Plant the hemp palm properly
Before you plant a fan palm outdoors, it should be carefully cared for in the bucket for 3-5 years. Only plant your exotic garden dweller in spring. If the hemp palm comes into the ground in April or May, it will have established itself well in the ground by the beginning of winter. Assign a trachycarpus to a sunny, sheltered and warm location, where the soil is humus and first-class permeable. Dig a planting hole that will completely accommodate the long taproot. Enrich the excavation with compost, horn shavings, (€ 6.39 at Amazon *) lava granulate (€ 10.95 at Amazon *) and bog soil. The procedure is exemplary:
- At the bottom of the pit, create a drainage made of expanded clay (€ 17.50 on Amazon *) or pottery shards
- Take the hemp palm out of the pot and place it in the soil, observing the previous planting depth
- Firmly press the optimized substrate so that no cavities form on the roots
- Pour on soft water and mulch with leaves or grass clippings
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- Water the hemp palm carefully
- Brown leaves on the hemp palm after winter
- This is why you should cut off the flower of a hemp palm
Place a parasol over the palm tree for the first 2 weeks if it moves from the protected ambience of a living room or greenhouse to the open air.
Care tips
Exemplary palm care has far fewer obstacles than is generally assumed. If the selected location largely meets the requirements, everything revolves around the following aspects:
- Water the hemp palm penetrating with soft water when the substrate surface dries up
- Fertilize every 14 days from April to September or use a slow-release fertilizer in April and June
- Cut off yellowed, dead fronds so that a residue of approx. 20 cm in length remains on the trunk
In the bed, the fan palm is hardy to -10 degrees. If the frost is severe, tie the fronds up and cover them with breathable fleece. Pile up the tree grate up to 30 cm high with leaves, straw or fir branches.
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Which location is suitable?
The hemp palm prefers a sunny location with a humus rich, nutrient-rich and well-drained soil. Although the fronds are stable, a sheltered location is ideal for harmonious growth. You can also place the plant in the partial shade; here, however, the typical silhouette falls short of expectations.
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What soil does the plant need?
A hemp palm should spend the first years of its life in a bucket filled with permeable, humus-rich substrate. If you choose a loose soil with coarse components that has a slightly acidic pH value, the plant feels in good hands. Older specimens will thrive in any good garden soil, as long as it is nutritious and well-drained. The soil acidity fades into the background with advanced age. Nevertheless, it is an advantage if you optimize loamy garden soil with leaf compost or peat and a few handfuls of lava granules.
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What is the best time to plant?
Only plant a hemp palm outdoors in spring. During the months of April and May, an appointment with mild, dry weather is possible. In this way, the palm tree has a sufficiently long phase available to take root in the soil until winter. If you cultivate the fan palm in a bucket and overwinter it in the house, planting is possible at any time during the growing season.
When is the flowering time?
From April to June, yellow to yellowish-green panicle flowers appear on older hemp palms. Pollination only takes place if both a palm with male flowers and a specimen with female flowers are in the immediate vicinity or if there are some hermaphrodite flowers next to the female ones. If fertilization takes place, the plant develops dark blue, kidney-shaped berries in autumn.
Cut the hemp palm properly
Only cut off the dead, yellow or brown discolored leaves with a sharp knife. Wait until a frond has completely died before cutting. Until then it is still releasing valuable nutrients to the palm. Do not cut into healthy tissue and leave a 10-20 cm piece of the leaf sheath on the trunk. This then slopes downwards and dissolves into countless fibers. This creates the typical, hairy appearance of the palm trunk. Please note that a hemp palm is never cut off at the top. Here is the only point of vegetation.
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Water the hemp palm
Water a fan palm regularly and thoroughly without causing waterlogging. In particular during dry summer weather, you can promote growth with regular watering. The exotic plant should not be bothered with hard tap water. Instead, use collected rainwater or soft pond water so that the lime content in the substrate does not reach harmful values at an alkaline level.
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Fertilize hemp palm properly
Fertilize a hemp palm every 14 days from April to September with a nitrogen-stressed palm fertilizer. Alternatively, give a long-term preparation in April and June. A liquid fertilizer is conveniently recommended for keeping in a bucket, as this is easier to dose and apply. A combined nutrient supply can also be considered in the bed. After starting mineral fertilization in April, a portion of compost with horn shavings takes over the food supply every 2 weeks.
