Black and white illustration of small character moving plants. Illustration: Kevin Bannon
Replanting the Palm Houses. Illustration: Kevin Bannon

After five years of structural restoration and months of horticultural preparation, the first and largest group of plants has returned to the Palm Houses. This first stage focused on planting 71 of the largest palms and tree ferns, making their final move into the historic glasshouse, beginning in December 2025. 

Rhopalostylis sapida, large is moved into position for planting in the Palm Houses.
Rhopalostylis sapida, commonly known as the Nikau Palm, became the first palm planted in the Palm House on December 17th, 2025. Pictured: Neil Watherston and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

Plant Preparation 

The Palm Houses were officially returned to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in September 2025, as final electrical work and finishing details continued in the background. Behind the scenes, a major reorganisation of plants across each relevant collection marked the first steps for the Glasshouse team before replanting could begin, a project covered in Stories from the Biomes: House 3 to House 5.  

The movement of heavy machinery over newly installed infrastructure demanded careful planning, technical skill and patient coordination, requiring a deep understanding of both the space and the plant collection it would ultimately support. What might appear as a steady, routine process was a complex and finely managed operation reliant on creativity, adaptability, and precision. 

The First Plant 

The Palm House during a dark morning, inside lights illuminate the structure.
Just before sunrise, an illuminated Palm House. December 17th, 2025. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

With the final sandstone paths yet to be installed, a temporary surface of fifteen steel plates and a layered arrangement of more than sixty thick wooden boards were laid across the primary pathway. This important set-up protected the new cast-iron grates covering a new heating duct system while creating a stable route for machinery. This arrangement raised ground levels within the already confined space, allowing for the re-landscaping to begin. 

It was essential to plant the largest palms and tree ferns before finishing works began, reducing the risk of damage to the new surfaces and making full use of the available space. 

Dark morning the Palm Houses in the background light up, in the foreground two horticulturists move steel plates.
Using an industrial magnet attachment, the electric telehandler positioned each steel plate along the primary route through the Palm Houses. 
Pictured: Neil Watherston and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A large, potted tree fern is lifted in a glasshouse.
Beginning in House 3 with the last tree fern to leave the Ferns and Fossils Glasshouse in 2023. Dicksonia blumei would become the first large specimen planted in the Palm Houses.  Pictured: David Tricker. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A man stands beside a large tree fern inside the Palm House before replanting.
Team Leader Neil Watherston with Dicksonia blumei. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A large tree ferns is moved horizontally out of a glasshouse entrance.
Both the Palm Houses and Front Range Glasshouses are designated as Grade A listed buildings, meaning any modifications to main entrances for access are restricted. As a result, the horizontal removal technique, as seen with the Sphaeropteris excelsa in the image above was applied to all the large plants removed from House 3. Pictured: Neil Watherston. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A thin tree ferns is moved into position for replanting inside the Palm House. A man moves the pallet from underneath the plant.
Alsophila manniana lifted into position while still in its Air-Pot®. Once positioned and soil levels confirmed, the Air-Pot® is undone and soil gently packed around the root ball. Alsophila manniana was the final planting before the 2025 Christmas and New Year break. Pictured: Neil Watherston. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

A New Year 

Sunrise view from atop the Palm House. The new glass dome shines under a yellow morning sky.
Overlooking the Horticulture Department and Glasshouse Collections from atop the Palm House. January 2026. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

The new year began with the immediate continuation of the replanting in the smaller octagonal Palm Houses. Each day work began at 7:30am, with plants moving continuously throughout. The smaller, domed glasshouse came with the challenge of a confined turning circle and multiple support pillars limiting access and visibility. 

An overhead, 2D illustration of the layout of the Palm House, it shows the pattern of planting around the space, going from left to right.
The area highlighted in green was the only designated driving spaces for both the digger and telehandler to coordinate lifting and digging. The planting progressed in a clockwise sequence, with minor adjustments to the planned positions of plants, and considerations given to minimise soil compaction as well as machine stability on uneven ground. Illustration: Kevin Bannon. 
An expansive view inside the Palm Houses. Two men stand as a telehandler moves another large tall palm into the domed glasshouse.
Phoenix roebelenii moves through the space where a dividing wall once separated the two Palm Houses. Pictured: David Tricker, Neil Watherston and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A closer look, a tall palm is lifting into the prepared area dug for planting.
With only inches to spare, Phoenix roebelenii is gently manoeuvred around structural pillars into the prepared planting position. Though heavy machinery is a key component, the final adjustments and level checks relied on manual adjustments by the team. Pictured: David Tricker, Neil Watherston and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A man stand in the soil, a telehandler lowers the palm down into the hole dug. A digger is parked in background.
The next Phoenix roebelenii, neighbouring the first, required the same process as before but in reverse. Pictured: Marc Gilbert and Neil Watherston. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
Two men position heavy steel plates used to protect the ground inside the Palm House.
The steel plates were repositioned incrementally across each segment of the cast iron grates, allowing the telehandler to stabilise its wheels then extend it’s arm to place each plant into position. Pictured: Neil Watherston, David Tricker and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

Before lifting into position, root balls were measured and soil levels adjusted to ensure correct height and position, countering any existing lean in the trunks. A laser level was used to establish final heights in relation to the central heating ducts, resulting in each planting being temporarily mounded until final soil levels were in place. 

