Watering question larger trachycarpus

[JRVL]

Hey, everyone 

I recently got a new trachy with about 4 feet of trunk. It was originally in clay soil and that's also what I have it in. All of my other trees have been much smaller so I'm not too sure how much water I should be giving this until it's established.

 

(I've since added more rocks, this is just a few days ago)

[Las Palmas Norte]

I'll hazard a guess at 5 gallons of water every week to 10 days until established.

[JRVL]

1 minute ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I'll hazard a guess at 5 gallons of water every week to 10 days until established.

Thank you, that's what I'll aim for 

[JRVL]

21 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I'll hazard a guess at 5 gallons of water every week to 10 days until established.

Sorry to reply twice,

I don't have an irrigation system. Do you think a five gallon bucket with small holes at the bottom would suffice or should I get a soaker hose and wrap it around for a certain amount of time?

[Las Palmas Norte]

7 hours ago, JRVL said:

I don't have an irrigation system. Do you think a five gallon bucket with small holes at the bottom would suffice or should I get a soaker hose and wrap it around for a certain amount of time?

A soaker hose seems like the easier of the two options.

[Harry’s Palms]

That seems about right unless , of course , there is a rain event that waters the palm for you. Be sure to do the finger in the soil check to make sure it is not drying out or getting too much water. Weather can affect the requirements. Harry

[Zone7Bpalmguy]

22 hours ago, JRVL said:

Sorry to reply twice,

I don't have an irrigation system. Do you think a five gallon bucket with small holes at the bottom would suffice or should I get a soaker hose and wrap it around for a certain amount of time?

Also, if you don't already have one, buy a rain gauge. Our spring weather (in the southeast ) is usually fairly wet so you may not need to do much watering at times. 

The hole in the bucket method is what I use. Now in the heat of summer and during dry spells, I have used around 20g (4 bucket fulls) at a time or so for bigger (mine have around 3-6' of trunk on them) windmills. That is in the summer though so you should not need near that much this time of year, not to mention the potential rainfall too.

[WSimpson]

In warm to hot  weather I used to water mine a lot . I watered them  probably about 3 times a week and they seem to love it . I used to get 2 feet of trunk a year and when I slowed down on the water I got a lot less trunking .

Will

[NC-Key-Bar]

1 hour ago, WSimpson said:

In warm to hot  weather I used to water mine a lot . I watered them  probably about 3 times a week and they seem to love it . I used to get 2 feet of trunk a year and when I slowed down on the water I got a lot less trunking .

Will

Agreed. I saw on Reddit someone saying how they really don’t like heat above 90 F? I have never heard that.
But I water mine quite a bit during the summer (3-4 times a week cause they are by the hose pipe) and they are much fuller than others In the area. 

[JRVL]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I opted for a bucket just cause it'll be easier for me to set it and forget it. I get called to work a lot and didn't want to worry about how long to leave a soaker on.

We have a lot of these in my area, I assume cause they can handle the cold, and many are very skinny in full sun. Idk if the skinniness is due to full sun or less water than they need since we all have red clay here. 

[SeanK]

Hopefully, nature gives it a good soaking tonight.

I agree that growth slows a lot in summer's heat, then picks up in September 

[Las Palmas Norte]

16 hours ago, JRVL said:

We have a lot of these in my area, I assume cause they can handle the cold, and many are very skinny in full sun. Idk if the skinniness is due to full sun or less water than they need since we all have red clay here. 

You raise an interesting point. I've grown these since the very early 80's and have found a variety of trunk growth variations. Some are thin (relatively speaking), very wide diameter hefty trunks, oblique growing in the formative stages, while others perpendicular. Trunk fiber and ligules distinction also very, which set one apart from another.

[BeyondTheGarden]

Things may be different here in the SE, but in the PNW, it seemed like the ones that get loads of water have fatter trunks.  Here in the SE, so many of them look sickly and stunted unless you're west of the sand, up in the hills where there is more clay.  They seem to like clay.  

Some of the more unique ones in the PNW retained a lot of lower fronds instead of having a "popsickle" kind of crown.  Haven't seen any like that down here.

[JRVL]

On 3/8/2025 at 6:27 PM, BeyondTheGarden said:

Things may be different here in the SE, but in the PNW, it seemed like the ones that get loads of water have fatter trunks.  Here in the SE, so many of them look sickly and stunted unless you're west of the sand, up in the hills where there is more clay.  They seem to like clay.  

Some of the more unique ones in the PNW retained a lot of lower fronds instead of having a "popsickle" kind of crown.  Haven't seen any like that down here.

Yeah where I am we have a lot of clay and usually it's businesses I see that have them on their property. I assume they don't get enough water, especially during the summer, because they're all pencil thin. 

 

The ones I see in my neighbors back yard seem to look a lot thicker. 

[Daniel]

You basically can't overwater a Trachycarpus Fortuneii that's in the ground. I would water it as much as possible, especially if you want a thick trunk and healthy-looking leaves. The best and fastest ones I've seen growing in England were watered twice a day, every day during the Spring, Summer and Autumn, and also watered during Winter if it wasn't frosty. 

[Mazat]

On 5.3.2025 at 20:04, Las Palmas Norte said:

Sie bringen einen interessanten Punkt zur Sprache. Ich habe diese Pflanzen seit Anfang der 80er Jahre angebaut und dabei eine Vielzahl von Variationen des Stammwachstums festgestellt. Einige sind dünn (relativ gesehen), haben einen sehr großen Durchmesser und kräftige Stämme, die in der Entwicklungsphase schräg wachsen, während andere senkrecht wachsen. Auch die Unterschiede zwischen Stammfasern und Ligula sind sehr groß, was sie voneinander unterscheidet.

definitely. there are many variations, almost certainly climatic reasons, various differences in soil, location and other factors.
interesting, we recently talked about this with a friend who, like you, has been growing trachycarpus fortunei and other trachycarpus species since 1980 and had planted them in various places in switzerland for friends, colleagues etc.
he worked in a city nursery and it was and is his hobby, palm trees.