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Overwinter
A snow-covered palm tree evokes astonished glances over the garden fence in the local regions. Thanks to a hardy hemp palm, you can accomplish the horticultural feat without extensive prior knowledge. How to successfully overwinter a fan palm:
- From - 10 degrees Celsius, tie the fronds upright
- To protect the sensitive palm heart, put a breathable fleece over it
- Cover the tree grate with leaves, straw and coniferous branches
- If it is clear, water every now and then on a mild day
In the bucket, however, the open-air season for a fan palm ends at -5 degrees Celsius. Due to the exposed position of the root ball, it freezes through within a short time. You should therefore clear the plant in good time. With regard to the light and temperature conditions, the hemp palm proves to be flexible. Wintering in a bright, frost-free room at 5-8 degrees Celsius is tolerated as well as staying in a heated, sunny living room at 20 degrees. Adjust the water supply to the temperature conditions accordingly.
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Propagate hemp palm
Only sowing seeds is possible for propagation. In view of the high expenditure due to a germination time of 12-14 months, this project is rarely tackled by hobby gardeners.
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Hemp palm in a pot
If you cultivate a young hemp palm in a pot for the first few years, the plant is ideally prepared in this protected environment for later planting outdoors. Since the fan palm always spends several years in the same container and substrate, the following process is extremely relevant when planting:
- Lay a drainage made of potsherds or expanded clay (no gravel or gravel) over the water drain in the deep palm bucket
- Spread an air and water permeable fleece over it so that no crumbs of earth get in between
- Fill in a high-quality, permeable and slightly acidic palm soil up to half the height
- Pot the young hemp palm and insert it into the substrate while maintaining the previous planting depth
Pour the young plants with soft water and place them in the partially shaded location for a few days until they move to a sunny place after 8-10 days. It is fertilized for the first time after 6 weeks.
Hemp palm does not bloom
The hemp palm only decides to flower under optimal conditions at an advanced age. Be patient for the first 5-8 years. If an older specimen does not flower, check the site conditions. For example, a hemp palm only decides to let its flowers sprout in sun-drenched, protected locations. If the palm is lacking in nutrients or if it suffers from drought stress, it will also not flower.
Yellow leaves
If the fan leaves gradually turn yellow from the tips, it is a completely natural process. The frond is nearing the end of its life and is releasing its remaining nutrients to the palm. Since a yellow leaf is usually not thrown off, cut it off. A remainder of 20 cm in length remains on the trunk. If a hemp palm does not undergo this horticultural intervention, the yellow leaves collect under the green fronds over the years, so that the crown takes on an elongated shape.
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How do I treat brown tips on a hemp palm?
As a result of dry heating air or slight frostbite, the tips of a palm frond can turn brown. Cut off the discolored areas with sharp scissors, leaving a small edge of brown tissue 1 mm thick on the sheet. If the damage results from dry air, spray the hemp palm every 2 days with soft water. You can protect the plant against renewed frostbite by tying the fronds upright in severe frost and protecting them with a garden fleece.
Should I cut off the flower of a hemp palm?
The growth of male and female flowers costs a hemp palm an enormous amount of strength. As a rule, the already slow growth slows down further. In addition, withered flowers do not fall off, but hang sadly from the stem on wrist-thick stems. So cut off a hemp palm blossom unless you are aiming to harvest the seeds.
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Trivia
Due to its robust growth and winter hardiness, the hemp palm has now found a place on the black list of invasive plants. In Switzerland, experts are even sounding the alarm, as the fan palm is spreading increasingly in the mountain forests and threatening the native flora and fauna. For the hobby gardener, this aspect is, on the one hand, a confirmation that the palm tree can easily survive a Central European winter in the garden. On the other hand, special care is required to prevent a palm tree invasion. This includes that clippings should not be disposed of in the forest. The flowers, which are not particularly decorative anyway, are cut off before the seeds form. Fruit-bearing clippings are ideally disposed of in the local incinerator.
Nice varieties
- Chinese hemp palm: Most popular fan palm for the garden, balcony and living room with a height of 200-400 cm
- Darjeeling: Impresses with fir-green fronds up to 1 m in diameter and robust winter hardiness
- Double trunks: Premium variety among the hemp palms with a slim trunk and semicircular compartments
- Wagner's hemp palm: Small-stature variety, ideal for keeping in pots and in the small garden
