I like them too!

Have a small forest of them in my dining room 😀

Steve

Oooooh, gorgeous trunks on those!
Barb

Another question: why is the new Chinese Fan getting so WIDE
It's not wilting, just "sagging". Still pushing new fronds.
I keep soil damp, mist frequently. Twice as wide as it was in the nursery GH
It'd be unsightly to tie it back up into a more vertical position.

Barb,

The big one I got is doing the same thing. Darn thing is about 8' wide now!! I think Steve nailed it. The more sun, the shorter, more compact they are. I had to cut off a few fronds so I could find my couch.... 😆

Pygmy people....how do you get your pygmys to look so good!?!?! Out of all my palms I have the hardest time keeping mine looking good. I have a humidifier set up by it. It gets about 5 hours of sun a day. I let the soil dry out a little before watering and mine still just puts along. I also just learned that they do not like Neem oil. I gave it a pre-cautionary spray and alot of the leaves turned brown and dried up on it. I just can't seem to win with them.

Craig

Thats great!! Be happy soon spring will be here and you will be ahead of everyone else!!

Early growth just means they'll peter out ahead of everyone else's 😆 😆

cut off a few fronds so I could find my couch

that's hilarious, Craig!
So is "pygmy people" 😆
Barb

Barb most of these Chinese fan palms are grown either outside under shade cloth or in indoor greenhouses with overhead lighting. This is why you see the long petiols connecting the frond. I find after a couple of years with regular sun you will too will see these petiols shorten to the way nature intended.

John

I wasn't aware that the vertical/horizontal aspect could be manipulated.
Hmmm, it'll go in a crowded, shady patio spot this summer to try and recapture the vertical look.
Barb

I noticed The Home Depot here had Phoenix roebelenii for sale. They where grouped 4 to a pot in varing heights with the largest having about a foot of trunk for $69. I passed more because I want a single specimen and not a group. I plan on planting one this spring if I can find a single. I don't have the patience to separate the roots from the multiples, so that's out.

Cheers, Barrie.

separating the roots is very easy. Pull the plant out of the pot & lay it on its side. Use a jet sprayer on the end of your hose & work your way around the root ball. Once you have flushed all the soil from the root ball they should separate quite easy. I do this all the time. Finding a single is hard unless you find a nursery that sells them for planting in the yard. Most all that are produced for pot culture are planted 3-4 to a pot.

Barrie,
I have one and with three trunks. I planted it in a pot last April and kept it outside. It got down to 4C one night and low and behold the spears pulled out on two of them. They have since recovered but I have never put it outside since then. Not a very hardy species in my opinion unless I did something wrong causing the spears to pull out.

Once you have flushed all the soil from the root ball they should separate quite easy.

Excellent idea Todd.
Will use water from now on!
Mud up to the elbows 😐 but the technique ought to save roots from breaking.
Barb

Humm ... thanks for the info Todd. I assumed that even using your method, the roots would be nearly impossible to de-tangle. Obviously that's not the case so maybe I'll reconsider and buy one, or in this case 4.

Wes ... These are reliable in frost free locations and even rated as survivor in zone 9b. It needs fertile soil and routine watering while in growth. My plan is to give it a 'primo' location and use an insulated enclosure for winter. They're small enough in over all dimensions so it is relatively easy.

Cheers, Barrie.

Barb - mine has done the same thing. I took some green twine , tied the darn thing up so it would not take up so much room in the winter. I'll unleash the beast in spring time when it goes outside to the patio.

oppalm, I had to move mine.
Turns out I need to get around the kitchen (darn...)

I'm still resisting tying the chinese fan palm, but that may be the only solution.
String generally causes petiole damage.
And pantyhose would look ridiculous... 😕
Barb