The sight of palm trees makes many people dream of southern countries. What is little known is that among the over 2,000 species there are some that are frost-resistant. You can also plant these in the garden in our latitudes.
How do I plant hardy palm trees in the garden?
To plant hardy palm trees in the garden, choose a sunny, wind-protected location. Dig a sufficiently large planting hole, add a drainage layer and palm soil into it. Insert the palm tree carefully, fill it with palm soil and press it down gently. In winter, protect the roots with an insulating layer and, if necessary, a heating cable.
Which palm trees are allowed outdoors?
When purchasing, make sure that the palm tree is winter hardy and can tolerate higher temperatures below zero. This is usually noted on the plant label.
Which location is suitable?
You shouldn't use frost-resistant palm trees just anywhere. Give the plant a location that is as sunny as possible, for example in front of the additional protective, south-facing house wall.
The place should also be protected from the wind. Constant drafts are not good for the leaflets and they would look torn after a very short time.
For the same reason, you should not plant the plant too close to a path. Well-cared for palm trees can grow very large over the years. If you keep bumping into the leaves as you walk past, they will bend, dry out and be shed. This can seriously affect the appearance.
Planting the palm tree in the garden
Palm trees form roots that are not very branched but that reach far into the depths. Therefore, proceed as follows when inserting:
- Dig a planting hole that is twenty centimeters wider and at least twenty centimeters deeper than the root ball.
- If the soil is impermeable, dig an even larger pit and add a drainage layer of sand or gravel.
- Fill the hole with palm soil that you have mixed yourself or purchased from a specialist retailer, enriched with a little bark mulch.
- Unpot the palm tree very carefully, the roots must not be damaged.
- If the pot does not come away from the ball, cut it open and under no circumstances tear the roots.
- If the roots have already grown spirally at the bottom, shorten the root system so that they fit vertically into the pit.
- Place the palm tree in the planting hole and fill with palm soil.
- Condense carefully. Just press the floor firmly with the edge of your hand, this is enough.
- Only fill in enough soil so that the edge is a few centimeters below the surrounding garden soil or alternatively create a watering ring.
In regions where there is a risk of severe frosts, it is recommended to dig the planting hole a little larger and fit it with upright, insulating hard foam panels. The soil below the root ball remains free so that the deeper roots can develop.
In winter, cover the ground around the palm tree thickly with bark mulch, straw or brushwood. Palm trees usually freeze to death at the roots; the insulating layer and panels keep the ground warm and prevent frost damage. An additional, special plant heating cable is recommended if the palm tree is in regions where the temperature drops sharply over several weeks.
Tip
If there is no space in your garden to cultivate the palm outdoors all year round, you can also place the plant in a pot in a suitable location, move it into the house in the fall and overwinter in the apartment.
