Planting a royal palm in mallorca

[Brandon39.5]

Hey! I'm going to purchase a royal palm from my local garden center more a less 3 m royal and I wonder how to plant it correctly in a poor nutrient soil and low drainage my plan was make a big hole a more less like 1.5 or 2 m deep and 1.5 m wide mix the native soil with rocks compost and sand for improving the drainage and nutrients on the soil I will fertilize it too, so I suppose it will be okay I live in a pretty marginal climate for the royal they do okay, but the leafs don't look that good they kinda look like in L.A. a little bit beat on the fronds. Cold shouldn't be a problem in my climate zone 10a I would have in the south side of the house and protected by a wall in the north side and the palm would be in full sun but still partially protected by a tree canopy.  When the royal is established can it take low drainage soil? any tip on the planting?

[96720]

They are palms that love water I don’t think it will be a problem 

[Little Tex]

Yeah they can grow in standing water in the everglades, I doubt Mallorca soil drains any worse.

[gilles06]

Cold water in winter could be a problem if too cold and too long time

[Villa_Veloco_Mallorca]

It really depends on your location if it will thrive. I planted a non truncking Royal one in 2021 in Port de Pollenca and it hasn’t survived the first Winter. But it wasn’t placed in the best position for such a marginal Palm. We have very mild nights but quite a bit of rain/wind here in the north. You should avoid mulch on top of the soil. Mix our clay with sand, stones and compost. The Problem isn’t the poor drainage in general more the poor draining in Winter that leads to root rot.
 

I know one property in Bonaire (Alcudia), where they have mature Royals, so it should be possible in perfect locations.

PS: Now I have a Foxtail on the same spot and up to now it looks better (during the first winter) but I mixed the soil and have avoided mulch for the winter. 🤞🏻

[Brandon39.5]

Yes right. I thinked about the root rot in the winter time so I was thinking about puting something on top just to stop the water from going to the soil and it would take better the winter I supose.  by the way I already bought the royal, when do you think its the best time for planting it? in march would work good? im suprised about the mature royals in Alcudia I've just knew about one single mature royal here in Mallorca

[Foxpalms]

1 hour ago, Villa_Veloco_Mallorca said:

It really depends on your location if it will thrive. I planted a non truncking Royal one in 2021 in Port de Pollenca and it hasn’t survived the first Winter. But it wasn’t placed in the best position for such a marginal Palm. We have very mild nights but quite a bit of rain/wind here in the north. You should avoid mulch on top of the soil. Mix our clay with sand, stones and compost. The Problem isn’t the poor drainage in general more the poor draining in Winter that leads to root rot.
 

I know one property in Bonaire (Alcudia), where they have mature Royals, so it should be possible in perfect locations.

PS: Now I have a Foxtail on the same spot and up to now it looks better (during the first winter) but I mixed the soil and have avoided mulch for the winter. 🤞🏻

Similar thing with queen's here they like lots of water in the summer but in the winter the soil needs to be dry or it leads to root rot.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Foxpalms

[gilles06]

Wait for spring to put in ground, i would say not before april.

Suerte

[Villa_Veloco_Mallorca]

I would wait until April. We always have that one week end of March/ beginning of April that is rainy and relatively cold for 5 days in a row. The week after could be yours. Mine had 3 new leave in the first year so quite comparable to a younger Queen Palm that is located close by.

[Brandon39.5]

Okay I will plant it on april. Tomorrow I will put photos of the palm that I bought.  How fast do they grow in this type of climate?

[Foxpalms]

2 hours ago, Brandon39.5 said:

Okay I will plant it on april. Tomorrow I will put photos of the palm that I bought.  How fast do they grow in this type of climate?

I'm guessing it will grow as fast as they do in Los Angeles because you have cooler winters but warmer summers.

