Brown spot on Chamadorea Metallica!

[RobustaEnvirons]

A week or two ago I bought a Chamadorea Metallica from a seller on ebay. It arrived looking stunning! It still does looks the same. Although, the day it arrived I noticed that it had a small black spot on the trunk on the trunk (where the remnants of an old leaf had been). I asked the seller and they said that it was from when their was a stain on a leaf and it stayed on their too long. And they just should've removed the leaf, but didn't remove it quick enough. So they said its made a stain on the underlying leaf(s). So now the "stain" is spreading and its getting worse. How many leaf layers could a stay like this go through. The seller doesn't know what it could be other than that. The're almost positive that this is all it is. But, they've said they'll replace it if it goes downhill. The seller tells me that the specimen will be fine, and that it'll not be hurt. But, I worry about it since its otherwise so very nice. 

When I recieved it on Sat/Sun July 22/23rd, I immediatly potted it up. And then I watered it, accidently giving it too much water. The next day I noticed mold on the soil's surface around the bottom of the trunk. I checked the soil to see how wet it still was on Thursday July 27 (every day I noticed mold, which I removed). I realized that none of the water really had drained too much. The soil was still very saturated. The pot I used has drainage holes in it, and a drainage tray to catch water. But, I guess due to the fact that my apartment stays around 70F-75F, it didn't dry too much.

Well, I immediatly repotted it in fresh dry soil. I made up a fresh mix, this time I went with a fast-draining soil (the first time I mainly left a lot of Peat in there since I thought it needed to stay wet). The seller has informed me that this palm can go a while without water. So now I know this. They told me to lay off watering for 1 week.  

This new mix I potted it up in, on Thursday I know drains well. I went with a mix that is composed of "Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix", "Miracle-Gro Perlite", and "Sand". I've used this for years on my Washingtonia Robusta, and everything else from my Dracaena Marginata and even my Pachisandra Terminalis. I use it for every specimen pretty much. Its never let me down.

I've not seen any mold now since I repotted it on Thursday with the new fresh mix. But, the spot (that was present upon arrival) was still there. The seller instructed me to remove the remainder of the leaf that had the spot. Well, I did this and the underlying leaf also had a spot (albeit smaller at that time). Since then the spot on the underlying leaf has gotten larger and I worry its going to eventually spread to kill off that leaf (probably will take a long while though). The palm fronds show no signs of stress that I can see. It pretty much still looks like it did when I unwrapped it out of the shipping box. But, nonetheless the seller has told me to avoid watering for a week, see how it does, and get back in touch with them with an update on it.

What could be the cause of this black spot? Is it fungus? Is it bacteria or something? Is there anything I can do to stop it from spreading?  

 

What it originally looked like when it arrived.  

            

 

What it looks like now. I removed the leaf remnants as the seller instructed. It reveals the underlying leaf, with a small spot on the edges. 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by RobustaEnvirons

[Kai]

Your metallica looks fine by me, no idea what the spot might have been but Chammies are hard to kill.

My guess is it'll grow out of it. Good luck!

[RobustaEnvirons]

On 7/30/2017, 12:10:32, Kai said:

Your metallica looks fine by me, no idea what the spot might have been but Chammies are hard to kill.

My guess is it'll grow out of it. Good luck!

Thank you. I hope it does grow out of it. I looked today though and its spreading more. Also there was a small bit of mold on the soil right around the base of the trunk. I can't figure out how to get rid of the mold. I already changed the soil once. Its pretty dry. The root ball still was a little wet when I re potted it in fresh soil. I haven't seen the mold in a day or two. I thought it was gone until this morning when I saw it again. Its frustrating.  

[Missi]

I noticed the same thing one one of my C. metallicas that I also received from an eBay vendor years ago. I used a fungicide on it, but I think it would have eventually grown out of it.

[RobustaEnvirons]

4 minutes ago, Missi said:

I noticed the same thing one one of my C. metallicas that I also received from an eBay vendor years ago. I used a fungicide on it, but I think it would have eventually grown out of it.

That's good to hear that you suspect that it probably would've outgrown it. I hope mine will. 

[Pal Meir]

That spot is not on the stem but on an old leaf sheath (2nd plumule?) which is wilting away. Your palm looks very healthy, but your soil mix and the size of the pot combined with your way of watering may cause problems …… 

[RobustaEnvirons]

On 8/2/2017, 12:48:48, Pal Meir said:

That spot is not on the stem but on an old leaf sheath (2nd plumule?) which is wilting away. Your palm looks very healthy, but your soil mix and the size of the pot combined with your way of watering may cause problems …… 

 

I agree that my mix was rather wet, and was peaty. Its no longer like that.

When I initially potted it up I was under the impression that you had to have the Chamaedorea always wet. But, the seller has since informed that this is not so. In fact the seller advised me not to water too often as this palm can take long durations between watering. The soil the palm arrived in was very much a lot of Peat. 

