Good questions Debbie.
You do not need special palm soil because there are so many types of palms with differing requirements. The ones you potted should be fine.

Meanwhile, find out the name of the palms you like, and just find out if it likes moisture, direct sun or part shade etc. and add "some" builders sand($1.25 a 10 lb bag at HD)to plain unfertilized potting mix and sprinkle with a palm or flower fertilizer. Pindo palms like it a little drier therefore I add some sand and pine bark to the soil mix. It will save you money if you are repotting often.

BTW, you may scoop out some of the drier soil from the top of pots already planted and add some extra topsoil/peatmoss and/or pine bark.

Thank you so much! I do have palm fertilizer, i had to buy it in Fla, they don't sell it here in Michigan!!

I was buying Palm fert everytime I went to the Gulf Coast also and then discovered my local Ace Hardware Store carries it. I beleive they have stores in Michigan so check with them.

Palm fertilizer is much harder to find up north but Im sure that they have some around especially this time of the year. I used miracle gro palms and cacti soil for my coconut, but I also mixed it with normal miracle gro soil. All my other plants usually get miracle gro, and some of them just get whatever I have. For the ones that need to be a little drier, or for the ones in the ground, I mix a little perlite.
I give them epsom salt when they go outside in late march/early april. Then I give them miracle gro shake and feed this time of the year followed buy miracle gro liquid feed from june to august. I will probably order some palm fertilizer for my palms this year though and save the miracle gro for my other plants.

Good luck!
-Alex

I think I'll re-pot them before they go outside for the summer, i'll have the "kids" help with that on Mothers Day!
But, do I feed them after I repot, when I take them outside in a couple of weeks for the summer or wait a while after that?
Thanks for all your suggestions!