Can anybody help me figure out what is wrong with my Rhapis excelsa?

I bought it 5 years ago. For the first 4 years it was growing nicely and looked great, but for the last year it gradually gets worse. I suspect a nutrient deficiency, but I can't figure out which one. (I am growing it in Northern Europe near a south facing window.)

Below are links to photos of this palm.

http://imageshack.com/a/img5/5421/6s3j.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img24/3984/44vd.jpg

Looks like you need to change your potting soil. And cut back on the watering. Do you fertilize? It looks very chlorotic as well. Does not look like it is getting sufficient amount of sun. Do you ever take it outside during the warmer months?

A south facing window may be too hot. Rhapis generally prefer bright indirect light. I agree the plant should be repotted with fresh soil. Do you wash off the plant now and then? Give it a shower once in awhile to remove dust.

I repotted and changed all the soil already 6 months ago. Then in summer months I also gave it a fertilizer (I don't fertilize my palms now in winter). The palm tried to grow new leaves, but every new leaf had very soft leaf stalk. Those leaf stalks were bending from the weight of the leaf. After a while every new leaf died without opening. This is why I suspect a nutrient deficiency. I gave the plant a palm fertilizer with suggested proportions of all the nutrients (including micronutrients). I assume that the standart dosage of the missing nutrient was too low to correct the deficiency (which could be chronic by now).

Sadly I can't take the palm outdoors during summer, because I live in the middle of a large city and I have no summerhouse nor a balcony. I leach the soil of all my palms in a shower 2 to 3 times a year.

I'm pretty sure that light should not be a problem. In winters I keep my palms very close to the window, because there's already little light. In summers I keep closer to the window those palms, which need direct sunlight. My rhapis stands in the partial shade created by the folliage of my other palms. Like this I haven't gotten sunburns on any of my palms. And rhapis also got plenty of light in summer. It gets some sunlight also now, but days are short and skies are often overcast. In those cloudy winter days it really is too dark for plants, but for the last few years my palms could survive every winter by stopping growth and waiting for summer.

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I should change the soil once more. Only I wonder how to fertilize the palm afterwards. I already once tried giving it a regular fertilizer, which didn't help much - I mean, the palm tried to grow, but something was missing, so it couldn't form a single healthy leaf.

Make sure your potting mix drains very well. Regular houseplant potting soil is not the best for palms. If you can't find palm/cactus mix, add something like perlite to your potting mix so it drains well. Don't let the pot sit in water after you water it. And water only if the top 2-3 cm are dry. If you potting medium stays continually soggy, the palms roots can't "breathe" and may rot. Your palm may need to be watered only once per week in winter.

If you haven't treated the palm with hydrogen peroxide (3%), do so. Also, before you repot the palm, I suggest you rinse the old mix off the roots, then soak the roots in H2O2 for an hour or so. H2O2 will attack any infection but not healthy tissue. Has anything about your water changed (like more chlorine or other chemicals added to tap water)? You may want to switch to distilled water. Be careful not to use bottled drinking "mineral" water like some people in Europe drink. When I was in Germany, no one drank tap water but only "mineral" water. That was full of salts and I had a terrible reaction to it. That stuff could kill a palm.

When you fertilize use only time-release fertilizer with minor elements. Never use the granular blue stuff that is sold for houseplants and dissolved in water. That can kill a palm.

Check carefully for pests like mites, scale and mealy bugs. Treat with the appropriate insecticide. Does your house get cold during winter? A "chilled' palm is vulnerable to cold-weather fungus. Rhapis are cold hardier than true tropical palms but even they may not be able to live long term in a cold house. If possible, consider using a fungicide containing mancozeb to protect against a deadly cold weather fungus. I treat all my potted tropical palms once a month from November through March (you may have to treat earlier and later depending on how long your winter is).

Rhapis do not like full sun, esp. in summer. But when the weather is warm, is there any way you can open a window and let your palm experience fresh air? If all your windows are in sun, could you hang some sheer curtains to act as shade cloth?

I think you might get a more precise diagnosis if you post some close-up photos of your palm and its problems.

Welcome to PalmTalk. Hope you stay with us.

What Meg said-I think it might be an issue of your roots rotting from the soil not drying out enough in between waterings. See how all the perlite is at the top? Thats from heavy watering, and while that may be ok if the drainage is good, it is not if the soil does not drain well. I also think your roots are injured because with all the fert that you have given it the past few months, its not taking it up through the roots because I think they may be injured. I let the plant get pretty root bound before I move it up a size-the more roots there are, the faster it will use up the water.

