Palm trees are exotic plants that place special demands on the substrate. The original origin of the species provides important information about the composition of the soil. To meet the needs of the palm tree, you should mix the substrate yourself.
What should you consider when choosing palm soil?
The right palm soil should have a loose and airy structure, the right grain size and stability. Avoid peat-based potting soils. Instead, choose a soil that takes into account the specific pH and substrate composition of the palm species. Home-mixed palm soil is often a good choice.
How to recognize good palm soil
The shelves of gardening stores are overflowing with special soils that are designed to meet the different needs of houseplants. Many plants also thrive optimally in normal potting soil. Palms, on the other hand, have very specific requirements for the substrate.
What you should pay attention to
Palmerde is not the same as Palmerde
Of the 3,000 known palm tree species, each plant has individual requirements for the substrate. When buying palm soil, you should pay attention to basic aspects, as all types attach great importance to this:
- Grain: soil that is too loose causes the plant to dry out and the compacted substrate quickly becomes waterlogged
- Pore structure: Roots need air to absorb nutrients
- Stability: Palm trees are top-heavy and can tip over if the substrate is too light
Most commercially available substrates are based on peat and do not have the optimal combination of nutrients. Packaged peat or pure humus is not suitable as palm soil because the substrate tends to compact after regular watering. As a result, the roots are no longer adequately ventilated and rot. Such substrates must be loosened with sand, perlite or expanded clay.
Peat-based palm soil may be good for the plant. This is not a good choice for nature.
Excursus
Why peat substrates harm nature
As part of peat mining, large areas of moorland are drained, freed from their valuable moss cover and removed layer by layer. Bare areas remain that no longer offer any living space. Such areas can no longer regenerate naturally because moors grow extremely slowly and react sensitively to natural disturbances.
With the moors, unique ecosystems in which endangered animal and plant species live are disappearing. In addition, important buffers in the climate system are lost. Peat stores enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a significant greenhouse gas. These CO2 reserves are released again through peat mining.
pH value
Every palm tree has its own pH requirements
This value has a great influence on the vitality of ornamental plants. In general, the pH value is between 5.0 and 9.0. However, you should take the requirements of your species into account, because if the limit values are exceeded, the palm tree can be damaged.
| pH value | Origin | Substrate | scientific | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentia palm | 5, 4 to 7, 0 | lowland characterized by sand-limestone | Soil and sand, moderately moist | Howea forsteriana |
| Hemp palm | 5, 5 to 7, 2 | subtropical regions | Mixture with compost or humus, drainage necessary | Trachycarpus fortunei |
| Gold Fruit Palm | 5, 5 to 6, 5 | sandy river banks, wet forests | Compost-based soil mixture | Dypsis lutescens |
| Hollypalm | 5, 8 to 7, 0 | subtropical forests | permeable, slightly acidic soil mix | Rhapis excelsa |
| palm lily | 6, 0 to 7, 0 | arid and semi-arid regions | permeable with sand or gravel | Yucca spec. |
| Mountain Palm | 6, 5 to 7, 9 | moist to wet forests | permeable and slightly alkaline, preferably loamy | Chamaedorea elegans |
| Christmas palm | 6, 5 to 8, 4 | tropical regions | permeable and nutrient-rich, moderately moist | Veitchia merrillii |
What is the composition of palm soil?
Pre-made green plant and palm soil meets the requirements of many palm trees. Starting fertilization provides the plants with nutrients for the next two months, while added substances promote a loose and airy structure. Pay attention to the exact composition of the respective palm soil. Since a general distinction is made between palm trees from wet and dry areas, not every substrate is equally suitable.
General
All palm trees need drainage in the pot to prevent waterlogging. The bucket is filled with palm soil over the approximately two centimeter high drainage layer. Palm trees value loose soil that stores and gradually releases water. The soil should not be too loose as it dries out quickly. To improve the structure and permeability of the soil, you can add various substrates. The top layer consists of normal soil without additives. It is always kept a little moist.
Loosening substances and nutrient additives:
- Sand or quartz grit also provide the palm trees with silicates
- Styrofoam beads for a loose structure
- Guano or horn shavings as a starting aid
Tip
High-quality palm soil contains the long-term fertilizer Agrosil and cocohum instead of peat. It needs to be watered less often because coconut fibers can absorb many times their own weight in water.
