Hemp Palm(Trachycarpus): Fertilizing, Care Tips For Timing And Procedure

The decorative ornamental plant is not at home with us, but it can become one with the right care. We show how to properly fertilize the hemp palm. Hemp palms ( Trachycarpus ) give your garden or balcony a touch of the jungle with their fan leaves in bucket culture. In regions with a mild winter, the Asian palm trees can even be planted, after all, some species are even considered frost-hardy down to -18 ° C.

So they survive the European winters outside in the bed or the park, but then they often lose a few leaves. You should provide your palm with sufficient nutrients so that the plants go into winter strengthened and reproduce lost fronds during the warmer seasons. Because only a well-fertilized hemp palm shows the frugality that a thriving plant offers a gardener.

Starched hemp palms like to form more than 20 fresh palm fronds during the growing season and shoot up to 40 centimeters in height. To do this, the exotic plant needs the right care. We will answer the following questions for you: Which fertilizer is best for hemp palms? When should hemp palms be fertilized? And are there any home remedies for fertilizing hemp palms?

When do you fertilize hemp palms?

Use a nutrient-rich substrate when planting. For example, you can mix ripe compost under the topsoil or, in the case of a culture in a pot, under commercially available potting soil. Organic slow-release fertilizers can also be added before planting. You should also add a little sand to ensure a loose root bed because waterlogging is not well tolerated by the plant. If the water supply is correct, your hemp palm will thrive with one fertilization a year.

Use an organic slow-release fertilizer in spring, because then the second fertilization in July is only necessary for locations with very poor, very sandy soil. An organic fertilizer variant offers the desired long-term release of nutrients into the soil. In addition, in comparison to mineral fertilizers, which are chemically processed, valuable raw materials are spared. After the summer months, there should be no more fertilization to prepare the palm for the winter season.

Summary: When to fertilize hemp palms?

• Compost or long-term organic fertilizer can be added when planting
• The first fertilization should be done in spring
• If the soil is very poor, it should be re-fertilized in summer

Fertilizing hemp palm: how and with what?

The hemp palm is characterized – like its related name, the hemp plant – by its easy-care and robust character. But although they are very frugal, both plants only grow into truly magnificent plants with the addition of the right fertilizer. There are special palm fertilizers for the specialists among the hemp palm owners. But with undemanding palms like the hemp palm, this is actually unnecessary. A low-chloride universal flower fertilizer is sufficient for the exotic species.

You should pay attention to a reasonably balanced ratio of nitrogen to potassium and low phosphorus content. In addition, you should keep the rather barren conditions of the home of the hemp palm in mind when fertilizing. There is therefore a quick risk of over-fertilizing the plants. For this reason, a mineral fertilizer is rather unsuitable. On the one hand, the nutrients are available in the soil quickly, but in too large quantities and for too short a period of time. On the other hand, mineral fertilizers are produced with very high resource consumption.

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If you want to feed your hemp plant sustainably in the direct and indirect sense, you should choose an organic fertilizer. Organic universal fertilizer impresses with its organic long-term effect and is also an NPK fertilizer in controlled organic quality. In contrast to expensive special palm fertilizers, you can also use this fertilizer for other ornamental plants or the vegetable garden.

Organically fertilize hemp palm: application and application recommendation

Hemp palms tend to crave additional trace elements in the soil. Silicates in particular are needed for rapid cell structure. If there is too little of it, yellow palm fronds are often the result. Therefore, simply mix a handful of rock flour into the soil when planting and fertilizing to prevent this. This also contains the trace elements iron and manganese, which are important for palms. Since hemp palms prefer a slightly acidic soil pH value between 5.5 and 6.5, you should use calcareous fertilizers such as rock flour sparingly. Because these ensure that the soil environment becomes more alkaline.

Long-term organic fertilization: Instructions and dosage quantities for the hemp palm

Particularly in the case of plants that are highly sensitive to too many nutrients, the correct dosage of fertilizer is not only a prerequisite for environmentally friendly handling, but also for the fertilized plant to thrive. That is why we have clearly put together the few steps for a happy hemp palm for you below.

1. Before planting, work 100 – 150 g / m² (well-filled 0.2-liter jar) of organic universal fertilizer into the upper soil layer
2. Pour the soil and freshly used hemp palm well so that the granules can dissolve well
3. With maintenance fertilization in spring, you should fertilize another 80 – 120 g / m² (0.2-liter jar) per plant

Fertilize hemp palm minerally

If a hemp palm is in distress and shows yellow leaves, this can be a sign of a lack of nutrients. The one-off application of a mineral fertilizer such as blue grain or many universal fertilizers available in retail outlets can help here. The rapid release of nutrients will help your plant quickly. However, one should proceed with caution.

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So that you do not over-fertilize your palm, it is better to fertilize in small doses. With commercial liquid fertilizer, pour fertilizer in the irrigation water about every four weeks. However, you can easily minimize the dates for fertilizing with an organic fertilizer. This promotes the growth of your hemp palm at least as well as mineral fertilizers and has a better environmental balance.

Fertilize hemp palm with home remedies

Grandma’s garden might not have grown palm trees, but even in those days, it was gorgeous in the garden. Even back then, people knew many a trick with organic fertilizers. And certainly, nothing was thrown away. And that also applies today: Use, for example, manure made from plant components that arise during gardening. To do this, nettles, comfrey and similar herbs are soaked in rainwater for two weeks. And after no more bubbles form, the liquid manure is diluted in a ratio of one to ten with the irrigation water.

Another source of nutrients that produces no waste is fertilization with coffee grounds. This contains plenty of nitrogen and promotes life in the soil. To do this, simply distribute the coffee grounds on the ground in the root area or add them to the irrigation water. However, the frequent use of coffee grounds as fertilizer leads to a lowering of the soil pH. However, if your palm is also supplied with rock flour, this should not be a problem. Because this contains lime, which increases the soil pH and thus counteracts acidification. The acidifying effect of coffee grounds can even be an advantage here because hemp palms like a slightly acidic soil pH.