Best Queen Palm Companion Plants 

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Queen palm plants are visually appealing, usually planted around a group of threes or popular areas for visual effect. These plants can grow tall to about 50 feet with narrow and high tree trunks. Queen palms grow better in acidic and well-drained soil.

Although queen palms can be excellent on their own, you can plant some other plants by their side for a great appearance and mutual benefits.

Some of the the best queen palm companion plants include perennials with partial shade, shrubs that can bloom, and shrubs with colorful foliage.

In this article, we will learn more about these companion plants for queen palm trees and why they can be planted together.

Queen Palm Companion Plants

Queen palm plants are generally known for their ability to multiply and mature within a height of 20-70 feet in zones one to twenty-three. These plants prefer a shady areas for them to grow correctly, but if it has to be in the sun, it has to be only for a few hours in the mornings and evenings. 

Some unique queen palm companion plants are: 

1. Shrubs With Colorful Foliage

Shrubs like the copperleaf shrubs are known to grow to about 10-15 ft tall in sunset climates and would be a perfect companion plant for these queen palms due to its colorful foliage around the queen palm trunk all year. 

The leaves of this fantastic plant are splotched with touches of burgundy, bronze, copper, green, orange, purple, and even pink and white.

The copperleaf plant is drought tolerant after it has been appropriately established. When planting copperleaf shrubs around the queen palm, ensure that it is about 5-10 feet from it so the roots of the copperleaf can grow properly.

2. Shrubs That Bloom

Shrubs like the cape jasmine shrubs can thrive in zones from zone one down to zone twenty-four. You can plant these plants close to your queen palms as long as you ensure they get sunlight in the mornings and evenings. Gardenias’ growth rate depends on the location as its growth ranges from 1-10 feet tall. 

Some factors that can affect the bloom of the cape shrubs are the cultivar and the season you planted it. For example, two cultivars of this jasmine shrub are the august beauty hybrid cultivar which grows up to a height of 4-6 feet tall, while the second, veitchii, grows up to a height of 2-4 feet. 

3. Partial Shade Perennials

A fantastic plant that would do well with the queen palms and can survive being majorly in the partial shade is the aloe plant. These plants can be planted around your queen palms from zones eight down to 12- 24.

They can be placed under the sun for a few hours in the morning and evenings but in the afternoons with full sun, ensure they are outside. 

Some varieties of this plant are the lace arrow, which grows up to a height of 8-12 inches in a rosette and round form; the soap aloe grows up to a height of 1-2 feet and produces pink, orange, or red flowers and the Zanzibar aloe, which grows and matures between 4-8 inches tall with broad and lanced shaped leaves that bloom in red during the spring.

4. Fully Shaded Perennials 

A plant that requires full sun and you can plant close to the queen palms is ferns. Some varieties of ferns include the Japanese holly ferns, which have a growth of 2 feet tall and three feet wide; Christmas ferns which are about 1 to 1 ½ feet tall and 1 ½ to 3 feet wide.

Another excellent plant that you can plant close to your queen’s palm is the dragon wing begonias which are also perennial plants that bloom in pink or red colors throughout the season.

See Also: Kangaroo Paw Companion Plants

Queen Palm Care Tips

Caring for your queen palm plants is not so hard to do as long as you follow the rules for caring for them. 

Light

Queen palm plants do better in full sun. So ensure that you plant them in areas that can get full sun, but a little shade once in a while wouldn’t harm your plant either. 

Soil

Queen’s palms do better in sandy and acidic soils; planting your queen palms in alkaline soil would not aid its growth because the plant would have to start sourcing for nutrients that alkaline soils like and would most likely develop potassium, magnesium, and iron deficiency. 

Watering 

Queen palm plants require more watering when they are younger, but when they start to mature, you can now reduce the amount of watering on the plant because they can survive harsh weather. Ensure that you water more during the summer and water and less during spring. 

Temperature and humidity 

These queen palms are susceptible to frosts in zone nine, and since they like hot and humid environments, growing them in south Florida would be one of the best things that ever happened to a queen plant due to their fantastic weather. 

Fertilizer 

You should add fertilizer to your plant soil only about twice a year, and before you even do that, you have to take a portion of your soil for testing to ensure that it is suitable for the fertilizer you will be using. Make sure you use fertilizers that give your soil and plants trace elements. 

Pruning 

When pruning, concentrate on the dead plants but do not take off too many green leaves so your tree will not struggle to grow later. Another reason you can prune is to keep pests like aphids and mealybugs and then certain diseases away. 

How Do I Plant Queen Palm Trees?

The easiest way to propagate this plant is from the fruit seeds. Follow the method below to be able to plant your queen palms successfully:

  1. When these dates fall to the ground nearly or fully ripe, remove the fruit pulp from the seeds
  2. Soak the seeds in water for a few days to soften the fruit pulp, and then soak again to remove the pulp
  3. Get a well-drained and moist pot or soil and plant your seeds there
  4. Ensure that you keep them germinated in a hot spot for at least 100 degrees
  5. The germination process is slow, it may take up to six weeks, and even six months, so you have to be patient enough
  6. You can now transplant in a sunny area when the seedlings look strong enough
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