Improve soil without removing the palm from the pot

[Palmfarmer]

Got a pretty big pot with a Kentia in it. 

Recently I notice the medium in the pot looks allmost muddy when watering. I think the Medium I planted in was wood compost. 

I was thinking about gently digging out all the "soil" I can without removing the palm from the pot then filling it up again with some fresh grow medium along with something that improves drainage. Mainly Sand, perlite and Pumice. 

Anyone done this successfully? 

[Harry’s Palms]

I think it might help get fresh nutrients to leach down to the main root ball . I have found the Howea F. To be quite forgiving when it comes to having the root ball disturbed . I used this technique for a potted bamboo that is in a large ceramic pot and it helped but I’m afraid it will need complete repotting this Spring. It is only a temporary “fix”. Eventually , all potted plants need to be completely repotted at some point. 

[Than]

Isn't Howea notorious for not forgiving having its roots disturbed? That's what I thought. Perhaps remove only some of the soil, not all of it? The soil that comes off more easily?

[John2468]

I heard that if you top dress the soil with sand and water it in, over time the sand will eventually spread to the rest of the pot. I could be wrong though.

Edited January 15, 2024 by John2468

[Harry’s Palms]

On 1/15/2024 at 9:37 AM, Than said:

Isn't Howea notorious for not forgiving having its roots disturbed? That's what I thought. Perhaps remove only some of the soil, not all of it? The soil that comes off more easily?

Actually , here in Southern California, I have transplanted large and small H. Foresteriana successfully . I was given a few distressed , potted , ones from a construction site when a local mall was undergoing remodel . That was about 20 years ago and they are now very large mature palms outdoors . They produce seed occasionally and there are even a couple of volunteers growing in with the Caryota next to them .

[SeanK]

Maybe aerate with a pitch fork or similar.

[JohnAndSancho]

On 1/15/2024 at 2:06 PM, John2468 said:

I heard that if you top dress the soil with sand and water it in, over time the sand will eventually spread to the rest of the pot. I could be wrong though.

I did this. The sand did indeed wash through the soil, all the way to the bottom and clogged the drain holes of the pot. 

[Motlife]

I feel like a lot of people worry too much about disturbing roots on palms, maybe because there are a handful that genuinely will really struggle if disturbed. I've transplanted a 1.5m tall kentia from the ground into a pot, washed the majority of the soil from the root ball and I don't think it stopped growing for more than a week. 

 

I'd personally worry much more about root rot from decomposing media than about the roots setting the palm back. I'd probably take it out of the pot, wash off as much of the old soil as possible with a hose and repot it with a fresh well draining medium if it were me. May well be tricky if the pot is too big though. If you intended on keeping it in a pot long term you could use inorganic media, which should stop any chance of rotting in the future.