Bismarck from seed

[Nickbda]

Hello, just joined the forum, only to find the public chat section has gone so I'm posting as a new topic, I hope that is the correct protocol? I have just grown my 1st Bismarck from seed (10 planted, only 1 germinated). I now have single leaf that is over 12" long, less than 1/2" wide and twists through over 90 degrees in its length. It is also quite limp and rests on the edge of the pot. It has taken about 9 months to get this far and I don't want to lose my only survivor. It is in a deep pot and there is no sign of root growth at the base of the pot. Any advice on the next step would be very much appreciated.

[V-Cycle]

Any pics of the problem?

[Steve Mac]

Hi Nick, welcome to Palmtalk or palm- type. There are a few other Bizzie threads that you may not have seen that may help. Here is one

 http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/50104-a-tale-of-two-bizzys/#comment-765293

My first leaf twisted too, They need all the sun that they can get.

I used to move the pot 3 times a day especially in winter into the optimum sun to keep it strong.

[Nickbda]

@gtsteve Many thanks for the link, I found the photos most helpful. I think my main concern now is why is the leaf so limp. I've most the pot to maximum sunshine, which at this time of year is a lot and pretty intense. Perhaps I'm over or under watering, I give it a good sprinkle at least every 48 hours. The total soil depth is about 12" and the pot is about 14" and as I said the leaf is over 12".

@V-cycle I've taken a couple of photos which I'll post later today. I'm beginning to wonder if it needs a deeper pot, or should I try planting it out?

[PalmatierMeg]

Photos are a must. Is the seed planted in a very deep pot - at least 25-30 cm? Bizzies put down a very deep radicle (first root) and need plenty of depth for their roots. They are also notoriously root sensitive and can die just being slightly disturbed. Leaves should not be limp but almost like plastic. A limp leaf indicates to me it might be rotting or damping off. So we need photos with closeups of your problem.

[Nickbda]

Okay, here are some photo's of the Patient!

[Nickbda]

A few more.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Your pot is too shallow.  Put a second pot of the same size, filled with the same soil, under this and CAREFULLY cut the bottom out of the top pot and remove it.  Place the whole thing on a raised, ventilated platform, like a wire closet shelf.  Air gets to any emerging roots and air prunes them.

[Nickbda]

Jerry, many thanks for the suggestion, I was thinking of the same idea but wasn't sure.  What do you think about trying to plant it out in the final location, or is it too early? Also, should I aim to keep it moist all the time or let it dry out?

[Brian]

The twisting is normal so dont worry about that but they should not be limp. In my opinion you have way too much osmocote or whatever type of fertilizer you are using. Let it dry a bit between waterings. I have many Bismarckia in bags much smaller and dont have any problem at this size, although the root does do circles around the bottom of the bag. Here is how they look.

[Nickbda]

Brian, thanks for the suggestion. The Osmocote is a recent addition, about 2 weeks ago, I fertilized all my palms and gave the Bismarck a small handful to see if it perked up at all, but no real change. I'll scrape some out if you think it's too much. This pot depth seems to be a bit of a mystery if yours are doing so well in the smaller pots? I like Jerry's suggestion of setting a 'pot within a pot' to get the extra depth and it's easy to do so it's worth giving it a try to see if it helps.

[Nickbda]

I did a little 'gentle excavation' around the base of the leaf on Tuesday when I took the photographs and when I looked last night I see that the 'sprouted loop' shown in the latest photograph has appeared in just 24 hours? It seems to be separate from the main umbilical link to the seed which has a slightly white coating on it and is thicker. Hopefully that can be seen from the latest picture.

Do you think this is a 2nd leaf that started growing downward instead of up? I'm confused.