable and excess moisture can evaporate all around, top to bottom. 

[ZPalms]

23 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

This is great advice. 

 

I don't give Dirty Sanchez tons of extra water, but lately we've had a thunderstorm every day here and it's SE TX so it's humid and swampy. It's humid enough that I'm basically plucking mushrooms out of most of the patio squad almost daily. He's also in a pretty good sized (16") pot and my apartment manager for some reason won't clean my gutters, and he's in a corner - so he gets tons of rainwater. I think they'll be fine - something that I've learned is to stop over thinking and just let my palms do their own thing. When I get into the adult substances, I do hug them and talk to them and tell them I'm proud of them - but in all honesty, other than that, it seems like the less I baby them, the better they do. I pay attention to how they react when I change something up, and if it works, I keep it going. 

 

All the species of palms have been thriving and existing a lot longer than we've been alive. If they're still green and growing, rock on. I wouldn't worry about rain unless you get enough to the point where they're literally underwater. Another bonus to using the grow bags is they're breathable and excess moisture can evaporate all around, top to bottom. 

I need to get milkcrates or something cause the downside to the bags is a good strong gust of wind from a storm can knock them off the table, that's another reason I move them cause I don't want them to fall. but I'll try my best to not baby them as much and just let them vibe out

[JohnAndSancho]

3 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I need to get milkcrates or something cause the downside to the bags is a good strong gust of wind from a storm can knock them off the table, that's another reason I move them cause I don't want them to fall. but I'll try my best to not baby them as much and just let them vibe out

Funny you bring that up lol. I got home from work and I had to pick a few pots up before I could get inside. At work, all of the pool and patio furniture went airborne and we had an umbrella, table, and a few chairs fly into the pool. Milk crates are a good idea. Big plastic totes would work too if you're ok with dumping the water out of them. Or buy a cheap one and drill a bunch of holes in it. 

[ZPalms]

2 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Funny you bring that up lol. I got home from work and I had to pick a few pots up before I could get inside. At work, all of the pool and patio furniture went airborne and we had an umbrella, table, and a few chairs fly into the pool. Milk crates are a good idea. Big plastic totes would work too if you're ok with dumping the water out of them. Or buy a cheap one and drill a bunch of holes in it. 

Yesterday was a crazy storm and the wind was super strong, I actually have a plastic bin but I don't want to dump water out of all the time and for some reason bugs seem to really like going into the bottom of it and its kind of deep so the bottom would get very hot in the sun! But milk crates are pretty cheap!!!

[JohnAndSancho]

Heat ain't a bad thing, but I feel you on the milk crates being easier. There's a reason nursery pots are black and there's a reason nurseries use black plastic under their plants. 

[ZPalms]

5 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Heat ain't a bad thing, but I feel you on the milk crates being easier. There's a reason nursery pots are black and there's a reason nurseries use black plastic under their plants. 

I mean heat in a cooking type way 

Edited July 20, 2021 by ZPalms

[NorCalWill]

Washingtonia filifera grow in sand along streams in the desert, with their "feet" in the water all year long. I've even seen seeds sprouting underwater. I think the key is to have very porous soil.

[JohnAndSancho]

10 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I mean heat in a cooking type way 

I think they'd be alright. My Queen is in a black pot sitting on concrete in full, blasting ass Texas sun and she's happy. Just my opinion. 

[ZPalms]

1 minute ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I think they'd be alright. My Queen is in a black pot sitting on concrete in full, blasting ass Texas sun and she's happy. Just my opinion. 

I feel like the reflection and heat of the plastic along with the plastic bag material and lack of airflow would cause them to fry unlike being out freely?

[NorCalWill]

Just give them heat and they’ll be fine…

[PalmatierMeg]

Baby, the rain must fall (lyric courtesy of the late great Glenn Yarbrough).Your Washies want to be under the rain action. Let them stay outdoors.