Areca catechu dwarf

[PalmatierMeg]

I have an Areca catechu dwarf I received as a 1g a couple years ago. It happily outgrew several pot sizes, so I planted it in the shade garden last June, along with an A.c. semi-dwarf and several other Arecas. Last winter I protected them with double layers of cotton flannel & fleece during the coldest December on record. Flash forward to spring 2011. The A.c. semi-dwarf collapses & dies, as does A. trianda. This week my beloved 10' A. concinna collapsed. The A. vestiarias don't look too healthy. So far, the A.c. dwarf, which suffered a lot of frond damage, seems to be growing okay.

But - after the past 2 winters I know my dwarf Areca is doomed if I leave it in the ground. I want to dig it up and repot it so I can protect it like I do my lipsticks. So, please, palm experts:

1. Can Arecas possibly survive transplant trauma? This little guy is just forming a trunk. It is 3' tall and 2-3' wide through the crown.

2. Is it advisable for me to "trench" around it (how far from the stem?) over a period of weeks or months? Or should I "go for it" all at once. Currently, I am in a severe drought so I won't do a thing until rainy season finally gets underway.

3. Any other tips/advice greatly appreciated. I desperately want to keep this palm safe.

Thanks, all.

[tjwalters]

It's only been in the ground for a year, so maybe the roots haven't spread much beyond the pot from which it came. If it's doomed anyway if you leave it in the ground, it's probably worth trying to dig, pot and save. I have no experience with them, though, so that's just a semi-educated guess.

[Tomw]

I also have an Areca catechu that has made it thru the last two winters and is doing great. The way I look at it is, I would rather it die from the cold than from the shovel. There are things that you can do to try to keep it from freezing. I used the small Christmas lights rapped around the trunk and then rapped that loosely with cloth. At the bottom of the tree I pilled up mulch and put more lights on that, and then I take a tarp stapled to long 1”x 2” boards. With the tarp and boards I make a teepee around the tree, I believe that this is key to saving the tree because the teepee allows that wormer air from the lights at the bottom to flow up around the tree and exit out the small “chimney”. When you do this just don’t use too many light. I cooked my other smaller Areca catechu last December by using too many lights. Good luck either way.

[Jeff Searle]

Meg,

First, I think your smart if you take it back out and repot it. It's probably never going to grow that far north without having to worry your self sick every winter. Being your experiencing a drought now, I would wait until you start getting some regular rains and then dig it out and put it in a pot. If your carful and take your time, you have a good chance of it making it. keep it then in the shade. Good luck!

Jeff

[PalmatierMeg]

Meg,

First, I think your smart if you take it back out and repot it. It's probably never going to grow that far north without having to worry your self sick every winter. Being your experiencing a drought now, I would wait until you start getting some regular rains and then dig it out and put it in a pot. If your carful and take your time, you have a good chance of it making it. keep it then in the shade. Good luck!

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. Should I do it in "stages" by trenching around the stem?

[DoomsDave]

Hi, Meg:

I don't know much about Arecas, except for how easy they are for me to kill here.

I can say that trenching first is a good idea. If your palm is growing happily now, or at least reasonably so, I'd say a month should do it.

I usually trench all around the entire rootball down to about a foot deep, and 2 or 3 inches across.

If the rootball's going to be big, I'll go deeper.

Most times it works well, especially for palms growing fast, or at least relatively fast.

You've picked the right season to do it.

Once you pot it, keep it in the shade and out of the wind still it starts to grow again.

Keep us apprized.

dave

[PalmatierMeg]

Hi, Meg:

I don't know much about Arecas, except for how easy they are for me to kill here.

I can say that trenching first is a good idea. If your palm is growing happily now, or at least reasonably so, I'd say a month should do it.

I usually trench all around the entire rootball down to about a foot deep, and 2 or 3 inches across.

If the rootball's going to be big, I'll go deeper.

Most times it works well, especially for palms growing fast, or at least relatively fast.

You've picked the right season to do it.

Once you pot it, keep it in the shade and out of the wind still it starts to grow again.

Keep us apprized.

dave

Thanks, Dave. I can't buy or beg a decent rain shower. Tonight, with black clouds and dire storm warnings all over the place, I got about 100 drops before the sun came out. Our canal is nearly 6' down.

[Kumar]

Meg, we have areca nurseries around calcutta (of a sort) where young arecas are kept in the ground until bought by plantation owners. The plants are dug up with impossibly tiny rootballs and sometimes i see the lorries filled with these young (6 feet at tip of spear) plants. From this i would say that it does appear probable that they will survive.

[PalmatierMeg]

Meg, we have areca nurseries around calcutta (of a sort) where young arecas are kept in the ground until bought by plantation owners. The plants are dug up with impossibly tiny rootballs and sometimes i see the lorries filled with these young (6 feet at tip of spear) plants. From this i would say that it does appear probable that they will survive.

Thanks for the support, Kumar. Yesterday afternoon we got a 3.25" monsoon - hooray! I'll wait another week or so then start trenching around it. I'll have to reconfigure that part of the shade garden because of winter casualties. But I've got an assortment of Chamaedoreas in reserve. Chams sailed through winter. I'm giving up on planting tropicals like Arecas, Balakas, Hydriasteles, Licualas etc. I fear upcoming winters will be too harsh for them.

[PalmatierMeg]

Sometime this coming week I am completing the move of this palm from garden to pot. Over the past 6 weeks I have trenched around it in stages. The palm has opened a new frond. My question is this: should I cut off other fronds that were damaged over winter? I don't want to stress it while it develops new roots.

[Moose]

Did it survive the transplant?

[PalmatierMeg]

Yes but it didn't survive planting in a large box planter my husband built for it. Neither did following palms so I refused to use it further. Last year he tore it apart to rebuild an outdoor tower for our cats.

But now I have a large dwarf catechu that may have better traits. I got it at the Palm Beach sale some years back. I'll take photos but right now we are getting yard work done before Gordon.

[Moose]

5 straight hours of rain from Gordon here

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Ron, I took the following photos of my largest dwarf Areca today before the rain hit hard. I could only take one side because the pot on its dolly is so heavy it takes two people to roll. It's looking really dark green and healthy right now. It has about 6" of trunk. I had to treat it with insecticide soap for mealybugs earlier this summer. They need careful monitoring for mealybugs, scale and spider mites, depending on the season.

Areca catechu Dwarf, Cape Coral, FL