A man operates a digger, moving soil from one area to another inside the Palm House.
Following the completion of plantings around the sides of the glasshouse, ground boards were removed and the soil levels raised in both the central and surrounding beds. Pictured: Kevin Bannon. Photo: David Tricker.
A very large Dicksonia tree fern with a square rootball is lowered into position by the electric tele-handler.
The dense root ball of Dicksonia antarctica is revealed after almost 3 years since its removal from the Ferns and Fossils Glasshouse. Weighing an estimated 300-400kg, this was the first of three Dicksonia antarctica planted as part of the new collection. Pictured: Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
The telehandler inside the holding glasshouse, tips a tall tree fern to leave the glasshouse horizontally.
One of the tallest and most fragile, a Dicksonia squarrosa is lowered until fully horizontal. Additional supports were added to mitigate any risks of possible trunk snapping. This was also a good opportunity to inspect crowns for pests and remove older fronds. Pictured: Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A tall palm is protected and supported along its trunks by several straps and wooden boards.
Trachycarpus princeps, brought into the garden as a seedling in 1991. The move of this palm was specifically scheduled for relocation on January 21st, which triggered wide media coverage of the process. This was the largest specimen moved by the team in terms of overall combined height and weight. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
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A man is atop a ladder, leaning against a tall tree fern inside the Palm House. He is removing straps and wooden boards added for protection during its move.
Once inside the Palm Houses, the support straps along the trunk of Dicksonia squarrosa were removed before planting in the central bed. Pictured: Neil Watherston, David Tricker and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
The telehandler lifts a heavy palm tree. Two men direct it into position for replanting inside the Palm House.
Livistona chinensis just opposite its original pre-2021 location. Finding the vital balance point between each large specimen varied depending on root ball, trunk weight and fragility. In many cases, adjusting support straps to find a safe equilibrium took longer than the planting itself, and tested the electric telehandler’s limits in handling the plant itself. Pictured: Neil Watherston and David Tricker. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
A horizontal palm moves into the Palm House.
Another early morning move, Wallichia disticha slowly making its way inside. Native to the eastern Himalayas, this palm is a monocarpic species meaning it will only flower once before dying. Pictured: Neil Watherston. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
Multiple mens manually move a large palm tree using a pallet truck outside the Palm House.
Thrinax radiata, a slow growing palm native to many Caribbean islands, Mexico and Central America, was manually brought through smaller doors in the octagonal glasshouse for planting by the entrance. Pictured: Bruce Robertson, David Tricker, Neil Watherston and Marc Gilbert. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 
Large palm leaves emerge from the base of the plant. Large fanned leaves, green in the light and other plants stand in the background.
Sabal mexicana, a 2016 seedling of the famous specimen removed as part of the decant in 2021. As of June 2026, a small-time capsule was buried nearby for the next generation to open. (Photo: Kevin Bannon)
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Instagram @rbgedinburgh Youtube @TheBotanics

The work continues…

A long viewed look through the Palm House. The centre path in flanked by tall palms and ferns, the newly painted white iron work shines in the sun light.
The central view inside the Palm Houses, June 2026. Photo: Kevin Bannon. 

This monumental stage of replanting was completed in just 27 days; the next stages focused on finalising soil levels following the installation of steel edging and the sandstone flooring. There is only one chance with moving plants of this scale; their safe arrival into the Palm Houses relied on steady decisions made over the years as well as during this historic move to prevent their irreplaceable loss in the wider collections at RBGE. The replanting gives back to the Palm Houses the very reason they exist; a purpose understood in the mid-1800s and through the almost 200 years since, with evolving horticultural practices laying the foundations for the success of today. 

Stories from the Biomes: Replanting the Palm Houses, Part 2 will cover the final replanting that continued over the summer months, involving understory plants and climbers as well the outdoor planting surrounding the Palm Houses before reopening to the public on 2 October 2026.

A simple, 2D black and white illustration of characters moving plants inside the Palm House.
The First Plants. Illustration: Kevin Bannon

Previous Stories from the Biomes covering the glasshouse decants and other projects can be found here.