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HELP - Rhapis & Areca palm trouble


Guest Dave L

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Hello and thanks for reading.  I am having trouble with Rhapis and 2 Areca palms; both stunted growth and browning fronds.  

As background:  I have a temperature and humidity controlled greenhouse with 10 palms (8 varieties) planted last April  They were all doing well for about 6 months then the Rhapis and Areca begun to get chlorosis and spotting on the frond leaflets.  They now regularly get brown fronds that I remove when they are dead and their growth has been stunted.  Originally the Areca was very full and taller than it is today and the Rhapis has not grown in height at all.  I use Palmgain (8-2-12) fertilizer about every 6-8 weeks; I also introduce worm casting tea to all my plants once a month.   Everything I read about them indicated a water problem....either too much or too little.  I tried changing the water pattern with more or less and that did not appear to have an impact.  All my watering is surface watering and not overhead.  Today I dug down about 18" around the root ball and did not see anything unusual.  The soil is rich, warm and damp enough to form a ball when squeezed, but not so damp that the ball of soil does not crumble when touched.  The few roots that I could observe looked healthy with no signs of root rot.  I could use some help before I get frustrated enough to remove them to the compost pile! 

The attached pics may not reveal the entire problem, but I'm hopeful that someone can help with a suggestion that I have not thought of.

1st pic (4034) - when they were planted in April 2020

the other pics are as they appear today

Many thanks in advance.

dave

PS -- sometimes a phone call can be helpful if you are so inclined (412-818-1816)

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Looks like Dypsis lutescens, not Areca palms.  They are often mis-labelled as such - but this is entirely inaccurate.

I don't see anything that isn't entirely typical - they look quite healthy, particularly for your location!  Maybe a bit of fert?

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Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Probable lack of soil aeration, probable I say... Roots are not absorbing nutrients has they should, it seems that what's happening with the Rhapis. As for the D. lutescens, they usually behave like that when the soil is to heavy/dense and constantly extra moist. This is my own experience with those Sps in pots.

Edited by lzorrito
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Greetings, Luís

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On 2/2/2021 at 10:58 AM, Ben in Norcal said:

Looks like Dypsis lutescens, not Areca palms.  They are often mis-labelled as such - but this is entirely inaccurate.

I don't see anything that isn't entirely typical - they look quite healthy, particularly for your location!  Maybe a bit of fert?

Good advice from Ben.

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1. Your glass house is amazing. Believe or not, I found pictures on Internet with your glass house and I said to myself: "I want something like this". It is my dream for a very long time. :drool:

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2. I have been growing indoor palms since 2006 with of course many failures but also some success in the last few years.

I had similar symptoms when my palms were too wet or too much fertilizer.

Let them dry a little bit, let's say an entire week. If the relative humidity around them is about 50% - 60% they will be perfectly fine.  I also have a Dypsis Lutescens, it seems bullet proof for me. Rhapis also is a quite tough guy.

3. I also recommend a slow release fertilizer for palms grown in pot. If it is liquid, use diluted solution, half of what you see on the label.

Wish you luck, your palms will recover.

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Many thanks for the reply.  Yes, I put a great deal into this glass house and I am quite proud of it.....especially when it is now 26˚ outside and a toasty 75˚ in the Ghouse.  For the most part things grow very well....perhaps too fast!  But the 2 palms I mentioned have been troublesome.  This is surprising since they should be easy to grow.  I had assumed that watering was the culprit, but never sure.  Everything I read about over and under watering results in the same visible signs (chlorosis and brown tips).  So I am baffled.  My soil drains very well with a great deal of organic matter so right now I'm only watering about every week -10 days. And I do keep the humidity at around 60-70%.  I only fertilize about every 6-8 weeks with slow release Palmgain (8-2-12).  I am hoping they recover as I am in the process now of pruning back a good amount to see what happens next.  Thanks again for the input and if you ever want to discuss designing a glass house like this please feel free to contact me.  best regards, dave

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