I recently transplanted a 20 gallon Reclinata and having all kinds of issues! Plant had outgrown pot and roots were in ground. Consequently, many roots were cut/damaged in order to remove plant. Waited 24 hours to plant, (christmas got in the way) dug hole, changed soil to better draining rich mixture, because my native soil is NASTY hard clay. Used gypsum at the bottom of hole, mixed in sand, organic

palm mix, and minimal native clay. Watered fairly heavily, and within 48 hours mostly all frawns had fallen, dried up and looked terrible! I don't think the 3 inches of snow in the next coming week helped much, but lack of water is not the problem, this much I do know. Any ideas? Please help me salvage this beautiful palm, (at least it was when I put it in the ground!) Eric Hofmann, Beaumont, Ca

First of all Eric, welcome to the board! I'm not sure that anything but time can determine if it will pull out of it's shock. One thought is to PM (private message) Ken Johnson; he digs palms for a living I think. I'm sure he knows more than just about anyone regarding root shock. Good luck with it. Mark the remaining spears at the base with a pen to determine if growth is occurring.

Hi Eric,

Welcome to PalmTalk.

I've transplanted apx. ten recs of different sizes and was not very gentle on any (one we dug for a while then yanked it out with a pickup) and only one had a few fronds brown, so I think they are pretty hardy to transplant. I have transplanted other palms, such as Brahea, that will rapidly brown the older leaves, but the spear stays green and the palm pulls out of the transplant shock in no time. How does the spear look? As Brett mentioned, mark the spears and wait for warm weather.

Good luck,

Matt

If you had nasty old clay, be careful you did not make a bowl that hold water with all of those great amendments making soup. Did you do a raised planting/bed, or give some drainage from the bottom of the hole? In other words, be careful not to drown it.

Hi Eric, next time wait until spring and then transplant. Palms will recover roots way faster in higher temperatures. Cheers

Eric:

Welcome to our group!

You're in friendly territory!

Hmm.

The best way to move a palm of any size is to trench around it down to about a foot or two deep, and wait a while, at least a month, two or three are even better, then dig and move. The size you describe should move pretty well, though it might set back.

P. reclinata are NOT drought tolerant like their giant cousins, P. canariensis, but they'll otherwise take much abuse. I'd worry less about too much water than not enough, but, on the other hand, they're not aquatic, either.

Yeah, yeah, I know, weasel-words. Keep a close eye on how moist it is, and hold off on the water if there's liquid in the area immediately around it.

Oh, and they LOVE nasty clay, the nastier the better, kinda like a cross between Janet Jackson and American Idol . . . .

Can we expect some visuals of this palm...and illustrations of the transplanting work !

And a warm welcome to the palm family.

Thanks & Love,

kris

Eric,

Welcome to the board. I agree next time I would wait until warmer times to transplant but for know you will have to wait.

Ok everybody, I added a photo and hope it will help in your responses. I think the biggest factor that's hurting the plant was the substantial damage to the roots that occurred. When I bought the palm, the roots were just so far into the ground, and the pot was on a slope, so just getting it out was a job in itself. I just don't know if there's anything I can do to help the roots out? When I watered the palm, I added a small amount of superThrive to try to rejuvenate the tree, but so far, no such luck. Thanks for all your responses so far.

Actually fertilizing when they are in shock just makes it worse in my humble opinion.I would just make sure it stays as warm as you can and maybe some Hydrogen peroxide in the crown might not hurt.Your palm looks bad I hate to say but it could come back.

You say it snowed? That can't be good. But if it was already dying before it snowed I don't understand. You can beat these guys up and they usually won't loose leaves that quickly. I don't know why it died. Maybe one of the growing points will come back. Good luck.

Well, if it is of any comfort, I planted 3 overgrown phoenix reclinata (15 Gal) that probably had been growing roots out the bottom into the ground for at least a couple years. They also turned brown (transplanted in the heat of summer), though not as quite as bad as yours look. Even the worst looking one has pulled through.

Really all you can do is wait and see if it will come back.

If you lose it and need another, there is a palm seller in Rancho Cucamonga (fairly close to yas) who has many overgrown Reclinata that can replace that one.

Ok everybody, I added a photo and hope it will help in your responses. I think the biggest factor that's hurting the plant was the substantial damage to the roots that occurred. When I bought the palm, the roots were just so far into the ground, and the pot was on a slope, so just getting it out was a job in itself. I just don't know if there's anything I can do to help the roots out? When I watered the palm, I added a small amount of superThrive to try to rejuvenate the tree, but so far, no such luck. Thanks for all your responses so far.

Oh, dear.

Not so good, looks like.

If you moved it in the winter . . . .

Also not so good.

So . . . .

Nudge the plant with your toe, good and hard. If it's still stout, sturdy and unmoving in the ground, it might still be alive. If it's all wobbly, or falls over, get a new one.

If it's alive, wait till spring and see if it sends up new spears. Multi trunk palms do better under adversity (usually) than single-trunkers.

If all else fails, get a new one, don't spend oodles of dough, get a nice 15-gallon or even a big five-gallon and plant, see what happens.

Reclinatas freeze at about 20 degrees, F in the leaves, but often come back from much lower.

Actually fertilizing when they are in shock just makes it worse in my humble opinion.I would just make sure it stays as warm as you can and maybe some Hydrogen peroxide in the crown might not hurt.Your palm looks bad I hate to say but it could come back.

Well Said !

And how old is that still,if its a new still..i think there is hope.Maximum damage usually occours only to the main trunk,but i see few clumps around.If you keep this palm from frost & very cold temperature.May be the one or two from the clump might regain its life.

Kindly do not keep adding grouth addatives to this weak palm at the moment.

By the way your still has given us all a clear idea as to in what shape the palm is...

All the best.

love,

kris.

Ouch but while there is some green, there's hope I guess.