Over the past decades, palm trees began to gain popularity among fans of decorating their homes with exotic plants. Large tropical beauties transform the room and unobtrusively remind of the sea coast, harmony and relaxation. You can choose both bushy and single-barrel options. The variety of leaf carvings will allow you to find your favorite from a huge number of options.
How to care for a palm tree at home
Many admirers of large plants deny themselves the pleasure of settling a southern beauty in an apartment, because they do not know how to care for a palm tree. There is even an opinion that palm trees grow only in those houses where the owner has a "light hand". However, the concern is baseless, it’s easy to maintain a palm tree.
Palm tree
Interesting. Many owners of these plants intuitively “lodge” them away from other flowers, somewhere in the opposite corner of the room, this is correct. Palm trees do not like close proximity. For them, a sense of space and a lot of air around are important.
They grow best in greenhouses and conservatories with high ceilings and plenty of room for all the flora.
Site selection, temperature and lighting
The intuitive habit of putting a palm tree in a bare corner makes sense, especially if it is lit by natural daylight through a window throughout the day. The shadow side of the room, as well as the unlit corner, are unsuitable for placing the pot, as a lack of light will negatively affect the level of photosynthesis, which means the color of the foliage. Some varieties of palm trees are able to live in the shade, while most simply die or stop their growth.
Placing away from plants
Even in such instances resistant to a lack of light, leaves fade significantly, and their size decreases.
Watering and humidity
Where a palm tree grows in a natural environment, it is quite humid and warm. Therefore, it must be watered so that the soil in the pot is always moist, but not waterlogged.
Attention! The state of the land in the pot should not resemble a swamp. If water remains on the surface of the soil and turns into puddles, such land is not suitable for a palm tree; you need to change the soil, drain the pot and equip it with a pallet.
Since in the summer months the plant needs abundant watering, but at the same time it is afraid of stagnation of water, it is necessary to provide it with a capacity that will collect excess moisture. A deep pan is also needed in order for the water collected in it to evaporate during the heating season, providing humidity near the palm tree.
In winter, the amount of watering should be reduced if the room becomes cool and damp. In cases where the quality of heating can cope with maintaining the room temperature above + 22˚C, the number of irrigations should not be reduced, since the microclimate is comparable to summer rates.
Important! The exceptions are Washingtonia and Brahea, for whom it is important to lower the temperature in winter to + 10˚C.
The plant loves moist air, it breathes through a large surface area of its leaves. In order for the palm to receive enough air and moisture from the environment, it is recommended to spray all the greens every day. In periods when the humidity of the room turns into damp, there is no need to moisten the plant additionally (usually this occurs in spring and autumn, when the heating has not yet been switched on (or has already been turned off), and in the street the temperature does not rise above + 13 ° C).
Soil selection
Palm trees grow well in light breathing substrates that do not clump, which means they freely pass excess water into the pallet. Proper palm care at home begins with the composition of the substrate. There is no need to independently search for the components of the correct soil, measure the amount of substances and knead them. Most flower shops sell ready-made soil mixtures for palm trees. They are universal for all grades and are completely ready for use.
Attention! Before planting a palm tree in a pot, you need to cover the bottom with drainage, which will remove excess moisture from the roots.
Necessary drainage
If you want to independently prepare the soil for a tropical pet, you can use the following composition:
- 1 part of sand;
- 2 parts of fertile land;
- 1 part humus.
Fertilizer and fertilizing
You just don’t need to feed or transplant the newly purchased palm for the first 14 days. The plant needs to adapt to new conditions. After two weeks, you can apply fertilizer after moistening the soil.
Palm trees love organic matter derived from plant decay processes, similar to the natural process that takes place in the subtropical latitudes of mainland South America, as well as on islands and tropics, when fallen green plants cover the soil, decay and become a natural fertilizer.
Many flower growers recommend soaking in large containers cow or bird droppings, keeping it for 5-7 days, filtering and fertilizing with this solution of palm trees. The feeding method is effective, but what to do for a city resident who wants to feed his palm tree and does not know where to get cow dung? There is a solution.
Modern flower shops sell chicken droppings in the form of pellets that are odorless and look like pressed sawdust. They are great for feeding green beauties during the period of active growth - from April to October.
Additional Information. Different fertilizer manufacturers recommend their doses for breeding. Before use, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the information on the packaging and follow the recommendations received.
