Hemp palm ∗ The 10 best care tips and varieties

Plant the hemp palm properly

Before you plant a fan palm outdoors, it should be carefully cared for in the tub for 3-5 years. Only plant your exotic garden dweller in spring. Comes the Hemp palm in the ground in April or May, it has established itself well in the ground by the beginning of winter. Assign a trachycarpus to a sunny, sheltered and warm location, where the soil is humus and first-class permeable. Dig a planting hole that will completely accommodate the long taproot. Enrich the excavation with compost, Horn shavings,(€ 32.93 at Amazon *)Lava granules(€ 14.00 at Amazon *) and bog soil. The procedure is exemplary:

Create a drainage at the bottom of the pit Expanded clay(€ 16.35 at Amazon *) or pottery shards
Take the hemp palm out of the pot and place it in the soil, observing the previous planting depth
Firmly press the optimized substrate so that no cavities form on the roots
Pour on soft water and mulch with leaves or clippings

Care tips

Exemplary palm care has far fewer hurdles than is generally assumed. If the chosen location largely meets the requirements, everything revolves around the following aspects:

Water the hemp palm penetrating with soft water when the substrate surface dries up
Every 14 days from April to September fertilize or one in April and June Slow release fertilizer administer
Cut off yellowed, dead fronds so that a remainder of approx. 20 cm length remains on the trunk

In the bed, the fan palm is hardy to -10 degrees. If the frost is severe, tie the fronds up and cover them with breathable fleece. the Tree grate pile up to 30 cm high with leaves, straw or fir branches.
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Which location is suitable?

The hemp palm prefers a sunny location with a humus rich, nutrient-rich and well-drained soil. Although the fronds are stable, a sheltered location is ideal for harmonious growth. In the Penumbra you can also place the plant; here, however, the typical silhouette falls short of expectations.
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What soil does the plant need?

A hemp palm should spend the first years of its life in a bucket filled with a permeable, humus-rich substrate. If you choose a loose soil with coarse components that has a slightly acidic pH value, the plant will feel in good hands. Older specimens will thrive in any good garden soil, as long as it is nutritious and well-drained. The soil acid value fades into the background with advanced age. Nevertheless, it is an advantage if you optimize loamy garden soil with deciduous compost or peat and a few handfuls Lava granules.
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What is the best time to plant?

Only plant a hemp palm outdoors in spring. During the months of April and May, an appointment with mild, dry weather is possible. In this way, the palm plant has a sufficiently long phase available to take root in the soil until winter. If you cultivate the fan palm in a bucket and overwinter it in the house, it is possible to plant it at any time during the growing season.

When is the flowering time?

From April to June, yellow to yellowish-green panicle flowers appear on older hemp palms. A pollination only takes place if there is both a palm with male flowers and a specimen with female flowers are in the immediate vicinity or there are some hermaphrodite flowers next to the female form. If fertilization takes place, the plant develops dark blue, kidney-shaped berries in autumn.

Cut the hemp palm properly

Only the dead, yellow or brown discolored leaves are cut off with a sharp knife. Wait until a frond has completely died before cutting. Until then, it is still releasing valuable nutrients to the palm. Do not cut into healthy tissue and leave a 10-20 cm piece of the leaf sheath on the trunk. This then slopes downwards and dissolves into innumerable fibers. This creates the typical, hairy appearance of the palm trunk. Please note that a hemp palm is never cut off at the top. Here is the only point of vegetation.
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Water the hemp palm

Water a fan palm regularly and thoroughly without causing waterlogging. In particular, during dry summer weather, you can promote growth with regular watering. The exotic plant should not be bothered with hard tap water. Instead, use collected rainwater or soft pond water so that the lime content in the substrate does not reach harmful values at an alkaline level.
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Fertilize hemp palm properly

Fertilize a hemp palm with a nitrogen-stressed one every 14 days from April to September Palm fertilizer. Alternatively, give a long-term preparation in April and June. A liquid fertilizer is conveniently recommended for keeping in a bucket, as this is easier to dose and apply. A combined nutrient supply can also be considered in the bed. After starting mineral fertilization in April, a portion of compost with horn shavings takes over the food supply every 2 weeks.
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Overwinter

