Worth knowing:
The trunk of the Chinese Windmill Palm reminds with its brown fibres strongly of a hemp plant, and carries therefore the name Hemp Palm in German. The leaves of this beautiful umbrella palm are very strong and deeply cut until the base of the leave. Out of its core spring every year up to ten new upright leaves, while the older ones at the bottom of the crown fall off over time. Since its natural habitat is the Asian high mountain region in about 2500 meters above sea level, which is actually uncommon for palm trees, it can resist even snow and frost until -18° Celsius when the plant is matured.
Natural Location:
The Hemp Palm comes from China and South Japan, where it is often cultivated as crop plant.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should place the seeds for about 12 hours in warm water for priming. Then, plant the seeds about 1 cm deep in moist potting compost, put some compost earth on top and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20°C and 25° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it takes three to six weeks until germination.
Place:
The Chinese Windmill Palm prefers a bright and airy place, while full sunny is not necessary. It can also be kept in a half-shaded spot, but here it will grow more slowly.
Care:
The Hemp Palm is rather carefree and grows nicely in a moderate environment. Just keep it reasonably moist and avoid waterlogging - but see that you use lime-deficient water since too much lime might damage the plant over time. Between March and October you may also give special fertilizer for palm plants every two weeks. Since the Hemp Palm is not exactly fast-growing, it is enough to shift pots every two years.
During the winter:
The best place outdoors for your Hemp Palm to hibernate, is in a wind-protected spot towards the south with a heat-preserving wall at its back. However, if the temperatures are likely to be less than -10° Celsius it is advisable to protect the soil of your plant with some foliage. Older Hemp Palms are frost-resistant even up to -18° Celsius. For tub plants it is always saver to keep them in a cool and bright room during hibernation. Watering is necessary only in very modest amounts.
Picture credits:
- © © Digigalos - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Digigalos - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Digigalos - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Dieter Kerkhoff - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
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