Why late summer is the best time to plant a palm

Most people shop for plants when the weather is pleasant. Palms work on a different schedule. They put out new roots when the soil is warm, and in South Florida the soil is never warmer than it is in late summer. Add the afternoon storms that roll through almost every day, and you have the best few months of the year to plant a palm.

If you have been waiting for cooler weather to replace the palm the last storm took out, or to finally add a few to that bare corner of the yard, this is the push to do it now. A palm planted in August or September has the rest of the warm season to settle in before the dry months arrive.

Warm soil is what palms are waiting for

Palm roots behave differently from tree roots. A palm does not keep thickening the roots it already has. It keeps sending out new ones from the base of the trunk, and those new roots grow fastest when soil temperatures stay high. Planted in winter, a palm can sit for weeks without doing much below ground. Planted in late summer, it starts rooting into the surrounding soil within weeks.

That early rooting matters because a newly planted palm is living on whatever roots came with it from the nursery. The sooner it grows into your native soil, the sooner it can find water on its own and the less you have to babysit it with a hose.

Let the rainy season do some of the watering

The other advantage of late-summer planting is the weather pattern. Most afternoons bring a storm, and that steady moisture keeps the root ball from drying out between your own waterings. You still need to water a new palm, especially in the first few weeks and on any stretch without rain, but the season is working with you instead of against you.

Compare that to planting in April or May, at the end of the dry season, when a new palm can need daily water for weeks. A palm that goes in now heads into the dry months with a head start.

Choose the palm for the spot, not the photo

Before you pick a palm, look at where it is going. How much sun does the spot get, and for how many hours? How close is the house, the driveway or the pool deck? How tall can the palm get before it runs into a roofline or power line? A palm that fits the space at maturity will save you from removing it in ten years.

Sun-loving palms like Sabal, Bismarck and Foxtail want a full day of sun. Shadier spots and patios suit palms like Lady palm and Areca. Some palms handle salt spray near the coast and some do not. If you are not sure, bring a photo of the spot and a rough measurement to the nursery and we will walk you to the palms that fit. Our guide to choosing the right palm covers the basics.

How to plant it so it stays upright

Dig the hole about twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper than the root ball is tall. The most common mistake with palms is planting them too deep. The top of the root ball should sit level with the surrounding grade or slightly above it. Burying the trunk can rot it and stunt the palm for years.

Backfill with the soil you dug out, firming it as you go to remove air pockets, and build a low ring of soil around the edge of the hole to hold water while it soaks in. Larger palms usually need bracing for the first several months while their roots anchor. Brace with padded wood that does not nail into the trunk, since any wound in a palm trunk is permanent.

Then water deeply. A slow soak that reaches the full depth of the root ball does more than a quick spray every day.

Feeding a new palm, and when to wait

Palms are heavy feeders, and South Florida soils are often short on the potassium, magnesium and manganese they need. A slow-release palm fertilizer with those nutrients is the standard choice once the palm has begun to root in. Many cities in Palm Beach County restrict fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus during the rainy season, so check your own city's rules before you feed. A newly planted palm is usually fine waiting until those restrictions lift.

Do not try to make up for it by over-fertilizing later. More fertilizer than the label calls for can burn new roots. Our post on fertilizing palms correctly covers the details.

Leave the green fronds alone

It is tempting to trim a new palm to make it look tidy or to reduce wind resistance during storm season. Resist it. A palm makes its food in those green fronds, and the lower fronds feed the palm potassium as they age. Cutting a palm down to a few fronds at the top, sometimes called a hurricane cut, weakens it rather than protecting it.

Remove fronds only once they are fully brown, along with any seed stalks you do not want. A new palm will often lose a few older fronds as it settles in. That is normal, and it is not a sign to cut more.

Frequently asked questions