I don't know the answer, but I have a pic for people to see. I hope this helps get peoples attention to your question 🙂

hello. first post here. Im so excited to find you all!! Thanks for providing a great forum. nice to meet you all 🙂

I actually just bought one of these pygmy date palms today and was wondering the exact same thing about seperating them. it would be great to split them up but I dont want to kill it in the process.

Hello Dr.
My advice is to keep them potted. I did repot mine taking the other three out and repotting the biggy. Well it is still alive, but it doesn't look good at all. I am afraid for the future of it.
My old one, which I have had for about 6-7 months now was potted in the store with 4 others. Over the winter I kept/keep grow lights on it for 12-13 hours and a humidifier and it looked GREAT. However now, It almost seems to be taking on the charecteristics of the one I just repotted. It is almost like one trunk takes control and takes all the nutrients from the others because the one trunk is crowding out the smaller ones. None have shown signs of dying, but the biggy is THRIVING while the others are just "there".
So I guess what I would do (and is what I am doing with my old one) is to leave them together and let the big trunk take over the others. Over time the little ones will die, THEN just cut them off. After a while your one biggy will be all itself.

Sounds like experience to me. Thanks kansas. The little I could turn up from searching for a while seemed to support that also. They really arent that exspensive that it could be worth it to some person to sacrifice a few to get just one good stock, if it could be done.

Hi DrKungPao, Welcome to the forum. 😀 Always happy to have new members join our forum. 😀

Regards,
Jay

I wish I could help you guys with advice but mine is planted out in the yard. It survives lows of 20F uncovered.

That is a cool little palm. Too bad they are not hardy; those would make the neatest accent plants! Of course I have a general fondness of the Phoenix genus overall...

<pipedream> A big Canarie in my front yard would look so freaking awesome... </pipedream>

Here is a photo of a 2 ft trunked pygmy date palm . Paid $37. 00 Canadian http://groups.msn.com/OkanaganPalms/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=20

Admin thanks for the work on the site and for the welcome! I am SO happy to find this forum.

Okanagan thats such a pretty specimen and 37.00 seems awfully reasonable for such a beautiful tree.

O.k. I need to preface this idea with a statement that I have no idea what im talking about in regards to this, or general novice level plant care.

Does anyone think it would be a decent approach if one wanted to attempt to seperate a group of these to try and remove all the dirt from the root systems by gently using a hose to wash it all off exsposing just the root structure? Once they would be seperated (if this was even possible) then what about using some rooting hormone on the roots and planting in some healthy mix and crossing the fingers waiting in anticipation? I so desperatley want to free these 5 trees from the confines of one pot. Not enough to kill them tho. 🙂

I've had some luck with that approach in the past with the addition of trimming some lower fronds, ( root disturbance will hinder the plants ability for water uptake and you need to compensate by removing some of the *older* foliage to prevent dehydration)

It's really amazing and a shame the way some growers produce these things, I bought a 3" container of C.elegans that had 23 seedlings stuffed into it!

-Steve

JESUS!!!!!!!! Thats rediculous.
So after I repotted, some of the lower fronds were drying out and I had to cut them. So that is normal?
Also, the trunk which used to be green has now turned brown. Looking at the pic, this is normal too.
So my tree may not be dying? Maybe just dehydrated and I need to water the heck out of it with a root stimulator???
Hey, I see your in Kansas. Where? Topeka here, but I travel state wide thru my job.

I'd keep it moist but not wet and hold off on any fertilizers until some new growth is evident. Losing the old fronds is part of the normal growth cycle anyways, as long as it is pushing some new theres nothing to worry about. I'm in Tescott here, Have a pile of stuff to plant out this this year. ( maybe by the end of march)

-Steve

So are you the "Kansas Palms" guy that I saw on "Garden Watchdog"?
If so, I have been trying to get some way to get a hold of you. I see where you will have an update in April.
I travel to Salina every two weeks and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to come by and see your greenhouse or whatever you have. Any chance?

By all means let me know the next time you will be out this way,

-Steve