Free Bismarck Palm Plants

Bismarck palm belongs to the genus Bismarckia and species nobilis. It is native to Africa. This plant has a separate genus of female and male tree. It serves as the major beauty of the African grassland. It is the decoration of the African soil particularly Madagascar. The plant looks amazing in the tropical climate. This plant grows as tall as 40ft in height. Bismarck palm is unique in its growing features. For instance, it grows from a single trunk, has grayish to greenish tan color and the trunk grows up to the 45cm in diameter especially measuring the area of the bulged part of the trunk.

One of the basic needs of this plant is that it requires full sun exposure in order to grow to the fullest.

Scientific classification :

Kingdom : Plantae
Unranked : Angiosperms
Unranked : Monocot
Order : Arecales
Family : Arecaceae
Sub-family : Coryphoideae
Tribe : Borasseae
Genus : Bismarcia
Species : B.nobilis
Space required to plant Bismarck palm : Bismarck palm takes quite a lot of space in your garden or your backyard space. Thus, we need to be careful in choosing or leaving right amount of space for its growth. The plant grows up to 40-50ft in height and spreads for around 16ft wide. By keeping this in mind, you need to plant this plant according to your garden space.

Habitat : One of the most common places where Bismarck palm is found is in the northern and western Madagascar. The plant grows in grassland, plains and terrains. The plant is often found in the open landscapes and some of them grow around the flooded areas.

Although this plant is the most common plant in the Madagascar, the plant is grown around in other tropical to sub-tropical climatic zones as well. The plant is commonly found in the savannas.

These days, the plant has been cultivated in the Florida, California. However, this is not the real habitat of Bismarck palm.

Leaves : The leaf of Bismarck palm is more or less unique in its appearance. It is the leaf that makes this plant stand out from the rest of the plant. Leaf grows in a parallel veined structure. It is greenish to grayish in color and has a tan appearance. Some of the leaves also appear bluish in color. The leaves come in 3m wide. There are some cases where the leaves come as tall as 6m. Although the leaf appears round in structure, the leaf is sub-divided into 20 or even more segments of leaf. It is these stiff segments of the leaf that makes the Bismarck palm leaf appear rounded in structure.

Care : Bismarck palm is easy to take care. The plant is not fussy about growing. However, here are few tips for you to keep in mind when growing Bismarck palm. This plant requires full sun exposure. Bismarck palm grows at its highest speed where receives maximum heat from the sun. This plant has a great tolerance towards inland heat. However, the plant even grows in areas such coastal areas where the soil is clayey. This goes out to prove that this plant requires some amount of moisture in order to thrive to the maximum. The amount of water required by this plant is moderate. Also make sure that the soil has a well drainage system.

Since this plant needs full sun exposure, this is also an indication that the plant need to thrive the coldest of the winter climate. It has been found out that this plant can tolerate up to -3.3 degree Celsius of the cold temperature particularly during the seedling time. As the plant matures, the plant shows cold resistance up to 5-6 degree Celsius. A Few leaves damage is natural during such cold months. The plant takes no time to grow fast once the Mediterranean climate kicks off.

Make sure that the soil contains sufficient amount of potassium, boron or magnesium. In case you spot such deficiency in the plant, make sure you care this problem by adding controlled-release granular fertilizer. This serves as micronutrients to the plant maximum growth.

The other thing you need to keep in mind while pruning Bismarck palm is that you will need to irrigate the soil especially when the plant is in its growing stage or very young.

As you cut off the warned out leaves, make sure you cut off only the dry and dead leaves. You are suggested not to cut off the half dead leaves; cutting off the leaves before they are completely dead results in pest attack on the wounded parts of the plant.

Also keep in mind, you will need to treat the plant if you see that the plant has been attacked by a pest.

Use : The trunk of the Bismarck palm is found to be very useful in many cases mainly for making furniture such as planks, wall partition. The leaves are used in roofing and some people make nice baskets out of the Bismarck leaf.

Due to its unique leave structure and the bulged trunk, this plant has one of the most elegant plants. It is also known as fan palm, a name taken after its rounded leaf structure. It adds more beauty to your backyard or your front garden space.

Bismarck palm trees are used as the lining on the streets in the driveways. In this way, the plant adds extra beauty to the surrounding environment.

Some of the Bismarck palms are grown inside a huge pot. This container based plant is used as a decoration piece in a mall, home or hotels.

The leaves of this plant can be used to feed livestock.