Are there multiple palms in this clump of C. renda?

[chad2468emr]

Hi everyone! It’s been a while. 

As there usually are when you purchase potted clumping palms, I’m wondering if there are multiple individual palms in my potted C. renda. I’ve had it for almost two years now and it’s finally putting out pinnate leaves and developed it’s trademark red color on their boots. However, there are so many smaller suckers / entirely separate plants that I can barely tell and I’d like the clip them back if possible so I can see the red color and allow the primary plant to grow better without having to compete for resources with the smaller ones. 

My gut tells me cutting out about half of the smaller individuals at the soil level will eliminate over crowding when it does start to sucker more, and that at this size, it would be unlikely this many suckers would have formed from a single seed so there must be many individual plants in here. (That being said, my gut has been wrong before!) If they are individual plants, I’d assume no harm would come to the primary plant, correct? Even if they are all suckers from the original palm, would cutting them out of the pot at the soil level cause any issues? 

Let me know your thoughts when you have a moment! :) 

[chad2468emr]

Well, I decided to go for it! I can’t help but feel it looks so much better now and I actually feel like the palm I obsess over and baby constantly (I literally give it showers in the winter) finally looks like a C. renda. Hopefully this wasn’t a huge mistake? Haha 

[Hurricanepalms]

It all up to personal preference and I understand your sentiments. I have one that's ready for a 7 gallon pot and the dominant trunks with color are almost completely masked by the many smaller ones.

BTW, yours looks good with the haircut. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Hurricanepalms