At the end of winter 2014 I planted a Bismarckia nobilis in full sun in my backyard. Knowing how sensitive the roots are to damage I was very careful not to distrub them. I also planted a few cool season growing perennials to suck up excess winter soil moisture. There wasn't much movement in new growth of the Bismarckia over that first summer although the developing spear was moving, the oldest leaves did die back. This winter the developing spaer opened and was looking good I was surprised as winter of 2015 was longer with much cooler maximum temperatures than usual. Very suddenly this nice new leaf began to look strange as if it was suffering drought all withered and weak. I didn't worry to much as another new spear was coming. Today I had a proper look as that spear akso seemed to be opening but also had that same withered look. I gave the spear a pull. Up it came with no resistance. Mouldy and stinky. Yuck, obviously a fungus got in. I suspect that the perennials I planted around the palm have actually hindered the palm rather than help it. By making dense shade fugus thrived in the cool moist environment. I'm not sure if I should replant a Bismarckia in that location after removing the perennials of course or be patient and wait for something I'm growing from seed or try something else altogether. The position requires something spectacular as it is seen from the ground floor entrance and veiwed down on from the upper story deck.

Sorry to hear that. Clean the growing point, apply peroxide and wait , maybe it's still alive. If not, replant with the youngest you can find

Sorry to hear this Pip, in principle I agree with you on the given explanation for failure. Puzzling is however how perennials create so much shade and moisture in an otherwise sunny position as you have mentioned. Are there available any pictures? How big was the Bizzy and how often does it rain in your neck of the woods? I have seen pictures of palms growing in public gardens in Adelaide indicating that climate there bis milder than here. This is confusing!

Edited October 11, 201510 yr by Phoenikakias

I know exactly what he means, if the area has lots of water in the soil and the perennials are wet loving, they can keep everything below them constantly wet, not the best for a palm's growing point. It's the same in my growing area as well

Sorry I didn't take any pics as I was pretty certain what the cause of failure was. After pulling the spear I then pulled the next three leaf stems out also so I'm sure this palm has reached the point of no return. I do have a smaller one in a pot that I could replace it with. I'm not that keen to use the smaller plant as it was remmoved from the pot by my dogs and played with all around the back yard. Despite the misadventure the palm has continued to grow but only has two leaves and one spear on its way up.  

There is a new addition to my yard in the form of a chicken coop/run which will require a shade tree on the western side. That tree will eventually cast shade for part of the day over the Bismarckia location making the position better for palms from more forested environments.

Despite this bad experience, Bismarckia is an easy palm once established and doesn't care much if it will be shaded 5-10years later, plus it grows very fast anyway that it could compete with the tree it it's not extremely fast growing. Being shaded for part of the day is no problem for Bismarckia, don't even think about it. I would plant that small one despite what happened to it. Seems pretty tough and a good bet to a healthy palm. Your spring is just starting, so it should do great

The other one I have in the ground is a few streets over in my parents garden. I planted it there 5 years ago and it has taken some time to look settled and seems to now have grown back to the proportions it was when first planted . It is in a rose garden that is irrigated by in line drippers with no other plants encroaching it but is shaded for part of the day by a large Calistamon. 

Sorry to hear that Pip...The one I planted almost 2 weeks ago hasn't  shown anything yet...Probably too soon to see any sign of success or failure ...It seems in Sydney many nurseries recently brought  bizzie in different sizes ...Perhaps they have it in Adelaide as well,,,,

Maybe it is kept too dry during the growing season? Rose bushes take up a lot of water, more efficiently than Bismarckia, and however surprising, Bismarckia want lots and lots of water during summer to grow fast and have normal sized leafs instead of stunted ones. Plus, they take their time to establish in the ground from pots, so much so that I would rather grow my next one from seed as well

I can attest to the ... water hog nature of a bizzy during summer.  It puzzles me however that bizzies grow fast and big in bone dry southern California... I suspect it is the DG in the soil, which allows a deep watering. 

Sorry to hear that Pip. It's awful loosing a palm that you've been taking care for especially when its a special palm like the Bismarckia. If you like bizzies then you should plant another. If you can live without one, then look for something else to replant in its place.

I have a smaller bizzie in a pretty large pot. This summer I cut the  water to my backyard lawn to save some h2o for the California drought. My bizzie would get watered with a line connected to one of the sprinkles. So after I stopped the water to the backyard I had to manually water the bizzie. My bizzie didn't get as much water as it wanted, and I started noticing that growth slowed way down. My newest frond is taking a long time to fully open and now it is holding about 3 unopened fronds.

Cutting water to my bizzie was a big mistake.

They just want heat and water. Is that just too much for them to ask? Lol

Oh and they also want a healthy dose of fertilizer too.

when we are talking about Bizzie needs too much water, how many times per week we are talking about? I am watering every 2-3 days as it is getting warmer in Sydney.is that enough? The area I live ( or perhaps all Sydney) the soil is heavy in dept ( I dag as deep a 1 meter and amend the soil) if there is no rock so I am worrying to water too deep as water might stays at the bottom for long time before the next watering...should I do deep watering anyway?

Mohsen I don't think you'll have as much to worry about as far as keeping soil moist during summer. Sydney gets regular summer rain. Adelaide does get a few thunderstorms but the most useful rain only falls in the cool season when Bismarckia are least active. The above comments have come from other bizzie growers who deal with the adverse conditions experienced in Mediterranean climates.

Mohsen I don't think you'll have as much to worry about as far as keeping soil moist during summer. Sydney gets regular summer rain. Adelaide does get a few thunderstorms but the most useful rain only falls in the cool season when Bismarckia are least active. The above comments have come from other bizzie growers who deal with the adverse conditions experienced in Mediterranean climates.

Tanks Pip...I will keep regular watering (2-3 times per week)...still no sign of any movement...probably too soon to say anything about the fate of my Bizzie...