Kentia leaning??

[Palm Tree Jim]

Out in my garden yesterday and noticed this one kentia that appears to be leaning. The last leaf that opened as well as the spear are curving out.

Perhaps it just reaching for more sun but I don't think so. I say this based on all my other kentias growing straight up.

I hope the picture attached can show you what I see.

Can anyone provide some direction/advice on this?????

Thanks!

 

[el-blanco]

Jim,  We have all seen this from time to time.  I have had a few start to lean when young that I corrected.  I had  Belmoreana start to go south on me a few years back that is just now getting back to normal.  I gave it consistent doses of neem oil and copper based fungicide.  Another one that did this was a triple.  I tied the bending one  to the others and did the same treatment.  It worked for me.

You may possibly see one of the spears come out very stunted and deformed.  Don't be surprised if that happens.  I've seen many others trees corrected with proper treatment.  This has simply been my experience.  I'm sure others can chime in to help.

 

[Tyrone]

Leaning crown syndrome is a big mystery as to its cause. I'm particularly interested in any successful treatments out there. By what el-blanco has said it appears to be a fungal issue in the growing point. This disorder also affects Archontophoenix. 

[Hammer]

Had the chance to see it in person today.  Our best theory is it is fungal in origin.  Jim's fertilizer and mulch regimens lead me to believe it isn't nutritional. 

[Brett in Mission Viejo]

I had a seriously leaning Kenta( alomst going sideways), maybe started out 10 years ago. I trimmed off most of the downhill leaning leaves continually over a 2 to 3 year period and it came out of its funk and straightened up after year 5 years. Worth the wait if it has trunk.

[5150cycad]

 

7 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Out in my garden yesterday and noticed this one kentia that appears to be leaning. The last leaf that opened as well as the spear are curving out.

Perhaps it just reaching for more sun but I don't think so. I say this based on all my other kentias growing straight up.

I hope the picture attached can show you what I see.

Can anyone provide some direction/advice on this?????

Thanks!

 

Jim,

There was some discussion of the "kentia lean" a while back on a palmtalk forum. The link is below. Glevine mentioned that he thought mites could be the problem. Someone also mentioned and I recall personally seeing half of the kentias planted on leukadia BLVD having a similar lean, but far worse than yours. I think they eventually just removed all of them because heaven forbid a less than perfect palm tree in Leucadia. J/k. This must have been something recent because I don't recall seeing that the day I was there. It's good to hear that others have had similar issues and were able to get it under control. 

Good luck! 

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/44255-the-la-highest-la-howea-in-la-habra/#

[Palm Tree Jim]

8 hours ago, 5150cycad said:

 

Jim,

There was some discussion of the "kentia lean" a while back on a palmtalk forum. The link is below. Glevine mentioned that he thought mites could be the problem. Someone also mentioned and I recall personally seeing half of the kentias planted on leukadia BLVD having a similar lean, but far worse than yours. I think they eventually just removed all of them because heaven forbid a less than perfect palm tree in Leucadia. J/k. This must have been something recent because I don't recall seeing that the day I was there. It's good to hear that others have had similar issues and were able to get it under control. 

Good luck! 

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/44255-the-la-highest-la-howea-in-la-habra/#

Thanks.....I have been searching on PT for some information on this but have not found anything recent.

Going to treat it today with a fungicide and neem oil.

[Palm Tree Jim]

14 hours ago, el-blanco said:

Jim,  We have all seen this from time to time.  I have had a few start to lean when young that I corrected.  I had  Belmoreana start to go south on me a few years back that is just now getting back to normal.  I gave it consistent doses of neem oil and copper based fungicide.  Another one that did this was a triple.  I tied the bending one  to the others and did the same treatment.  It worked for me.

You may possibly see one of the spears come out very stunted and deformed.  Don't be surprised if that happens.  I've seen many others trees corrected with proper treatment.  This has simply been my experience.  I'm sure others can chime in to help.

 

Thanks.....I am going to use a fungicide and neem oil as you suggested.

 

[Palm Tree Jim]

8 hours ago, Brett in Mission Viejo said:

I had a seriously leaning Kenta( alomst going sideways), maybe started out 10 years ago. I trimmed off most of the downhill leaning leaves continually over a 2 to 3 year period and it came out of its funk and straightened up after year 5 years. Worth the wait if it has trunk.

Thanks Brett.

[Shbazer]

Try treating a Kentia Palm with leaning disease with boric acid. Dissolve two ur three tablespoons in boiling water, then distribute that around the roots. Water it in. It takes several treatments, and about a year or two, but eventually the lean will reverse and the tree will go straight. It is believed that leaning disease is caused by a boron deficiency. For some reason, Kentia Palms grown in San Diego become susceptible when their trunk is about 10 feet tall. Perhaps it’s because of drip irrigation deficiencies, which don’t percolate water through the organic matter covering the root 

[Shbazer]

I live in San Diego County, and experienced Kentia Leaning Disease. Nothing helped. I then read that it was caused by a boron deficiency. This was published by the University of Florida:

 

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep264

 

I treated my trees with 3 Tablespoons of boric acid dissolved in boiling water, then sprinkled around the base of the trees. Several applications were applied over a two year period. That worked, and the affected trees grew straight, and regained a healthy appearance at the crown. Periodically watering the trees from above seems to help prevent the disease, by percolating essential minerals through the entire root system. Apparently, dry, alkaline soil binds up essential soil minerals, including Boron. Good luck!