[Foxpalms]

7 hours ago, Villa_Veloco_Mallorca said:

I would wait until April. We always have that one week end of March/ beginning of April that is rainy and relatively cold for 5 days in a row. The week after could be yours. Mine had 3 new leave in the first year so quite comparable to a younger Queen Palm that is located close by.

There was a discussion about  palm growth rate before in northern Europe but I was wondering how fast queen palms grow further south in comparison. How many fronds per year do the queen palms in Mallorca typically make that are around 12-13ft?

Edited February 7, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Brandon39.5]

Well I personally have a 9-10 ft queen that I planted on april of 2021 in my garden that it's in partial shade so it doesn't grow as fast as in full sun and it just made 1 frond and another that is opening right now, so at least for me its a pretty slow grower I supose that it will grow faster when it's fully established. But tipically i would say that a established queen in full sun does 3 to 4 fronds per year.

Can you grow queen palms in northern europe as you mentioned? And if that's right in what aereas of northern europe grow?

 

[Axel Amsterdam]

On 2/6/2023 at 8:53 PM, gilles06 said:

Cold water in winter could be a problem if too cold and too long time

Hi Gilles, do you know of any royal palm on the cote d’azur? I have never seen one. 

[Foxpalms]

2 minutes ago, Brandon39.5 said:

Well I personally have a 9-10 ft queen that I planted on april of 2021 in my garden that it's in partial shade so it doesn't grow as fast as in full sun and it just made 1 frond and another that is opening right now, so at least for me its a pretty slow grower I supose that it will grow faster when it's fully established. But tipically i would say that a established queen in full sun does 3 to 4 fronds per year.

Can you grow queen palms in northern europe as you mentioned? And if that's right in what aereas of northern europe grow?

 

Interesting, 3 to 4 fronds per year is what I get from mine in Central London. Could be because I have it against a south west facing wall so it gets hotter there. There's some in London and Cornwall and Brittany France.

[Foxpalms]

1 minute ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Hi Gilles, do you know of any royal palm on the cote d’azur? I have never seen one. 

The picture was posted on what's the most northern royal palm.

[Axel Amsterdam]

Just now, Foxpalms said:

Interesting, 3 to 4 fronds per year is what I get from mine in Central London. Could be because I have it against a south west facing wall so it gets hotter there. There's some in London and Cornwall and Brittany France.

I am still interested to see some pictures from when it was planted or last year Foxpalms. You must have some pics to show this incredible growthrate. 

[Foxpalms]

11 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

I am still interested to see some pictures from when it was planted or last year Foxpalms. You must have some pics to show this incredible growthrate. 

I might have a photo on my old phone from a few years ago. Before I rarely used to take photos of my palms since I wasn't uploading them on here. If Im able to find it I'll check.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Axel Amsterdam]

Ok i will leave it then. Its difficult to understand why a couple of pics of something so unusual for the UK take so much trouble. It would seem to me every palm grower takes pictures of a rare palm that performs really well in his garden and, as i have said before, there is no recorded case of a queen growing more than 2 fronds a year in the UK. 

So yours is very exceptional, even compared to the growthrate in Mallorca. I know you are a serious palm grower, but i think this deserves to be documented on a palm forum because its so special.

[Foxpalms]

2 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Ok i will leave it then. Its difficult to understand why a couple of pics of something so unusual for the UK take so much trouble. It would seem to me every palm grower takes pictures of a rare palm that performs really well in his garden and, as i have said before, there is no recorded case of a queen growing more than 2 fronds a year in the UK. 

So yours is very exceptional, even compared to the growthrate in Mallorca. I know you are a serious palm grower, but i think this deserves to be documented on a palm forum because its so special.

I used to read though forums like this but never shared photos. The reason I started taking photos recently was because of that reason. I will take a photo later in the year to show the growth rate.

[Will]

Have a friend who grows one in Palma, Mallorca under full canopy not getting too much sun and it does well. Also Saribus rutondifolius does just fine, Queens won´t have a problem

[Brandon39.5]

Will, do you have any picture of the palm of your friend it would be interesting to see it.

