Should I separate majesty palms?

[NCFM]

I recently bought three majesty palms growing together in one pot from Lowe’s hardware. I’ve had them growing like this for about two months and they’re doing well; however, I’ve heard that they will grow faster if separated. Should I separate them or is there too much of a chance I would harm the plants by doing so?

[RJ]

They grow pretty quickly if fed well as it is. To be honest, are you in a rush to grow them out? I found within two years mine were just to big to deal with to be worth it. they have been sitting outside with no water in a pot and they still won't give up the ghost. Sorry to sound brutal but they make lousy house plants. 

 

If you decide to continue I don't see any reason you can't split them up. You will most likely have to wash all the soil off them to do so. Not sure how ticked off they will be afterwards. 

Oh and welcome to PT 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by RJ

[NCFM]

37 minutes ago, RJ said:

They grow pretty quickly if fed well as it is. To be honest, are you in a rush to grow them out? I found within two years mine were just to big to deal with to be worth it. they have been sitting outside with no water in a pot and they still won't give up the ghost. Sorry to sound brutal but they make lousy house plants. 

 

If you decide to continue I don't see any reason you can't split them up. You will most likely have to wash all the soil off them to do so. Not sure how ticked off they will be afterwards. 

Oh and welcome to PT 

 

I’m hoping to grow them as quickly as possible. The sooner they trunk, the better. I was just worried about potentially harming them due to separation.

Thanks for the welcome btw 

[Steve Mac]

Mate, the answer to almost every 'should I separate' question is usually that it depends on what you like the look of. That is why we have the plants, to look good to us. Opinions vary.

But usually the plants do better with less competition, and the longer that you leave them the harder that they are to separate, should you choose to.

My irrelevant opinion is that big fat palms can look good in multiples when they are small (like yours) and better as singles when they are big, what Majesties usually become. 

And the main information that you are after 'How well do they transplant', I don't know.

[NCFM]

1 hour ago, gtsteve said:

Mate, the answer to almost every 'should I separate' question is usually that it depends on what you like the look of. That is why we have the plants, to look good to us. Opinions vary.

But usually the plants do better with less competition, and the longer that you leave them the harder that they are to separate, should you choose to.

My irrelevant opinion is that big fat palms can look good in multiples when they are small (like yours) and better as singles when they are big, what Majesties usually become. 

And the main information that you are after 'How well do they transplant', I don't know.

I’m thinking I probably will separate the palms and see how it turns out.

[Steve Mac]

I think that they will all probably be fine.

Keep us updated on their progress.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

13 hours ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

I’m hoping to grow them as quickly as possible. The sooner they trunk, the better. I was just worried about potentially harming them due to separation.

Thanks for the welcome b

So a relatively cheap BB store plant is worth the try to separate not alot lost if it doesnt go your way plus a lesson learned. Separating palms to help grow faster in an environment where they wont ever grow in the ground is interesting unless your truly zone pushing  Keeping them as triple prolongs the time in a movable pot to be able to move them in n out per the seasons. Good luck with either direction and keep us posted. Welcome to palmtalk =) 

[NCFM]

49 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

So a relatively cheap BB store plant is worth the try to separate not alot lost if it doesnt go your way plus a lesson learned. Separating palms to help grow faster in an environment where they wont ever grow in the ground is interesting unless your truly zone pushing  Keeping them as triple prolongs the time in a movable pot to be able to move them in n out per the seasons. Good luck with either direction and keep us posted. Welcome to palmtalk =) 

It’s really just an experiment for me, I just want to see how fast I can get these palms to trunk. I don’t think I could ever keep them alive outdoors full time due to me living up in the piedmont. I have seen a few in the ground being kept alive down in Wilmington before believe it or not.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

It’s really just an experiment for me, I just want to see how fast I can get these palms to trunk. I don’t think I could ever keep them alive outdoors full time due to me living up in the piedmont. I have seen a few in the ground being kept alive down in Wilmington before believe it or not.

Well then let the experiment begin haha split them up and see what you can get them to endure 

[PalmatierMeg]

Majesties are solitary, not clumping, palms. Even though they make terrible houseplants, they are sold as such in garden centers. They are also, relatively, cheap as dirt. I would separate them as follows: 1) unpot them, then 2) rinse off as much potting mix as you can; 3) take them to a shady place, muster all your patience, then slowly and carefully untangle and tease apart their root systems like you would a mass of string. Avoid breaking as few roots as possible. 4) After you have separated them repot each in its own pots with a well-draining soil mix. Do not leave pockets of air around the roots; 5) water in and place pots in light shade while palms settle in.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

[NCFM]

On 8/16/2019 at 12:18 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

Majesties are solitary, not clumping, palms. Even though they make terrible houseplants, they are sold as such in garden centers. They are also, relatively, cheap as dirt. I would separate them as follows: 1) unpot them, then 2) rinse off as much potting mix as you can; 3) take them to a shady place, muster all your patience, then slowly and carefully untangle and tease apart their root systems like you would a mass of string. Avoid breaking as few roots as possible. 4) After you have separated them repot each in its own pots with a well-draining soil mix. Do not leave pockets of air around the roots; 5) water in and place pots in light shade while palms settle in.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

Thanks for the advice!

