Pale green lipstick palm

[Cancundude]

Hola everyone. I am new to the board so forgive me if I don’t yet know my way around efficiently.  Anywho I bought myself a Cyrtostachys renda without really understanding palms whatsoever and am not sure if it’s doing well. Transplanted it from a 5 gallon garden bag to a 9-10 gallon pot. Used a mixture of local dirt from the mangrove close to me and mixed it with worm castings 50/50 of my own making, all materials organic sources. I have it in a NE corner with lots of indirect light through out the day and 3 hours of direct sun early morning. The newest palm frond was showing as a 10 inch spike when I brought her home 2 months ago. In that time the new frond has come up and is beginning to fan out nicely. My concern is the new growth is a very pale green compared to the older fronds. Could this be lack of direct sun?  I do keep her very well watered as she seems to love water staying in the drip tray which I keep full by adding water to the top. Any thoughts or suggestions would be really appreciated. Oh and I live in Cancun where humidity and temperatures are very suitable. The palm originally came from Acapulco. 

Edited November 20, 2018 by Cancundude

[PalmatierMeg]

Lipsticks will turn lighter green in sun or very bright light. I grew mine under heavy shade cloth and they were very dark green. Your palm looks okay to me. A couple pointers about this tricky species: 1) Never let them dry out - ever. I kept mine in trays of water at all times and monitored water level religiously; 2) They need heat and high humidity. If you are keeping yours in an air conditioned apartment it's environment may be too cold and too dry for this uber tropical palm.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

[Cancundude]

Thanks Meg for the pointers. Ya I always have known plants under shade tend to be darker green to help facilitate photosynthesis in lower light environments but the little I have researched on this rare palm (not oddles of info available) suggests they are dark green even in full sun. Anyways I know I got a finicky one for sure and look forward to the challenge. Having just moved to Cancun from the wet coast of Canada...Vancouver....you could say I am also require a high humidity and heat so a/c wont be an issue. You mentioned you grew yours under thick shade cloth....mind me asking why? I thought they prefer full sun. Thanks for the kind welcome!  

[PalmatierMeg]

The sun here is ferocious and fries all but the most sun hardy plants. And my climate is too cold in winter for me to ever plant mine. So I kept them on the back lanai with my other tropical palms where I could roll them indoors when temps fell below 50F. To protect all the other tropicals I covered the birdcage with layers of shade cloth. I found the lipsticks grew better and seemed happier when they weren't sun-fried. They grew so fast that in 5-6 years they were 8-9' tall (11-12' in their pots) and hitting the top of the birdcage. They were also getting a bit heavy and awkward to roll in & out  all winter. So, I sold them - been there, done that, won't get another.

[Cancundude]

19 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Lipsticks will turn lighter green in sun or very bright light. I grew mine under heavy shade cloth and they were very dark green. Your palm looks okay to me. A couple pointers about this tricky species: 1) Never let them dry out - ever. I kept mine in trays of water at all times and monitored water level religiously; 2) They need heat and high humidity. If you are keeping yours in an air conditioned apartment it's environment may be too cold and too dry for this uber tropical palm.

Welcome to PalmTalk.

 

[Cancundude]

Hi Meg. Was trolling some past posts and came across some pics you posted some time ago. Nice palms you had. When I first came across it I had to have it without knowing the babysitting involved. Having said that look what I have just below my kitchen window. If I choose to donate it to my building how high up the pot should the water line be?  As well can you recommend a much more forgiving palm that would fill my space?

