Bottle Palm Care

[ShadowNight030]

I snagged a bottle palm from Lowe’s. They were selling them for $35. What’s their care needs? Do they do well in pots long term? I’m zone 9a, so it would never survive in the ground. Do they do well inside? I have no palms in the house and this one has beautiful shape in my opinion. I plan on moving it to a terracotta pot. 

[Merlyn]

Bottles (Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis) and Spindles (Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii) are similar in overall hardiness, though Spindles are maybe a couple of degrees better.  Both will take variably severe damage under 30F, especially with frost.  Moving them inside would be required in 9A Louisiana.  Fortunately they can live almost indefinitely in a pot with the right soil mix, water, and fertilizer.  I use an equal parts mix of generic topsoil, perlite, and Turface MVP.  Turface is small fired clay pebbles, I buy a 50lb bag at my local Ewing Irrigation store.

For your Bottle I'd put it in around a 5-10g pot.  Just make sure it has drainage holes, and pick one that the top opens outward like an urn.  If the pot narrows towards the top then it'll be impossible to remove later, you'd have to cut it out of the pot or break the pot. 

Full sun is good for these in Louisiana.  If it's out in the rain normally, then no additional watering should be necessary except in times of drought.

[ShadowNight030]

9 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

Bottles (Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis) and Spindles (Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii) are similar in overall hardiness, though Spindles are maybe a couple of degrees better.  Both will take variably severe damage under 30F, especially with frost.  Moving them inside would be required in 9A Louisiana.  Fortunately they can live almost indefinitely in a pot with the right soil mix, water, and fertilizer.  I use an equal parts mix of generic topsoil, perlite, and Turface MVP.  Turface is small fired clay pebbles, I buy a 50lb bag at my local Ewing Irrigation store.

For your Bottle I'd put it in around a 5-10g pot.  Just make sure it has drainage holes, and pick one that the top opens outward like an urn.  If the pot narrows towards the top then it'll be impossible to remove later, you'd have to cut it out of the pot or break the pot. 

Full sun is good for these in Louisiana.  If it's out in the rain normally, then no additional watering should be necessary except in times of drought.

Thank you! I would think the only place they could survive outdoors in Louisiana would be Grand Isle, which even then during hard winters they would need protection. Thankfully, I have a lot of fired clay on hand, I use it in my orchid mix. Would a generic fertilizer be good? I have osmocote. 

[Looking Glass]

They seem to rather enjoy being in pots everywhere around here, and do well with little care.  

I have a big one out front in the ground that grows very fast.  I have a couple in pots by the pool that grow about 1/3rd the speed.  All are in heavy, all day sun, and get fed palm-specific fertilizer.  

Mine love full sun, but if you take them in and out of the house, be careful as they may burn with the transition.  

Overall they are happy little fat Buddhas usually.  

[Merlyn]

56 minutes ago, ShadowNight030 said:

Thank you! I would think the only place they could survive outdoors in Louisiana would be Grand Isle, which even then during hard winters they would need protection. Thankfully, I have a lot of fired clay on hand, I use it in my orchid mix. Would a generic fertilizer be good? I have osmocote. 

Yeah, any time temperatures dip below freezing you'll see some damage.  They are pretty tough, I had 4 bounce back from complete defoliation at 28F with frost.  But they looked pretty crappy until a couple of weeks ago...   

Generic fertilizer should be fine, Osmocote and Nutricote are commonly recommended here for palms in pots.  That's usually good for something like a Bottle, which are pretty tolerant.  Osmocote would be better for a potted palm.  If you grow orchids then you already know all about fertilizer salt buildup, etc.  

[HtownPalms]

I have had 2 Bottle Palms for the last 3 years. They are in pots and stay outside year round. I only bring them in when we get below 32 degrees. Even on 32-39 degree nights I just throw a sheet over them to keep frost off of the leaves.

I believe that one time the low was only supposed to be 35 so I left them out with a sheet on top. Unfortunately the actual low got down to 30. To my surprise it didn't seem to bother them too much with only light leaf burn. I also kept an eye on the unsold Bottle Palms at my local Lowes that entire winter. Those Palms were out in the open with zero protection. Those Palms endured multiple frosty nights with a handful of freezing nights around 30-32 for lows. By the end of that winter the leaves were pretty tattered, but it appeared as though most had easily made it. However I think they would have started dying if the temperature had gotten even a degree or two lower. 

Other than being fairly cold sensitive Bottle Palms can take a lot of neglect. They aren't particularly about soil or watering. They can take full sun or shade. They will survive about anything, however a neglected Bottle palm will look neglected where as a well taken care of Bottle palm will look great!

 

I keep mine in full sun and water them every 3 days. I give them Palm Gain every 3 months, and I cut off the dead fronds. Other than cold nothing seems to phase them. Good luck with yours!

 

[ShadowNight030]

How long before it starts to create the bottle shape? 

[Merlyn]

Palms are generally slower in pots than in the ground, but if you give it sun and fertilizer it'll grow reasonably quickly.  The base still needs to thicken up some before it starts growing taller.  I'd guess about 2 years to start seeing the expanding base, maybe 5 years to get a full bottle shape.  They aren't fast palms, for sure!  I ran across a "special buy" Bottle at Lowes for $49 that was already growing the bottle shape, almost as big as Looking Glass' lower photo.  That was just pure luck to find that one... 

[ruskinPalms]

I had one in a pot for over 5 years that was happy but slower like others said. I think they are good pot palms (so are adonidia for the record). I did finally put it in the ground and of course it is happier now but it is in the crosshairs of the next arctic blast now 

[ruskinPalms]

Here is a pic with it buried in there. 
 

[ruskinPalms]

As far as cold hardiness, spindles are by far the better hyophorbe to grow, AND they are a much more attractive palm in their older age. Bottles aren’t as nice looking, at least in Florida, as spindles in later years. Bottles don’t stay bottles forever and most I’ve seen that live long enough get crown shrinkage and eventually give up the ghost. Bottles are a pain for me as the don’t seem to self clean here and need maintenance. Spindles need a lot of maintenance when young but eventually do self clean when older and grow very well over the long haul. 

[ruskinPalms]

To be fair, damn near everything with a crownshaft hates frost. My hyphorbes have been down to the upper 20s here and there but without frost and have been fine. Frost and frozen dew are the killers, not so much a brief visit to the upper 20s F. My last palm garden was at a house in a typical Florida housing development near a retention pond and the steam that blew off that thing on radiational cooling nights in the mid 30s beat the hell out of my garden; and in the upper 20s blitzed the garden. I have been enjoying my high and dry southern exposed back yard where I am now. Much, much less yearly damage even though my old house was probably technically warmer…