Outplanting

In most cases, when planting a palm in your garden, you must do some pre-work. The palms are often bought in nurseries and garden centres that keep the palms in heated and shady rooms. Temperature and light are two important factors you must look at when you are to plant out your palm. April is high season for outplanting, but April is usually not a very warm month. The air and soil temperature could come as a shock to the palm if it has not been gradually used to cold conditions. By keeping the palm in a cold room before the outplanting you can easily prevent this to certain degree. A cold basement/cellar is perfect, but it must not be too dark.

If the palm is used to shady conditions, it will certainly burn in the strong April sun when planted out. The palm should therefore be exposed gradually, day by day, to bright light before the permanent outplanting. The gradually increase in sunlight should be a slow process, because the leaf edges burn extremely easy. In the beginning, half shade/sun is enough. But by the days, you can move it gently into sunlight. Palms with feather leaves burn generally easier than fan palms because of the thin edges. If the palm is too heavily exposed it could end with death, because it generally make the palm weaker and less able to do its natural processes. Damages done by the sun also weakens the palms in a direction of less cold resistance. Sun damage is also a common problem when people remove the winter coverage.

Another thing you should think of it the place you plant he palm. Believe it or not, some palms can grow to respectable sizes even in Scandinavia. You should therefore not plant the palm close to installations, which will lead to removal of the palm in the future. Some palms grow tall while others grow wide. You should check this out before you plant. It is also wise to imagine how the site of growth will look like in the future. Surrounding trees can grow big and barricade the sunlight. Large shades are not favourable in Scandinavia since the palms need all the sun they can get during the short season of growth.

It is important that you select a location in your garden that is exposed to a lot of sun, and it is very favourable if you are able to plant the palm beside a south-facing wall. A dark wall will be dramatically heated during a sunny summer day, and this is very positive for the palm as the microclimate may be warmer by several degrees. It is also important that you find a location that is sheltered against the wind. In warm climates many palms can take a lot of wind, but up here in the north the palms have less tolerance against wind. Especially palms like Trachycarpus fortunei should be protected against wind as the leaves may get seriously damaged. Palms do not like to grow in wet conditions over a long period, so make sure the soil is well drained. You should place dark stones or bricks around the palms as these get really hot during the day. They give a lot of heat after the sun is gone. This way you will achieve warmer nights for your palm trees. There are many things you can do to improve the microclimate, and if you use some of the methods the palm will grow better for sure. For some palm trees listed on this page you will have to do everything you can to improve the micorclimate as they are borderline plants for Scandinavia. That means they cannot grow here without some help. They will totally rely on dark stones and protective walls to grow and survive.

Picture: Phoenix canariensis ready to be planted out in Thomas Vestre’s garden, spring 2005 (Photo: Thomas Vestre)