The new growth is making its way out of the center of the leaf cone. So we trimmed off the fronds that were starting to die and what we were left with was this lovely new growth.
I just love these palms. With each years new growth, you trim off the previous years growth and that continues to build the trunk. These are hardy palms. I bring it inside every winter and pay little attention to it. It goes dormant and once it is returned to the outdoors in the spring, it flourishes. They can be left outside in temperate zones in the south and have been known to survive down to as low at 15 degrees in the winter. However, I do not suggest you try that as each plant will differ and you could end up losing it. They enjoy the hot temperatures and the humidity, which we have plenty of here in the Mid-Atlantic. They can and do survive in heat as high at 110 degrees.
For those with pets, please be certain to keep this plant elevated somewhere the pet cannot easily reach it. I do not suggest using them in the landscape other than in pots that you can control the placement of if you have pets. Most every part of the plant is dangerous to dogs. The problem is that most dogs explore the world with their mouths and if they decide to chew on this plant it could result in liver damage and/or death. Little Baxter does not seem to have any interest in it. The fronds that I cut off of this plant were placed in a clear trash bag (which the town requires us to use). He is usually very inquisitive but this did not capture his attention. The fronds are very hard and spiky once they have matured. I'm sure he would decide that it was not worth the effort to get involved with something like that when there are perfectly good and delicious treats in the refrigerator. But that's just Baxter.
No comments:
Post a Comment