Bottle Palm in a pot, 7 yrs...

10 years ago

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, a great Palm for growing in a pot. I bought this one in 2007 as it was just starting to form a trunk. It was repotted a couple years later, and is in the same pot today. Next summer it will upgraded to a slightly larger container, with some root pruning.

2007

2009

2011

2013

The leaves are fried because the plant was left out last fall and got hit with a light frost. After a few new leaves unfurl, it will look great again. I get about 3-4 new leaves per year. In the winter it stays in my living room underneath an overhead skylight, watered minimally (about once every 3 weeks). I used to hang a 150W metal halide light over the plant, but the last 2 winters I used no artificial lighting and didn't notice a difference. The newest spear grows about a foot all winter long. That's the goal: minimal growth. I want new spears opening outdoors only.

In the spring, I drape an aluminet shade cloth for 2 weeks to acclimate the full sun. I add Osmocote slow release, with additional Manganese and Magnesium. It gets watered daily or more in the summer. I underplant with Begonias or Caladiums, and I will stick Tillandsias or smaller Bromeliads into the leaf crotches for the summer.

The first few winters I had to water more often because the leaves would easily burn, presumably from fertilizer salts in the soil. Now I don't add as much fertilizer, and it hasn't been a problem anymore. In the winter, mealy bugs will sometimes be seen but are easily controlled with a spray of canola oil in soapy water. One winter early on there were spider mites, but these too were easily controlled with spraying the undersides of the leaves.

Believe it or not, when dry I can manage to lift the entire pot myself.

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Comments (13)

jimhardy
10 years ago
Its a good looking palm...does it ever roll around on the patio in high winds and "visit" other guests?(-:
xerophyte NYC
Original Author
10 years ago
LOL, no it hasn't. The patio is irregular so it doesn't roll smoothly. I have seen it wobble in high winds. It has withstood 70mph winds.

These are highly variable plants. Sometimes the bottle has an exaggerated roundness, sometimes it has almost no bulge to it. The length and girth of the crownshaft also varies from one plant to the next - I think it gets shorter with age.

I have to use a sharp steak knife to trim away the frond attachments at the stem. I prefer the clean look. It is a strange feeling when I'm tending to a tropical palm tree in NY, while my neighbors are pruning rose bushes and junipers.
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stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
10 years ago
Looks fantastic. A true show piece. I might suggest that you try Bonsai techniques for slow and HEALTHY growth to continue. You might take it out and prune the bottom roots,and the sides an inch or two, and then LIGHTLY wash away with a hose the old stale soil. Refill with a good new mix. That will lower the plant back in the pot below the lip and you can also top dress the exposed roots.
Your winter care is good. Keep it just tepid,on the dry side, and do like you're doing- push it in summer.
xerophyte NYC
Original Author
10 years ago
stanofh - that's pretty much what I had planned for next spring. The soil mix is for the most part 50:50 turface and perlite, so it is inert and should be intact so I don't have to be as concerned about flushing away "old" soil.

I purposely situated the stem a few inches above the soil line to expose the stilt-like roots. I figured the top few inches of soil are not useful because the roots grow down, so by lifting the plant it gives me more usable soil volume. The wood chips you see are just a decorative top dressing.
jimhardy
10 years ago
Always liked those palms...

"It is a strange feeling when I'm tending to a tropical palm tree in NY, while my neighbors are pruning rose bushes and junipers."

I was outside trimming a bunch of palms thinking the same thing
the other day....
chachacharlie
10 years ago
Saw two Bottle Palms at Home Depot today for $59 each. They were a little smaller than yours in 2009. I'm not sure if they will survive winters here in coastal L.A. (Santa Monica - no freezes). Anyone know?
chachacharlie
10 years ago
BTW, you have a spectacular palm there. A really beautiful specimen!
tropicalzone7
10 years ago
Great looking palm! I had a bottle palm seedling for a while and it started to get big, but for some reason I gave up on it one year and didn't bring it inside. I regret it after seeing yours and I'm happy that I bought another one this year since they are beautiful palms (and like you said, they aren't as heavy as you'd expect).

Growing palms in NY and anywhere up north is really rewarding! My trash has dead palm fronds and banana leaves while everyone else is throwing out normal NY plant debris haha.

Thanks for sharing! Those damaged fronds will be replaced in no time!

-Alex
garyfla_gw
10 years ago
Hi
here is my last remaining one just couldn't bear to part with it lol grown from seed started in 1982. Definitely the LAST repot as my neighbor had to work VERY hard to get it into that 3x3 foot pot lol gary
islandbreeze
10 years ago
Nice looking palm and a great achievement getting it to grow that much.

That's a nice looking sago in the background against the fence too. Is it in a pot or planted in ground?

How do you keep your bamboo from running where you don't want it?
xerophyte NYC
Original Author
10 years ago
islandbreeze - Sago is in a pot, but it is submerged under ground. I pull it out in the late fall, usually December-ish. The leaves toast at the low 20's, so the plant sits in my garage for a couple of months. It goes back out in March.

That's black bamboo, Phylostachys nigra, not really invasive. It only sends out new shoots in the spring. When they come up where I don't want them to, I just snap them off. Haven't had any problems with them.
statenislandpalm7a
10 years ago
That bottle palm is pretty big. i have a majesty palm Ive had for 5 years thats growing a trunk
User
10 years ago
My P. nigra is extremely invasive. Gonna be spending the Summer cutting a grove down in the back (and keeping it down), and eventually replanting the area with Bald Cypress. Bamboo? I would only plant clumpers period. Your Bottle is is gorgeous though!