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hunter_m_gw

I saved the windmill palm! And palm ID

Hunter_M
12 years ago

Hi guys! I saved my windmill palm! I got a new pot and some new soil and re-potted it. I also gave it a big haircut. Im glad because I think I saved it from root-rot.



Also, I got a little palm at walmart today for 4 bucks and it said assorted foilage. Do you know the ID? Also, if I put it in a bigger pot, would it get big?



Thanks!

-Hunter

Comments (3)

  • ericthehurdler
    12 years ago

    the walmart palm looks like a parlour palm. they do not like direct sunlight! and they like to have moist well draining soil don't let them sit in water either. repotting should not be necessary yet because these palms do not get that big. but you may want to thin the seedlings out.

  • wetsuiter
    12 years ago

    Hey, Hunter. The remaining leaf and spear on your windmill look healthy. I'm sure it'll be fine.

    Looking at the last photos you posted of that palm, it looks like some of the fronds appeared to still have green in them. Just a note for the future, avoid the temptation to prematurely cut off an "ugly" frond that has any green in the fan or its stem. Green indicates chlorophyl which is feeding the palm. I've done the same and a local palm enthusiast friend warned me not to do that anymore. It looks like your palm is fine, don't give major hair cuts to it, if leaves are green. Keep up the good work.

  • NoVaPlantGuy_Z7b_8a
    12 years ago

    What wetsuiter said. Even if some fronds may not look the best but are still mostly green, they are probably still doing their jobs and providing the plant with much needed energy from photosynthesis. Leaves, while they are pretty/ nice to look at, are an extremely important organ for any tree/ plant. Leaves also perform sevreal important functions on plants such as respiration and transpiration. If you ever get the chance to study plants / trees and all of their organs that help to make them function you will be amazed at the complexity.

    The palm you got from walmart, ericthehurdler got it right. Parlour Palm. The scientific name or botanic name is Chamaedorea Elegans. Those are a fantastic family of palms. Chamaedorea Elegans are in fact a SOLITARY palm. The reason they come how you got them, with many plants all clumped together is because growers often just germinate 10-20 or so seeds in a pot, and poof, you have a 'plant'. But, what you in fact have in that pot, is probably 10-20 small individual palms. It is up to you if you wish to separate them out. Often in the past what I have done is separated out the 1-3 largest ones and left the others to grow more. Also another thing that can, and does happen is that some of them may eventually die off. Personally, I find a single one of these palms in a pot by itself more appealing, espeically when they get older. I have a few, and one of them I got from a pot similar to yours. It was the largest, but still a young plant with no trunk. It now has about 7 to 10 leaves, has shed about 6 leaves, and has about 4 inches of clear trunk on it and is taking on the classic palm tree appearance. Mine is about 4 years old now, (the amount of time I have had it) but it is probably more like 6 years old in total. They grow fairly SLOW. They are probably one of, if not THE easiest palms to take care of. Virtually bullet proof. Very hard to over / underwater them, though I would err on the side of underwatering them because they can handle that easily, and also do not need tons of light. You can successfully grow one of these in a north facing window that gets hardly any direct sun with no problem. In fact, since they are an understory palm that grows only several feet or so high on the forest floor, they prefer mainly indirect or very filtered light, and NOT direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can burn the leaves. I have had one burn on me with just one day's exposure to full sun. Also, this palm, and all the other palms in its genus (Chamaedorea) are mainly jungle palms, so many prefer the lower light conditions, somewhat elevated humidity, and fairly warm temps. Definitely NOT cold hardy. That said, there are some that can HANDLE some abuse, and the palm that you have gotten is one of those palms.

    Anyway Best of luck with both of your palms!