Trachycarpus Fortunei, A COMPLETE GUIDE.

#Trachycarpus #Fortunei #trachycarpusfortunei
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1. Also known as Chinese windmill palm, #Chusan #Palm or Hemp Palm.
2. The name comes from Trachy - meaning rough (the trunk) Carpus (fruit), fortunei - from the plantsman and horticulturalist Robert Fortune.
3. Despite being called Chinese windmill palm it is not determined whether it is from, could be China or Japan.
4. Dioecious, which means plants will either have male flowers or female flowers not both, so you need one of each to propagate.
5. Male flowers are yellow, female flowers are green. Produce thousands of seeds and when fertilised can be invasive.
6. Multi-trunked plants are actually more than one plant close together and can be split apart.
7. Can grow up to 12 metres. But because of it’s slow growth rate it is ideal for containers. These have been in containers 10+ years.
8. Likes full sun or some shade, any soil PH, fertile, well drained, likes to be moist but not waterlogged, overwatering can cause root rot, especially in a container.
9. Evergreen, Very hardy, down to -15 centigrade or further, younger plants less hardy, -7.
10. Doesn’t like exposure to strong wind or sharp sudden frost. Consider sheltering in winter time, wrap with fleece or move if in a container.
11. Produces it’s own trunk from leaves and these stringy bits are the leaf sheaths. These have been used to produces rope, sacks, string, hats. The birds also love this for nest building.
12. Not really affected by pests, which lends to its hardiness, although be aware of root rot of too wet and wind damage to leaves.
13. Ideal for greenhouse or conservatory.
14. Propagated by seed, need male and female plant, collect seeds store in moist warm compost over 25 degrees and be patient, up to 3 months to germinate. In the wild the seeds a re dispersed by wind, gravity and birds.
15. No pruning required although cosmetic grooming can be done, remove the spent leaves near the trunk and brown leaf tips.
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[@kristinekalapos1066]

Great video, and of course a dog makes anything better!

[@user-xf1rr1wh3s]

Good Job explaining the Trachycarpus Fortunei Mark. Thanks.

[@markbriggs5531]

Great video again Mark. I like the design - it's like a little desert island!

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Yes. Thanks Mark. I was thinking 'oasis' and 'desert island'. It is very self contained. Glad you like it 😊

[@seansmith445]

They are quick growers once established in the ground so a windbreak will only protect them for so long. Also its worth mentioning that Trachycarpus Wagnerianus is also very cold hardy palm yet more wind tolerant than the Fortunei because of its shorter stiffer fonds, although personally I think the Fortunei is more aesthetically pleasing.

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thanks for this sean. Great information. Mark

[@deepblack2193]

Why is it more aesthetically pleasing? To me they look the same except Wagnerius only grows to maximum 16ft apparently

[@seansmith445]

@@deepblack2193 Just personal preference. They definitely don't look the same. The fronds on the wagnerianus are short and stiff wharas the fronds on the fortunei are longer and bendy.

[@Handles_AreStupid]

@@deepblack2193 They do definitely look different in person. I used to think that trachycarpus palms all looked the same, but the longer you spend with them, the more you realise that they are all definitely different, and you can even get hybrids. Waggy's leaves are noticeably smaller in person, maybe only 60-70% of the size of fortunei, if that. They are more compact and they hold their leaves for longer. If you want one that defnitely stands out, get a princeps x fortunei hybrid. When they get mature, their leaves are tidiest looking, they are fairly hardy and have silvery under leaves. If you want a fast growing one, get a "nova". It's a certain strain of fortunei that have a lot in common with waggys, but have MUCH longer leaf petials. Not as hardy (still fairly hardy tho), but they grow so fast that they shake off what little damage they take.

[@andyheseltine2248]

Good informative video, thanks Mark

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you Andy. Appreciate your comment. Mark

[@tropicolin3539]

Great vid, thanks for sharing

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

You're welcome. And thank you very much for watching and commenting. Best wishes. Mark

[@gardenreel]

Amazing 👏 great share 👍 👌

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Wonderful. Thanks for your feedback and thank you for watching. So pleased you enjoyed it 😊

[@brandonqtu]

Hello! From Seattle, WA. It looking great 👍

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hello Brandon in seattle! And thank you very much, from Nantwich, Cheshire, England 😊

[@EastCoastTropicalGarden]

Thanks great information

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you 😊 mark

[@alexlalonde4190]

Hi really like your border design, I will use some of your ideas, to create my own tropical garden.🌴

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you very much indeed. I hope it works out great. Thanks and best wishes. Mark

[@helenanders5532]

Looking fabulous👌

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you x speak soon. X

[@itwasthepudding]

howdy... very interesting and informative. thanks

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thanks John, really appreciate your feedback. Best wishes. Mark

[@charliechimples]

Great video, thanks for sharing. 🐵

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you Charlie Chimples. Appreciate your comment and great KZbin name!