[Brandon39.5]

This is the royal that i've got is it a good size for planting? it's even starting to get some trunk

[96720]

That’s a nice size palm where did you buy it if they sell them there the must grow there

[Brandon39.5]

I bought it from a garden center in my city, it's called Fronda if someone is interested.

[iko.]

Hi @Brandon39.5,

I wish you plenty of success with your Roystonea. First of all, because when I wanted to plant one exactly in the same latitude as you but in mainland Spain I got all type of messages but positive. Including some hate messages in a Spanish forum that is now well defunct. Secondly, because exotic palm trees often come with a price tag in the Balearics and for some people, it’s an investment.

I don’t have any secret tips and I hardly use fertilisers. My Roystonea regia was planted a bit smaller than yours in 2016. The first year looked bad and on the second one slowly started to show some signs of growth (see picture attached). Since then, it’s growing exponentially. It’s hardly watered in winter but is well irrigated during summer. It has endured some nights with temperatures close to 0°C and as a result of that or winter winds the ends of some leaflets get burned but still keeps a dark green lush all year round. I would say that it makes an average of 4 fronds per year but the trunk has become massive. Notice how the bromeliads around are getting tamped down. I think the limit for Roystonea regia is a bit further north than us. They have become relatively common south of Valencia or in Ibiza.

 

[Brandon39.5]

Thank tou very much @iko.I will try but I'm very new to the palm hobby that's why I'm so worried about the palm but I see that yours looks great and grows perfectly it almost looks like that pictures were from the Canary islands , I can see that your soil is very similar to mine you never had any problem with root rot? how did you plant it? 

[iko.]

I just dug a bit the area but not much deep really. The area where is planted had been flooded at least a couple of times during winter but it didn't affect the plant. 

I can show you another example of a Roystonea regia bought in summer 2021 and kept in its pot until I have planted in May 2022 in Ibiza, not far from you. The palm was the same size as yours and probably, from the same provider. I think the nursery is in the southeast of the mainland Spain. The soil is pure solid rocks, a mountain where I thought only pine trees will grow, so I added some soil. That spot doesn't get much direct sun either. The trunk has expanded in just a few months. Not sure what will happen when the roots find the rocks, if they didn't yet. The last cool weeks (some nights as low as 1 and 2ºC) didn't affect the leaves. I am starting to believe Roystonea regia is a bulletproof palm. 

I would recommend to wait until end April/May to plant it. The soil will be warmer and the palm will have the summer months ahead to put on some new growth. 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by iko.

[Brandon39.5]

Incredible trunk growth in that photos it's not even a year of growth. I will plant it on the end of april, I have two spots for the palm one is in full sun partially protected by a canopy and the house protecting it from the north but the soil is really bad and has concrete sorrounding the aerea then I have this other spot that is full protected by a canopy and protected from the north with cypress trees. in this spot the soil is pretty good but the only problem is the lighting it doesn't really get sun it just gets sun filteres through the other trees and it doesn't have that wall protecting it from the north side, instead it has the cypress tress. in that spot I have another Roystonea regia beside but not that big, and a syagrus romazoffiana. what spot do you think is beter? 

 

[96720]

I my opinion the more sun the better the faster they grow!!

[Will]

On 2/8/2023 at 1:27 PM, Brandon39.5 said:

Will, do you have any picture of the palm of your friend it would be interesting to see it.

 

Its still tiny but he planted it even smaller

[Brandon39.5]

This is the soil that I have it's okay in the first 40cm but then its starts a rocky and clayey soil that drains really bad and its very dificult to dig with the shovel. Is this soil okay for the royal?

[Arecaceus]

On 2/7/2023 at 10:51 PM, Axel Amsterdam said:

Ok i will leave it then. Its difficult to understand why a couple of pics of something so unusual for the UK take so much trouble. It would seem to me every palm grower takes pictures of a rare palm that performs really well in his garden and, as i have said before, there is no recorded case of a queen growing more than 2 fronds a year in the UK. 

