Repotting palm trees is a daunting task for most gardeners, especially beginners.
Besides, caring for the palm tree indoors after repotting to keep these plants thriving and happy is challenging if you’re inexperienced.
Thus, keep reading to know how to repot and care for the palm trees without difficulty.
What Are Palm Trees?
The palm tree, sometimes called Palmae, comes with a tall, straight trunk with no branches, topped with a cluster of long, pointed leaves.
These trees are one of native plants in Jamaica and have a wide distribution in worldwide tropical regions.
Several species invade subtropical or stable temperate areas, with a total of about 2,600 individual palm tree species.
They are also familiar to many people because this family has many uses among people, ranging from decorative to practical and as tropical symbols.
A Full Guide On Repotting Palm Trees
You can repot palm trees with a few simple steps, including choosing and taking a new pot for moving the palms. Yet, you need to use the right fertilizer amount to mix with the new potting.
Next, you will cover the new pot using wire mesh or a screen and fill the soil in the new pot. You must pull on the trunk’s bottom and place the palms in their new home with fresh soil.
The final step is to give your palm plants enough water and good care for the best growth.
Look at the step-by-step guide below to learn how to repot a palm plant properly.
Choose & Take the New Pot
The first step you have to do is to use a new pot with the addition of sufficient substrate (maybe half of the pot). Note that the plant shouldn’t be too low or high relative to the pot’s edge.
Therefore, the height of the old pot should be taken into account. A new pot, about 5-8 cm larger than the current one, should include at least one drainage hole.
You can reuse the current pot but change the soil inside if it is intact; this keeps the palm tree from growing further when you don’t want to.
However, use water and soap to make the old pot clean first to prevent the growth of bacteria from the old environment inside the pot.
Remove the Palms From the Old Pot
Next, move these tropical evergreen trees out of the old pot. First, I recommend tapping the pot several times to loosen the potting soil and make it simpler to take out.
If the trees’ roots are sticking out of the hole of drainage and tangled, you must untangle them properly and carefully.
Mix New Potting with Proper Fertilizer
In this step, mix the potting soil with a slow-release fertilizer. Yet, it’s necessary to inspect the packaging for appropriate proportions.
Note: Don’t fertilizer directly beneath the soil and the root ball of a tree, since it may cause harm to the tree’s roots system.
Use Screen Or Wire Mesh
Line the bottom of the new pot using wire mesh with the porous material layer or a screen and cover it. Then, add about 4 to 5 in, or 10-13 cm of potting mix.
Fill The Soil In The Pot
Fill the fresh potting soil about 5 inches into a new pot. Then, put the right slow-release fertilizer amount in this soil and follow the package recommendations for planting container size.
Also, you must complete filling the pot later and leave the stems uncovered as they can rot if covered with soil.
Pull on the Trunk’s Bottom
Check the bottom of the pot to see whether roots of the trees are coming out of the drain.
This can indicate that the root system has grown too large, and eventually, the entire palm tree will be pushed out of the container and need to be moved to a new pot.
Place Palm Tree in the Center of the New Pot
Place these plants in the center of a new pot and lightly sprinkle soil around the roots, covering about half of the roots. Gently shake the new pot to cover all small root system areas with potting soil.
Then, fill the pot with soil until the potting soil can reach 2 inches below the pot’s top. Firmly press the soil with your hand.
Filteri Fresh Soil Down Between The Roots
All palms will use up the nutrients in their potting soil. Thus, you can replace the old soil with fresh one to solve this problem.
Water the Palm Tree
After transplanting palm trees in pots, water your newly transplanted palms generously so that the water drains completely through the holes of drainage.
I watered my palm twice, helping the soil drain thoroughly each time.
Why should I Repot Palm Plants?
There are some reasons why repotting a palm tree is necessary.
First, your indoor palms will be root-bound when they grow into bigger trees and outgrow the old pot. This also means that their root system will spread and develop faster to help the growth.
If you don’t repot these palms, their growth and health will suffer a bad impact, such as lower growth, poorer productivity, and problems with the root system.
The overgrown roots of these trees can ruin your pot by deforming or cracking it. When the roots become too large for the pot, they take up space that would otherwise hold soil. The soil can’t retain moisture, it can makes the root system rot.
Thus, transplanting your palms to a bigger pot is essential to solve the above problems.
How to Take Care of an Indoor Palm Tree?
Here are a few simple tips guiding you on how to care for palm trees indoors.
One of the important first things is to provide the palm trees with enough water for their best growth. Also, make drainage holes to give your trees sufficient air for good circulation.
I always plant my indoor palms in a new pot with drainage holes in its bottom to avoid overwatering that can damage the palms’ root system.
When Should You Repot Palm Tree?
The best time to repot a palm plant is early spring. Yet, you can repot the palms whenever necessary, anytime in the year.
If you find your palms overgrown or get the disease or pest, you must immediately repot them to keep them healthier with better growth.
Conclusion
The above is a comprehensive guide on repotting palm trees with the detailed steps you should consider to keep your palms growing better.
Repotting the palms is a must to avoid growth problems or damage to their root system when overgrown.
You need to keep an eye on providing your palms with sufficient water and fresh soil inside the pot with drainage holes.
