Allow Me to Introduce

I’ve long been taken with palm trees to the point that nearly every time I see one I excitedly point it out, “Palm Tree!” My sister rolls her eyes but then, she sees them all the time and we don’t have all that many in my area.

Palms often turn up in my art representing the Tree of Life. I have no way of knowing what kind of tree the Tree of Life is but I do know that palms are Biblically significant since they were carved on the columns of Solomon’s Temple and palm branches turned up in the Apostle John’s vision of heaven. Meanwhile, it makes a good symbol.


So of course, I had to have my own date palm and at last, I’d like to introduce to you my largest plant, the pigmy date palm. I’ve had it for three or four years and it has done well in the sunroom’s southwest-facing windows. One garden book called it a “heavy waterer” and said it needs a quart and a half of water a week! But…not all…at once…I found out the hard way. It can’t hold all that any more than a person can.

I got a good deal on it at a certain large home improvement store but I should have checked it more closely—mealy bugs have been a constant plague. Unfortunately, I now know what to look for. I can’t deal with chemical remedies so from time to time I painstakingly remove them with a warm wet paper towel. When that’s not enough or I don’t get there in time, I simply cut away the damaged branch. It’s continually growing new branches, even without fertilizer. Incidentally, the mealy bugs have never migrated to other plants.

Though it takes extra upkeep, I’m very glad I added the beautiful palm to my garden.