PLANTING A PALM TREE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

How do we determine when is a good, safe time for us to plant palms in Wilmington, North Carolina? It's super easy to do, any homeowner or client can check to see if it is the right time. Most importantly, we do not install palms in Wilmington (with a warranty) if the ground temperature is less than 70 degrees. Palms come from tropical climates, most of ours come from South Carolina and Florida. So, we want to really make sure that the palms have the best opportunity to grow and thrive as they would if they lived native in their natural environment. Remember, palm is not a tree! A sabal palm is not a tree, it is a grass. So, you can't overwater them, especially at install. They do not like dry soil, so water the heck out of them! This is especially important in Wilmington, or anywhere with sandy soils, they will need lots of water. 

To find the ground temperature in Wilmington, we go to the NC State SCO Weather Map. This will pull up all the current air temperatures of North Carolina. This map has many different functions, including precipitation totals, wind speed/direction, soil temperature, and more. You can pull the soil temperature up on the map to see the temperature for your area.

We install all kinds of palms year around. However, we will not warranty a palm unless the ground temperature at install is above 70 degrees. Installing them in the winter can results in problems, so we suggest waiting if possible! Waiting to plant until the soil is above 70 degrees you will have a healthier palm and will reduce the palm going into shock. Thankfully, we do have great soil temperatures for palms during a fair portion of the year in Wilmington.