Queen Palm Fertilizers

[ahosey01]

I know S romanzoffiana have specific nutrient requirements, particularly manganese.  Can anyone share with me successes with any specific fertilizers?

[aztropic]

Biggest requirement to grow healthy queen palms in our alkaline desert soil as you know, is the addition of manganese.(and lots of it) It's available in both spike and powder forms. Other than that addition,I just use 'Arizonas best' citrus fertilizer on all my palms,which is available locally,everywhere.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[JohnAndSancho]

Granted I'm still a rookie and mine's in a pot so this info is probably irrelevant. 

 

This was a birthday present to myself, was maybe a 2ft tall seedling in fall 2020. Now it's in a 7g pot. It gets Carl Pool slow release, stink water ©, and I just gave it a good handful of Jobes organic. It's easily 6ft from the soil to the tallest frond now. I know you're dealing with big boy plants, just sharing. 

[AZJakeB]

I've done well with palmgain and adding pool acid every three months to get the ph way down.  I've also seen some success with palm juice.  I'll post a pic of mine once I get home. 

 

[ahosey01]

6 hours ago, AZJakeB said:

I've done well with palmgain and adding pool acid every three months to get the ph way down.  I've also seen some success with palm juice.  I'll post a pic of mine once I get home. 

 

Pool acid is interesting.  Do you just mix it with water in a watering can?

[NickJames]

23 hours ago, AZJakeB said:

I've done well with palmgain and adding pool acid every three months to get the ph way down.  I've also seen some success with palm juice.  I'll post a pic of mine once I get home. 

 

Yeah, I’m curious too. Why not just use table vinegar? I used to water my gardenia at my last house with vinegar water. Granted, my soil was basically neutral so I was not trying to severely lower the pH. 

[NickJames]

On 6/2/2022 at 10:55 AM, ahosey01 said:

I know S romanzoffiana have specific nutrient requirements, particularly manganese.  Can anyone share with me successes with any specific fertilizers?

In FL, I have acidic sandy soil in my current setup so the pH is fine but the soil is just barren. 

I use Florikan. It’s an 8-2-12 blend. Our soil has virtually no potassium in it hence why the high potassium number is good. It’s balanced with magnesium and other micros. 

[AZJakeB]

3 hours ago, NickJames said:

Yeah, I’m curious too. Why not just use table vinegar? I used to water my gardenia at my last house with vinegar water. Granted, my soil was basically neutral so I was not trying to severely lower the pH. 

Ours is very very alkaline.  Like off the charts.  For as long as there has been dirt here there has been almost no decayed plant matter so it's only minerals that made our soil.

[Collectorpalms]

On 6/3/2022 at 3:52 AM, ahosey01 said:

Pool acid is interesting.  Do you just mix it with water in a watering can?

You will need to mix it and have a Ph Scale. Could be dangerous if you don't know what your doing. Always add acid to water and not the other way around. However, Citric acid is the easiest to use for me.  But every time you water you will need to adjust your water, assuming your water is high in total bicarbonates. 

I think doing small plants that have a shallow root system adjusting the PH this way is fine. A big palm overtime, your not going to be able to change the soil PH significantly. The way I got around this was to plant everything in mounded or raised flower beds so I can add organic matter and the high pH soil wont leach upwards like it it will do laterally. And leave the grass to the grass only.

I have high PH soil, and Queens do perfect for me.

Edited June 4, 2022 by Collectorpalms

[AZJakeB]

On 6/3/2022 at 1:52 AM, ahosey01 said:

Pool acid is interesting.  Do you just mix it with water in a watering can?

That's how I apply it.  I wait until after my drip has run also so the soil is already thoroughly wet around the palms but not standing water.  Then it's 1 cup acid per 5 gallons of water poured evenly around the palms with a watering can.   Obviously you want to avoid getting it directly on any plant tissue.  

 

Source

[aztropic]

I've never tried adding hard core acid to my garden to try and lower our extreme alkaline soil. I DO apply a citrus fertilizer 3 times a year,which might accomplish the same end goal. I've generally accepted the soil I have to work with,and plant palms native to Caribbean regions, where they are used to high alkalinity and dry conditions. Most Coccothrinax,Copernicia,and Pseudophoenix species have proven themselves to be an excellent choice for our desert conditions. If you live in the Phoenix area and want to grow something 'exotic',Caribbean natives are an excellent choice for our area, to fill that problem spot where everything else you plant seems to fail...

Pictured palm is Coccothrinax borhidiana.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona