Dwarf date palm ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Phoenix roebelenii
• Family: Palm family (Arecaceae)
• Origin: Southeast Asia
• Growth type: palm
• Growth form: multi-stemmed, sprawling
• Growth height: 100 cm to 300 cm
• Leaf: pinnate
• Flower: panicle
• Fruit: berry
• Roots: taproot
• Hardiness: not hardy
• Use: container plant

growth

the dwarf date palm is a species of palm of the genus found in Southeast Asia date palms (Phoenix). In this country, Phoenix roebelenii is highly valued as a container plant due to its picturesque, compact growth with these properties:

• growth habit: single or multi-stemmed palm with dense leaflets of magnificent feather fronds.
• Growth height as a container plant: on average up to 100 cm, rarely 200 cm to 300 cm.
• tribe: fibrous, erect or twisted, slender, up to 10 cm in diameter without leaf bases.
• Tribe Specialty: less fibrous to smooth with age and covered with diamond-shaped bases of truncated leaves.
• root: Taproot with a dense network of fine roots.
• Horticulturally interesting features: sprawling, easy to care for, sensitive to frost, non-toxic, likes to form shoots for propagation, ideal palm species for beginners.

Dwarf date palm - a houseplant worth seeing

Sheet

On the slender palm trunk of a dwarfdate palm a lush, sprawling crown of leaves is enthroned with these characteristics:

• leaf shape: arching-overhanging, long-stalked, pinnate frond with fibrous, reddish-brown leaf-sheath.
• sheet size: 100 cm to 150 cm long, rarely up to 200 cm.
• leaflets: opposite, linear, up to 40 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
• leaf color: evergreen, dark green.
• special feature: up to 8 cm long, orange-green spines on the petiole.

blossom

The dwarf date palm is a dioecious species of palm of the same sex. Male and female flowers develop on separate palms. You can find out the flower characteristics of a Phoenix roebelenii that are worth knowing in this overview:

• inflorescence: long-stalked panicle with numerous individual flowers.
• single flower: three-lobed, cup-shaped, inconspicuous.
• flower color: yellow-white or light green.
• heyday: April/May to June/July.

Male and female dwarf date palms can be distinguished by the position and color of their inflorescences. Male flower spikes are pendulous with yellowish white individual flowers. Female flower spikes are erect with light green individual flowers.

hardiness

A dwarf date palm is extremely sensitive to frost at a minimum temperature of 16° Celsius. In this respect, the small palm species differs from popular conspecifics such as the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) or real date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). These are conditionally hardy and survive short-term frost down to - 5° Celsius.

Plant dwarf date palms

You can buy ready-to-plant Phoenix roebelenii in garden centers and online shops for prices starting at 45 euros for an 80-centimetre specimen. Planting is easier after propagation by offshoots, which like-minded hobby gardeners sell at a reasonable price. Don't miss out on these planting tips:

propagation

As a container plant, the dwarf date palm rarely if ever produces fruit with seeds that could produce offspring. The palm tree makes a virtue of this necessity and produces lateral offshoots at the base of the trunk. The Kindel are the perfect starting material for promising propagation. That is how it goes:

1. Cut offshoots with their own roots and leaves from the mother plant.
2. Fill deep seed pot with peat-free palm soil and coconut earth in equal parts.
3. Moisten the substrate with soft water.
4. Plant the child as deep as it was next to its mother plant.
5. Water and spray regularly on the bright, warm window seat.

In contrast, the sowing a gardening challenge that requires an epic patience. The dark germinating seeds of a Phoenix roebelenii are placed 2 cm deep in seed soil. Under the influence of a constantly high humidity of 80 percent at 27° to 30° Celsius, germination takes about 16 weeks. Another 2 to 3 years pass before the undivided cotyledon is followed by the first pinnate leaf.

planting

You can plant a dwarf date palm from your own propagation in a decorative bucket as soon as the seed pot has fully rooted. All important key data for the right planting to read:

• bucket: deep vessel with space for the taproot, opening in the bottom for water drainage, two finger widths larger in diameter than the root ball.
• substrate: Special palm soil or a mix of peat-free potting soil, coconut soil, quartz sand(€26.00 at Amazon*) and lava granules.
• preparation: Place roots in lime-free water until no more air bubbles rise.
• planting technique: Fill in the substrate over a drainage expanded clay,(€19.00 at Amazon*) Plant the potted dwarf date palm, leave the watering edge free, press on the soil and water thoroughly.

