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Droopy pgymy palm


Bawnie

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Hi - I purchased a home 6 months ago, which came with a large, beautiful pygmy date palm in the living room.  I followed the previous owner's advice:  I maintained the water level in the self-watering canister between the two red lines.  Recently (in the last 2 months), I also started using Palm Focus in every other watering.

In the last few weeks the plant has started to droop.  There are some dry leaves, but I assume those are normal and need to be pruned at some point.  Rather, my concern is that some of the healthy looking leaves also began to droop on the left side of the plant, and they fell off easily when touched.

The left side of the plant now looks a bit sad compared to the right side since the fronds on that side fell down/off.  

I'm worried this is a sign of worse things to come.  Is there anything I need to do to care for this plant besides water it and periodically give it palm food?  The right side gets far more light than the left side.  Should I be rotating it somehow?  (It's a very large plant, and the previous owner didn't mention this, but maybe?). 

Thank you for any help. 

Pictures:  Imgur: The magic of the Internet

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Welcome to Palmtalk!

ill add an image

599tiGB.jpeg

That is not a pygmy date that is a kentia

It needs desperate trimming if you want to keep it in a pot, it looks 8-9 feet tall

Maybe repot smaller ones if you can divide them

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Lucas

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Ah - thank you... I used an iphone app to determine what kind of palm it was, and the app told me pygmy!  

Do you think trimming requirements are why part of it is starting to fall off?  (Also -- I read somewhere that trimming healthy parts can kill off palms; is that true with Kentia, or no?)

 

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Forget what I said, I saw it wrong. I think @oasis371 is correct.

You might want to check on palmpedia or other sources for care

Btw this is a pygmy date

See the source image

Lucas

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On 3/14/2022 at 9:31 AM, Bawnie said:

The left side of the plant now looks a bit sad compared to the right side since the fronds on that side fell down/off.  

It's hardly getting any light by the look of it. I'd move it to somewhere directly in front of a window. A Kentia might survive in those conditions, but D. lutescans needs more light than that. Some of the dead growing points are probably suckers that the main stems are expending in order to reabsorb the energy they are unable to make through photosynthesis.

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On 3/14/2022 at 7:29 AM, oasis371 said:

Dypsis lutescens

Concur.  I recommend that you put your Dypsis lutescens "clump" near a southward facing window (if you live in Northern Hemisphere) with decent natural light.  You can put it outside when temps are routinely above 40F (4.5C) if you want.  They grow like weeds in Florida in full sun (many use clumps of these as property "screens").  They will grow, albeit slower, in partial light (like indoor by a window, or under a covered porch).  The fronds will also take on a pleasant darker green look when growing in partial light or filtered light.

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Unified Theory of Palm Seed Germination

image.png.2a6e16e02a0a8bfb8a478ab737de4bb1.png

(Where: bh = bottom heat, fs = fresh seed, L = love, m = magic, p = patience, and t = time)

DISCLAIMER: Working theory; not yet peer reviewed.

"Fronds come and go; the spear is life!" - Anonymous Palmtalker

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@Bawnie, Dypsis lutescens is known as "Golden Cane Palm" in the vernacular.  In the nursery trade, it is often sold under the "Areca Palm" label; however, it is not a true Areca sps. palm.  Areca is a completely different genus than Dypsis.  Interestingly, the Areca genus it is also the type genus that, if you follow the taxonomy upward, is the ultimate root for the Arecaceae family (i.e., the palm family).

Highly yellow or brown fronds (leaves) and petioles (stems) can be cut away.  I would not cut anything that is still green though, as the green parts can still photosynthesize light for the palm.  I would be careful "splitting" the clump up (if you so desire), as the roots are most likely highly entangled.  If you do decide to split it up, I would remove the entire clump from the pot, and spray the "root ball" down good with a hose to remove as much soil as possible.  That way, you will be able to see the root entanglement better, and avoid unnecessary damage as you untangle the roots.

That is a really nice looking Dypsis lutescens clump by the way.  It definitely makes a decorative statement in your house.  They are usually not sold that big, so that was a nice score.

Unified Theory of Palm Seed Germination

image.png.2a6e16e02a0a8bfb8a478ab737de4bb1.png

(Where: bh = bottom heat, fs = fresh seed, L = love, m = magic, p = patience, and t = time)

DISCLAIMER: Working theory; not yet peer reviewed.

"Fronds come and go; the spear is life!" - Anonymous Palmtalker

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Thanks all!  I appreciate the help identifying it.  I guess I'm just worried that it's started to wilt now, when the last owner had it in the same spot for the 7 previous years (i.e., presumably the same light). I'm terrible with plants, and suspect it must be something I'm doing, or else my personal 'anti-plant aura' is killing it. 

Maybe googling with the plant type now identified will help.  

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23 minutes ago, Bawnie said:

guess I'm just worried that it's started to wilt now

It is hard to tell from the low light picture, but if it has new green spears (i.e., unfurled palm fronds) pushing up, then it is alive and will probably be fine.  I have a number of these palms in my house that I have grown from seed.  Good natural light from windows, regular watering, and maybe a little palm fertilizer once or twice a year, and they will be content.  These palms are actually fairly easy to grow indoors, and require very little effort to keep them alive.  Also, if the previous owner had it for seven years, then they may not have ever re-potted it (or it may have been a while).  It probably would not hurt to report with some new soil.  I would re-pot a palm clump that size maybe once every two or three years?

Unified Theory of Palm Seed Germination

image.png.2a6e16e02a0a8bfb8a478ab737de4bb1.png

(Where: bh = bottom heat, fs = fresh seed, L = love, m = magic, p = patience, and t = time)

DISCLAIMER: Working theory; not yet peer reviewed.

"Fronds come and go; the spear is life!" - Anonymous Palmtalker

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