Plant a Bismarck Palm – Root Ball at Pot Depth

Plant Bismarck palm in soil that drains, no deeper than the root ball. Leave room for the crown, and water through the first months.

Plant it in soil that drains, no deeper than the root ball

Bismarck palm is a container plant from the nursery in most yards, and that is the easier plant-out. Dig the hole about twice as wide as the pot so you can pack soil against the whole root ball, and no deeper than that ball. [1] If the mix in the pot has sunk, ignore that sunken surface. Set the base of the stem about an inch below the finished soil so new roots can enter the ground. Backfill with the soil you dug out. Do not amend a pocket of mix the roots will refuse to leave. A mature palm dug from a field is harder to move than most palms, so leave that job to a crew with a large ball. [2]

1. Water the nursery pot, then slide the plant out. Do not tease the roots apart the way you would a shade tree.
2. Set the palm upright in the hole. Check that the stem base sits about an inch below grade on a container plant, or that the top of a field ball sits even with grade.
3. Backfill, water to settle air pockets, then finish the soil.
4. Build a low berm just outside the root ball so the first waterings soak that mix, not the lawn.
5. Brace a tall, top-heavy palm for the first months. Do not drive nails into the trunk.

Leave room for the crown, and water through the first months

A mature crown can reach about 16 to 20 feet across, and the fans are stiff, so a single plant needs space beside a wall and away from overhead lines. You cannot cut this palm back to clear a wire the way you would a shade tree. [3] Keep the berm watered through the first months: daily at first, then often until the palm is in, usually four to six months. After that, soak deeply and wait until the soil has dried some. [4] Sun, drain, and fertilizer stay on How to Grow Bismarck Palm.

1. Measure well out from the house to the trunk, enough for a 16- to 20-foot crown.
2. Stay off the line of overhead utilities.
3. Water daily for the first few weeks, then often until the palm is established.
4. Leave the palm in place. Moving an established Bismarck palm is a separate, riskier job than planting a container plant.

If the stem sits too deep or the first waterings run off, reset the ball even with grade and keep a berm so water soaks the root ball.