[@Bishopton]

Great video mark, I like your editing, you've improved a lot (not that you were bad before)

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thanks again for this comment, i give the editing a lot of thought, and I'm always learning 🙂

[@Charlies247]

I have one in the garden and it’s now huge. Must be 25-30ft and It’s growing so fast lately! Do they have a limit? I’d hate to have to cut it down.

[@Verstrappen]

Hi mark, thanks for the informative guide! Ive watched a few videos on these palms and people have mentioned that these can be potted with ericaceous compost as well as adding some john innes no 3. Is ericaceous ok for these palms? All I can see online is alkaline or neutral PH soil. I am going to have a go at growing from seeds in a moist zip lock back with seeding compost and fingers crossed once germinated into seedling i was going to pot in ericaceous soil with jonhn innes no 3. thanks in advance :)

[@kevinboylan1429]

Buying my first palm tree this one in particular, looking at 5ft one will leave it a pot for the time being, thanks for the video

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hi Kevin. Yes they seem to do fine in pots for a long time. Are you UK based?

[@kevinboylan1429]

@@MarksHouseandGardenUK yip in the UK

[@Mildewpants]

Thanks for the video! Very interesting to learn about it being used like hemp, also the way the water funnels wotht leaves! I've just ordered some seedlings and I hope they thrive grow to look as beautuful as your dos! The three together with the rocks look really great.

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thank you 😊

[@janiceleijon9450]

Thanks Mark, very informative video. I have had two successful trachycarpus fort. planted in ground 2007, in southern Sweden. Both have flowered every year the last 5 years. Early years, the plants were insulated from winter weather. However last winter being mild, no cover. The larger, now 2+ meter palm is very healthy, however the always smaller palm appears to have not survived this last winter. Rotting from inside, as all leaves and the remaining spike has died. I have removed all rotting material. Do you have any suggestions to help this plant survive? Thanks from Janice in Sweden

[@Baldnesz]

I have one of these and it is suffering from yellowing leaves with dark spots and poor growth. Based in the Midlands UK. I may be over watering it at the moment (having watched your video) One of the leaves seems to have been eaten something as it looks like it has been turned to a grey ash half the length of the fan leaf which also hadnt opened up yet. It was in the ground then got moved to a pot over winter. I have given it plant food.....

[@catherinegrimes2308]

My previous house was part way up a hill in the Midlands. I planted a very small Trachycarpus Fortunei about a few metres away from a south facing fence. It was so small that it looked like a few leaves and didn't even have a trunk, but after a few years a trunk formed and it started to grow quite rapidly so that after 22 years it was the height of the bedroom windows. I did very little to it and hardly watered it, if at all. It wasn't overwintered or protected with fleece or similar, it just survived. The Cordyline Australises in the garden didn't fair as well and over the years one would be damaged in a severe frost. After waiting several months a bud of new growth would appear in the remains of the trunk. I am still in the Midlands and now live a lot lower down and hope to be a bit more adventurous when I plant palms in the garden next year. Instead of a Trachycarpus Fortunei, I will be planting the Trachycarpus Fortunei 'Wagnerianus' because it shouldn't grow as tall and I don't want it to interfere with my astronomy.

[@Okus477]

So I’m pretty sure I also have a trachycarpus fortunei, but one thing that makes mine different is the fact that it has a thick trunk, it had the same trunk structure as yours when it was small, but even when I’ve seen tall ones on KZbin the trunks on those are still very thin where as mine is quite thick, I also know it’s female aswell because it has green coloured bead things in the spring/summer so I’m not sure if it’s gender effects that. I’d definitely like to hear your thoughts!

[@gavinwood8431]

Great informative video, thanks. I have just bought and potted one, but I’m worried that although there are no issues yet, it is really windy here in Oxfordshire. Hoping it will come through unscathed

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

I'm sure it will be fine. It's the tips of the palms which may suffer. The plant itself should be fine. During the winter, if it is exceptionally cold and windy you might wrap it in horticultural fleece. But they are very hardy tbf. Our council put them on roundabouts and leave them out all winter.

[@gavinwood8431]

Thanks for the reply, that’s really sound advice, and certainly makes me feel a lot easier about it. They are such lovely trees Keep up the great work Mark 👌

[@dragosboboc6778]

Hello, At what age they start to make flowers?

