Madagascar Palm "Pachypodium lamerei"

Description

Pachypodium lamerei is a semi-deciduous succulent tree with a silver-gray trunk, generally solitary or scarcely branched and covered with sharp spines. The thick fleshy stem grows up to 20 feet tall and up to 1 foot in diameter. Leaves are green, narrow, and arranged spirally, mostly just at the top of the plant. The spines are up to 2.4 inches long. Flowers are white with a yellow center, up to 2.4 inches long, up to 4.4 inches in diameter, and appear in summer. The plant rarely blooms indoors. Seed pods are up to 8 inches long and look like cucumbers. This species is native to Madagascar.

Size:
3.5 inch pot diameter

Care Instructions:
Give the plant water when the surface soil is dry. Like many other plants, you can water less in the winter. Water just enough to keep the soil from drying out. Feed the plant fertilizer at the beginning of spring and the beginning of summer. If a Madagascar Palm is happy and healthy, it will grow about 12 inches a year and blooms profusely. Requires well-draining soil that allows roots to grow and air to circulate. A hole in the bottom of the pot is highly recommended to allow excess water to escape. This plant requires bright light and fairly warm temperatures. Place your Madagascar Palm outdoors during daylight hours whenever the weather is above 70 °F. It requires full sunlight to thrive. Keep it near a window with access to as much sunlight as possible when it is not outdoors. Remove the damaged parts if your plant shows signs of disease or pest infestation. Leaf drop in winter is perfectly normal. Madagascar Palm may even drop all its leaves. But don't worry. It'll grow more leaves in spring when it gets the sunshine and warmth it loves. When it comes out of dormancy and you see new leaves growing, that's your cue to resume regular watering and fertilizing.

Propagation:
To propagate Madagascar palm Pachypodium lamerei, one common method is by stem cuttings. You can take a stem cutting from a healthy, mature plant, let it dry for a few days to form a callus, and then plant it in well-draining soil. Another method is propagation by seeds. You can collect the seeds from a mature Madagascar palm and sow them in a suitable potting mix. Keep the soil slightly moist and provide warmth and a bright, indirect, sunny spot for germination. Both methods require some patience and care, but with a little bit of love, you can successfully propagate your own Madagascar palms.