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Can Queen Palms live in a container?

pooldreamer_2010

13 years ago

I think Queen Palms are so pretty and delicate looking. I have a small backyard and I am fearful of planting them around 1 foot from the pool. I was wondering if anyone owned some? Do they shed in the pool anytime of year? I was thinking that perhaps I would keep them in a container for several years and when they start to grow too large..like 20 feet then I would give them away and start over. Is that crazy? I am just trying to think of a way to have privacy and a nice landscape without planting anything into the ground.

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Comments (3)

typea
13 years ago
Queen palms have very tiny roots and yes they can live in a container. I have 3 35 footers right now living in my backyard in containers. I presume they were in the containers all their lives but they've been in my backyard for a year now and are very healthy.

Queens do shed but they don't drop leaves per se. They will drop a frond or two each year which amounts to simply picking them up. If you trim them then they don't shed at all.

If you could eek out another 6" distance I'd just plant them. Their roots max out around pinky width and feel like they're made of rubber. I've seen them planted where concrete surrounded them with the roots just finding a new place to exist.
pooldreamer_2010
Original Author
13 years ago
typea,

That was so helpful! I have looked up Queen Palms, and maybe I was looking wrong, but could never find the answer to my question, until now. I am grateful and excited because I REALLY wanted to buy some : )

Just one more question...wind is not a threat for knocking over the container when the tree gets tall?
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I absolutely hate queen palms. A neighbor planted a row next to my fence and didn't take care of them causing the limbs to constantly fall and hang over the fence into my property creating a huge obstacle and nuisance for me and interfering with my ability to walk across the narrow pathway that surrounds my pool. Same story on my other side fence with a neighbor who has just one within also planted within 2 feet of the fence and again never removes the overhanging limbs. I have an hoa and yet they don't enforce the removal of these dangerous nuisance limbs by their owners leaving me, a disabled elderly person to have to pay to remove the limbs ,which is a huge stress and financial burden to me. The trees can be nice if maintained constantly but because they are cheap people plant them and then many don't prune them cause big problems for neighbors. I'm so sick of these trees, they block my free access, prevent me from enjoying my back yard. They are a fire hazard, a tripping hazard, when the limbs hand down to the ground over my fence and even one limb blew in my face causing me to fall. Any suggestions?
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Thanks to all the follow-ups. Great advice. We do feed the palms and fertilize...had our gardener start doing it regular once a month. I'll pick up the 3in1, thank you! To TAMPA...yeah..we think our palms look great, too...no frizzle top and all green, but those two smaller ones. It did really freeze hard core this past year. Maybe those smaller two were more susceptible. We've been getting our monsoon over here...lots of wind, rain, and humidity! LOVE IT. Although, my poor palms get blown around like crazy when that wind picks up! Thanks again guys/gals!!
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My Pygmy Dates and Queen palm have made it outdoors here planted in the ground without damage for 8 years...until this winter. We had a record 13 nights, straight, below freezing. They are very badly burned. Its too early to tell yet if one of the Pygmy Dates is dead, it still has one green frond. The Queen may be okay too, have to wait and see. When spring really comes, I'll go out and test the last emergent frond. If it doesn't pull out, I'll know they are still viable and I need to wait. Same with most of the Pygmy dates, except the one lucky guy. In contrast, my Pindos, Mediteranean Fans, Sabals and my Needle Palms are all intact, not even leaf burn. I would recommend those to you for container palms for your deck. The Needle is the hardiest, it will survive temps below zero. The only problem is, large specimens can be hard to locate and expensive. All of mine are over 20 years old. I have a few Saribus palms planted out, they are very hardy, but the leaves always burn in a hard freeze so they look unsightly for a bit.
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typea
13 years ago
My 35 footers are awaiting planting as we complete major construction in our backyard. The wind is a problem so I have them tied down for now but will be planting them after the outdoor room and pool is finished.

I believe you should just plant yours as well. The roots will just find their way around the concrete and are not large enough to break the pool. Once they get 10+ ft tall the pot will have to be pretty wide and heavy -- not because they need the space but so the wind doesn't blow them over. Queens grow tall and slender. I have a neighbor who has some planted in his waterfall between the niches in the rocks. The roots have just found space to stretch out and have caused no damage.

As far as palms are concerned, queens grow pretty quickly. If you are worried about them outgrowing their space you might want to consider Sago palms. They grow very slowly and take very little space. If you are in a more tropical climate the Alexanders are awesome as well and also take very little space.

Here is an e-zine article on potted palms
Palms Suitable for Containers

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