So yours is very exceptional, even compared to the growthrate in Mallorca. I know you are a serious palm grower, but i think this deserves to be documented on a palm forum because its so special.

It's funny because again in some random thread this Syagrus topic comes up. 😂 After the discussion in the Polar Vortex 2022 thread I did some research. I watched some videos and checked out several places on StreetView to oberseve growthrate via the "older pictures" function. For now I come to the conclusion that they are not so fast growing in many places. Even in Southern California many seem to be quite slow for a "fast growing" palm in such a warm climate at low latitudes. Some specimens seem to be quite fast though. Not sure. The majority doesn't seem to ba as fast but there are still many fast ones. I wonder why that's the case. In Southern Europe they also seem to be quite slow. I wonder what it is all about. 🧐

[iko.]

6 hours ago, Brandon39.5 said:

This is the soil that I have it's okay in the first 40cm but then its starts a rocky and clayey soil that drains really bad and its very dificult to dig with the shovel. Is this soil okay for the royal?

I don’t think it’s that bad. My second example of Roystonea is almost planted on top of a rock. As I said earlier, I recommend to wait to the end of April or May to plant it. Make a hole bigger than the pot. Mix some soil and compost, add it below and around the roots and water often. Strong winds in late spring and summer in the Balearic islands are rare but, as an extra precaution you can always tie the palm to a couple of canes. This is often done to add stability and help the roots grow without any disturbance.

Edited February 11, 2023 by iko.

[Brandon39.5]

Right, I will follow your advice and I will be puting some photos here of when I plant it and the progress of the palm. Should I fertilize it this year? and if I should fertilize it what fertilizer is the best for the roystonea?

Edited February 11, 2023 by Brandon39.5

[Foxpalms]

On 2/11/2023 at 5:20 PM, Hortulanus said:

It's funny because again in some random thread this Syagrus topic comes up. 😂 After the discussion in the Polar Vortex 2022 thread I did some research. I watched some videos and checked out several places on StreetView to oberseve growthrate via the "older pictures" function. For now I come to the conclusion that they are not so fast growing in many places. Even in Southern California many seem to be quite slow for a "fast growing" palm in such a warm climate at low latitudes. Some specimens seem to be quite fast though. Not sure. The majority doesn't seem to ba as fast but there are still many fast ones. I wonder why that's the case. In Southern Europe they also seem to be quite slow. I wonder what it is all about. 🧐

Maybe they like heat and humidity since California and southern Europe are pretty dry with low humidity. The ones In Barcelona seem to grow quite fast but the summers there are pretty humid.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Arecaceus]

9 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

Maybe they like heat and humidity since California and southern Europe are pretty dry with low humidity. The ones In Barcelona seem to grow quite fast but the summers there are pretty humid.

Does Barcelona have humid summers? I didn't know that

[Brandon39.5]

In Mallorca is hot and humid in the summer but in Barcelona I don't know, probably similar. So humidity is not the key for queen palm growth.

[Foxpalms]

15 hours ago, Hortulanus said:

Does Barcelona have humid summers? I didn't know that

The mountains surrounding the city seems to block out the drier inland air. Mallorca is an island so that's probably why it's humid there. Barcelona also still gets a good amount of rain in the summer though less than the winter. In southern Spain there are mountains along the Mediterranean coast however it's likely the reason it's not as humid there is because it's closer to the Sahara desert and it's generally much drier. I think Barcelona also has the highest summer minims in Spain at 23c. In southern Spain it gets hotter but it's a dry heat whilst it can get fairly sticky in Barcelona.

[Brandon39.5]

Hey! I have a question, is it better to water my roystonea regia in summer by hand or by an automatic irrigation system? If it is better by irrigation system, which system is the best for palms?