Sago palm all leafs drooping.

[Joe in Zapata TX]

Planted/transplanted this Sago a few months ago and all the leafs were pointing up and all of a sudden the leafs started drooping and are all about horizontal now.

Heres a pic of the center of the sago, is this normal? One neighbor said it’s dying and the other said it’s fine. 

 

 

[Estlander]

Looks normal to me. I think it’s getting itself ready for another set of new leaves. 

[Merlyn]

It looks normal to me, possibly a little bit sunburnt and/or a little bit low on nitrogen.  A bit of generic 10-10-10 fertilizer might help, maybe a single handful sprinkled broadly near it. 

When a sago (or any other cycad, really) is about to flush, generally the existing leaves will tilt downwards to make space for the new set of leaves to come out the middle.  If you are concerned about it, take a photo of the center once a day for a week.  If you compare the photos you'll probably see the little finger "spikes" moving around day-to-day.  This means it's either working on a cone or a flush of leaves, and they just aren't visible yet.

I transplanted 4 big sagos last spring, one flushed a cone almost immediately and one flushed leaves within a month.  The other 2 just sat there with the center moving around constantly but never flushing.  This spring they both put out 20-28 leaf flushes, so apparently they were just storing up energy and generating new root structure first.

[Xenon]

Looking good 

Zapata is 9b by the way,  and a high one at that...there are some nice royal palms in your area. Heck, you might even have a decent shot at growing a coconut, especially on the south side of the lake. Would love to see more pics of your area ! 

Edited September 12, 2019 by Xenon

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I've dug hundreds of these.  I always take off all the leaves to make them easier to move.. It will be just fine.  Make sure you don't overwater though. 

[Joe in Zapata TX]

The Sago has really drooped more and the leaves are looking dead. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Cut them off. 

[Joe in Zapata TX]

1 hour ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Cut them off. 

All of them? I’ll do what you tell me to  

This was a 2’ CT sago from the valley that I transplanted the first of July. 

Thanks 

[Estlander]

When you transplanted the Sago, it lost a lot of it’s roots. A few months is not enough time to grow all the roots back. The reason your fronds are dying is probably because it still doesn’t have enough of them to support the leaves. 

When I transplanted two of my Sagos, both of them flushed twice, and both of those times the fronds soon dried out.  The third flush stayed nice and green and no longer dried out. 

Just cut all the old ones off and wait. From your picture I can tell that it’s getting ready for a new flush soon. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Estlander

[San the man]

On 9/17/2019 at 3:01 PM, Joe in Zapata TX said:

The Sago has really drooped more and the leaves are looking dead. 

I am in the same boat now. My sago was just all good few months back and now look like this (identical).

 

what was the outcome in your case my friend? 
 

 

[San the man]

Attached pic - really not sure what to do? 

[Laaz]

Looks like soil is too wet. Can't really tell if it's in the ground or in a container. I cut all the leaves off mine a few times a years. It forces a new flush of leaves & keeps the plant looking good.

[San the man]

I had watered right before pic but may be I will hold water for longer now. do you mean all the leaves and only trunk exposed. my palms leaves are deteriorating as well. 

 

[Tracy]

56 minutes ago, San the man said:

I had watered right before pic but may be I will hold water for longer now. do you mean all the leaves and only trunk exposed. my palms leaves are deteriorating as well. 

Welcome to the forum.  Some additional information would be helpful in providing advice such as where are you located?  Water frequency will depend on your climate, soil type and placement relative to sunlight.  Generally speaking, Sago palms (Cycas revoluta) are pretty forgiving but during transplanting they are at their most susceptible.  The center of the caudex on your plant doesn't appear to be readying to push a flush unlike the one at the beginning of this thread, which is a little more concerning.  

In addition to sharing where you are, you could help by responding to the other items I identified:

1) Soil type, slow draining or fast draining, clay, loam or sandy (perhaps a combination)? Did you amend soil when planting if so what did you add?

