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I've been growing a date palm for about eight years now (time goes by fast...) and it works out pretty well.

If I hold it up, the largest branch/leaf is about 2m (~6 feet) in height and it grows in my room.

The problem is: The palm doesn't have a trunk. So I stabilized the plant with a wooden stick to prevent it from bending down totally. The leafs/branches start about 10cm over the soil.

The pot is quite large and I think it still has space for the roots.

Does anybody know what I can to do make the palm more stable and self-stabilizing?

Here's a pic of my plant:

enter image description here

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  • The trunks on these plants are small and compact. My date palm seems happiest when it is a small tight pot, even though it can get really broad branches. Please post an image, it could be that the pot is larger than it likes.
    – ychirea1
    Dec 5, 2015 at 16:02
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    Based on your picture - it's simply too immature. Once the base grows wide enough (expect many more, and bigger leaves), it will row a trunk as the old leaves die off. It is simply a young plant at the moment -it looks very healthy!
    – J. Musser
    Dec 8, 2015 at 0:58
  • Ok nice! But moving it to the window surely won't hurt, right?
    – Ron
    Dec 8, 2015 at 7:42
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    No, that would actually help! More light is better.
    – J. Musser
    Dec 9, 2015 at 5:25

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I am growing a date palm, Phoenix dactylifera as well. The seeds germinated readily from fresh dates about five years ago and it's about three feet (one meter) tall. I have also maintained similar members of the palm family inside atriums and offices.

  • these plants are most happy in full sun. Even full sun in the tropics is just fine. I put mine outside all summer.
  • when palms are grown in lower light they can get floppy. They tend to etiolate and stretch out.
  • as pointed out by ychiera1 these plants grow extensive roots systems and I find that they can become pot bound in a single season if given adequate light

Your plant could have spider mites but the most likely cause of the floppy growth is low light. The lux levels of a bright office are about 400 lux versus full sun outdoors at 100,000 lux.

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  • Alright, seems to be the light. Question is, what can I do about it. I don't have a good outside spot for my plant... I need to give it a proper thought.
    – Ron
    Dec 6, 2015 at 10:40
  • @Ron outside on a balcony in the summer?
    – kevinskio ♦
    Dec 6, 2015 at 11:41
  • Yeah maybe an idea. I put the plant from the corner right next to the window. I hope this will help it a little for now.
    – Ron
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:36

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