A total noob with three pygmy dates

[Voytek]

Hello everyone. My name is Voytek and I am a palm noob. I recently moved to South Florida and decided to get some tropical-looking potted greenery for my patio. The patio has reflected sunlight for most of the day; maybe max 3 hours of direct light in summer. Today I got three pygmy dates from a sale at Home Depot. They look beautiful and healthy! I used Google/AI to get some answers to my questions, but inside knowledge is still the best, so I humbly ask this:

1. Based on their (considerable) size, how long can I keep them in these 7 gallon nursery pots while I am looking for more permanent ones? I see one root already coming out of the drainage hole.

2. What are the biggest pots can I safely repot them to? The reason I ask is that nice pots are expensive, and the wife likes nice pots. But I am not sure the bank account can take repotting every two years if I keep pots small and expensive. Would a bigger pot allow me to repot, say, in 5 years? The current pot diameter is 14". I read that palms are pretty good with being root-bound. So here is where I seek group's advice - minimizing repotting frequency in this specific case! Edit - I just read about a pot-in-pot method of cheap nursery pots in expensive decorative pots. That's what I will do, but what size nursery pot should I use next?

3. Do palms like filler materials on the bottom of the pot? What kind? I will make sure I have good drainage holes.

Any other tips appreciated! Thanks and I hope to contribute to the collective knowledge with my beautiful pygmy dates!

[NC_Palms]

Hello and welcome to PT! 

To answer your questions: 

1. They can stay in the nursery pots they came in for some time. They look healthy. As long as the soil is moist and has good drainage, you have some time. But I would not wait more than a few months.

2. Pygmy date palms shouldn't need repotted often and they stay small. I am not familiar with how fast they grow in South Florida with the endless summer climate (from my NC perspective) , but they should be able to stay in a large pot for quite some time. You could probably get 5 years at minimum. Below is a photo of my largest palm (coconut) in a large plastic pot. I bought this pot for less than $20 at Walmart and it works very well. 

 

3. As long as you have good drainage, I would not bother with fillers. Just make sure theres a good amount of drainage holes and you'll be good. For the pot my coconut is it, it didn't come with drainage holes so I had to drill them myself. Which actually suited me better since I could drill as many as I wanted.

 

But anyways, pygmy date palms are pretty easy to care for. I have one and it does well. The only advice I have is that these palms are often considered to be desert species, but they are NOT.  Treat them like any other humid, tropical plant. And they will be happy. 

Also, these palms are solitary palms. In those pots where you have multiple stems, you actually have multiple palms. But do not try to separate them. They are so bound together to the point where separating them will just cause them to die. (I speak from experience)

 

But yea, welcome to the palm world. And welcome to Palmtalk! 

[Voytek]

Thank you for the thorough reply! It really helps. They are currently in 7 gallon containers, but given how large they are (and two-stemmed), I think I will repot them in a month into 15 gallon containers. The roots are very tightly balled in the current containers. The plan is to keep them in those 15-gallon pots for a while. I hope it makes sense. 

[Cindy Adair]

Welcome to PalmTalk!

I only grow palms in pots until they are big enough (and space ready) to plant them out so I am of no help with your questions. 

Your new palms are beautiful and you came to the right place for advice. 

[NC_Palms]

18 hours ago, Voytek said:

Thank you for the thorough reply! It really helps. They are currently in 7 gallon containers, but given how large they are (and two-stemmed), I think I will repot them in a month into 15 gallon containers. The roots are very tightly balled in the current containers. The plan is to keep them in those 15-gallon pots for a while. I hope it makes sense. 

Yes this is a great plan. They should last a long time in a 15g

[Las Palmas Norte]

On 1/25/2025 at 1:42 PM, NC_Palms said:

Yes this is a great plan. They should last a long time in a 15g

I transplanted a pot of 4 P. rob into a 15 2 years ago. They've already outgrown that 15 gal. I think this is the year to plant 'em out.

Enjoying the late January sun today 🌞 

[Palmerr]

On 1/24/2025 at 9:56 PM, NC_Palms said:

Hello and welcome to PT! 

To answer your questions: 

1. They can stay in the nursery pots they came in for some time. They look healthy. As long as the soil is moist and has good drainage, you have some time. But I would not wait more than a few months.

2. Pygmy date palms shouldn't need repotted often and they stay small. I am not familiar with how fast they grow in South Florida with the endless summer climate (from my NC perspective) , but they should be able to stay in a large pot for quite some time. You could probably get 5 years at minimum. Below is a photo of my largest palm (coconut) in a large plastic pot. I bought this pot for less than $20 at Walmart and it works very well. 

