Ravenala Madagascariensis

🌿Plant Care Guide

📝 Description

The beautiful and legendary travelers palm is actually not a palm at all, but spectacular palm-like imposter related to bananas and bird of paradise.These plants grow to be enormous, with huge leaves sprouting from a long stems in a flat, fan-shaped pattern like a peacock’s tail.The leaf bases create an intricate, overlapping pattern.The leaves collect rainwater which flows into the plant’s stems, base, and even its flowers, ready to aid a thirsty traveler.Though it will eventually grow a trunk, this plant needs a wide berth when young.The fan comprises of a single, vertical plane of petioles ending in 20 to 30 banana-like leaves. The leaves measure 5′ to 10’ feet long and 2′ to 3’ feet wide, with the petioles matching or exceeding the leaf length.This tree loves a sunny spot, faring best when exposed to full sun. It can tolerate partial shade.A rich, loamy soil with neutral to mild acidity works best for traveler palm plant. The soil should be able to retain some water without becoming too wet.However, you should be careful not to overwater the plant.While some variants have been known to grow in poor soil, adding a nitrogen rich fertilizer during the growing season will result in a healthier and faster growing tree.Traveler’s tree may be propagated by both seed and division. The quickest method is to locate rooted suckers, which grow near the main stem.