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Can I cut off suckers from Pigmy date palm


PalMnoob

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I have a pygmy palm I believe, that has many spawns coming off of it. Just wondering if I can saw them off and that it will be OK? I have attached photos. It was purchased when it was very tiny as a single trunk. I counted at least four trucks. I would like to keep the bigger ones and cut off the small ones. I wouldn’t even know how to go about doing that.

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I found the post interesting, because generally cultivated pigmy date palms are solitary. However, the wild version is indeed clustering, a trait that was somehow lost during it's mass propagation. (Or so I remember reading).  I recall Floribunda had some clustering versions that it was selling a few years ago. So, if it is indeed clustering and not simply dropping seeds that are germinating (happens a lot with mine), then simply lopping off the unwanted ones with a clean saw will work. Some people apply disinfectants afterward, although I never have and have had no issues with infection. Hope this helps a bit..

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Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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1 hour ago, PalMnoob said:

I have a pygmy palm I believe, that has many spawns coming off of it. Just wondering if I can saw them off and that it will be OK? I have attached photos. It was purchased when it was very tiny as a single trunk. I counted at least four trucks. I would like to keep the bigger ones and cut off the small ones. I wouldn’t even know how to go about doing that.

Hi PalMnoob, welcome to Palmtalk.  There are several threads here regarding separating Phoenix roebelenii successfully.  They are not suckering palms although there is a rare variety that does sucker.  Usually suckering "pygmy date palms" are just several solitary plants growing together in the same pot as was the case with the photo in the thread below.  They are VERY commonly sold this way in the US as triples or quadruples.   If you do have a suckering Phoenix palm it is most likely a hybrid of roebelenii with Phoenix reclinata or Phoenix dactylifera which are both suckering palms.  Phoenix palms hybridize easily.

 

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Jon Sunder

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1 hour ago, PalMnoob said:

It was most definitely one plant. I bought it for ten dollars at Lowes about 5 year’s ago.

Lowe's almost always sells them in multiples.  Nevertheless if you want to cut the smaller ones (suckers or smaller palms) it won't hurt the larger ones.  I've used a Sawzall to remove suckers from my Phoenix theophrasti but be careful of the spines near the base of the leaf petioles (stems).  Make sure to use gloves or you'll get stabbed.  The suckers removed this way will die however.

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Jon Sunder

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