Hemp palms are hardy and can therefore be grown outdoors all year round in our latitudes. However, this only applies to palm trees that are older. Young plants are not hardy and must be overwintered indoors or in a protected place on the terrace for the first few years.
You can overwinter hemp palms outside
Hemp palms come from the Chinese high mountains and can therefore cope wonderfully with sub-zero temperatures. Fully grown hemp palms that are planted in the garden bed in good time are hardy down to minus 17 degrees. However, the leaves freeze if they are not protected from frost.
A hemp palm that you care for in a pot should also be overwintered outdoors. Then the temperatures should not fall below minus 6 degrees. With the right winter protection and in a protected location, even a hemp palm in a pot will have little impact on winter.
Plant out in the garden bed in good time
An older hemp palm is so hardy that you can keep it in the garden bed all year round. However, it must be planted out in spring so that it can get used to its surroundings and develop sufficient roots.
Protect hemp palms outdoors from frost and moisture
More than the cold, the wetness causes a problem for a hemp palm in winter. Therefore, place the palm tree in well-drained garden soil so that the rainwater can drain away.
So that the leaves do not suffer frost damage, cover the hemp palm with burlap (€24.00 on Amazon), garden fleece or other suitable materials. Above all, you should make sure that the heart of the palm tree is protected from moisture. As soon as the palm heart gets too wet, it freezes and the hemp palm dies.
- Protect leaves from frost
- Cover palm heart
- Spread mulch cover
It also makes sense to protect the soil under the hemp palm with a layer of mulch, especially in the first year.
Overwintering hemp palms in a pot
You should care for younger hemp palms in a pot so that you can overwinter them outside. The bucket is placed in a covered, somewhat sheltered place in winter. It is important that rainwater or snow does not fall directly onto the center of the hemp palm.
Cover the planter with burlap, fir or garden fleece.
Cut off brown leaves after frost
If the hemp palm has brown leaves after winter, it is almost always due to frost damage. You can simply cut these leaves off. New leaves then develop quite quickly.
Do not cut the leaves directly on the trunk, but leave remnants of the leaf four to six centimeters long. The remains fray and create the typical appearance of the palm trunk.
Tip
In summer, the ideal temperatures for hemp palms are between 15 and 20 degrees. When caring for a hemp palm in your home, it should not be left too warm. This is especially true for flower windows, where it can get very warm at lunchtime.
