Hi everyone 

this is my first ever post and this is my first ever palm! I bought it a month and a half ago and it was lovely and green. 
 

fast forward 6/8 weeks it’s very unhappy. Any tips on how to revive it- if I can revive it?! 
 

i didn’t water it much as I thought it was a desert palm. (I’m U.K. based but we didn’t have much rain.) I’ve since learnt it likes moist soil so have been watering more. Is this the correct thing to do? 
 

desperately want to save it! Also have given it slow release fertiliser to try and help. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. 

Can you tell us what type of palm it is?  Did you replant it I assume when you bought it and if so what kind of soil you used?  Was this kept outside in full sun after planting?

Hiya!
 

It’s a Washingtonia robusta and it’s planted in regular compost soil. I repotted it and pot has big drainage hole at the bottom and stones/ broken pot for extra drainage. 

no I left it in a place In my courtyard that gets some sun but not full sun. Should I have placed it in full sun? 
 

Thank you for the help 

I was thinking maybe it was grown inside or in a greenhouse and you fried it putting it in too much sun.  I'll let someone else chime in as I can't see what could be wrong other than shock potting it up or putting in too much sun which both seem not too consequential.  

Hi, 

It's in the wrong soil and in a much too large pot. Did you perhaps repot it since you got it? I have quite a few of these and I can tell you for sure, it has root rot. You need to put it into a much smaller pot (25% of current), and use a well draining mix. Good draining soil mix, includes a mix of tree bark, clay balls, coco's chips. These guys are water hogs, but not if the roots are in boggy soil. 

Hi thanks so much for the reply! If I repot it with the correct soil do you think I can save it? Or if it’s brown has it too far gone? 
 

How often should I be watering it? 
 

thank you for the advice it’s all very helpful 

On 5/6/2020 at 5:40 PM, maxum2610 said:

Hi, 

It's in the wrong soil and in a much too large pot. Did you perhaps repot it since you got it? I have quite a few of these and I can tell you for sure, it has root rot. You need to put it into a much smaller pot (25% of current), and use a well draining mix. Good draining soil mix, includes a mix of tree bark, clay balls, coco's chips. These guys are water hogs, but not if the roots are in boggy soil. 

Totally agree. You have two palms in that pot: the brown one looks totally dead, the second one is well on its way to palm heaven. You need a loose, coarse, very well draining mix. Compost/top soil alone is too heavy and suffocates the roots. Do not overwater. Soil should be moist, not mucky. 

Thank you for the advice. 
 

so moving forward I need to repot it with different soil, should I remove the brown Looking one? Can it be saved? and keep the soil moist but not a swimming pool! 
 

thanks for all the help 
 

 

As suggested above, your soil is too moisture retentive. All palms appreciate generous moisture (even "desert" species), but the vast majority need to dry out somewhat between waterings as they also appreciate to have their roots adequately aerated.  Your pot is also too big, palms tend to prefer being slightly snug in their containers..., and all in all, they prefer deeper to wider containers...., especially palms native to arid regions where the roots wanna grow down in order to tap in subsurface waters (Date palms are like this too.) A container that's too big with soil that is too moisture retentive (and in a cooler climate no less), is an issue for most palms.