3

My neighbour has some Phoenix canariensis in his garden. And, despite reading many times that this plant does not do that, some of them have produced vegetative offshoots from basal portions of their stems.

Now I want to know, how can I make them root to develop new saplings? Is this possible? Or could these palms be, not Phoenix canariensis, but another similar palm tree, because they really never ever produce vegetative offshoots?

I can take some photos if that helps.

Niall C.
  • 7,199
  • 11
  • 48
  • 77
erik
  • 163
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4

1 Answers1

3

It's likely its not Phoenix canariensis, but Phoenix dactylifera, which does produce suckers or offshoots in either its fourth year or tenth year, or both. They can be used as new plants, but need to be arising from the base, and left attached to the mother plant for 3-5 years, till they've formed a good root system of their own, at which point they can be detached and grown on separately. Offshoots sometimes arise higher up the mainstem, but they don't produce roots and survival, if they are removed, is poor.

Bamboo
  • 131,823
  • 3
  • 72
  • 162
  • In [this document](http://www.rinconesdelatlantico.com/num3/16_phoenix.html) I have found, that it has to be *Phoenix dactylifera*, or a hybrid (which referring to the document seems to be a problem for the endemic *Phoenix canariensis* on the Canary Islands). There is a table at the end of the document where there are some typical differences between those two plants: Canar. is much greener, has many more and denser leafs, the trunk is more brown, whereas the trunk of dactyl. is more grey. – erik Sep 20 '14 at 07:55