As I mentioned (after this picture was taken) I replaced the wet overwatered soil, with dry fresh soil. The new soil it is currently in, I mixed up myself. I made a soil that consists of 70% MG "Cactus, Palm, and Succlent" potting mix (Forests products/Sand/Perlite), 15% Sand, and 15% MG Perlite. This is a mix that I make up for everything I've ever potted. Everything from my potted Pachysandra Terminalis, Chamadora Elegans, to my Washingtonia Robusta. All are thriving. Its a fast-draining soil mix that drains water but retains a decent amount, so as the plant isn't sitting in water. Its rich in tiny pieces of wood, bark, and etc with all the sand and Perlite.

Since repotting it, its been dry. The seller instructed me not to water for at least a week to dry it out. So I haven't watered it since then. Well, that was last Friday and its been about a week. The soil has dried a lot and the palm seems to be just the same as it always has been. No changes in its appearance. 

It looks like the day it was shipped here from Florida. 

The only problem is just that spot. That spot has killed off the remainder of that one dead leaf you mentioned, and has since worked on the leaf below. Its also spread to the leaf below that (3 leaves in). So its spreading. Its hard to believe that its just a "stain".

When will the "stain" stop transferring itself to the next leaf below? Otherwise it looks the same as it has always. Very beautiful and healthy. 

The pot I put it in is an 8inch pot. Its not very large. I thought for a palm that size, it was appropriate. You don't think it should be in an 8inch pot? If not, what size pot should it be in? At this pot I'd be worried about disturbing the root sustrm since its been in its pot now for a week or two.  

Now that I know it doesn't need that much water, I won't water it. I realize that a pot with a palm that doesn't need a lot of water, and has a lot of soil can lead to problems. Like root-rot.  I'll not be watering it, and I'll keep it on the dry side. I haven't seen the mold now in 2-3 days. And when I had seen it reappear a couple days ago (after not seeing it for 3-4 days) it was only a small bit. Every morning I stir the surface of the soil up a little, so as to air out the soil to keep the mold away. That seems to keep it at bay. 

As of this morning the soil is dry, and the palm looks healthy. 

Here is how it is today:

 

 

[RobustaEnvirons]

[RobustaEnvirons]

[Missi]

You're misting your palms, right? They still need humidity.

[RobustaEnvirons]

2 hours ago, Missi said:

You're misting your palms, right? They still need humidity.

 Aah! No I actually haven't been. I guess that slipped right by the ol' radar there. I have to admit that I'm still rather new to the Chamaedorea genus. Mostly all I've had experience with is my all-time favorite Washingtonia Robusta (and they never need misting). A week or so ago (right after I got this Ch Mettalica) I got a Chamaedorea Elegans 'Bella'. 

So Chamaedorea I guess need humidity? Ok, I can and will do that from now on. I just need to go and buy one of those spray bottles and set the nozzle to the "mist" setting.

How often do they need misting? Should I must them every morning before I go to work? And again after work? Or,just maybe once a day? 

I can't believe I forgot that. They are a jungle understory palm after all. Wow.

But won't that cause overwatering since they'll effectively be receiving water? Pots take so long to dry out in my apartment because it usually stays around 70F-75F and 50-60% humidity. I don't run the AC or heat right now. Once Fall hits I plan on kicking my heat on until April/May. I like to have it at least 73+F (optimally 77F though), year-round day and night.  Pots take a while to dry at temps in the 70s it seems. 

[Missi]

17 hours ago, RobustaEnvirons said:

 Aah! No I actually haven't been. I guess that slipped right by the ol' radar there. I have to admit that I'm still rather new to the Chamaedorea genus. Mostly all I've had experience with is my all-time favorite Washingtonia Robusta (and they never need misting). A week or so ago (right after I got this Ch Mettalica) I got a Chamaedorea Elegans 'Bella'. 

So Chamaedorea I guess need humidity? Ok, I can and will do that from now on. I just need to go and buy one of those spray bottles and set the nozzle to the "mist" setting.

How often do they need misting? Should I must them every morning before I go to work? And again after work? Or,just maybe once a day? 

I can't believe I forgot that. They are a jungle understory palm after all. Wow.

But won't that cause overwatering since they'll effectively be receiving water? Pots take so long to dry out in my apartment because it usually stays around 70F-75F and 50-60% humidity. I don't run the AC or heat right now. Once Fall hits I plan on kicking my heat on until April/May. I like to have it at least 73+F (optimally 77F though), year-round day and night.  Pots take a while to dry at temps in the 70s it seems. 

I would say pretty much all tropical plants kept indoors need humidity. Might I refer you to the website Palmpedia: http://www.palmpedia.net/ It is a palm wiki, and all you do is search your plant's botanical name in the search field at the upper right (from computer), and it'll bring up all kinds of awesome and helpful information, as well as many photos of the species you did your search for. Palmpedia has been a HUGE asset to my palm research. I still use it almost daily.

[Howeadypsis]

On 03/08/2017, 21:13:09, Missi said:

You're misting your palms, right? They still need humidity.

Ive never misted mine, in fact its pretty much left to its own devices and it keeps on going, flowering every now and then.