Satakentia liukiuensis

[Tropical Toni]

Looking for advice - I am waiting on my bare root Satakentia Liukiuensis palm to get here, from Florida. I believe the palm is a 3 gal size.

 

I am scared to death as it's bare root & the last time I ordered a bare root palm (geonoma atrovirens) from ecuador, it died... I had it in my greenhouse cabinet so I am not sure if it died to transpiration or what the issue was. 

 

I plan on potting it in a 3 gal nursery pot with well draining soil. Won't go in ground for awhile until roots establish so maybe next year, spring or summer.

 

Is there anything else I can do to ensure its survival ? 

[zero]

I wish you luck!  From what I have read here they're temperamental as seedings but if yours is a 3-gal plant you might be OK.  I was planning on getting a smaller one myself but decided to wait until I could get a bigger one.  I don't have any advice other than making sure the medium drains well.  They're a beautiful palm!

[PalmatierMeg]

I did not have luck with smaller Satakentias. When small they are temperamental and prone to die. The FL sun fries them. Another palm grower told me to leave them in pots until they reach  15g size, keep them out of the blazing sun, let them go pinnate and plant them in at least partial shade (afternoon). I did plant a bit before 15g size and my sole Satakentia has about 4' of clear trunk. It has flowered once but did not set seeds. Not a palm for rank beginners

[Visgoth]

I concur with what Meg said. I have had two so far one a seedling that died very quick on me so I thought I'd go up several sizes to a three gallon, planted it under shade cloth watered it generously, treated it with more attention than really anything else I have and the leaves still went brown one after another on me till eventual spear pull about a month after planting. I do love the species and will try again, but not until I have legitimate canopy - years from now - and even then, will only be doing so if I can get one MUCH larger from the get-go. 15 gallon or larger as was said. Better than tossing money at seedlings destined to croak on me. 

[happypalms]

Tricky palm when bare rooted, a mild seaweed extract watering after potting up will help to relieve stress with the vitamin B. Good luck try to avoid buying bare rooted palms. 

[Tropical Toni]

15 hours ago, happypalms said:

Tricky palm when bare rooted, a mild seaweed extract watering after potting up will help to relieve stress with the vitamin B. Good luck try to avoid buying bare rooted palms. 

I know... ugh. I would rather pay extra to keep the palm in the pot than have it shipped bare root. ugh. 

[Tropical Toni]

On 10/18/2025 at 1:11 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

I did not have luck with smaller Satakentias. When small they are temperamental and prone to die. The FL sun fries them. Another palm grower told me to leave them in pots until they reach  15g size, keep them out of the blazing sun, let them go pinnate and plant them in at least partial shade (afternoon). I did plant a bit before 15g size and my sole Satakentia has about 4' of clear trunk. It has flowered once but did not set seeds. Not a palm for rank beginners

Hmmm. I thought I'd give it a try since @MattyB had luck with his, & he's in the same area I'm in. 

 

Obviously I won't be putting it right out in the sun, or in the ground right away. 

 

Would adding a clear plastic bag to enhance humidity help the palm ? this would be temporary until the roots have stabilized. 

[Tropical Toni]

here she is guys. prayers needed & advice is welcome. 

soaked in 1 hour of seaweed solution to rehydrate, & planted in a 3 gal pot consisting of palm/cactus mix. added in sulpomag.

 

@MattyB & @TomJ feel free to chim in