[@ssmith6641]

Fantastic video! Really enjoyed it. I found it interesting you kept your palms in pots for 20 years as I plan on doing exactly the same (we have a stone patio). May I ask what size pots you used? I love the height your palms got to in pots and want around the same height ideally, so I think I’ll use a very similar pot size. Cheers!

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hi Steven the pots were various sizes. The largest was about 45cm. All cube shapes. Those grey lead look ones. Occasionally I would dig some soil out and replace. They were very pot bound in the end. Mark

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

If you look back to some of the videos i made at my previous house you will get a better view. Mark

[@jamiepaulton3630]

Hi, loving your videos. Just got myself two of these palms. How often do you water your palms trees??

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hi Jamie, thanks for this. Because these have just been planted I'm watering them at least weekly. But they're all shown a growth spurt and one had two flowers emerging so i reckon they've got new roots, ultimately, because they are planted deep and under a mulch of gravel i hope not to water them at all. However, in pots during the summer we watered them every couple of days, from the top. I enjoy watching the water funnel down the leaves and into the trunk. Mark

[@jamiepaulton3630]

@@MarksHouseandGardenUK Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. Love what you have done with the surrounding stones around the palms. Keep up the good work, i look forward to your future videos👍

[@sebastianhugely7035]

I little too close together, mine have grown 8” this year Wagnerianus more susceptible to leaf damage but grow faster

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

I suppose it depends on your objective. I'm currently in lake como. There are dozens of these everywhere. Some inches apart. They grow up nicely right next to each other.

[@al3xdragos01]

I'm looking to get one as well it's about 9ft tall,my question is how quick this grows? At the moment it's the size we want it ,and the leaves on top it's like an umbrella shape which we love. We are uk based North Yorkshire so yes we got some chill weather now and then

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Once established they're not slow growing. A friend of mine has one 22foot tall. It took 17 years i believe

[@htdriver2012]

Hi. We just purchased 3 of these trees which are young. They are in 5 gallon buckets and stand about 4 feet tall. We haven't planted them yet but from what we have been told, they should be planted anywhere from 6 to 10 feet apart to give them plenty of room for growth and their roots. We were just wondering is it ok to plant them so close together as you have yours?

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hi bryan. I think ours should probably be more spaced out. But we had a good natter about it at the time and decided to put them close. I can always move them if they become problematic. They were in pots previously and much closer than this. We often see these and much bigger specimens being sold amd moved. I would say, if you, give them more space.

[@htdriver2012]

@@MarksHouseandGardenUK Hi. Thanks for your reply. Your trees look good. We brought ours home yesterday and have a landscaper coming tomorrow to give us some ideas and hopefully can get him to plant them for us. Thank you

[@deepblack2193]

Is there a rule about pruning these trees? I read over pruning the fronds can lead to insect disease and potassium deficiency but I quite like the 11 to 1 clock look but apparently no more than 10 to 2 is safe?

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

HI THERE. I actually don't know the answer but I'll look into it. really like your way of explaining the 11 to 1 and 10 to 2 look. i'm a 10 to 2 man myself. let me have a look into this. interesting

[@markgardner921]

Can you tell me if the dark seeds like a black blue are poisonous to dogs

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Hi Mark. I don't know the answer to this. Sorry for the delay, is your dog ok? Mark

[@vasileseaman5872]

How does it handle below freezing temperatures?

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Mine have been fine at - 10c seems very hardy. Mark

[@leeannmansfield5254]

I thought you had my dog there.i have identical pomeranian who is 15.

[@khalidalhanshali3982]

Should you ever skin these?

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

I have seen this done and I have seen the trunks polished like mahogany. It's definitely an option but it's personal choice I suppose. I leave ours as nesting material for the birds. Mark

[@QUEENAHIDEKINGFISHER]

They can take -18,so take no note of the -15 he mentioned.

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

I'll leave your comment in place. People can make their own choices. We just lost one at - 8. Take your own decisions please viewers.

[@QUEENAHIDEKINGFISHER]

@@MarksHouseandGardenUK i have been growing these since 1987,i should know.And the mainstrean palm books say.......-18.

[@eleventy7576]

Why does he's hand gravitate towards the dog's butt 😂

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Thanks for that

[@QUEENAHIDEKINGFISHER]

Those Trachycarpus are planted too close to each other!

[@MarksHouseandGardenUK]

Yes I think you're right. Several others have said the same. Having said that have you seen those with 'double' trunks? That's actually two plants right next to each other.