- origin
- growth
- leaves
- blossom
- offshoot
- use
- Is madagascar palm poisonous?
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- sowing
- Madagascar palm in a pot
- Water the madagascar palm
- shorten
- Fertilize the Madagascar palm properly
- repot
- hibernate
- fungus
- pests
- brown leaves
- sorts
The Madagascar palm gives the appearance of a palm tree. But their place in the plant kingdom is far removed from palms. The exotic beauties are popular ornamental plants that grow quickly and develop interesting growth forms. With regard to care and location, you have to consider a few aspects so that cultivation is a success.
The Madagascar palm blooms very rarely in our latitudes
Table of Contents
Show all- origin
- growth
- leaves
- blossom
- offshoot
- use
- Is madagascar palm poisonous?
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- sowing
- Madagascar palm in a pot
- Water the madagascar palm
- shorten
- Fertilize the Madagascar palm properly
- repot
- hibernate
- fungus
- pests
- brown leaves
- sorts
- Use cactus soil as a growing substrate
- Place the culture vessel in a bright and warm location
- avoid direct sunlight
- if new leaves form, the offshoot should be repotted
- Protection from cold winds and rain
- Temperatures of at least 15 degrees Celsius at night
- minimum nighttime temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius when the plant is young
- in spring or before the growth phase
- mix fresh and nutrient-rich substrate with sand
- line the new bucket with potsherds
- Insert plant, fill with substrate and water
- avoid additional fertilization
- Pachypodium saundersii: Silver-grey stem with warty thickenings, different shapes. Leaves with a slightly wavy leaf margin. Grows up to six feet tall.
- Pachypodium geayi: Narrow leaves, silver-green. trunk cylindrical. Growth height four to five meters.
- Pachypodium rutenbergianum: Sparsely branched, trunk bottle-shaped. Flowers soft pink. Grows three to eight feet tall.
origin
The Madagascar palm bears the Latin name Pachypodium lamerei and belongs to the dogbane family. Except for its German name, the plant has no common characteristics with palm trees. Its distribution area is Madagascar. It is the only natural area of its kind in the world. It is concentrated in southern and central Madagascar.
In living rooms and greenhouses, the Madagascar palm, also known as the bullfoot or star of the steppe, is a popular ornamental plant.
growth
This plant is one of the succulents. It develops a cone-shaped trunk that is hardly branched and not lignified. It is formed by nested leaf tissue. Its surface is studded with numerous thorns. This trunk can reach a height of around 200 centimeters in cultivation. In the natural distribution area, the plants reach heights of growth of up to six meters. Their annual growth is between 15 and 30 centimeters. The older the plants get, the faster they grow.
The special growth form of the Madagascar palm is an adaptation to the climatic conditions. It can store water in its trunk, so it can easily withstand longer periods of drought. The succulent plant develops leaves that form a kind of crown. In the dry season, the thickfoot sheds its leaves. This is also an adaptation, because it prevents the plant from losing too much water.
leaves
Pachypodium lamerei develops leaves that are arranged alternately and crowd together like a crest. They are divided into a three to four centimeters long stalk and a leathery leaf blade up to 25 centimeters in size. Their surface is dark green in color and has light central ribs.
The linearly shaped leaves arise from the warts. These structures are comparable to knots on branches or dormant eyes on rhizomes. The stipules, which are formed at the base of the stem, are transformed into thorns in the Madagascar palms. There are three thorns in a leaf axil.
blossom
Madagascar palms develop aesthetic single flowers, whose five white colored petals are arranged like a star. Their base has grown into a funnel, which opens with whorl-like edges of the petals one on top of the other. The flower center appears bright yellow. Hermaphrodite flowers have their organs hidden deep within the corolla tube, so only certain pollinators can reach them.
The sepals are very short compared to the corolla tube. They are fused together and form a five-lobed calyx tube. It takes several years for the Madagascar palm to bloom for the first time. In the room culture, the plants bloom only very rarely.
offshoot
In rare cases, Madagascar palms develop side shoots that can be used for propagation. These are cut off during the growth phase and air-dried until no more milky sap emerges from the cut. You can place the offshoot with the leafless part in a glass of water or in moist potting soil.
Here's what you need to pay attention to:
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use
Madagascar palms are not only suitable for greenhouses (77.12€) in botanical gardens. They adorn living rooms and conservatories as houseplants. The marrow is used as an ingredient in the manufacture of cosmetics.
Is madagascar palm poisonous?
It is believed that Madagascar palms are poisonous, similar to other dogbane plants. So far there are no precise descriptions of the structure of the ingredients. Pachypodium lamerei is said to contain cardenolides, which are among the heart-affecting toxins. Symptoms of poisoning can occur in both humans and pets.
Protect your hands when you need to cut the plant. A white milky sap escapes from the wounds, which can severely burn the skin.
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Which location is suitable?
The thick foot prefers a warm location with sufficient light, whereby the succulent does not like direct sunlight. A bright location in the semi-shade offers the plant ideal growth conditions. When choosing a location, you should pay attention to a balanced relationship between temperature and light. The warmer it is, the more light the plant needs. A suboptimal location favors the spread of diseases and pests.
Place your madagascar palm in a west- or east-facing window. In summer you can put the plant outside. A sheltered spot on the south side of the house is ideal. You can also place the succulents in covered corners on the terrace or balcony, because this is where the heat accumulates.
If your plant is outdoors, pay attention to:
What soil does the plant need?
