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Pygmy Date Palm seems to be dying


BorRan

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Planted pygmy date palm tree and it seems to be dying. Fronds are kind of looming and sagging. Watered 3-4 times a week. Located in Los Angeles  area.

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Edited by BorRan
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Not sun acclimated probably.  Shade grown greenhouse plants placed in direct sun need to be acclimated gradually to sun

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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Definitely looks to be drying up... How long ago was it planted? Was it dug from the ground and transplanted,or did it come from a nursery pot? Did you fertilize it at all?

Best thing to do is keep a hose slightly dripping on the area for the next 2 weeks to keep it wet and help leach away possible chemicals in the area. Also,maybe trim off half the lower fronds... Problem is the roots are not getting enough applied water to the plant for whatever reason,and you need to try and minimumize further water loss.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

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Mesa, Arizona

 

Temps between 29F and 115F each year

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8 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Welcome!

Recent weed killer application on the stone?

No weed killer. 

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3 minutes ago, aztropic said:

Definitely looks to be drying up... How long ago was it planted? Was it dug from the ground and transplanted,or did it come from a nursery pot? Did you fertilize it at all?

Best thing to do is keep a hose slightly dripping on the area for the next 2 weeks to keep it wet and help leach away possible chemicals in the area. Also,maybe trim off half the lower fronds... Problem is the roots are not getting enough applied water to the plant for whatever reason,and you need to try and minimumize further water loss.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Thanks. It was planted about a month ago. Fertilized it 1 week after it was planted. The tree came from a nursery in 20 gallon. Just applied Ag Palm Natural spray to the fronds and soil. Are you sure it's not over watered?

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12 minutes ago, Allen said:

Not sun acclimated probably.  Shade grown greenhouse plants placed in direct sun need to be acclimated gradually to sun

It came from a Nursery and it seemed to have always been outdoors.

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Possibly/probably over fertilized... Unless you used a time released product like osmocote,the recent heat we've been experiencing could have caused other ferts to release to much too quickly,burning the roots. 

You can't overwater pygmy palms. They grow naturally on river banks. Try to keep the water dripping to move that fertilizer away from the tree.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

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Mesa, Arizona

 

Temps between 29F and 115F each year

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Will do. How much water should i use on regular basis? 1 gallon a day?

This is the Fertilizer i used 3 weeks ago.

And i just gave it a spray and some soil treatment with the liquid one.

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Edited by BorRan
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Once established,I would deep soak using 20 gallons of water,once a week,March through November. Same amount every 2 weeks over winter.

The chemicals you applied didn't do the damage. Still have to figure out why roots are not able to access enough water...  Keep a drip running at the base of the tree for the next 2 weeks to be absolutely certain the rootball is soaked. Sometimes,certain potting mediums become very water resistant if ever allowed to dry out. Could there possibly be air pockets yet around the rootball keeping it dry? How was the plant stored at your house and how long before it was planted in the ground? If the 20 gallon black bucket had direct sunshine hitting it at your house,that could have overheated and cooked the roots on one side... There IS a logical explanation somewhere for what has happened. We just need to jog your memory to figure out what it is.:lol:

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Mesa, Arizona

 

Temps between 29F and 115F each year

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Thanks for the info. Very helpful! We brought it from the nursery and planted it about 6hrs later. I bought palm tree soil from Home Depot and added it to the empty spaces around the rootball. I think I'm under watering it.  Also, as i water the tree, I've been watering around the drip line, 1ft away from the trunk and about 1-2 gallons every other day. I left the hose drip now in between the trunks. It was 4 trunk tree but the smallest one was almost dead when we got it, now is all brown. Do you think it could re grow fronds from it?

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WAAY underwatered! Rootball is probably totally dried out. 

This species is generally a single trunked tree,so what you had was 4 separate trees planted together. The dead trunk will not come back to life... Remember - in habitat,these trees grow with their roots in the water. Would be almost impossible to over water them. Keep the hose dripping for the next 2 weeks and see if you notice some new growth pushing out. You probably won't be able to do much with the fronds that are already damaged,but at least you might be able to save the plant.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

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Mesa, Arizona

 

Temps between 29F and 115F each year

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Probably NOT the best Phoenix species for LA..., too hot, too dry, too sunny.  They come from a Southeast Asia with a monsoonal climate and over 70 inches of rain per year. 

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This is probably a combination of factors. The water needs to be increased substantially. The shock of transplant didn’t help. And the white rocks are reflecting a lot of sun and heat. The fertilizer probably didn’t matter much. I would agree that you should drench the rootball and forget about the dead one. It looks small and could probably be removed easily without damaging the remaining ones. It can certainly be saved with some care. Roebeleniis almost always look better in partial sun but they can be fine in full sun with adequate water.

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These palms grow fine in Phoenix so heat and dry is not the problem, as everybody has said this palm is the thirstiest of all phoenix palms very unlikely you can over water it!!

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These grow great in Florida, look even better with regular irrigation. Water it, a lot. Maybe transplant shock, just flood it until summer is over. 

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Transplant shock. Not to worry. Water deeply to saturate the soil, then wait a few days and water again. Honestly it's nearly impossible to kill these palms in Southern California. They are tough, but you have to get them established first. That means water. Save your $ on the fertilizer for now.

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Kim Cyr

Between the beach and the bays, Point Loma, San Diego, California USA
and on a 300 year-old lava flow, Pahoa, Hawaii, 1/4 mile from the 2018 flow
All characters  in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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It's back to life! 6 days and about 30 gallons later! I'm glad I posted here, your advice saved the tree.

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