Causes of leaf damage and methods of treatment
The pride of every palm is its foliage. Therefore, when the appearance of greenery deteriorates, the housewives begin to analyze the situation in search of an answer to the question of why the leaves near the palm tree begin to turn yellow.
Leaves turn yellow
There is a biological reason that has nothing to do with illness or improper care - old leaves dry up and die, and new ones grow at the same time. This is a natural process. To maintain an attractive appearance, you can trim the yellowing instance.
Yellowing and drying of the tips of the leaves
When yellow tips began to appear on a large number of leaves, it is worth looking for a reason in the conditions of plant maintenance. Caring for a palm tree at home should ensure that there is no drafts.
Beginning flower growers often due to an excess of concern for plants fill tropical beauties, afraid of drying out the soil. Palm roots really love moisture, but at the same time they are afraid of swamping, so at the first manifestations of yellowed tips of the foliage, the watering regime should be analyzed.
Dry and trapped indoor air can ruin palm leaves. In the absence of an air humidifier, frequent spraying of foliage with soft water is necessary. Once a week, if possible, the plant can be bathed by wiping it from dusty deposits that interfere with breathing.
White plaque on the leaves
The most common and safest reason for the appearance of white plaque on the leaves is the use of hard water. Moisture from the surface evaporates, and lime or salt deposits remain and clogs the pores of the plant, worsening its condition. If hard water flows in the water supply, it must be defended for watering and spraying the palm trees. Have to make a separate bucket, in which there will always be tap water, from which chlorine will evaporate, and impurities settle to the bottom.
White plaque from the fungus
The second reason for the appearance of white plaque on a palm tree is a fungal infection. It develops with an excess of moisture in the air, that is, when the room is cool and damp. In order to prevent infection with a fungus, in the off-season, palms are not sprayed.
Additional Information. You can get rid of the infection already obtained by treating with fungicides and pruning infected leaves.
Palm propagation instructions
The method of propagation of a palm tree depends on its type. Flowering breeds that produce seeds can be germinated naturally - from seeds and seeds. Non-flowering varieties propagate vegetatively.
Vegetative propagation
Many gardeners want to know how a palm tree propagates vegetatively, if it most often has only one trunk. Even such a plant can be propagated vegetatively. To do this, it is enough to cut off the upper part of the shoot, separating the bottom of the resulting stem from the leaves. Place the shoot in a pot with a fertile substrate, moisten and keep at room temperature. To speed up the rooting process, you can create a greenhouse by covering the plant with a glass jar or film. After the roots appear, the greenhouse is taken apart.
Growing from seeds or seeds
Growing a new palm tree is easy from seed. To do this, it is not necessary to wait for the neighboring adult plant to bloom - seeds and seeds are sold in flower shops. It will turn out to propagate the palm tree only from fresh planting material, so you should definitely pay attention to what year of packing is indicated - if more than two years have passed, it is better to refuse such a set.
Seed ripening
How to grow a palm tree from seeds, step by step instructions:
- Carefully incise the dense membrane of the bone or seed without damaging the nucleus.
- Place the seed in warm water.
- Expect seed swelling, to increase the percentage of germination, change the water 1 time per day.
- Deepen the swollen seed in a fertile substrate, pour, cover with a film.
- After germination, the film can be removed.
Attention! Palm seeds germinate for a rather long time; you do not need to throw away seed material if it has not sprouted even in a month.
What to choose: pot or tub
A palm pot, as for other plants, is preferable to take from natural materials. Such a capacity will allow the roots to breathe, will not create conditions for the occurrence of rot.
Additional Information. If the pot is already bought and it is plastic, you should not get rid of it, because you can transplant a palm into it. In this case, you will have to regularly loosen the ground, providing air exchange for the roots in order to avoid meeting with the fungus.
A large wooden tub is perfect for an adult plant, you can plant a perennial palm tree in it, which is closely in its previous place. However, transplantation of young plants must occur in containers corresponding to the size of the root system.
Getting a palm tree in the room is not only beautiful, but also useful. It perfectly renews the composition of the air, enriching it with oxygen, its appearance reminds of relaxation and the complete absence of worries. Some types of bushy palms can be planted in several pots and get a rainforest that will give the interior a fresh look and inform the owners of their appearance if the air in the room starts to dry.