Palm trees from dry areas
Plants that are originally native to arid regions of the world like mineral components in the soil. Drainage in the form of perlite, lavalite or vermiculite ensures optimal growth conditions. If you use soil based on bark humus, you should mix it with coconut fiber in a ratio of 3:2.
Ideal substrate mixture:
- 50 percent potting or coconut soil
- ten percent quartz sand
- 20 percent clay or loam
- 20 percent drainage layer
Palm trees from wet areas
Palm soil contains up to 70% potting or coconut soil
Plants that thrive in moist habitats value humus-rich soil in an acidic environment. For vital growth, you should mix potting soil with bark humus and small amounts of quartz sand, clay or loam. For drainage, you can enrich perlite, lavalite or vermiculite with organic additives such as peanut shells or pine bark.
Optimal substrate mix:
- 70 percent coconut or potting soil
- ten percent quartz sand
- five percent clay or loam
- 15 percent drainage layer
Mix palm soil yourself
If you want to offer your palm trees optimal growing conditions, you should mix your plant substrate yourself. Basically, you won't make any mistakes with a mixing ratio of 1:1:1. Take a third each of plant soil, quartz sand and loam or clay and mix the substrate thoroughly.
Nevertheless, you should pay attention to the specific requirements of the species and choose the substrate accordingly. While the soil for the hemp palm is easy to prepare, the mountain palm has greater demands on the substrate mix. There are palm trees that require a higher proportion of drainage and those that place more value on substrates:
- Kentia and Christmas palms prefer a high sand content
- Date palm values a loose substrate that stores water
- Hemp, honey and coconut palms are undemanding and like a moderately sandy substrate
- Mountain palm likes moderately sandy substrates that are somewhat calcareous
- Mountain, Kentia, honey and coconut palms value good drainage
Tip
If the substrate is too clayey, you can enrich it with fine quartz sand and humus. Soil containing sand should be mixed with low-lime and fine-grained clay or loam.
Take care of palm trees properly
The best soil will not bring plant he alth if it is not cared for properly. Larger palms require more water and nutrients, which is why such plants require more attention.
✅ Palmen Pflege - Wie pflegt man eine Palme richtig?
Irrigation
If the palm soil has a high nutrient content, watering is particularly important. You need to ensure optimal watering, especially on hot days. Substrates with higher sand contents dry out more quickly than clayey soils. Before each watering, insert your finger halfway into the substrate. If the layer below the soil surface has dried out, the plant urgently needs water.
Fertilization
A balanced supply of nutrients ensures vital growth. In addition to the main nutrients, many palm trees need trace minerals such as molybdenum or boron. A nutrient deficiency is often shown by discoloration of the leaf edges or completely dead leaf sections.
Frequently asked questions
When are palm trees repotted?
Young plants should be repotted for the first time after about six months. Older plants are allowed to thrive in their pot until they have completely rooted through the pot ball. A new pot is recommended after three years at the latest. Ideally, the palm tree is repotted in spring before the growing season begins.
How to repot palm trees?
A drainage layer in the flower pot protects the palm tree from waterlogging
Tie sprawling crowns loosely with rope so that the leaves cannot break off. Prepare the new planter with a drainage layer. Remove the root ball from the old pot and carefully tap off the substrate. The palm tree is placed in the new pot so that the top of the pot ball is about a finger's width below the edge of the pot. Fill the gaps with fresh substrate and water the plant thoroughly.
How can I regulate the pH value of palm soil?
By adding peat, the pH value drops into the acidic range. Coconut fibers are an alternative to peat. If the substrate is too acidic for your palm tree, you should improve it by adding lime. A pH tester (€65.00 on Amazon) gives you information about the current value.
What do palm trees need?
The exotic plants require the main nutrients that all plants need for he althy growth. Silicates are important because they support the structure of plant cells. Magnesium, iron and manganese are essential trace elements that are administered through additional fertilizers. Use a complete fertilizer that is low in phosphorus. Alternatively, you can provide your palm trees with organic matter. Basically, palm trees should be fertilized every two to three weeks during the vegetation phase. Don't let your palm trees dry out and avoid waterlogging.
