Identification Help: help in identifying palm please - and some care/repotting tips?

webweaver · #1 March 12th, 2006, 06:53 AM

I inherited this palm from a friend about 5 years ago and it's done very well so far. Virtually all the leaves you see have grown since I first got it. It regularly produces "flowers" (the seed-head thingies) and always has a new leaf spike on the way. The roots are quite strange, as you can see - they appear to die off after a while, leaving a knobbly protuberance, with new roots appearing beneath the old ones.

I'm a bit concerned about my palm because you can almost see daylight between the roots and the soil now (see pic 3), it's developing quite a lean (the trunk almost looks too slender to support the weight of the leaves) and recently it's not been able to accept as much water in the pot as it used to without overflowing. I'm thinking it's pretty much outgrown its pot (which is pretty tiny, as you can see) so I bought a new one today (see pic 2). But - the new pot is huge! Much bigger than I thought it would be in comparison to the old one - and I'm concerned that this large a jump in size will not be good for my palm.

So I have a few questions - firstly - what sort of palm is this? If I can identify it I can Google for more care info.

Secondly - when should I repot it (what time of year?) and is this new pot too big for it?

Thirdly - should I cover up the old root knobs by increasing the height of the soil when I repot, or might this rot the stem?

Thanks so much. Hope you can help.

**Rima** · #2 March 12th, 2006, 10:33 AM

Hi, I would get a smaller new pot, maybe a ceramic one so it all doesn't tip over. When you do repot, take off up to 1/4 of old woody roots that seem not to be doing a lot anymore, and that should help keep it in line a bit. Add more soil on top around the knobs if you want, but very little at the bottom of the pot (and no gravel) which will also help the pruned rootball to sit a bit lower in the pot. Do ask Q's at www.gardenweb.com/forums (there's one for palms, cycads, etc.) where there are a lot of helpful, knowledgable people.

**Junglekeeper** · #3 March 12th, 2006, 10:41 AM

It looks a lot like my Chamaedorea elgans, Parlour Palm. I agree with the new pot being too big but not with removing any roots.

webweaver · #4 March 12th, 2006, 04:35 PM

Brilliant! Thanks guys! I didn't realise it was Chamaedorea because the photos you most often see of the Parlour Palm are where a whole lot have been planted in the same container, and mine's just a single stem. Anyway, I've Googled for pics and found some that look like mine, so I think your ID is spot-on.

I'll pop over to the palm section now and ask some more questions about the care of my palm.