Technology and Palm growth With the exception of some
Trachycarpus species, palms are plants from a warmer climate
than our own. We often bemoan our cool climate and spend hours
trying to improve soil, watering, creating microclimates and
adding fertiliser, trying to make that darned palm grow just a
little bit faster, but the one thing nobody has yet implemented
is plant technology. Most palms require good drainage, good
aeration and plenty of water to grow well, as well as summer
heat and sunshine. Small wonder that so many are difficult to
grow well in our climate, and suffer all sorts of nutritional
and health problems as well as being slow. When winter fades and
the weather warms up the palm begins to produce hormones to
stimulate growth. Most palms in Holland rarely reach full
growing speed due to the cool climate. In spring its sunny
enough to grow but the air and soil temperature are not high
enough to stimulate good hormone production and growth is
sluggish. Therefore, by introducing various hormones