Cardboard Palm for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on June 1, 2022

Planting instructions

Choose a site for your cardboard palm where it gets at least partial sun during the day. Dig a hole that’s as deep as the root ball and twice as wide. Place the plant in the hole, and, while holding it upright and steady, fill in around the roots with good-quality topsoil or, if you’re planting in a container, potting soil. Water thoroughly. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch, such as bark chips, around the root zone, to conserve water and hinder weeds.

Watering and nutrients

When newly planted, give your cardboard palm some water a few times a week. Once you see new growth starting, you can taper back on supplemental watering. To know if your mature plant needs water, check the soil 2 inches below the surface. If it’s dry, water it thoroughly. In the winter, when your tree is resting, cut back watering to once every other week. Fertilize your cardboard palm with a balanced, slow-release product designed for houseplants or a general-purpose fertilizer if planted outside. You can also cut back on fertilizer during winter.

Pollination

Cardboard palms are dioecious, meaning that male and female reproductive parts are on different trees. Male plants form cones that emit pollen, which can pollinate the cones of female trees. These then produce orange, fleshy seeds once fertilized.

Pruning

Your cardboard palm doesn’t need pruning for shape; it will naturally assume a pleasing, rounded mound. The only pruning you’ll need to do is to trim off dead, diseased, or damaged branches whenever you see them. Branches arise from the central trunk, and outer branches will slowly wilt away and can be cut out.

Pests and diseases

Cardboard palms are susceptible to all the usual houseplant pests, such as aphids and red spider mites. They are also prone to attack by the Florida red scale insect when planted outside. You may have luck when treating outdoor plants by releasing beneficial insects, such as predator wasps or ladybugs, to fight the pests. Cardboard palms may suffer from any one of a host of fungal diseases that are caused or encouraged by overwatering and may cause root rot. Be sure to plant them in a container that has excellent drainage, and avoid getting water on the leaves whenever possible.

Achieving maximum results

In most of its range, the cardboard palm needs to be planted in a container and brought in whenever the temperatures go below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It makes an excellent houseplant and adapts easily to container living. There are a few considerations to having a houseplant, though, that you don’t have with outdoor plants. For one, note that you’ll want to monitor it more carefully to determine when it needs water. A plant grown outdoors can develop a deep root system that can access moisture below the surface, but a pot-grown plant is limited by the confines of its container. So you may need to water your cardboard palm more often. The same is true with fertilizer. It will need more regular applications of plant food throughout the growing season than an outdoor plant might. Also, with a household plant, it’s a good idea to wipe down the leaves regularly with a damp cloth to help keep them free of dust and to deter insects.

Compare Similar Products