How to Transplant Queen Palm Trees
Once your queen palm tree outgrows its container, it is time to transplant it outdoors. Queen palm trees may look tall and unwieldy, but they are actually much easier to transplant than most other varieties of trees because of the relatively narrow configuration of their root systems. The best time to transplant your palm tree is in spring or summer. Although it can be transplanted during any time of the year, it will establish itself much more quickly when its roots are actively growing.
Water your potted queen palm tree the day before you plan to transplant it.
Dig a hole that is twice as wide and twice as deep as the container that your queen palm tree is currently growing in.
Fill the hole with water and allow it to drain out.
- Once your queen palm tree outgrows its container, it is time to transplant it outdoors.
- Dig a hole that is twice as wide and twice as deep as the container that your queen palm tree is currently growing in.
Mix the excavated soil with an equal amount of well-aged compost.
Remove your queen palm tree from its container, taking care not to damage its roots.
Place the queen palm in the hole so that the point where the roots and the trunk meet is 1 inch below the surface of the soil. You will have to fill the hole with some of your soil mixture first to accomplish this.
Back-fill the hole until it is halfway full. Then water the soil until it is uniformly moist but not soaked. Finish filling the hole, and water the soil until the entire planting area is uniformly moist but not soaking.
- Mix the excavated soil with an equal amount of well-aged compost.
- Finish filling the hole, and water the soil until the entire planting area is uniformly moist but not soaking.
Top-dress the planting area with a high-nitrogen commercial fertilizer. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for the appropriate amount, but make sure the fertilization area extends 6 inches to 1 foot beyond the root ball of the queen palm.
Spread a 3-inch-thick layer of organic mulch around but not touching the trunk of the palm tree (give it a 4- to 6-inch berth).
Continue to water the queen palm tree every other day until it establishes itself in six to eight months and produces new growth.
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Writer Bio
Based in Houston, Texas, Meg Butler is a professional farmer, house flipper and landscaper. When not busy learning about homes and appliances she's sharing that knowledge. Butler began blogging, editing and writing in 2000. Her work has appered in the "Houston Press" and several other publications. She has an A.A. in journalism and a B.A. in history from New York University.
