The growth of the date palm is not as rapid as that of other plants. This means you don’t have to repot date palms as often. When is it time to give the palm tree a new pot and how do you repot the plant correctly?
How often and when should you repot a date palm?
Date palms should be repotted every four to five years, ideally in spring shortly before the growth phase begins. When repotting you will need a higher and deeper pot as well as fresh palm soil. After transplanting, water the palm more often, but do not fertilize immediately.
How often does the date palm need a new pot?
Date palms grow slowly, so you only need to repot the palm every four to five years. You can tell that it's time for a new pot when the roots grow out of the bottom of the container or the palm pushes up.
For transplanting, you need a pot that is slightly higher and deeper than the old one. You also need fresh palm soil (€29.00 on Amazon), which you can mix yourself.
An extra pair of hands is very helpful when repotting larger specimens.
The best time to repot
The best time to repot is early spring, just before the date palm begins its growth phase. When you take the palm tree out of its winter quarters, check whether the old pot is still sufficient.
How to properly repot date palms
- Provide new planter
- Create gravel drainage
- fill with palm soil
- Unpotting the palm tree
- shake off old substrate
- maybe. Pruning roots
- Insert date palm
- fill with substrate and press carefully
- water more often
- do not fertilize in the first few months
Make sure that the new planter has a sufficiently large drainage hole so that no waterlogging can form. To be on the safe side, you should create a drainage system at the bottom.
Shake off the old substrate or briefly hold the date palm under running water. If you don't want it to grow as much anymore, carefully trim the roots at the bottom before planting it in the new pot.
After transplanting, the date palm needs a little more water. You are not allowed to fertilize them in the first few months afterwards. Don't put it in a place where the palm tree gets a lot of sun.
Tip
If you neglected to repot the date palm in spring, you can still do it in late autumn. However, the palm will recover better if you transplant it at the beginning of a growth period.
