California Fan Palm in Roswell NM

[gdumea]

I bit the bullet and planted a California Fan Palm (or what I believe to be a very pure Washingtonia Filifera) at the advice of the Plant World staff in Albuquerque. I planted it in a protected spot near the house by the fence. Got a really good deal, massive 15 gallon for $200. Asking for care advice, and also if these need protection. The California Fan Palms outside of Bahama Bucks seem to be thriving, but they are protected. There are also many unprotected palms in Roswell. We had an exceptionally cold winter and all the established palms seem to be fine. Pic attached.

[jwitt]

They do get large, forewarning!

Mark the spear with a sharpie and keep it deeply watered when growth starts(anytime now).  Do not water starting mid to late October.  

You may want to protect anything below 10f until clear trunk is attained. 

Guess I will need to go to plant world! Nice palms!

[gdumea]

1 hour ago, jwitt said:

They do get large, forewarning!

Mark the spear with a sharpie and keep it deeply watered when growth starts(anytime now).  Do not water starting mid to late October.  

You may want to protect anything below 10f until clear trunk is attained. 

Guess I will need to go to plant world! Nice palms!

$200 for this massive 15 gallon! There's probably 2 foot or more of trunk there, we have a pretty tall fence.

[jwitt]

  That is not "trunk. The bud is still about ground level.  It will fatten and grow up! 

After spending the past week in PHX looking at nurseries, you got a good deal!  In fact, no filifera to be had. 

[Meangreen94z]

On 3/2/2025 at 10:06 PM, gdumea said:

$200 for this massive 15 gallon! There's probably 2 foot or more of trunk there, we have a pretty tall fence.

The trunk can potentially end up 3 feet wide, I would make sure you have enough clearance from that wall .

[gdumea]

On 3/8/2025 at 5:12 AM, Meangreen94z said:

The trunk can potentially end up 3 feet wide, I would make sure you have enough clearance from that wall .

It's a couple feet away, doesn't look it in the photos.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

16 minutes ago, gdumea said:

It's a couple feet away, doesn't look it in the photos.

I'd honestly consider moving it a bit farther back at least to where the black pot is in your picture. That thing is going to get really really thick and robust like the image I've attached below before it starts growing vertically.

[gdumea]

On 3/2/2025 at 4:25 PM, gdumea said:

I bit the bullet and planted a California Fan Palm (or what I believe to be a very pure Washingtonia Filifera) at the advice of the Plant World staff in Albuquerque. I planted it in a protected spot near the house by the fence. Got a really good deal, massive 15 gallon for $200. Asking for care advice, and also if these need protection. The California Fan Palms outside of Bahama Bucks seem to be thriving, but they are protected. There are also many unprotected palms in Roswell. We had an exceptionally cold winter and all the established palms seem to be fine. Pic attached.

Over the last month, all the leaves besides the center spear have started yellowing and softening, turning brown. Is this transplant shock? I'm watering sufficiently, being careful not to overwater.

[jwitt]

2 hours ago, gdumea said:

Over the last month, all the leaves besides the center spear have started yellowing and softening, turning brown. Is this transplant shock? I'm watering sufficiently, being careful not to overwater.

Most likely shock.  

How were the roots when you took it out of the pot? Was it a mass of roots?

Define watering sufficiently while not over watering. 

These things naturally grow in swamps.  

You want moist conditions at the root and expanded out another foot or two.  A hose dribbling  on mine for a day or so accomplishes this.  How long it stays moist depends on the soil/weather. 

Mine are actively  growing. 

So I suspect it is in shock and preserving the spear.  It was in a pot and easier to keep the roots watered. That pot is now gone, the plant has extremely small roots for that size tree, and plunked into dry soil. At least my yard is very dry now, I suspect Roswell is the same. 

Encourage root growth to expand and go deep using water.  That is what it wants. 

These are filifera roots in a natural grove.  Erase your mind of hearing these are "desert" palms.  They are palms that grow in swamps found in deserts. 

I should note they can take dry conditions when dormant. Not when they are growing (now). 

[jwitt]

This pic gives an idea of root size on filifera.  20'x30'? 30'x40'?

 

Roots of this stature will allow it to grow on Roswell's precipitation albeit slower than if given additional. 

[gdumea]

8 hours ago, jwitt said:

Most likely shock.  

How were the roots when you took it out of the pot? Was it a mass of roots?

Define watering sufficiently while not over watering. 

These things naturally grow in swamps.  

You want moist conditions at the root and expanded out another foot or two.  A hose dribbling  on mine for a day or so accomplishes this.  How long it stays moist depends on the soil/weather. 

Mine are actively  growing. 

So I suspect it is in shock and preserving the spear.  It was in a pot and easier to keep the roots watered. That pot is now gone, the plant has extremely small roots for that size tree, and plunked into dry soil. At least my yard is very dry now, I suspect Roswell is the same. 

Encourage root growth to expand and go deep using water.  That is what it wants. 

These are filifera roots in a natural grove.  Erase your mind of hearing these are "desert" palms.  They are palms that grow in swamps found in deserts. 

I should note they can take dry conditions when dormant. Not when they are growing (now). 

It was definitely root bound in the pot, so just keep it wet? The soil I have it in is a mass of rock and what seems to be clumping soil like clay, so I've been careful not to overwater. Should I water more?

[jwitt]

@gdumea If it were mine, I would keep the soil moist 2-3 feet deeper and wider than the roots.  

Do not fertilize.

My opinion. 

Personally, I do not understand the concern on over watering this palm. 

[gdumea]

On 3/28/2025 at 8:31 AM, jwitt said:

@gdumea If it were mine, I would keep the soil moist 2-3 feet deeper and wider than the roots.  

Do not fertilize.

My opinion. 

Personally, I do not understand the concern on over watering this palm. 

Thanks for the tips. The fronds wilted but the spear is starting to emerge, I just kept it deeply watered. These love that.

[jwitt]

Well, that was fast!

Keep it deeply watered til mid October is the best advice I can give. 

They are fun! Enjoy!