Hey there, Ill share with you my experience with mine. I got one last summer for 10 bucks at a whole foods (organic grocery store) near me. I just could not pass it up since it was so BIG for so little money. Palms I have seen in nurseries, as large as the one I got, with as much trunk as the one I got usually are around 75-100 bucks! Apparently the store got them drastically reduced from the grower because of overstock. Its got 3 plants (trunks), one of which is about 2 feet of clear trunk, the other two are much smaller. Mine also was very root/ pot bound, and I repotted mine a few days after I got it. I would say wait until spring to do it, since these palms really do not mind being pot/rootbound at all. It is going to go through enough stress in the winter with the lower humidity and lower light, so I would not want to put anymore undue stress on it. Speaking of humidity, I would try to keep the humidity inside up around 50%. These palms really do not like low humidity, and it can really cause problems for them. They do NOT like low humidity / very dry conditions. I also would keep it in as bright of a location as possible. Humidity can be regulated by placing a tray of water under the pot, but make sure the pot is raised ABOVE, and not sitting in the water. Or, you could also just use a humidifier to regulate your indoor humidity like I do. As far as the size pot, I just got a pot that was 1-2 sized larger. Large enough that it allowed for about 2-3" room at the bottom of the pot, and about 1-2" on all sides of the root ball. I would not give it too large of a pot. As for the soil / growing medium, I simply used regular old miracle grow potting mix, with about 1/3rd part coarse sand, with a somewhat higher sandy content at the bottom of the pot. You could also use miracle grow palm and citrus potting mix which to me seems largely like the same thing as I made on my own. I use Miracle grow because I have had great success with it. Mine has been in its new pot since August, and is thriving and still pushing up new spears (leaves) like crazy, and has not skipped a beat. I keep min in an east window in my living room, but it is also only 6 feet or so from two large south facing windows, so it gets some morning sun, and some late afternoon sun for now, and in general, very bright light all day, even when its not getting any direct sun. As far as the roots on top / sticking out of the top of the soil, that is fairly normal. Mine has quite a few of the same roots, and I did not cover them up when I repotted it. I just left it at about the same soil level as it was when I purchased it. I also water it less in the winter and allow it to dry out pretty good between waterings, and I do NOT allow the pot to stand in any water that drains out into the tray. ( That's true for just about all of my plants though.) One word of caution about placing it outdoors for the summer growing season: When you first place it outside, I would place it in a position that gets MOSTLY SHADE for the first week or so, and gradually expose it to more direct sunlight over a couple weeks. Maybe add a half hour or so of direct sunlight to it each day or so, until its out in full sun for most of the day. They love full sun, but most plants, after being indoors ( and in lesser light conditions) for the winter usually need to be acclimated to full sun again, or you will risk burning its leaves. I know this becuase I have made this mistake a few times, and severely burnt several plants by not slowly acclimating them to direct/ full sun. Anyway, hope this helps you out. Its a nice little palm for sure, and they only get nicer the older / larger they get. Good luck and keep us posted on how it does!

Hi - So, on the sphagnum moss recommendation - are you suggesting to wrap the pruned roots in it, then leave them wrapped in it and bury the roots and sphagnum moss together in the new soil? Would that retain too much moisture, or will this type of palm not mind that? For the record, I have not yet decided if I am definitely doing this yet...I kinda wanted to see if anyone had any direct experience with doing it on this forum. So far, sounds like I might be breaking new ground here. The url I posted is an example of what it could look like (pretty cool, huh?). I have no way of knowing how well that particular plant survived - or if it did at all... Thanks! T

I would ease off the watering. You describe the container as "large"--most palms actually prefer it slightly snug at the roots (deeper is better than wide here). Also, peat moss can really hold a lot of water and palms like good drainage. Peat can also have the opposite problem--once it does dry out it can be difficult to moisten. For palms, I like a soil that is high in humus but well draining so I add copious amounts of coarse sand and/or perlite. In most areas of the USA (including S.Florida), direct sun is fine for pygmy dates (even in the summer), but in your area, I would protect somewhat from the midday sun as your sun is really strong. Pygmy dates are more tropical in their origins (not desert or even Mediterranean). So, they also appreciate higher humidities than other Phoenix species. Good luck!

Yes it's a beauty. I think with the ever growing selection of palms available people tend to get confused and plant something they've never heard of before and be disappointed with the result and effect. A good form of P. Sylvestris is a gorgeous thing. It's well worth taking the time to select for the characteristics that make it so lovely. A little grove of intense silvery blue Sylvestris is more evocative of place and more effective than hundreds of mixed species no matter how rare. If you are lucky and can afford, choose trunking specimens. You will immiedetly see there are differences in leaf arrangement colour and outline, so you may have to select from various growers. In younger palms this is also apparent, don't think something will turn powder blue or silver as it matures it won't, generaly what you see is what it will be with these. The only difference is with seedlings they all tend to be dark green but by the time there are at least ten to twelve leaves on a juvenile the colour is apparent so that's the size to do your selecting if going for little ones. Choose leaflets that are broad and short and have a plumose arrangement on the mid rib. Thin long narrow leaflets don't look so attractive on a mature palm even if a nice silver colour. The leaflet attachment to the mid rib should however be narrow or you are looking at a possible hybrid with a date palm. This will mean a slower growing fatter and less attractive palm, also avoid anything with fat leaf bases, Sylvestris bases are flat, strap like. The nice thing about them is it's never too late to plant one as they look just as lovely as a small fecund fountain of leaves as they do as mature adults. They have many leaves making a very nice full head. If you have small dogs and children it might be wise to choose your planting site carefully as they have quite sharp thorns. The other fantastic thing about them is that unlike most Phoenix they are very happy in high humidity and retain their colour just as well as a dry climate if not even better. So if you are in the tropics it will still thrive and look good. In fact they positively explode with regular watering and feeding, in cooler weather or during your dry season keep on the dry side to give them a rest, this encourages a deeper root system. Think of each leaf as a food storage organ, the more the stronger it will be, so only cut off when the leaf is completely dead and when doing so don't cut into any living white tissue because the sap could attract boring insects. P. lourii is a lovely Palm too. However most people tend to think because it's a Phoenix it thrives in dry arid climates and icy wet winters. However this is not so. It thrives in seasonally very high humid summer rainfall areas where it's much faster growing and more rewarding, it prefers a dry cool winter. Definitely more sub-tropical than tropical but not an arid wet winter species at all. Most you see depicted on the net and growing in parks and botanical gardens are hybrids including palmpedia. The trunk is always narrow and delicate looking only slightly thicker (and much taller) than a P. Roebelenii and smooth, the long bright green leaves with leaflets on a single plain make a lovely full head and have a characteristic arching twist to them. Happy hunting.