Spray the plant with a forceful hose to remove the bugs from the palm leaves. The pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) is loved for its graceful, feathery fronds atop a upright, slender trunk. To maintain a neat appearance and to promote healthy leaves, pygmy date palms require regular rinsing of the foliage. This is a shorter video with the same pictures in the earlier video, but speeded up. Pygmy Date Palm Flowers My two big mistakes in my latest garden venture was not amending the soil and watering too much. ... pygmy date palm - Knowledgebase Question. You can take a picture … Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the pruner blades after pruning one palm canopy before going to the next. These plant parts do not have spines, but be wary of the frond bases nestled around the stem of the flower or fruit cluster. Dig a hole at the new planting site that is 1 foot wider and as deep as the root ball of your robellini … sharp spines at the base of the petiole. Pygmy Date Palm trees are not self-cleaning and may require occasional leaf removal to keep a tidy appearance. Do not use short-handled clippers. Look for a spot on the lowermost part of the frond, nearest the trunk or crownshaft (leaf base). The roots are easily cut and the spongy trunk makes cutting easy. Place the leaves in a landscape waste container. Look for brown, dead or diseased fronds and note them for removal. Pygmy Date Palm Care and Information. This video is not how I prune a roebelenii palm but how I clean the the roebelenii palm. How to Grow a Black Olive Tree in a Greenhouse, How to Plant Coral Bark Maple in a Container. As a small tropical plant, the Pygmy Date Palm has many uses. Besides, how do you get rid of pygmy date palms? Move the shovel blade to the right and dig again. The pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) is loved for its graceful, feathery fronds atop a upright, slender trunk. Resist pruning off green or yellowing fronds as they … These particular palm species only grow to 12 feet at maturity. The pygmy date palm is a very popular plant in landscape designing in the United States. If the stump and root ball are heavy, wash the dirt off the roots with a hose to lighten it. Pygmy date palm or Phoenix roebelenii is a palm tree, often grown indoors, that bears thin, elegant green leaves.. Key Pygmy date palm facts. Be sure not to cut into or injure the trunk of the tree. Place the trunk in a landscape … The branched clusters of flower and subsequent fruits may also be cut away to suit personal aesthetics. The leaves have sharp spines at the base which require special attention. That means they wouldn’t do so well in Allison’s neck of the woods in Northern Florida. Wright holds a graduate diploma in environmental horticulture from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Master of Science in public horticulture from the University of Delaware. Access the top of your pygmy date palm using a ladder placed to the side of the plant. Pull off any loose petioles or boots (the slender stem portion of the palm frond attached to the trunk) from the palm plant. They may indicate that your palm is … The water can also remove any egg sacks the bugs have placed on the plant. Putting on a long-sleeved shirt is also a good idea if you will be reaching deep into the mass of foliage. The pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) is loved for its graceful, feathery fronds atop a upright, slender trunk. Learn which plants thrive in your Hardiness Zone with our new interactive map! She is a certified Florida master gardener and writes extensively on gardening topics for various websites. The Phoenix is said to be the palm tree that best adapts to growing inside houses and apartments. The Pygmy Date Palm trunk is covered with old leaf scars and topped with pinnate, or feather like, leaves which grow to about 4ft in length. Place them in empty planting areas or between towering trees. Also, the more pups a palm tree has, the slower the pups will grow. Care for a Pygmy Date Palm. Proper fertilization, especially in sandy soils, diminishes the number of yellow-tipped, nutrient deficient fronds on the palm. Name – Phoenix roebelenii Family – Arecaceae Type – indoor plant. Dwarf palm trees, such as the pygmy date, the dwarf palmetto and the Mediterranean fan palm require minimal pruning to maintain its attractive look. Place the shovel 12 inches from the trunk. The pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) is small in size—a mature pygmy palm can reach a height of 8 to 10 feet. The same goes for areca and coconut palms—frost can be fatal for these quintessential tropical trees. Pygmy Date Palm Pruning. Water it two times per week during summer and once per week in winter if it is in shade. If they do not come off easily, leave them … The Pygmy Date Palm or Dwarf Date Palm, Latin name Phoenix roebelenii, is a very popular single trunk palm that is most often sold as multiple plants in the same pot. It excels in hot weather with plenty of soil moisture, even though it is drought tolerant. To care for a pygmy date palm, be sure to maintain a regular watering schedule and plant this tree in sandy, well-drained soil in an area of sun all the way to full shade. Pygmy date palm needs minimal pruning, mainly to remove clinging dead and brown fronds in the bottom parts of the canopy. Grasp the palm frond to be removed with one gloved hand, while holding the pruners in the other. Pygmy date palms are not self-cleaning and will require periodic pruning to remove the dead fronds and to improve the aesthetic appearance. It is easy to care for and it has become a popular accent plant for tropical settings. Take 5 to 10 years to kill the tree by natural means. Jacob J. Wright became a full-time writer in 2008, with articles appearing on various websites. Removing a palm tree without killing it requires attention to digging and care details to keep the plant healthy. If you plan on transplanting palm pups from a palm tree that has several pups, you may be better off selecting one to two of the strongest pups and removing the others. However, in … Grasp the stump and rock it until it can be easily removed. Cut through the trunk of the palm tree at about knee-level with a pruning saw or machete. Each point on the circle should be about 12 inches from the trunk. To ensure all air pockets are removed, let a … When pruning the tree, remove the dead or dying fronds just above the leaf base. Refill the hole around the roots of the date palm, carefully packing soil around the exposed roots to … This is better for the environment but requires … The pygmy date palm loves to grow in humid areas, so you'll typically find them growing in tropical and temperate regions. Pygmy palms grow to adulthood in five to seven years. A healthy frond should be considered for removal only if it is encroaching upon a structure or more valued plant nearby. All Rights Reserved. Place the trunk in a landscape … You will cut the roots and soil in a circle around the tree with the shovel blade. Usually seen growing in clusters of many trunks, basic pruning of this palm is focused solely on removal of dead or diseased fronds, keeping healthy green fronds. Also, removing green fronds may result in damage. Make a crisp, one-motion cut of the pruner blades 2 to 5 inches above the point of attachment of the frond with the trunk or crownshaft. Remove the pygmy palm carefully from the container. Copyright Leaf Group Ltd. