freshly planted windmill palm in 7a (not with mulch because I don’t have it lying around right now)

[njpalmguy]

just planted my windmill palm in my garden (southwestern facing fence) but without mulch. (we used it all up in may for our two 100ft pine trees)

anyways here are some photos

[Colin1110082]

Looks good! Was this the brighter blooms 3 gal one?

[Las Palmas Norte]

Is there any specific reason you feel the need to use mulch? I have never used it in 40 years of planting them. Curious.

Your palm looks good.

[Colin1110082]

1 hour ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Is there any specific reason you feel the need to use mulch? I have never used it in 40 years of planting them. Curious.

Your palm looks good.

I thought windmills liked the moisture mulch traps.. and it’s gonna come in handy in the winter!🥶 

[RJ]

18 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Is there any specific reason you feel the need to use mulch? I have never used it in 40 years of planting them. Curious.

Your palm looks good.

Down here in the SE it’s a must to retain soil moisture. Not to mention it’s a good soil builder. 

[MichaelB]

24 minutes ago, RJ said:

Down here in the SE it’s a must to retain soil moisture. Not to mention it’s a good soil builder. 

I couldn't agree more. I am 120 miles straight west of Columbia, current air temperature is 95° F, but the ground surface temperature is 125° F. Mulching makes a huge difference for me!

[RJ]

2 hours ago, MichaelB said:

I couldn't agree more. I am 120 miles straight west of Columbia, current air temperature is 95° F, but the ground surface temperature is 125° F. Mulching makes a huge difference for me!

No way I could keep the moisture content up without it if the soil sees any meaningful sun during the day. Or at least that is with a reasonable amount of water. If you’re below the fall line it’s even worse. 

[njpalmguy]

On 7/14/2024 at 7:53 PM, Colin1110082 said:

Looks good! Was this the brighter blooms 3 gal one?

yes. thank you!

[njpalmguy]

On 7/14/2024 at 8:10 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

Is there any specific reason you feel the need to use mulch? I have never used it in 40 years of planting them. Curious.

Your palm looks good.

it has been EXTREMELY hot and dry lately. more than normal and tomorrow is supposed to be 97 degrees. thank you though, I’ve been afraid that other animals will start munching on it so ive been checking daily 😭

[njpalmguy]

10 minutes ago, njpalmguy said:

it has been EXTREMELY hot and dry lately. more than normal and tomorrow is supposed to be 97 degrees. thank you though, I’ve been afraid that other animals will start munching on it so ive been checking daily 😭

obviously ik mulch wont do anything to prevent that so that’s kinda useless 💀

[PalmatierMeg]

18 hours ago, RJ said:

Down here in the SE it’s a must to retain soil moisture. Not to mention it’s a good soil builder. 

Agree. We've enriched our alkaline, shell rock dreck with liberal applications of mulch. Surely @njpalmguy could spring for a bag of mulch to protect his new palm during this brutal heat wave. Trachycarpus are not tropical palms and do not appreciate excessive heat and swelter so you need mulch to keep soil temps down. Enriching the soil with mulch may inhibit nematodes. Finally, winter in NJ arrives in a few months and mulch will help insulate your palm from cold. Now is not the time to go cheap with an expensive palm.

[njpalmguy]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Agree. We've enriched our alkaline, shell rock dreck with liberal applications of mulch. Surely @njpalmguy could spring for a bag of mulch to protect his new palm during this brutal heat wave. Trachycarpus are not tropical palms and do not appreciate excessive heat and swelter so you need mulch to keep soil temps down. Enriching the soil with mulch may inhibit nematodes. Finally, winter in NJ arrives in a few months and mulch will help insulate your palm from cold. Now is not the time to go cheap with an expensive palm.

I just got mulch yesterday. gonna apply it later today (not when it’s the time I get baked alive). i also planted it in partial shade but facing southwest. hopefully it could pull through.

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, njpalmguy said:

I just got mulch yesterday. gonna apply it later today (not when it’s the time I get baked alive). i also planted it in partial shade but facing southwest. hopefully it could pull through.

Kudos to you

[njpalmguy]

Just now, PalmatierMeg said:

Kudos to you

thanks! I can finally get a break from watering today because of the rain. at least there’s that lol.

[njpalmguy]

I put the mulch in + some Mexican beach pebbles surrounding it, surprisingly only took around 45 minutes to do. thought I was in for a treat with the pebbles 😭

[PalmatierMeg]

Looks great!

[njpalmguy]

2 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Looks great!

thanks! I do have a question though. what are the highest winds a young windmill palm can tolerate? gusts are up to 30 MPH in my area right now heading southwest, where i planted my palm. will that damage it?