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ericthehurdler

root damage Canary island date palm

ericthehurdler
13 years ago

i dug a 3 foot palm for transplant and had trouble getting all the roots. i ended up accidentally pulling the majority of the roots off. the plant still has about 5 main roots that are about 7" long. does this palm still have a chance?

Comments (7)

  • tropicpalms
    13 years ago

    yes but not as good of a chance now as it is Majorly stressed. maybe use a little root growth or fungi to help establish the roots... sorry that happened but u should b aiight.

  • softmentor
    13 years ago

    I would also recomend trimming several of the lower branches so that only those that are pointing up or leaning out to a 45 degree angle are left. sort of a V . We trim them that way when we dig them up to transplant. Since you have far fewer roots, it will have fewer fronds to try to support.
    It's a little hard to see, but here is a date palm offshoot that has been cut and trimmed. Hopefully you can see enough of the fronds to tell what to do. The fronds were tied together so there are a few more than just straight up ones.

    http://s1090.photobucket.com/albums/i378/softmentor/

  • tropicpalms
    13 years ago

    thats a nice dacty;ifera.. so u all usually take off the off shoots and then transplant them to grow new again thats nice work. def agree and forgot to add the light trimming so there is less focus on maintaining all the fronds and first establishing the roots... nice pic also and good luck on your CIDP

  • brooklyngreg
    13 years ago

    Here's some tips that may help.

    Keep it in warm conditions and watered, but not over watered. NO fertilizer until the Spring. If possible protect from strong Fall/Winter winds and cold temps. Some leaves are needed to make energy so do not over trim.

    Just a note for next time, try to get as much of the rootball with soil attached. It's best to transplant in the warm weather May - August so the palm has a better chance.

  • User
    13 years ago

    Like the above advise, watch the watering--aim for slightly moist. Also, try to maintain moderate humidity and shade from direct sun until roots form. When you say that you dug it, does that mean you had it in the ground then containerized it? It just might make it though. Good luck.

  • ericthehurdler
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I dug it out of the ground because of its poor location. But its roots were intwined with a large maple tree's roots so that made it very difficult. But yes, now its in a container. The leaves are starting to droop a bit, but other than that it seems fine.

  • lzrddr
    13 years ago

    I dug up a bunch of Phoenix some years ago... lost all of them initially... but then they all came back... pretty hardy palms. You're probably going to lose all the leaves on it now, so as they droop, help the palm out by cutting them off.

    In future moves, best to root prune these palms if you can plan ahead, by digging a trench around them as wide or narrow as you want (you can even get away sometmes with making the trench almost the same diameter as the palm, but best to leave about 6" - 1' out from base of palm). Then 6 months later, dig up your palm. By that time it will have made a lot of new and effective roots that end at the trench. Dig down as deep as you can realistically- you will damage most of those roots, but with the lateral roots being healthy, the palm will rebound quickly. A lot of even touchier palms can be removed this way.