Pygmy Date Palm

Discussion in 'HortForum' started by Abdulhakeem84, Mar 15, 2010.

  1. Abdulhakeem84

    Abdulhakeem84 Member

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    Kentucky, USA
    Hello everybody. I'm new here on the forums and my name is Abdulhakeem. I'm a new proud owner of a Pygmy Date Palm tree as of last Saturday. At the moment I am keeping the plant indoors about 8 feet from the window which sunlight comes through from about 9am-5pm. At the moment due to bad weather there's been lack of sun. As soon as the rain and clouds clear away I'll be setting the palm out on my patio to get the sun when I get off work (230pm) and on the weekends I'll put it out for more sunlight just to get it use to the sun. I don't want to just cram it out and shock it more than what I already have. (Remind you this is my first palm and it was a cheap one from Walmart, I didn't want to spend loads of money. Although it's a Pygmy Date Palm and instead of having ONE trunk, it contains 5. :-D )

    It may be due to transplant stress, but a few of the tips are a very light brown. They were like that when I purchased it. I'm not very worried. I've placed it in a 16 inch pot using Miracle-Grow "Cactus/Palm&Citrus Soil" here is the following link to this soil: http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod70224 Does anyone happen to know if this soil is good enough. I've chose this because of the blends of stuff inside such as; sphagnum peat moss, composted forest products, sand, and perlite. As well it contains some fertilizer inside. Also, the entire feeds instantly kind of sold it's self along the lines of Palm. (Makes me sound cheep huh? *Hope my wife don't see this HAHAHA)

    Anyway, I hope that this soil is good enough for my pygmy. Also I've noticed some greyish dust type of stuff on some of the leaves. Can anybody give me some ideas about what I could use to spray on the plant to help keep it healthy. I've heard cutting up an ivory soap bar and putting it in a spray bottle and spraying it once a week. IS this really necessary, also what type of ivory soap?

    Attached is a photo of it.
     

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  2. outajax

    outajax Member

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    Not positive, but it sounds like it is not going to get enough light. It's a palm, so it's going to need enough humidity, the spray of ivory soap (just regular works) is go kill scale or pests without harming your plant. The philosopy is that once the soapy mixture dries, it dries hard and traps/kills the pest which can then be washed off of the plant. and YES it does work. Because the soap starts out hard, it will dry hard. DO NOT use liquid soap...for the same reason.
    Give the plant PLENTY of shaded light and mist it a lot since it's indoors. Check pot sizes from another source, and keep it away from the wall so it can breathe. Get palm food...specifically palm food, so it has the right mixture. What you planted it in probably already has palm food, so check the directions to find out when you should feed it next. Over feeding can do as much damage as under feeding.
    Hope that gets you started. More expert advice is out there so keep looking.
     

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