Worth knowing:
The massive grey trunk of the Palmetto Palm gets a somewhat braided look over the years when the dying rests of the falling leave stalks covering it. Its beautiful blue-green to green coloured circular fan leaves are deeply and almost until the leaf stalk cut in, and are collapsed along the middle rib. In terms of soil the Palmetto Palm is rather modest and grows in swamp areas as same as in sandy soils near the coast and can be labeled slightly frost-resistant as well. Usually it grows one to three new wreath of leaves during one year.
Natural Location:
The Sabal palmetto has its origin in the Southeast of the USA and is considered a landmark of Florida. However, it is also widely spread in the US states of North Carolina, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas, as well as on the Bahamas.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you can place the seeds for about 12 hours in warm water for priming. Plant the seeds about 1 cm deep in moist potting compost, put some compost earth on top, and cover the seed container with clear film. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20°C and 25°C and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it takes three to six weeks until germination.
Place:
The Palmetto Palm likes a warm and sunny spot. After hibernation, you should keep it initially in a half-shaded place for two weeks, so it can slowly adjust to the UV radiation.
Care:
The Palmetto Palm is rather modest in its water needs. It is best to water penetratingly with lime-deficient water and see that you avoid waterlogging, especially in the saucer. Let the upper layer of the soil dry out before you start watering the plant again. From April until September you should also give fluid fertilizer for tub plants or palm trees every two to three weeks.
During the winter:
An older Palmetto Palm can tolerate even temperatures until -10° Celsius, and can therefore - in areas with little frost - be kept protected outside during hibernation. However, it is always more save to keep the plant in a bright and cool room with temperatures between 5° and 15° Celsius.
Picture credits:
- © © Ballerina311 - 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
- © Mmcknight4 - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © Mmcknight4 - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © scott.zona - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
- © Ballerina311 - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
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