2)  Placement in your yard, sunny all day, am sun only, pm sun only or mostly shady all day?

3)  Climate zone?  If you live where other forum members live, they will likely have some insights, but if you don't it would be insightful to know if you are a frost free zone, frost most winters, snow sometimes or ???

[San the man]

Hi Tracy - thanks for willing to help me to save this palm!

1. I have not transplanted it. It has been in the pot since I bought this home two years ago. 
 

2. I am in Nor California , hardizone 10. 
 

3. placement in yard is full to partial Sun 8-9 days. 
 

4. I have been watering it once a week these days as I was told it is not getting enough water. 
 

5. soil in the pot I am not aware about as it was already planted when I got it. 
 

6. I am attaching a link of fertilizer which I have been giving it every 2 weeks now for six weeks.

 

7. lastly the pic of same palm from February this year when it was super healthy and thriving. 
 

 

any help will be appreciated. Fertilizer

[Tracy]

On 10/9/2021 at 5:10 PM, San the man said:

Attached pic - really not sure what to do? 

 

8 hours ago, San the man said:

I didn't see the fertilizer but if you are using something every 2 weeks, it must be a liquid.  Generally speaking, I prefer a slow release granular on cycads.  It's hard to tell in your first photo above, but it appears that the plant is getting overhead water, which it won't really appreciate.  I don't think cycads are good foliar feeders, and getting the caudex wet in a cooler climate can invite problems.  So for starters, I would back off as in stop the fertilizer in October considering you are headed into winter in Northern California and avoid overhead watering.  When you say "hardizone 10" in Nor Cal, I'm not really sure what you are referring to.  Northern California is a big expanse with many climate zones and there are forum members representing everything from the Delta, San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco and all parts of the Bay Area that may be able to share very specific experience with growing Sagos in your area.

I would consider planting into a larger pot given its size, but not right now given that replanting would be a bit of a shock at the wrong time of the year to a plant that is already stalling.  I would definitely pot this plant into something larger in the spring.  In the interim, don't over water as nights are getting cooler.  It does look like it may lose these leaves but doesn't look like its readying a flush, so just be patient this time of year.   When you do replant it, use a well draining soil, something like a palm/cactus mix.  While Cycas isn't the most pick cycad about soil, I would play it safe.  These can handle being completely defoliated and come back.

8 hours ago, San the man said:

placement in yard is full to partial Sun 8-9 days

This didn't make much sense either, it appears some units are missing: "full to partial sun 8-9 days"(per month) ?  " full to partial sun 8-9 (hours) day"?

Maybe someone else from Nor Cal can help you if you are a little more specific.  Donner Pass, Modesto, Redding, Capitola, Fort Bragg, San Jose and Salinas might all fit that description and have very different climates and needs for how to address your plant as you enter winter.

[Laaz]

Fertilizing every two weeks? It probably has a huge salt buildup in the soil.

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, Laaz said:

Fertilizing every two weeks? It probably has a huge salt buildup in the soil.

 

8 hours ago, Tracy said:

So for starters, I would back off as in stop the fertilizer in October considering you are headed into winter in Northern California and avoid overhead watering. 

 

8 hours ago, Tracy said:

would consider planting into a larger pot given its size, but not right now given that replanting would be a bit of a shock at the wrong time of the year to a plant that is already stalling. 

Laaz was more succinct than I was about the liquid fertilizer 2 x week, particularly in a potted plant that has outgrown the pot.  There is nowhere for all the salts in a liquid fertilizer to go.  It won't hurt that you are headed into the rainy season, so you can hope that the high purity rainwater will help flush some of the salts out of the soil but don't add any more for now and get a slow release fertilizer with micros in it when you do resume fertilizing.  Personally, I wouldn't fertilize it again until I planted it up or put it in the ground next spring and I would be sparing with it on a transplant until it gets reestablished later in the summer.