When to Plant Pachypodium: A Season by Season Care Schedule

The year at a glance

Pachypodium wakes in spring, flowers in spring or early summer, builds its trunk through summer and early fall, then drops its leaves and rests over winter. The table below assumes a potted plant in a temperate climate with cold winters. In warmer regions everything shifts a little earlier, and in colder ones a little later.

Spring: waking and repotting

Spring is when the plant comes back to life. When you see new leaves or buds at the tips, restart watering gradually. Once nights stay mild, move the plant outdoors and harden it to the sun. Repot plants that have been in the same mix for two or three years.

1. Restart water with the first growth Give a small drink when buds or new leaves appear, and build up to full watering as the leaves open.
2. Move outdoors gradually When nights stay above about 50°F (10°C), start the plant in bright shade outside and move it to full sun over a few weeks.
3. Repot plants that need it Repot root bound plants or those in old mix now, while the roots are active, and wait a few days before watering.

Late spring to early summer: flowers and rainy weather

Most species flower in spring or early summer. Remove spent flowers if you do not want seed. Aphids like the buds and flower stalks, so check them often. Before the rainy part of the year arrives, find a spot where the plant stays out of the rain.

1. Deadhead spent flowers If you are not saving seed, cut faded flowers off with their stalks. It saves the plant energy and keeps it tidy.
2. Check buds for aphids Look at buds and the base of flower stalks every few days and wipe or rinse off any aphids while numbers are low.
3. Plan for long rainy spells Move the pot under an overhang before a wet stretch so the mix does not stay soaked for days.

Summer: the main growing season

Summer is when the trunk puts on most of its girth. Keep the plant in full sun with good airflow and soak it whenever the mix is completely dry. If you did not add slow release fertilizer when repotting, give a diluted liquid fertilizer once or twice a month while it is in leaf.

1. Soak when completely dry Water to drainage in the cool morning or evening, only once the mix is dry all the way through.
2. Feed lightly Use liquid fertilizer at the label strength once or twice a month. Too much makes soft growth that is weaker, not stronger.
3. Look under the leaves Hot, dry weather favors spider mites. Check leaf undersides for fine pale speckling and rinse them if you find it.

Fall and winter: preparing to rest

As the weather cools, leaves yellow and fall. Take that as the signal to water less and stop feeding. Bring the plant indoors before nights drop below about 50°F (10°C), and stop watering entirely once it is bare.

1. Cut back water and stop feeding Space out waterings once leaf drop begins, and stop fertilizing. Roots slowing down cannot use it and may be harmed.
2. Bring it in early Move the plant to a bright window indoors as nights cool, starting with the most tender species.
3. Keep it dry once bare When the last leaf falls, stop watering. Press the trunk now and then through winter to make sure it stays firm.

Clear fallen leaves and dead flower stalks from the pot so they do not sit on the mix and mold.

Fertilizer through the year

Pachypodium is not a heavy feeder. A little slow release fertilizer mixed in at repotting is often all it needs. If you do feed, do it only while the plant is in leaf, and stop as it heads into dormancy.

If you mixed fertilizer in at repotting, go easy on extra feeding that year. Overfed plants grow soft trunks.