How often do you water your potted palms when they're outside for the Summer?

[PalmX]

How often do you water?

Does it depend on how root bound they are, or are you watering your newly potted up palms just as much?

[D. Morrowii]

It depends on how hot it is, humidity, the type of palm etc. I water my more exotic potted palms twice a day in the summer on a drip system but only for a couple minutes each time. Other stuff like some Phoenix palms, Thrinax and the like I just water every 2 or 3 days with the hose. I see you’re in Kansas City? You might need a different routine there but I’m not sure. 

[PalmX]

  On 5/23/2024 at 3:06 PM, D. Morrowii said:

It depends on how hot it is, humidity, the type of palm etc. I water my more exotic potted palms twice a day in the summer on a drip system but only for a couple minutes each time. Other stuff like some Phoenix palms, Thrinax and the like I just water every 2 or 3 days with the hose. I see you’re in Kansas City? You might need a different routine there but I’m not sure. 

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Yeah I'm in KC. It get's pretty humid and hot here during the summer.

I've got a Foxtail, Adonidia, and Bismarkia.  They all have been doing good for the past 4 years, but growth is mostly slow and steady.  I'm wondering if I can up the watering to increase growth this season.

[SeanK]

Don't assume that the rain is sufficient. A pot has limited exposure to the sky and some of that is blocked by canopy.

[Fusca]

  On 5/23/2024 at 3:37 PM, PalmX said:

Yeah I'm in KC. It get's pretty humid and hot here during the summer.

I've got a Foxtail, Adonidia, and Bismarkia.  They all have been doing good for the past 4 years, but growth is mostly slow and steady.  I'm wondering if I can up the watering to increase growth this season.

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Another factor is placement of your pots.  I think @SeanK has tried to touch on this.  I have most of my container palms on my covered front porch which faces east.  They're only exposed to direct morning sun for a couple of hours.  I collect rainwater for irrigation and only water the majority of them twice a week.  Others that contain more sun loving species are in areas that get more sun and get watered more often.  I try to use a mix with about 1/3 organic material and use Turface MVP to help with moisture retention so I don't need to water as often.  Your palm species can handle a lot of sun and both Bismarckia and foxtail both seem to do better with a dry cycle in ground but not sure about in a pot.  But if your medium isn't well-draining watering more often will do more harm than good.  What I have found to accelerate growth in container palms is adding liquid kelp and fish emulsion to the water.   I'm not comfortable adding chemical fertilizer to potted plants.

[meridannight]

Depends on species, weather, and the type of container they're in. There is no set schedule.

[SeanK]

If the pot gets hot, so do the roots.