Found a Trachycarpus that was thrown away, can it be saved?

[Zeni]

I think somebody in my street died.. and he or she had a potted Trachycarpus Fortunei (maybe Waggie, couldn't tell, but Fortunei is more common) that likely wasn't watered for a week or two. Sad story, but since I am a palm enthusiast I am trying to save this Fortunei.

Can it be saved? Here are the images:

The spear looks firm, but it was completely deviolated otherwise. I cut off the brown fronds and kept the spear. I also root pruned it as I fear the dead roots could cause rot (maybe this wasn't a good idea..).

Edited June 10, 2022 by Zeni

[Zeni]

Luckily it is summer, so it should show signs of life sooner than in other seasons. Let's hope it makes it. I won't keep it myself if it makes it, but will likely just plant it somewhere outdoors. (feral) 

[Allen]

Probably if roots are good

 

[Zeni]

50 minutes ago, Allen said:

Probably if roots are good

 

I saw white roots (white = live roots,  brown/orange = dead right?).

But I think I messed up by root pruning it (giving it even more shock, so drought shock + root pruning shock).

If this thing survives it will be a miracle. 

[Allen]

3 minutes ago, Zeni said:

I saw white roots (white = live roots,  brown/orange = dead right?).

But I think I messed up by root pruning it (giving it even more shock, so drought shock + root pruning shock).

If this thing survives it will be a miracle. 

When you say root pruning do you mean cutting all the roots?  I usually refer to root pruning as something like taking a plant out of a pot and sawing off 1/3 of the bottom roots to make it not pot bound anymore.  Anyway brown/black mushy roots = bad. 

Here is what roots should look like

[Zeni]

Just now, Allen said:

When you say root pruning do you mean cutting all the roots?  I usually refer to root pruning as something like taking a plant out of a pot and sawing off 1/3 of the bottom roots to make it not pot bound anymore.  Anyway brown/black mushy roots = bad. 

Here is what roots should look like

I mostly cut off the bottom end (1/3rd of the bottom) and about 1/4th from the side.

We shall see, but from what I read Trachys can handle root stress (hope so..).

[Allen]

Just now, Zeni said:

I mostly cut off the bottom end (1/3rd of the bottom) and about 1/4th from the side.

We shall see, but from what I read Trachys can handle root stress (hope so..).

Well the palm has to regrow fronds from reserve starches in the trunk/roots so you took some of that energy reserve away.  Lesson learned.

[Zeni]

Just now, Allen said:

Well the palm has to regrow fronds from reserve starches in the trunk/roots so you took some of that energy reserve away.  Lesson learned.

It was in a huge pot (image I posted above only show the top end of that Trachy). I didn't have a pot available to fit it, so that's why I root pruned it (plus my fear that a big chunk of the roots were dead and would rot if I watered it).

I will update this thread in a few months with the result.

[Fallen Munk]

If it does live, the recovery will be super slow now because it has to grow new roots first.  I don't even tease the roots when repotting because even that can slow them down.

[Zeni]

@Allen @DreaminAboutPalms @Fallen Munk

I got a bit inpatient and decided to saw the top inch or two.  From vids I saw on YouTube this can be done to Trachys to decide whether it is dead or not.

This is what it looks like now. Is it dead or alive? Remember this was a drought inflicted Trachycarpus.

[Zeni]

PS. The reason why I guillotined it was because the green spear you see in the first opening post image turned brown/yellow (perhaps from the root pruning stress). I then thought the root pruning might have killed it, so to be sure I guillotined it and now I am waiting to see if the center spear is going to move or not. 

[Allen]

If the palm doesn't have enough starch resources in it's roots/trunk then the palm won't be able to produce a full frond which will then be able to keep it alive.  So center can move but not have enough stored energy to put out a frond.  Hopefully it does but not looking good to me.

[Zeni]

17 minutes ago, Allen said:

If the palm doesn't have enough starch resources in it's roots/trunk then the palm won't be able to produce a full frond which will then be able to keep it alive.  So center can move but not have enough stored energy to put out a frond.  Hopefully it does but not looking good to me.

Thanks, we shall see. I only cut off about 1/3rd of the roots (which I assumed were dead at the time and could cause rot). 

This will be an interesting experiment nevertheless, this trachy is extremely beaten up (suffered drought, got root pruned, and now a decapitation - ). Will update in a few weeks. 