The substrate should be rich in nutrients and have a loose structure. Use potting soil or potting soil that you loosen up with sand, coconut fibers or cactus soil. Such mixtures increase the permeability of the substrate and prevent the soil from storing too much moisture. Alternatively, you can use special mixtures for cacti and succulents. Since these substrates are low in nutrients, you have to fertilize or repot more frequently.
sowing
When an older Madagascar palm develops flowers for the first time, you can collect seeds after successful pollination. You support seed formation by pollinating the flowers with a brush. After collecting the seeds, they are stored until next spring. Pay attention to dry and dark storage conditions.
Sow the seeds thinly on a nutrient-poor growing substrate and only lightly cover the seeds with soil. Moisten the substrate and cover the planter with a transparent film. Place the pot in a warm spot with plenty of light. You can place the cultivation vessel on a window sill with direct sunlight.
The germination success rate is highest at temperatures between 24 and 30 degrees Celsius. If you cannot guarantee these conditions, we recommend cultivating in a heated greenhouse for the windowsill.
Madagascar palm in a pot
The thick foot is cultivated as a container plant. Make sure that the water can drain off easily. Waterlogging in the substrate impairs plant health, since the roots rot and fungal spores find optimal growth conditions. You can prevent waterlogging by choosing a pot with a drainage hole.
Place pebbles, shards of pottery, or expanded clay over the drain hole. In this way, no substrate trickles out of the hole and the irrigation water can drain off better. Clay pots are better suited for cultivation than plastic containers. The natural material can better regulate the moisture in the substrate because the water penetrates the pores and evaporates on the outside.
Water the madagascar palm
In the natural area of the Madagascar palm, rainy seasons alternate with dry periods. While the plant grows when there is a lot of precipitation, they go into a state of dormancy when there is a lack of water. These conditions should be mimicked in cultivation. You can adapt the rainy and dry seasons to the seasons.
From spring start regular watering. Allow the surface of the substrate to dry before each pouring unit. Water penetratingly to allow the stem tissue to soak with water. The water requirement of the Madagascar palm is much higher than that of other succulents. The more you water, the greater the increase in leaf mass. In the fall, reduce watering until the plant has shed all its leaves. Then moisten the substrate with a little water so that it does not dry out completely and crack.
Use stale tap water and filter if necessary. The plant does not tolerate hard water. Rainwater is good.
shorten
Pruning measures are superfluous with this exotic plant. A section of the crown will cause the plant to die. Withered or diseased leaves can be removed at any time with a sharp knife. If your plant grows too much, you can reduce the watering a little. A change of location to a darker location also curbs the growth rate.
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Fertilize the Madagascar palm properly
Like irrigation, fertilization is adapted to the natural growth phases. A nutrient supply is recommended during the growth phase. If this extends over the summer, you can start fertilizing in April. Give the plant additional nutrients in the form of a liquid fertilizer at regular intervals until September. This is administered in a weakly concentrated form via the irrigation water. More than one application of fertilizer per month is not necessary.
If your plant is growing and dormant regardless of the season, use the fresh shoots as a guide. If these have been visible for four weeks, start with the first fertilization. Give the plant extra nutrients once a month. The measure is discontinued around four to six months after the first treatment.
repot
About every two to three years, the roots have grown through the substrate in the bucket and the plant needs a larger planter. Completely remove the old substrate and rinse off residue under water. In order to touch the Madagascar palm with this measure, it has proven useful to wrap the trunk several times in thick foil. Gloves are not sufficient as the strong thorns penetrate the material.
How to transplant the succulent:
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hibernate
If you cultivate your thick foot outside in the summer, bring the bucket inside in the fall. The temperature in the winter quarters should be around 18 degrees Celsius at this time. A sharp drop in temperature between the outdoor location and the winter quarters weakens the plant. Then move the bucket when the temperatures of both locations are similar.
If the Madagascar palm is indoors all year round, you can place the plant in a mild and bright place in winter. Overwintering near the heating does not cause any problems for the plant. She likes a warm winter quarters where the thermometer does not drop below 18 degrees Celsius. Adjust the watering according to the needs of the plant. The darker it is, the less you have to water.
If you don't cut back on maintenance, the plant will keep its leaves. It does not go dormant and uses the water for leaf development. However, dormant periods are important for the health of the plant. Weakened growths become susceptible to diseases.
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fungus
If water drainage is not guaranteed, waterlogging can accumulate in the substrate. This causes the roots to rot. You should water with caution, especially in winter, as the plants need less water and the substrate quickly becomes too wet. A cold floor also promotes rotting processes.
Fungal spores can settle on the affected roots, damaging the plant. It loses leaves and dies when heavily infested. As soon as the first signs of waterlogging appear, you should place the plant in fresh soil. Completely remove the old substrate and cut off rotten roots. In the near future you should not water the plant to allow the roots to recover.
pests
Scale insects may occasionally infest, which tend to spread during the cold season. Dry air, warm temperatures and a location that is too dark favor the spread of the pests. They leave a sticky film on the underside of the leaves and on the trunk. Scale insects feed on the plant sap and secrete this honeydew. Dabbing the pests with a cotton swab soaked in tea tree oil has proven to be an effective control method. Special species of parasitic wasps serve as beneficial insects. Sustainable control usually requires the use of oil-based insecticides.
brown leaves
It often happens that Madagascar palms get brown to black leaf tips. The discoloration can spread to the entire leaf and indicates suboptimal environmental conditions. Various factors can come into question, which should be checked one after the other. A lack of nutrients, waterlogging and a pH value that is too high as well as drafts and a location that is too dark can damage the plant. A bumping of the roots on the pot can also lead to this damage.
tips
The already top-heavy plants shift their center of gravity higher and higher as they grow. You can give the tub extra stability by placing it in a larger pot. Fill the gap with pebbles. For smaller specimens, you can cover the substrate with larger stones.