Is it OK to plant a Howea fosteriana in winter?

[Brandon39.5]

I have a howea fosteriana that I bought a couple of months ago, and it's way too big for the pot where is it right now. Is it okay to plant it in November or December? Temps are normally around 18º at day and 10º minimum temp. I mean, I saw the forecast of lord Howe island and they get similar temps.

[Billeb]

I know people that are really adamant about this and swear by it. They only plant things early Spring. My zone (and yours also) doesn’t experience freezing temps so I dogs think it’s a huge deal. 
 

I honestly never paid too much attention to it. If I wanna plant something out, I do it. 
 

-dale

[Foxpalms]

I think it will be fine for a palm like howea that doesn't need high temps to grow the roots. Especially in a frost free area. 

[Palmfarmer]

Has it ever been trough the average winter in your area or grown from a similar Climate. 

I would not do it. Killed a Bismarckia this way by planting it in november.not really cold or anything, but it came from hot Veracruz so It got shocked. 

[Brandon39.5]

Not sure where mine came from but probably from a nursery in mainland Spain.

[Brandon39.5]

37 minutes ago, Billeb said:

I know people that are really adamant about this and swear by it. They only plant things early Spring. My zone (and yours also) doesn’t experience freezing temps so I dogs think it’s a huge deal. 
 

I honestly never paid too much attention to it. If I wanna plant something out, I do it. 
 

-dale

I might plant it thanks, but I want to get some more opinions on this.

[Brandon39.5]

13 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

I think it will be fine for a palm like howea that doesn't need high temps to grow the roots. Especially in a frost free area. 

Yes, is frost free in my area, I think that it should be fine. 

[PalmCode]

You should be fine to plant it with those temps, Just be careful to not over water it if its going to be in a clay soil.

[Tyrone]

It will do fine. Plant it out now. Those temps are just like LHI in winter. It’s not a tropical place at all. It’s just mild and humid year round. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

A species like Howea forsteriana will do just as well planted in a 10a winter as it would if planted in the spring. Over the years, I’ve planted lots of palms in the winter in my zone 10a without any real problems. I wait for spring to plant any marginal species however. 

[DoomsDave]

Howea now, no problem. 
 

Others, it depends.

[Brandon39.5]

9 hours ago, Tyrone said:

It will do fine. Plant it out now. Those temps are just like LHI in winter. It’s not a tropical place at all. It’s just mild and humid year round. 

Yeah, I'm going to plant it, Lord Howe island is a pretty interesting place, and it has the southernmost coral reef! I would love to go there at least once in my lifetime.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Brandon39.5

[Brandon39.5]

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

A species like Howea forsteriana will do just as well planted in a 10a winter as it would if planted in the spring. Over the years, I’ve planted lots of palms in the winter in my zone 10a without any real problems. I wait for spring to plant any marginal species however. 

Marginal plants like Roystonea should be planted in spring. But maybe other palms like howea could be planted in November.

[Brandon39.5]

9 hours ago, PalmCode said:

You should be fine to plant it with those temps, Just be careful to not over water it if its going to be in a clay soil.

It's clay soil, but I will do a big hole, so the roots can grow in loose soil instead of hard clay rocky soil. I will put organic matter around the palm too. 

[Brandon39.5]

Looks like the majority of people vote for planting it, so I will plant it out then. Maybe end of October.

[happypalms]

To easy plant it for sure plant a chambeyronia as well next to it and a lanonia dasyantha underneath them 

[SeanK]

5 hours ago, Brandon39.5 said:

Looks like the majority of people vote for planting it, so I will plant it out then. Maybe end of October.

Why wait longer?

If the soil is dense, consider planting on a berm.

[Brandon39.5]

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

Why wait longer?

If the soil is dense, consider planting on a berm.

I'm still working on the area, I'm going to put artificial grass, and beside the howea I will put a double archontophoenix alexandrae or maybe a triple.

[Brandon39.5]

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

To easy plant it for sure plant a chambeyronia as well next to it and a lanonia dasyantha underneath them 

Chambeyronia, I'm going to buy one very soon, but it will go to another part of the garden.

[Foxpalms]

14 hours ago, Brandon39.5 said:

Yeah, I'm going to plant it, Lord Howe island is a pretty interesting place, and it has the southernmost coral reef! I would love to go there at least once in my lifetime.

I think there are cold water coral reefs further south but it has the southernmost tropical coral reef. 

[Foxpalms]

7 hours ago, Brandon39.5 said:

I'm still working on the area, I'm going to put artificial grass, and beside the howea I will put a double archontophoenix alexandrae or maybe a triple.

An archontophoenix purpurea would look great. 

[Brandon39.5]

9 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

An archontophoenix purpurea would look great. 

It would look stunning, but I can't find any decent size purpurea for sale. I heard that they don't do well in the summer heat. I might buy a small one and grow it in a pot and when it gets to a decent size I will plant it outside.

[Foxpalms]

58 minutes ago, Brandon39.5 said:

It would look stunning, but I can't find any decent size purpurea for sale. I heard that they don't do well in the summer heat. I might buy a small one and grow it in a pot and when it gets to a decent size I will plant it outside.

I think they take heat fine, they just prefer to be in partial shade from what I have read.

[Brandon39.5]

31 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

I think they take heat fine, they just prefer to be in partial shade from what I have read.

That's better because I have a lot of trees in my garden and there is a lot of shade.