Take a look at the roots and see how they look. If they are brown/black, then you could wash off all the soil and soak in the hydrogen peroxide. Just pouring it into this soil will not help, I don't think. But switching to a better draining soiless mix (peat/perlite with lime added in) and watering less will help a lot. Also, I would give it as much sun as possible right now-any direct sun from a window will be helpful. The sun is not strong enough now to bother a raphis. and the more sun it gets the better the roots will grow and help to dry it out. I have a raphis in direct sun, south side where it gets lots of direct sun and it loves it. Good luck!

Avestra,

Sun may or may not be your problem. Rhapis will take full South Florida sun if it is gradually introduced to it and given plenty of water. Your plant looks like it has salt burn from fertilizer buildup, even though the leaves lack a bit of nitrogen. It also looks like it is planted too deep in the pot. The stem on the right in the second picture looks like it might be a goner already. I would also guess that your Rhapis could use more heat and humidity.

Take it out of the pot. Throw the soil and pot away. Rinse the rootball with Hydrogen peroxide. Get new soil that drains well. Repot in new pot and soil, mixing in a little slow release fert like Osmocote or Dynomite (don't know what equivalent you have there). Fill soil up to the root interface but not onto the stems. Water enough to settle the soil. You can use water soluble fertilizer (the blue stuff) but should use only 10% to 25% strength.

I would add one thing......I always have the best luck with plain black "growers" pots that have the drain holes on the sides of the bottom. Put the black pot inside another pot if you don't like the look, keeping the drain holes clear. When drain holes are located at the bottom of a pot, I always get rot due to inadequate drainage from the pot sitting on the holes. Good luck...Welcome to PalmTalk.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

My potting mix was 30% perlite, 30% vermicompost and 40% peat.

I used tap water. It is of good quality here where I live. Only its PH is too alkanine, so I added some vinegar to make it more acidid for palms whenever I was watering them without fertilizer. When I added some fertilizer to water, then sulfates in it already made it more acidic.

I couldn't find any palm fertilizers in shops in my country. I mean - of course there were some pretty packages labelled as "palm fertilizer", but judging from the high P contents those things were definitely not for palms. So I purchased some raw chemicals and dissolved them in water in suggested proportions for palm fertilizers. Chemicals I used: Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Monobasic Phosphate, Magnesium Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Borax, Zinc Sulfate, Iron EDTA.

The big problem with fertilizers is that I wanted to buy a slow release fertilizer, because they are so easy to use. Only I couldn't find any, which could be shipped to my country for a reasonable cost. I don't like the idea of paying for shipping many times more than the price of fertilizer. So, does anybody have some suggestions for a good slow release fertilizer, which can be shipped withing European Union?

Peat can be tricky. If it dries out, it is very difficult to re-hydrate. You already have an acidic soil with your mix. I don't think it was wise to add vinegar to it.

'Criminal' mistakes you have made against this poor palm! I keep also Rhapis excelsa in pot and my water is also alkaline but mine never had such an appearance. It is not lack of water, because in this case your palm would already be dead. Rhapis spss do not forgive neglection in watering, they spear-pull instantly and affected stems usually die. They simply do not tolerate chemical fertilizers, which are not slow releasing. You'd better use a bio-fertilizer, like one that stinks like sh** or fish and in moderate dosage anyway!! Besides Rhapis like a heavier soil than your mix. A heavier soil will also have better buffer capacity. In your place I would collect as much rain water, as I could (rain or snow is abundant there any way) and use it afterwards to leach salts from medium. Than in late spring I would change pot medium.

I just found this photo http://hort.ufl.edu/database/nutdef/pic42.shtml and it looks EXACTLY like my problem. And that actually sounds logical. I mean - my tap water PH is 8, and for a while I was watering this palm with my tap water as is (I started adding vinegar to my water only recently). And manganese deficiency can be caused by too alkanine soil. I will try a folliar spray of manganese sulphate and hopefully it will help. And I already repotted palm and changed its soil, and I will try not to let PH rise again.

Phoenikakias, can you suggest me which biological fertilizer is better for palms? I have been considering them, but I need one which has no bad smells. Otherwise my relatives will kick me out from my home together with my palms.

And I don't need heavier soil. Here climate is different than in Greece and water evaporates much slower. Therefore heavy soil = rotten roots.