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They may be tapping into a pocket of highly acidic podzol once they reach a certain size. Perhaps a good dose of lime might help. Certainly worth a shot. And should perhaps test the soil a metre down. Everything is fine for the first decade or so...

Has it bloomed / leafed-out?

The accordion leaves in the second foto are definitely a symptom of boron deficiency If the pH of the soil is too high or too low, boron and manganese will not be available for the plants even if you supplement it. Low temperature in the root zone works the same way. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP264

Si I am in Philly pa so we had the normal 20 to 30 degree winter with the exception of 10 days when it was 3 to 10 degrees. The palm looked great last year. I was concerned about the black spots and that rust color on the stem of the frond.

@chris08170817 how did it look last year? Is this just sent all the winter aftermath showed itself? How cold did it get and length of time below freezing? Was it protected? To me it just looks like cold damage but I could be wrong.

Hi Im outside of Philly pa this winter was pretty cold. My needle palm is at least 12 years old. This year it looks bad I'm thinking it has some sickness any help would be appreciated. Im posting pics

The same tree in March

That sounds interesting I have probably 15 bizzies and no problems with any but this one I’m not a fertilizer guy but I will try the borax that makes since!!! Definitely not a water problem as I’m a water nut my water bills make your head spin!!!

This photo was taken in February at Mounts:

All Sold, thanks

each palm is 150 shipping would depend on zip but i imagine 120ish

2 beautiful 15 gallon cerifera's available these can ship. they are at least 2 feet by 2 feet.

Wishing both you and the lady's new store success! (Also good wishes to her mom, her aunt, and the baby!)

Somethings telling me zinc and boron deficiency. I have found a couple of my belmoreanas do this but a dose of trace elements with zinc and boron and back they come. My pH is low which they should like. I can grow forsteriana without an issue and they should want a higher pH than what I naturally have.

Good luck, and relax John.. It's all good... Congrats... Butch

Thanks for the Jubaeopsis pictures. It looks like a triple . I wonder how many Jubaeopsis are in the greater LA area and how many are mature ? The Jubaeopsis pictured is obviously close enough to the sidewalk that if it flowers and fruits the seed may get into a seed sprouting enthusiast’s hands . I would drive out of my way to see that palm on a repeat basis if I lived in the valley. We all have favorites I suppose. Question for Harry , would you like to plant a Jubaeopsis?

Might be a boron deficiency problem. Your Biz looks like its been in strong winds and low water conditions from the pic. If the spears that do have leaves ready to open are stunted in apparent leaf size, boron deficiency becomes more of suspect. Got an overall pic from further away? I do remember growing these in AZ, dang spears just seem to rise and wait for the monsoon season where humidity goes from 10-20% to 45-55% RH and they open in rapid succession a few weeks apart once the monsoon hits. If its been real dry and your water regimen short, it could also contribute to stunting of newest growth. The deformed petioles are a riddle, never saw those on any of my (4) bizzies in AZ, but mine never had a boron issue. I never saw a pest eat bismarckia leaves, the weevils go for the grow point first. I see hundreds of bizzies here in public landscaping along roads and highways, and sometimes they get bad boron deficiencies(1/50 palms). This year in our drought the crowns appear to be shrinking and in some cases bronzing. If the recent growth seems to have increasing ratio of petiole length to leaf length as a spear, I am suspecting micro nutrient uptake issues. DO you know soil pH or if the soil is highly calcareous. Soil pH significantly impacts boron (B) availability, with deficiencies most common in alkaline soils (pH > 7.5) and highly acidic, sandy soils. Boron becomes bound to iron/aluminum oxides or calcium in high pH soils, making it unavailable. Ideal pH for boron availability is generally 5.0–7.0 If your soil pH is over 7.5 I would add 10 lbs sulfur pellets and a few tablespoons of borax around the root zone. Bizzies are generally not susceptible to nutrient deficiencies, but boron is the one deficiency case I've seen over and over here in our sandy soils. I had alkaline soil(7.8-8pH) when I was in arizona, but I put down several hundred pounds of elemental sulfur pellets around palm root zones to deal with pH deficiencies of other palms. Sometimes you can have just a bad spot of high pH due to construction debris and the rest of the yard is not high pH so dont think because one spot is OK and another nearby Biz is affected that its not a pH/boron issue.

In Ventura California I have been seeing several Howea Foresteriana around the Industrial parks where my shop is . The Community Memorial Hospital has several mature Livistona Australis , large Howea Foresteriana , Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens, and beautiful Archontophoenix palms . Harry

Co incidentally nr 2 an expert inspected my declining Chamaedorea microspadix clamp and put me uproot a whole sucker, in order to check for nematodes, but it turned out finally Rhizoctonia.

Is the soil quite sandy Jonathan? It kind of looks a bit like nematode damage - it tends to cause very quick decline in all fronds leaving a bit of green in the spear. I quick way to check is to rip out the palm and check for nodules on the roots. Really just a bit of a wild stab in the dark and I’m not really experienced at all with soil pathogens. I would say though that I’d almost certainly rule out fertiliser burn. As Tyrone says, no way it’s going to do that much damage that quickly. Co incidentally my L fulva declined this summer. But much more slowly. I dug it out a couple of months ago and put it in a pot. I suspect in was in too deep shade and possibly drainage issue, but honestly the soil seemed ok when I dug it. Perhaps as a species they are a bit sensitive to various issues at this size (mine is a similar size to yours above).

🚀 Absolutely spot on for the speed of growth estimate! I was shocked when the nurseryman told me the 8 foot tall tree I had just bought was only 3 years old. "Stand back,and stay out of its way" 😄 Yikes! aztropic Mesa, Arizona