 

3. As long as you have good drainage, I would not bother with fillers. Just make sure theres a good amount of drainage holes and you'll be good. For the pot my coconut is it, it didn't come with drainage holes so I had to drill them myself. Which actually suited me better since I could drill as many as I wanted.

 

But anyways, pygmy date palms are pretty easy to care for. I have one and it does well. The only advice I have is that these palms are often considered to be desert species, but they are NOT.  Treat them like any other humid, tropical plant. And they will be happy. 

Also, these palms are solitary palms. In those pots where you have multiple stems, you actually have multiple palms. But do not try to separate them. They are so bound together to the point where separating them will just cause them to die. (I speak from experience)

 

But yea, welcome to the palm world. And welcome to Palmtalk! 

No wonder my potted pygmy date died i tried to split them Noooo i wasted 30$ or so at lowes cause i splitted them!

[Palmerr]

Oh pygmy dates are probably the top best potted palms for looks and.. Time to need repotting they arent aggresive root growers like CIDP's and just have very pretty shiny fronds and forms a trunk in a pot kinda hard to find. unless its like a bottle palm or christmas palm

[Voytek]

23 minutes ago, Palmerr said:

Oh pygmy dates are probably the top best potted palms for looks and.. Time to need repotting they arent aggresive root growers like CIDP's and just have very pretty shiny fronds and forms a trunk in a pot kinda hard to find. unless its like a bottle palm or christmas palm

I love their hefty trunks. They've definitely outgrown their 7 gal pots.

[Palmerr]

yeah maybe could survive a year but at that point it would be very very root bound soo yeah next 6 months to be safe. Love their trunks though!

[Harry’s Palms]

For those particular palms I would double the size of the pot . That genus tends to have massive root systems for the size of palm. They can survive root bound for quite a while but will fill available soil within a year. Harry

[Voytek]

Thanks, that is what I will do. 

[Voytek]

Are there any risks with repotting to larger pots. Any stress involved? I know my ficus was stressed when repotted, but palms are different beasts. Any dos and donts when repotting to double size pots? Like should I compact new soil on the bottom and sides or keep it fluffy?

[TropicsEnjoyer]

@Voytek You’re in SFL, I used to live there. Why don’t you plant these beautiful little palms? They would absolutely thrive and honestly it would take away the hassle of watering and repotting. They don’t grow super big either so size is never really gonna be an issue, even close to a house.

[Voytek]

No backyard.

[Harry’s Palms]

This particular palm will have little to no set back from repotting. If they don’t come out of the pot easily just slice the sides and pull out. Don’t massage the root ball , leave it as intact as possible. I always line the bottom of the pot with smooth round pebbles or stones then cover with potting soil so that the roots have some room to grow place the palm in the pot as close to center as possible and slowly fill the sides with potting soil , make sure you use a sandy loam soil like you would use for succulents, vermiculite is good as well. Palms like good drainage . Leave enough room at the top for flood watering and you should be good to go. I try to find pots with tapered or straight sides for easy removal when the time comes as the palm will be larger and that much harder to handle (thorny beasts , they are!) good luck . Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

A bit of a side note on Phoenix Roebelini . About 25 years ago when I moved to my new house , a guy who lived a block away saw me planting bunches of palms from my old house . He asked if I wanted a couple of palms that were growing next to his house and over hung the walkway . He said they had thorns and he didn’t like them. He left for vacation and I went over to his home . The Pygmy palms were right against the house with little room to work . Oh , and they were on a steep slope in hard soil and about 4’ tall . I dug and dug but unfortunately had to cut some of the roots. When I got them out , I wrapped the roots with burlap and tied up the crown to keep the thorns from tearing at my skin as I drug it up the slope to my pick up. I really only gave it a 50/50 chance of survival. They grew fast and with out set back . They are over 10’ tall now and beautiful (in the ground) . The experience I have had with these is that they are VERY hardy and easy to transplant. Harry

[Voytek]

Thank you. Great intel. How are they with being a little dry (depending only on occasional rain)? I plan to water them weekly, but I am occasionally out of town. Will they survive a month on rain alone?

[Harry’s Palms]

They are forgiving but will do best with regular watering , especially newly repotted . If you are out of town , maybe have a neighbor give them a drink. Harry

[Voytek]

Yes, that is the plan. Thanks Harry, all the info is very helpful. I like to take care of my plants - we have a potted ficus that is 45 years old - a wedding gift!