Droopy Pygmy date palm

[yezishu]

Hey guys. I've noticed this past week my Pygmy date has been looking rather droopy. I feel like it might be because of too much water or sunlight but i cant be sure. Any ideas how to fix this? or am i just an idiot.

[Rickybobby]

I sunburned mine this spring and it did not droop. I suspect lack of water or maybe even root damage 

[Steve Mac]

It won't hurt the palm to remove it from the pot (carefully so not to hurt yourself) and inspect the roots, you may be able to determine a problem.

Too dry/soggy or bugs? If you can't see anything obvious just drop it back in.

I don't know your weather but it does not look like it is getting too much sun.

I think that they take full sun anywhere when acclimatized/acclimated. 

The most common cause of that would probably be too much water.

[Bismarckiafan]

I live in a climate similar to yours.   This is my experience with Pygmies.  I have been growning  a Pygmy date palm in a huge  pot for several years.   In winter  the pot  was  usually placed  inside a sunny conservatory  at quite a low temperature of 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit).  The palm was happy with those conditions.  In summer we get day temperatures as high as 30 - 35 degrees Celsius (86-95 Fahrenheit).  I read this is a hardy palm so I used to put it outside.  Although the palm  grew well,  the trunk was maybe 3-4 foot tall, the fronds were annoyingly yellowish. Then I saw pictures of this palm with nice green fronds on palmforums.  So  this year I decided to leave the the Pygmy palm in the conservatory as an experiment. It is in the blazing sun all day, I give it lots of water and fertilize sparingly as always.  The fronds are nice and green to my surprise and delight.  What made the difference in my opinion is  the night temperatue in the conservatory  which is  stable and high (over 20 degrees Celsius - 70 gegrees Fahrenheit) just like in the tropics.  I think the problem with your palm is not too much sun. It is a combination of lower night temperatues or fluctuating at least and too much water.  By comparison, Canary island date palms take the lower  or fluctuating night temperature in our summers in their stride much better.  I think it is  easier to please and pamper this palm in a conservatory in temperate climates. If that is not an option for you, try to water more sparingly and you can let the soil dry up on the surface before you water again.

[Merlyn]

My first guess would be too much water or "mucky" soil.  If you carefully take it out of the pot you may find that there is stagnant muck at the bottom couple of inches of the pot.  The really pale (almost white) fronds are a telltale sign of iron deficiency, which is usually from overwatering or mucky soil.  Pygmy dates are pretty tolerant of low water, but will get root rot if they are drowning in sludge.

Check out this thread for a long discussion on soil mixes for potted palms.  The bottom line is a very well draining mix with a significant portion (50% or so) of inorganics like sand, perlite, pumice, expanded clay, etc.  Too much potting soil, topsoil or compost will disintegrate into muck fast.