In the local regions, a snow-covered palm tree evokes astonished glances over the garden fence. Thanks to a hardy hemp palm, you can accomplish the horticultural feat without extensive prior knowledge. How to successfully overwinter a fan palm:

From - 10 degrees Celsius, tie the fronds upright
Put a breathable fleece over the sensitive palm heart to protect it
Cover the tree grate with leaves, straw and coniferous branches
If it is clear, water every now and then on a mild day

In the bucket, however, the open-air season for a fan palm ends at -5 degrees Celsius. Due to the exposed position of the root ball, it freezes through within a short time. Therefore, clear the plant in good time. With regard to the light and temperature conditions, the hemp palm proves to be flexible. Wintering in a bright, frost-free room at 5-8 degrees Celsius is tolerated as well as staying in a heated, sunny living room at 20 degrees. Adjust the water supply to the temperature conditions accordingly.
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Propagate hemp palm

Only that comes for the increase sowing of seeds in question. In view of the high expenditure due to a germination time of 12-14 months, this project is rarely tackled by hobby gardeners.
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Hemp palm in a pot

If you cultivate a young hemp palm in a pot for the first few years, the plant is excellently prepared in this protected environment for later planting outdoors. Since the fan palm always spends several years in the same container and substrate, the following process is extremely relevant when planting:

Lay a drainage made of potsherds or expanded clay over the water drain in the deep palm bucket (no chippings or gravel)
Spread an air and water permeable fleece over it so that no crumbs of earth get in between
A high-quality, permeable and slightly acidic up to halfway up Palm soil fill in
Pot the young hemp palm and insert it into the substrate while maintaining the previous planting depth

Water the young plant with soft water and place it in the partially shaded location for a few days until it moves to a sunny place after 8-10 days. It is fertilized for the first time after 6 weeks.

Hemp palm does not bloom

The hemp palm only decides to flower under optimal conditions at an advanced age. Be patient for the first 5-8 years. If an older specimen does not flower, check the site conditions. A hemp palm only decides to let its flowers sprout in sun-drenched, sheltered locations. If the palm is lacking in nutrients or if it suffers from drought stress, it will also fail to flower.

Yellow leaves

If the fan leaves gradually turn yellow from the tips, it is a completely natural process. The frond is nearing the end of its life and is releasing its remaining nutrients to the palm. Since a yellow leaf is not usually thrown off, cut it off. A remainder of 20 cm in length remains on the trunk. If a hemp palm does not undergo this horticultural intervention, the yellow leaves collect under the green fronds over the years, so that the crown takes on an elongated shape.
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How do I treat brown tips on a hemp palm?

As a result of dry heating air or slight frostbite, the tips of a palm frond can turn brown. Cut off the discolored areas with sharp scissors, leaving a small edge of brown tissue 1 mm thick on the sheet. If the damage results from dry air, spray the hemp palm every 2 days with soft water. You can protect the plant against renewed frostbite by tying the fronds upright and with a Garden fleece to be protected.

Should I cut off the flower of a hemp palm?

The growth of male and female flowers costs a hemp palm an enormous amount of strength. As a rule, the already leisurely growth slows down further. In addition, withered flowers do not fall off, but hang sadly from the stem on wrist-thick stems. So cut off a hemp palm blossom unless you are aiming to harvest the seeds.
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Trivia

Due to its robust growth and winter hardiness, the hemp palm has now found a place on the black list of invasive plants. In Switzerland, experts are even sounding the alarm, as the fan palm is spreading increasingly in the mountain forests and threatening the native flora and fauna. For the hobby gardener, this aspect is, on the one hand, a confirmation that the palm can easily survive a Central European winter in the garden. On the other hand, special care is required to prevent a palm tree invasion. This includes that clippings should not be disposed of in the forest. The flowers, which are not particularly decorative anyway, are cut off before the seeds are formed. Fruit-bearing clippings are ideally disposed of in the local incinerator.

Nice varieties

Chinese hemp palm: Most popular fan palm for the garden, balcony and living room with a height of 200-400 cm
Darjeeling: Impresses with fir-green fronds up to 1 m in diameter and robust winter hardiness
Double trunks: Premium variety among the hemp palms with a slim trunk and semicircular compartments
Wagner’s hemp palm: Small-stature variety, ideal for keeping in pots and in the small garden