Should I untangle the root ball?

[KGW]

Hello. I‘m busy repotting my very first Canary island date palms.  I’ve potted the two smaller palms already (approx 1m tall) but have only just read about untangling the root ball. I have two more slightly larger palms to pot so advice appreciated on whether to untangle and also how much of the existing compost to remove from the rootball. Thank you! 

[PalmatierMeg]

If they aren't totally root bound leave them alone. As a general rule many palms resent having their roots cut, broken, pruned, untangled etc. You will accomplish little good vs a whole lot bad.

[SeanK]

Nice pair of Canaries. I agree with Meg. Some palms are very sensitive about root damage. 

Yours look like they're a tad too deep. Is that the depth the ball was at previously?

[KGW]

Hi, yes i

marked the previous soil level but they do look low in the new pot. Wondering if I should remove some of the new compost 

[KGW]

  On 7/17/2023 at 1:01 AM, SeanK said:

Nice pair of Canaries. I agree with Meg. Some palms are very sensitive about root damage. 

Yours look like they're a tad too deep. Is that the depth the ball was at previously?

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Hi SeanK, thanks for the reply. YesI marked the previous soil level but they do look low in the new pot. Wondering if I should remove some of the new compost? 

[KGW]

  On 7/17/2023 at 1:01 AM, SeanK said:

Nice pair of Canaries. I agree with Meg. Some palms are very sensitive about root damage. 

Yours look like they're a tad too deep. Is that the depth the ball was at previously?

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  On 7/16/2023 at 9:04 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

If they aren't totally root bound leave them alone. As a general rule many palms resent having their roots cut, broken, pruned, untangled etc. You will accomplish little good vs a whole lot bad.

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Thanks for the reply. Totally new to this so I wasn’t sure if they were root bound. I think they were as the roots were circling around the bottom. Wish I’d taken a photo. Probably do more harm than good to mess about and take them out again? 

[PalmatierMeg]

  On 7/17/2023 at 9:04 AM, KGW said:

 

Thanks for the reply. Totally new to this so I wasn’t sure if they were root bound. I think they were as the roots were circling around the bottom. Wish I’d taken a photo. Probably do more harm than good to mess about and take them out again? 

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Yes.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Your palms at that size will outgrow those pots in no time. Removing old soil is only necessary if you have soil issues. When you pot up with a good potting mix your good to grow 😃

T J 

[KGW]

  On 7/17/2023 at 1:58 PM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Your palms at that size will outgrow those pots in no time. Removing old soil is only necessary if you have soil issues. When you pot up with a good potting mix your good to grow 😃

T J 

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Thanks! Really wasn’t sure what size pot to use to repot as I’ve read a lot of conflicting advice. The new pot is approx double the size of the nursery pot so hoping they’ll be ok 🤞

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

  On 7/17/2023 at 3:09 PM, KGW said:

The new pot is approx double the size of the nursery pot so hoping they’ll be ok

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You did the right thing for sure if you doubled up. Are they gonna get in the ground at some time ? 

T J 

[KGW]

  On 7/17/2023 at 8:39 PM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

You did the right thing for sure if you doubled up. Are they gonna get in the ground at some time ? 

T J 

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Unfortunately not TJ 😢 My garden is small and paved. I’m in the UK so hoping they survive the cold. I have just received a lovely Chamaerops too which I believe is somewhat more hardy than the canary 

[Merlyn]

@KGWthey do look a little deep in the pot.  Instead of taking them back out and replanting higher, you could just take an inch or two of the compost off the top.  You can replace that soil with some decorative rock if you want, just to make it look like it's not "empty."  Of course, if you "stepped up" the pot diameter and they are rootbound, you can also just lift it up and put a little more soil underneath.  I've done this when going from 3 gallon to 7 gallon and I misjudged the depth.  Too deep can contribute to rot, and too high might limit growth rate by slowing down root growth.  It's usually better to err on the side of a little bit too high, especially if rot is a concern in your area.

For planting height, this is a tutorial written by a PalmTalk member, and I think IPS director.  It's the best one I've seen:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

[KGW]

  On 7/20/2023 at 1:21 PM, Merlyn said:

@KGWthey do look a little deep in the pot.  Instead of taking them back out and replanting higher, you could just take an inch or two of the compost off the top.  You can replace that soil with some decorative rock if you want, just to make it look like it's not "empty."  Of course, if you "stepped up" the pot diameter and they are rootbound, you can also just lift it up and put a little more soil underneath.  I've done this when going from 3 gallon to 7 gallon and I misjudged the depth.  Too deep can contribute to rot, and too high might limit growth rate by slowing down root growth.  It's usually better to err on the side of a little bit too high, especially if rot is a concern in your area.

For planting height, this is a tutorial written by a PalmTalk member, and I think IPS director.  It's the best one I've seen:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

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Thanks very much for this, I’ll watch the tutorial. 

[KGW]

  On 7/26/2023 at 3:37 PM, KGW said:

Thanks very much for this, I’ll watch the tutorial. 

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  On 7/26/2023 at 3:37 PM, KGW said:

Thanks very much for this, I’ll watch the tutorial. 

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  On 7/20/2023 at 1:21 PM, Merlyn said:

@KGWthey do look a little deep in the pot.  Instead of taking them back out and replanting higher, you could just take an inch or two of the compost off the top.  You can replace that soil with some decorative rock if you want, just to make it look like it's not "empty."  Of course, if you "stepped up" the pot diameter and they are rootbound, you can also just lift it up and put a little more soil underneath.  I've done this when going from 3 gallon to 7 gallon and I misjudged the depth.  Too deep can contribute to rot, and too high might limit growth rate by slowing down root growth.  It's usually better to err on the side of a little bit too high, especially if rot is a concern in your area.

For planting height, this is a tutorial written by a PalmTalk member, and I think IPS director.  It's the best one I've seen:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

Expand  

 

  On 7/20/2023 at 1:21 PM, Merlyn said:

@KGWthey do look a little deep in the pot.  Instead of taking them back out and replanting higher, you could just take an inch or two of the compost off the top.  You can replace that soil with some decorative rock if you want, just to make it look like it's not "empty."  Of course, if you "stepped up" the pot diameter and they are rootbound, you can also just lift it up and put a little more soil underneath.  I've done this when going from 3 gallon to 7 gallon and I misjudged the depth.  Too deep can contribute to rot, and too high might limit growth rate by slowing down root growth.  It's usually better to err on the side of a little bit too high, especially if rot is a concern in your area.

For planting height, this is a tutorial written by a PalmTalk member, and I think IPS director.  It's the best one I've seen:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

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I’ve just reportted a slightly larger palm. This is what the roots looked like after removing from the nursery pot. I didn’t attempt to untangle. I hope it does ok in its new pot 🤞

[Merlyn]

@KGW that looks pretty reasonable for a palm that's rootbound in a pot.  I've planted in the ground or repotted a few that were a lot more rootbound.  They didn't seem to mind.