Worth knowing:
The Pigmy Date Palm develops in its natural habitat often several trunks, while it grows as an indoor plant most likely only one stem. Due to its slow growth rate and maximum height of only two meters, the Pigmy Date Palm is perfectly suited for cultivating a nice tub plant that gives your living space some tropical flair. When far matured, it is possible that the plant will produce flowers and fruits even when cultivated indoors. Despite its tropical origins, the Phoenix roebellenii is not all sensitive towards the cold climate and can even endure light frost.
Natural Location:
Originally the Bottle Palm comes from northern Laos, Vietnam and South China. Especially on the riverbanks of the Mekong River it is found quite often.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should place the seeds for about 12 hours in warm water for priming. Then, press the seeds about 1 cm deep in moist potting compost. Since the radicles are quite long and easy to break, you should not plant more than three or four seeds in the same pot. The seed container can be placed somewhere dark and warm until germination - the earth should be kept moist. For a Palm tree the small seeds will shoot rather quickly – usually between six to eight weeks.
Place:
Palms don’t always grow in full sunny places in their natural habitat, but often in the shade of huge Jungle trees. In the same way it is ideal for the Phoenix roebellenii when kept in a half-shaded place during the summer. Indoors you might want to choose a bright spot without too much direct sunlight.
Care:
The Pigmy Date Palm needs plenty of water and also likes to be sprayed often since in its tropical habitat it gets the most water from the air - but try to avoid waterlogging. If the tips of the leaves become brown, it doesn’t always mean a lack of water, but it can also signal insufficient nutrients. Therefore, you might want to give fluid fertilizer for palm trees at least every two weeks between March and September. Every three years, preferably in spring, you can shift the plant to a bigger pot or tub - but be careful with its fine roots and choose a tall container for the deep reaching taproots to fit in.
During the winter:
During winter it is best for your Pigmy Date Palm to keep it in a bright place with a temperature between 8° and 12° Celsius. It can also survive a short period of -5° Celsius. Water the plant less in the winter time, but spray regularly.
Picture credits:
- © © Forest & Kim Starr - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Sabine Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Sabine Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Sabine Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Sabine Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Sabine Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Lord Koxinga - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