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. Black and Kathleen C. Ruppert; UF/IFAS; 1997. Commonly used as a container plant, the pygmy date palm will give a tropical look to any patio or pool area. Rinse with a fine spray of lukewarm water either in … It has fine leaves, an attractive trunk and is suitable for using indoors in cooler climates. Cut off branched flowering structures or fruit clusters if desired. Cut through the trunk of the palm tree at about knee-level with a pruning saw or machete. Examine the pygmy palm for brown leaf tips. Resist pruning off green or yellowing fronds as they provide food and nutrients to the plant. Pygmy Date Palm tree is a subtropical spreading palm that grows to 6.5 feet high and 5 feet wide. The pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii , USDA plant hardiness zones 10b through 11a) , also known as the dwarf date palm, falls under the genus Phoenix. "Your Florida Landscape"; Edited by Robert J. This palm is one of the more attractive dwarf palms, growing only between 6 and 12 feet tall. Remove the remaining stump together with the root ball. Its scientific name is the Phoenix roebelenii.Native to southeastern Asia from southwestern China (Yunnan) to northern Laos and northern Vietnam, it is also called the miniature date palm. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Grasp the palm frond to be removed with one gloved hand, while holding the pruners in the other. While most people grow them indoors, they will thrive outdoors in warmer climates. When grown in soil with a pH over 7, the tree may develop magnesium or potassium deficiency with symptoms of chlorotic or spotted fronds. Cut through the trunk of the palm tree at about knee-level with a pruning saw or machete. Cut the cluster stem 2 to 5 inches from the trunk or crownshaft, just as you did for fronds. Start at the bottom of the canopy. Step 4 Spray the palm plant with neem oil or … Double check for access with your pruning hand so that you can reach the frond to be cut without contacting the spines on nearby fronds. Make a crisp, one-motion cut of the pruner blades 2 to 5 inches above the point of attachment of the frond with the trunk or crownshaft. Remove all leaves, fruit and flowers with long-handled pruning clippers. Be careful while pruning it and keep kids away. Now that I’ve fixed those errors, I believe my pygmy date palm trees will thrive. If fibers remain, make additional cuts as needed to free the frond entirely from the trunk. As an indoor plant, it will probably reach 5-6 feet tall. If the tree is wrapped, remove the burlap and string, wire or twine. Place the leaves in a landscape waste container. A forceful cut ensures that fibers in the stem do not tear or linger after the cut. The long spines of Phoenix roebelenii are sharp and their stabs can cause infections. For example, pygmy date palms are meant for planting zones 9-11, areas that get almost no frost. I’ll let you know if I run into other problems. The Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) grows to about 10 feet tall. To check to see if a palm pup is ready to be transplanted, remove some of the dirt around the palm pup. The Phoenix roebelenii or pygmy date palm is a slow-growing palm tree popular for residential landscapes. This video is not how I prune a roebelenii palm but how I clean the the roebelenii palm. Water the buried root ball. Also known as dwarf date palms, pygmy date palms grow to a height that ranges between 6 and 12 feet in the right conditions. Place the trunk in a landscape waste container. Leaves are bright green, droopy covered with 4-5 in leaflets that are modified into 2-3 in. Tip the handle of the shovel toward you so that you are not digging straight down, but toward the tree. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →. Sterilizing the pruners ensures you are not inadvertently spreading a living plant virus or small bug to the next frond you prune. Follow the spraying by cleaning the leaves with alcohol. Remove palm trees that are young and immature during the spring and early summer. Pruning the palms too close to the trunk or at too high of a level causes disease or permanent damage to the tree. Pygmy date palm trees, recommended for USDA hardiness zones 10a through 11, are cold hardy to just below freezing temperatures. Ensure that all the spines are removed with the leaves. Digging up the Tree for Transplant Research the tree before digging it up. Do not lean the … Wear thick gloves to protect your hands from the thin spines found at the base of every date palm frond. Its small size makes it easy to remove with equipment that most homeowners have on hand. Pull out the detached frond, keeping it away from your face. They do not grow huge, and their roots are not known to damage walkways, planters, hardscape or pipes. Resist pruning off green or yellowing fronds as they provide food and nutrients to the plant. Mistakes I made when I planted my pygmy date palm trees. Orient all cut fronds in a pile on the ground nearby so that when you pick them up later, all the fronds' spined ends are on one side of the pile. Healthy, green fronds should never be … Clip the leaves close to the trunk. Exposure – well-lit, part sun Soil – soil mix Foliage – evergreen. They may tolerate lower temperatures if the cold snaps are brief and day temperatures climb to above freezing, but extended periods of freezing temperatures may kill them. Although the pygmy date palm is native to Asia, specifically Laos and Vietnam, it can be found worldwide. He has worked professionally at gardens in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The drupes are produced on female plants and are edible. 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