I am currently redoing my garden and want to buy some 7ft trachycarpus palms and plant them into the ground after I make a sleeper bed. I have around 4 or 5 small potted palms already.

I have my eyes on these two palm trees but the one on the left has a bend right at the top of the trunk. Is this a concern? I did have my eyes on one 3 weeks ago which had a bend and it's still in the shop and the bend is considerable worse.

Do I just buy the one and hope the store get anymore or take the plunge and buy both and place wood against the fence post to slowly bend it back? Or put a stake in? They're £150 each.

Any help much appreciated.

From the photos, I honestly can’t see anything wrong with the palms. They look healthy. They might be field grown specimens however and may show some setback in the coming weeks. Make sure they are kept well watered before and after planting. No fertilizer necessary for about three months.

Very small pots for that size palm. I agree these could be field grown , follow @Jim in Los Altos advice and expect a bit of initial set back. They look ok to me as well. Harry

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

From the photos, I honestly can’t see anything wrong with the palms. They look healthy. They might be field grown specimens however and may show some setback in the coming weeks. Make sure they are kept well watered before and after planting. No fertilizer necessary for about three months.

When you say set back, does that mean discoloring? I normally feed my small palms in pot with palm focus, so you recommend just alot of water for the next 3 months? I won't be putting into ground until the next 3 weeks.

44 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Very small pots for that size palm. I agree these could be field grown , follow @Jim in Los Altos advice and expect a bit of initial set back. They look ok to me as well. Harry

Thank you I will take a look.

3 hours ago, Rookie-gardener said:

When you say set back, does that mean discoloring? I normally feed my small palms in pot with palm focus, so you recommend just alot of water for the next 3 months? I won't be putting into ground until the next 3 weeks.

Setback is generally due to the palm being stressed due to losing much of its root mass when dug up and squeezed into those small pots. You may lose some of the older lower leaves as the palms put energy into replacing lost roots. Trachycarpus generally handle transplanting pretty well.

The old saying if there is a palm you have always wanted buy it. You may never see that palm for sale again.

7 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

From the photos, I honestly can’t see anything wrong with the palms. They look healthy. They might be field grown specimens however and may show some setback in the coming weeks. Make sure they are kept well watered before and after planting. No fertilizer necessary for about three months.

I also agree that they are field grown. Most garden centres in the UK import field grown palms from southern Europe grown in the ground. As only Mainly plant nurseries tend to grow palms from seed and those tend to be rarer palms.

Thanks for all response it's much appreciated. I did notice on both pots that you could move the trunk with the wobble test, does that mean it's been poorly potted or poorly transported or because it's been recently dug and potted? So it will have a shock, I just don't want it to be a severe shock where it ends up dieing because I can't plant it in the ground until 2 to 3 weeks time, so would that be another shock for the tree? Also just water alot for now and no palm food until end of August?

42 minutes ago, Rookie-gardener said:

Thanks for all response it's much appreciated. I did notice on both pots that you could move the trunk with the wobble test, does that mean it's been poorly potted or poorly transported or because it's been recently dug and potted? So it will have a shock, I just don't want it to be a severe shock where it ends up dieing because I can't plant it in the ground until 2 to 3 weeks time, so would that be another shock for the tree? Also just water alot for now and no palm food until end of August?

Just plant it in the asap, what’s the best way to grow a palm, plant it in the ground!

The loose plant in the container is possibly from over potting over the cultivation process. Mishandling perhaps, it may have pulled out of the container at one stage during been moved around, many factors in play on that one. But dont panic plant your palm and happy gardening!

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Just plant it in the asap, what’s the best way to grow a palm, plant it in the ground!

The loose plant in the container is possibly from over potting over the cultivation process. Mishandling perhaps, it may have pulled out of the container at one stage during been moved around, many factors in play on that one. But dont panic plant your palm and happy gardening!

Good morning happy palms, hope you're well. The earliest I can plant the palm to ground is like 2 weeks due to work and having the make the plant bed myself. Is that too much of a risk waiting that long? I did see some orange like dust over the lower stems is that something to be concerned about?

Any help much appreciated.

1 minute ago, Rookie-gardener said:

Good morning happy palms, hope you're well. The earliest I can plant the palm to ground is like 2 weeks due to work and having the make the plant bed myself. Is that too much of a risk waiting that long? I did see some orange like dust over the lower stems is that something to be concerned about?

Any help much appreciated.

Iam pretty confident that they will be fine, not sure about the orange dust thing, but just keep them in a well aired area to prevent any mould threat.

@Rookie-gardener nice to meet you!

I concur with @Jim in Los Altos and @Harry’s Palms and @happypalms .

Good drainage and plenty of water in the warm season. Mucho agua, viele Wasser, etc.