Edited November 21, 2018 by Cancundude
Add photo

[Missi]

WELCOME!!!  Congrats on your new home and new plants! I spied an aroid growing up the wall in the background of your second photo....looks AWESOME!! Don't donate your C. renda! Figure out what makes it happy and it will be thriving in no time! We have a few Northern and European members who grow them BEAUTIFULLY indoors. I believe you will find their posts in this Palms In Pots forum. Your palm doesn't look bad at all. Perhaps just adjusting to more light. The only thing I read that concerned me a tiny bit was that the potting media you are using sounds a bit smothering to most palm roots (unless the sand from the mangroves is a nice coarse sand). Just concerned about enough oxygen getting to the roots. Hoping others will share their input. Please continue to keep us posted on your beauty and any others that may come in the future 

[Cancundude]

30 minutes ago, Missi said:

WELCOME!!!  Congrats on your new home and new plants! I spied an aroid growing up the wall in the background of your second photo....looks AWESOME!! Don't donate your C. renda! Figure out what makes it happy and it will be thriving in no time! We have a few Northern and European members who grow them BEAUTIFULLY indoors. I believe you will find their posts in this Palms In Pots forum. Your palm doesn't look bad at all. Perhaps just adjusting to more light. The only thing I read that concerned me a tiny bit was that the potting media you are using sounds a bit smothering to most palm roots (unless the sand from the mangroves is a nice coarse sand). Just concerned about enough oxygen getting to the roots. Hoping others will share their input. Please continue to keep us posted on your beauty and any others that may come in the future 

Thanks Missi. Ya she is a beauty but have realized she may not fit into my lifestyle as I tend to travel for extended periods of time. I am one of the first tenants in the building so maybe I will get lucky and have a new neighbor whom would be a fellow plant lover to help out. I share your concern about my potting mix. The original soil was very sandy so after transplanting all I needed to do was side fill the 5 inch space around the outside with my worm casting mix. Tips are showing zero browning but have enough experience to know pythium hits quick and hard. Maybe I should try watering from the tray only as the new soil should pull the moisture up. No substrate at the bottom of the pot and the tray hold about 2inches of water. Changing protocols on such an unforgiving species could be risky is my feeling. Any thoughts?  Ya my pothos is going nuts the past 35 days since bringing it home. 

[sashaeffer]

Here is mine. First pic it's on far left side. 3 large East facing windows. The light on in back in on 24/7 and each week on Saturdays I turn the entire palm 1/4 turn to keep natural light even. This palm has been indoors for over a year and a half. I keep it in tub with water just maybe 2 inches so it never dries out  Also have a submersible fish tank heater in the water set at 80F  I also have a air stone attached to a pump that I use to keep water oxygenated. stone is under the palm as it sits on a raised tray of sorts in the water so moisture can absorb from the bottom and not just the size.

In winter it stays 68F all the time and in Summer 74-76F

I have experimented around with quite a few Lipstick palms, all smaller than this and what I have learned is sunlight...not direct all day is far more important than humidity.

When they get this size they do grow pretty quickly

[Missi]

On 11/21/2018, 3:09:40, sashaeffer said:

Here is mine. First pic it's on far left side. 3 large East facing windows. The light on in back in on 24/7 and each week on Saturdays I turn the entire palm 1/4 turn to keep natural light even. This palm has been indoors for over a year and a half. I keep it in tub with water just maybe 2 inches so it never dries out  Also have a submersible fish tank heater in the water set at 80F  I also have a air stone attached to a pump that I use to keep water oxygenated. stone is under the palm as it sits on a raised tray of sorts in the water so moisture can absorb from the bottom and not just the size.

In winter it stays 68F all the time and in Summer 74-76F

I have experimented around with quite a few Lipstick palms, all smaller than this and what I have learned is sunlight...not direct all day is far more important than humidity.

When they get this size they do grow pretty quickly

Absolutely lovely! Thanks for chiming in buddy!

[Cancundude]

2 hours ago, Missi said:

Absolutely lovely! Thanks for chiming in buddy!

Yes very nice indeed. The air stone gave me an idea. I now blend the water in my vitamin to thoroughly infuse with oxygen and have only been watering from the tray. Stays moist all the way to the top and she seems happier as growth rate has increased. Fingers crossed. 

[Cancundude]

Second new frond has just opened and seems I am doing it right. Very slow grower having only put out two fronds in 8 months.