Location

At this location, the dwarf date palm shows its most beautiful side:

• Indoors and outdoors in all semi-shady to shady, warm locations with the highest possible humidity.
• From May to August/September on the balcony or terrace in a wind-protected place in the penumbra.
• Year-round minimum temperature: 16° ​​Celsius.

digression

Increasing humidity – tips & tricks

Maintain dwarf date palm

In the semi-shady, warm location, the dwarf date palm proves to be very easy to care for. The uncomplicated water and nutrient supply depends on the season. Cutting care is not required. Wintering is easy compared to other date palms. Problems in cultivation are mostly due to care errors and are rarely due to infestation by diseases or pests. These care tips are good to know for hobby gardeners:

Pour

The dwarf date palm wants a periodically moist substrate. With this casting technique, you can meet the care requirements:

• Water the dwarf date palm thoroughly in summer when the substrate surface is noticeably dried (thumb test).
• In winter it is watered more sparingly, without causing waterlogging or dry balls (insert the watering indicator in the substrate).
• Use low-lime water as irrigation water, preferably collected, filtered rainwater or decalcified tap water.
• Spray palm fronds regularly with decalcified water, as long as the sun's rays are not falling on the leaves.

Fertilize

From April to September fertilize the dwarf date palm every two weeks with a liquid palm fertilizer. Special palm fertilizers are precisely tailored to the salt sensitivity of a date palm. In winter, a Phoenix roebelenii is fertilized every six to eight weeks.

To cut

A cut is not necessary for the dwarf date palm. Occasionally a feather frond dries up. Cut off the fully retracted palm leaf. A short piece of the base of the leaf is left for a uniformly beautiful trunk, as is characteristic of palm trees.

hibernate

Phoenix roebelenii is a warm house palm species. This has the advantage that no separate winter quarters need to be reserved. How to overwinter a dwarf date palm properly:

• preparation: water more sparingly from the end of August/beginning of September, extend the fertilizer intervals to six weeks.
• Grant: from night-time temperatures of 16° Celsius (hang up the minimum-maximum thermometer).
• winter location: normal room temperatures, bright at 3000 lux daily (compensate for lack of light with plant lamps).

repot

The slow-growing dwarf date palm is repotted every three to four years. You should devote yourself to this care measure at the latest when the first roots appear on the substrate surface or peep out of the bottom opening of the bucket. The diameter of the new palm pot is at most two to three fingers larger than the root ball. How to properly repot a date palm:

1. The best time is in spring.
2. Repot the dwarf date palm (remove stuck substrate from the pot with a long kitchen knife).
3. Shake off spent substrate or shower vigorously.
4. Clean the drainage material for reuse and fill it in the new palm pot.
5. Mix fresh palm soil with expanded clay and fill in.
6. Form a hollow in the substrate to insert the root ball.
7. Press down the soil and water thoroughly.

It is important to note that you do not plant the dwarf date palm deeper than before. Otherwise, you could be depriving yourself of potential shoots at the base of the trunk, which are ideal for free propagation.

Diseases, pests, care errors

The following table provides a compact overview of typical damage patterns on a dwarf date palm with information on common causes and non-toxic countermeasures:

Popular Varieties

There are no varieties of the dwarf date palm to buy.

FAQ

My dwarf date palm has brown leaves. Why is that?

A dwarf date palm reacts to various care problems with brown leaves. The most common cause is waterlogging in winter because the water supply is not matched to the greatly reduced need for watering. In this case, the plant should be repotted promptly. Brown leaves in summer are a typical symptom of drought stress. A dip in soft water solves the problem. Single brown leaves, on the other hand, are not a cause for concern because the date palm occasionally pulls in old fronds on the lower tuft in exchange for new leaves in the middle of the tuft.

Which plant lamps are suitable for overwintering a dwarf date palm?

Plant lamps for wintering a dwarf date palm should be very similar to sunlight. For this reason, special LED plant lamps with a daylight white light color are recommended. LED lamps consume up to 90 percent less energy than classic light bulbs. With this in mind, you can safely water your phoenix palm for 8 to 12 hours a day in winter illuminate without a noticeable increase in energy consumption being noticeable on the electricity bill might.

Brown leaf tips spoil my dwarf date palm. What to do?

Ball dryness or low humidity are the most common causes of brown leaf tips on a dwarf date palm. The Phoenix roebelenii cannot regenerate from this damage. However, you can repair the damage. Trim each brown leaf tip back to within 1mm of the green tissue. Nail scissors are well suited for the precise cut. As a preventive measure, you should spray your date palm regularly with low-lime water.