Transplanting Palms: A Really Good Article
Transplanting palms is pretty darn easy, but if you follow the procedures that are best for planting woody trees and shrubs you can slow their establishment or even kill certain species.
The University of Florida IFAS Extension has published a useful series of articles on palm cultivation, including one on transplanting palms by Timothy K. Broschat. It’s full of interesting photographs and clear info.
Because palms continually produce new roots from the base of the trunk, there’s no need to cut or unravel the rootball of containerized palms when they go into the landscape. And because new roots only develop from the base of the trunk, planting palms with their roots exposed can thwart the development of new roots and thus the healthy growth of the plant.
We see lots of palms planted too high and languishing, and we’ve made the mistake of ripping apart a rootball and waiting years for healthy new growth to emerge from the crown of leaves.
