Any hope?

[ahosey01]

Long story, but this Rhapis excelsa was planted in a terrible spot in the yard.  Then, I dug it up and put it in a pot.  Then it needed to be moved, so my wife placed it in a super low light part of the house.  Then we forgot to water it for too long.

About a month ago, we put it back outside and started to water it.  It’s not getting any worse - but certainly looks ratty.  I’m wondering if it’s worth planting in my lawn - it’s on the east facing side of the house and gets great sun until 11 or 12, and gets a lot of water and has good soil.

Here is the sad palm:

 

And here is the lawn:

 

Thoughts?

[oasis371]

With all the changes made, you're lucky it's still alive. These palms do not need full sun (especially in Arizona), and have a poor tolerance for periods of dryness, they can go from looking good to terminal wilt in short period of time.  I would keep it containerized and in a relatively sheltered position from sun and wind on a deck or patio.  In the Spring, give it some fertilizer, it should recuperate, it does not look that bad considering. I would cut all the dead parts. If you need a palm for your yard, there are numerous others that would be much better in your location. Good luck.

Edited November 17, 2021 by oasis371

[Keys6505]

Agree with oasis, I have a full 6' tall clump that's in sun until 11am-ish (Houston area) with full irrigation and even that seems to be too much sun as the leaves fade in the summer.

[oasis371]

In their native range, southern islands of Japan and South China, they are understory palms in a subtropical, monsoonal climate that gets over 60-70 inches of annual rainfall (mostly in the warm season).  I like these palms, so much that I added R. humils (Slender Lady) and  R. mulitfida to the Rhapis collection.  (R. exselsa, common Lady Palm) has been the most grower btw. They all make one of the top five, best "indoor" palms.  I do season them outside in the shade of a grove of Eastern Hemlocks with only filtered sun.  Like I said though, their kryptonite is dryness. I had one that went from looking fine one day to terminal wilt the next day. 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, oasis371 said:

With all the changes made, you're lucky it's still alive. These palms do not need full sun (especially in Arizona), and have a poor tolerance for periods of dryness, they can go from looking good to terminal wilt in short period of time.  I would keep it containerized and in a relatively sheltered position from sun and wind on a deck or patio.  In the Spring, give it some fertilizer, it should recuperate, it does not look that bad considering. I would cut all the dead parts. If you need a palm for your yard, there are numerous others that would be much better in your location. Good luck.

Yep, in the ground, they HATE our full sun and dry air for sure.. That said, have seen a few growing in shade ( Like maybe an hour of morning sun, < less during the summer > and fairly dense shade the rest of the day ) that were doing pretty well. Both spots were also areas that got regular irrigation, esp. thru the summer..  faced east or southeast, and had larger bushes / overhead canopy on the north and west sides to block the sun / greatly reduce the effects of dry winds.  Seen a couple growing in a business park also, but they're planted in beds below a shaded corridor between 2 story buildings.

[Collectorpalms]

Mine fried to the ground from 4F and came back from the roots. They get all day shade and next to the water faucet. 

[oasis371]

Here is one of mine that I just moved indoors, about 4 feet tall.

Edited November 19, 2021 by oasis371

[BeyondTheGarden]

12 hours ago, Collectorpalms said:

Mine fried to the ground from 4F and came back from the roots. They get all day shade and next to the water faucet. 

4f!?  I'll have to get a few more and try them outside in a sheltered spot.  It seems like they just need so much heat though.  My 2 indoor rhapis have barely moved in the 4 months I've had them. I do love rhapis though. 

[Collectorpalms]

1 hour ago, Jesse PNW said:

4f!?  I'll have to get a few more and try them outside in a sheltered spot.  It seems like they just need so much heat though.  My 2 indoor rhapis have barely moved in the 4 months I've had them. I do love rhapis though. 

Because their canes are thin, they cannot take a prolonged period of freezing in the lower 20s. Their buds are tender, I have mine on the eastern foundation of my house. Whenever we had a 48 hr cold spell into the 20s I would cover them.

But at least they have started to grow back, only grow about 6 inches a year even in a humid hot climate.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[oasis371]

"It seems like they just need so much heat though."

I would say they are not high heat palms if you mean this in terms of warmth needed for active new growth (compared to say, Sabals, which DO have a high heat requirement).

I have read they are hardy to 8b (with a minimum of 15-20F, but I do not let mine get exposed to anything lower than about 28 F.  Rhapis humilis is supposed to be cold hardier.  It does have a distinctly different look as well.

I have seen Rhapis excelsa in South Florida, it's an incredibly DENSE growing palm eventually (I don't know which other palm in comparable).,   Even at the ground level, it forms an impenetrable screening effect. That may aid in its cold tolerance as I suspect temps within the cluster are going to be milder than the ambient air temperatures.

 

[ahosey01]

So I should not put it in the lawn yet?

The lawn is flood irrigated 3x per week.

[Manalto]

On 11/23/2021 at 8:44 AM, ahosey01 said:

So I should not put it in the lawn yet?

The lawn is flood irrigated 3x per week.

What they're saying is you should not put it in the lawn ever.

[ahosey01]

On 11/26/2021 at 8:35 AM, Manalto said:

What they're saying is you should not put it in the lawn ever.

I still feel like 4 hours of direct sun before noon can’t be too much for this palm.  I’ve seen them in western exposures in AZ before.  Not like all-say western exposures, but like more-western-than-I’d-ever-give-it.

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

I still feel like 4 hours of direct sun before noon can’t be too much for this palm.  I’ve seen them in western exposures in AZ before.  Not like all-say western exposures, but like more-western-than-I’d-ever-give-it.

4 hours of direct sun before noon? ...esp during the summer?  That can be enough to fry cacti ( think about how much stuff is covered in shade cloth at DBG  ..until -at least - mid/ late July ..  Tucked under overhead tree canopy that provides shade from about 8-9am on,  esp in summer,  is the only spot  i'd risk a Raphis here,  even where you are located. 

[ahosey01]

17 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

4 hours of direct sun before noon? ...esp during the summer?  That can be enough to fry cacti ( think about how much stuff is covered in shade cloth at DBG  ..until -at least - mid/ late July ..  Tucked under overhead tree canopy that provides shade from about 8-9am on,  esp in summer,  is the only spot  i'd risk a Raphis here,  even where you are located. 

In an eastern exposure with no reflected heat off walls or asphalt you are seeing cacti fried?

Maybe the couple degrees where I’m at makes a difference but I’ve never had anything get toasty on that side of the house, including some sensitive aloes and a few of the Andean mountain cacti species.  Anything with any more western exposure and yes I agree 100%.
 

DBG I think just employs a liberal use of shade cloth to keep the colors on everything deep and shade-like IMO - at least where something only receives morning sun.  Western exposure I get.  I have a friend who does this - he even shade cloths his pindo palm because he likes the shady green it has instead of the paler bluish hue it gets in the sun.