[Merlyn]

I separated 3 Majesties with the slice-and-dice method using a big kukri knife.  I just carefully sliced down in between the 3 trunks to make sure I didn't nick the growing bulb a.k.a. the "root initiation zone" on any of them.  They sat and sulked in the ground for about 2 months afterwards, and then started growing normally.  All are doing great 1 year later.

I also followed Meg's instructions when I separated an overplanted cluster of Livistona Chinensis earlier this year.  6 out of the 7 survived and are growing fine now.  I have a little nursery pot area with 2 sprinklers covering the area, and I managed to leave one of them sitting with neither sprinkler hitting it.  That was fine until May, when we had several weeks of drought and really high temps.  It was bone dry and half dead when I noticed it, and it didn't pull through.  Here's my thread on separating the Chinensis:

 

[NCFM]

On 8/19/2019 at 4:27 PM, Merlyn2220 said:

I separated 3 Majesties with the slice-and-dice method using a big kukri knife.  I just carefully sliced down in between the 3 trunks to make sure I didn't nick the growing bulb a.k.a. the "root initiation zone" on any of them.  They sat and sulked in the ground for about 2 months afterwards, and then started growing normally.  All are doing great 1 year later.

I also followed Meg's instructions when I separated an overplanted cluster of Livistona Chinensis earlier this year.  6 out of the 7 survived and are growing fine now.  I have a little nursery pot area with 2 sprinklers covering the area, and I managed to leave one of them sitting with neither sprinkler hitting it.  That was fine until May, when we had several weeks of drought and really high temps.  It was bone dry and half dead when I noticed it, and it didn't pull through.  Here's my thread on separating the Chinensis:

 

I think I'm going to try to separate the palms by untangling the roots. It might take some patience but it seems that method would be the least harmful way to do it.

[NCFM]

It's been pouring rain the past few days here in the western piedmont of NC but I finally separated and replanted my palms today. I just ran water over the rootballs and gently pulled them apart. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Here is a picture of them next to my sabal minor "Louisiana" seedlings:

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by NC_Palm_Enthusiast
typo

[DAVEinMB]

I separated 2 that were growing in the same pot a couple years ago and lost one of them shortly after. Granted they were somewhat neglected at this point so it may have died anyway.  The one that survived was stunted from the period of little water and fertilizer it went through but is starting to look happy and healthy again. Below is a pic of it from last night. 

[palmsOrl]

Looking quite healthy. 

[NCFM]

On 8/28/2019 at 8:44 AM, DAVEinMB said:

I separated 2 that were growing in the same pot a couple years ago and lost one of them shortly after. Granted they were somewhat neglected at this point so it may have died anyway.  The one that survived was stunted from the period of little water and fertilizer it went through but is starting to look happy and healthy again. Below is a pic of it from last night. 

That looks great! Hopefully mine will do that well

[DAVEinMB]

23 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

Looking quite healthy. 

Thanks! I've been debating putting it in the ground based on how compact it's staying but I'd hate to lose it if protection wasn't adequate. 

 

20 hours ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

That looks great! Hopefully mine will do that well

Also thanks! They love water so I try to keep the soil fairly soggy. As far as sunlight goes it came from a big box store and their majesties are typically grown to tolerate (or prefer) shade / filtered light. It took awhile but this plant is now accustomed to full sun. I've been using the fertilizer shown below and it seems to be doing well. 

[Mitch's Paradise]

It's been nearly 10 months. How'd they do with the separating?? I am hoping to separate very young palm trees soon to plat in the ground, but I just tried that and 2 of them didn't make it.. 1 "seems" to be hanging on in it's corner of the backyard.

[oasis371]

I just stumbled upon this posting because I had the same question about separating or not.  I can't believe I never noticed it was a double before. Thing is, I am reluctant to separate them. I don't know what it is, but this is healthiest, and longest lasting I have had them. Lots of others died.   My question is,  can continue to succeed as doubles (I realize they are by nature, solitary.) I can post a picture tomorrow. 

[spike]

53 minutes ago, oasis371 said:

I just stumbled upon this posting because I had the same question about separating or not.  I can't believe I never noticed it was a double before. Thing is, I am reluctant to separate them. I don't know what it is, but this is healthiest, and longest lasting I have had them. Lots of others died.   My question is,  can continue to succeed as doubles (I realize they are by nature, solitary.) I can post a picture tomorrow. 

Had the same thing happen, in the end, I cut the worst one at the roots sabal-style with shears and stuck it in some soil, but accidentally knocked it out a few days later and didn't notice. I doubt it would have survived even if i didn't.

Edited January 20, 2022 by spike