[Fallen Munk]

If it makes it I'd be surprised.  Hacking off roots and then decapitating it is usually what I do to kill something.

[Zeni]

16 hours ago, Fallen Munk said:

If it makes it I'd be surprised.  Hacking off roots and then decapitating it is usually what I do to kill something.

The petiole you see in the last image is moving. Already about an inch of movement since that decapitation. Something is happening. 

Fun to see if it makes it. I think it got a 40% chance of making it.

[JLM]

On 7/2/2022 at 8:45 AM, Zeni said:

The petiole you see in the last image is moving. Already about an inch of movement since that decapitation. Something is happening. 

Fun to see if it makes it. I think it got a 40% chance of making it.

I'd say 20%-30%, I've trunk cut in ground palms before, no root cutting, that never made it. I would love to be proved wrong 

[Fallen Munk]

On 7/2/2022 at 6:45 AM, Zeni said:

The petiole you see in the last image is moving. Already about an inch of movement since that decapitation. Something is happening. 

Fun to see if it makes it. I think it got a 40% chance of making it.

Fingers crossed for the zombie palm to came back to life.  Sometimes they surprise us.  I've put palms in the compost heap and they come back two years later, so you never know.

[Zeni]

@Fallen Munk @JLM @Allen

Is it safe to assume the zombie Trachycarpus has risen from the death and is alive (see pictures below)? Most visible petioles/fronds aren't nice (lots of damage), but I think the current spear (barely visible, but if you look closely) will be a normal healthy one and then it is just a matter of time until it looks normal again?

Or could it still die while pretending to be alive for now as it depletes its reserves?

(small Chamaerops Humilis in the background)

[Allen]

6 hours ago, Zeni said:

@Fallen Munk @JLM @Allen

Is it safe to assume the zombie Trachycarpus has risen from the death and is alive (see pictures below)? Most visible petioles/fronds aren't nice (lots of damage), but I think the current spear (barely visible, but if you look closely) will be a normal healthy one and then it is just a matter of time until it looks normal again?

Or could it still die while pretending to be alive for now as it depletes its reserves?

 (small Chamaerops Humilis in the background)

It needs to get 1 fairly normal frond open to be on the road to recovery.

[Zeni]

11 hours ago, Allen said:

It needs to get 1 fairly normal frond open to be on the road to recovery.

Nice, I just needed some reassurance I wasn't wasting my time on this one and it would survive. First time I am attempting to revive a near dead palm. 

[Fallen Munk]

You've got one good spear just starting to push, so yeah, she's gonna pull through.

[Zeni]

1 hour ago, Fallen Munk said:

You've got one good spear just starting to push, so yeah, she's gonna pull through.

How long do you think it will take until it has like ~5 fronds and looks semi-decent. I am planning on keeping it in a pot for this year, pulling it indoors for the winter near a window, and then planting it in the ground next spring. 

Can I expect it to look ''normal'' by spring of 2023?

Edited July 31, 2022 by Zeni

[Fallen Munk]

7 hours ago, Zeni said:

How long do you think it will take until it has like ~5 fronds and looks semi-decent. I am planning on keeping it in a pot for this year, pulling it indoors for the winter near a window, and then planting it in the ground next spring. 

Can I expect it to look ''normal'' by spring of 2023?

Likely at the end of next summer.  

[Zeni]

23 minutes ago, Fallen Munk said:

Likely at the end of next summer.  

Let's hope so! 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Zeni

[Zeni]

@Allen @Fallen Munk @ZPalms

Here's an end of season update (pic just taken). This zombie trachy now has 3 fronds and 1 spear. 1 frond severely damaged, 1 frond limited damage, 1 frond healthy, and the upcoming spear also likely healthy. Now I will let it grow inside over the winter and then plant it outside in April.

Saved from the dead. 😁

 

[ZPalms]

1 minute ago, Zeni said:

@Allen @Fallen Munk @ZPalms

Here's an end of season update (pic just taken). This zombie trachy now has 3 fronds and 1 spear. 1 frond severely damaged, 1 frond limited damage, 1 frond healthy, and the upcoming spear also likely healthy. Now I will let it grow inside over the winter and then plant it outside in April.

Saved from the dead. 😁

 

Great to see it alive  I was unsure what was going to happen after it was chopped 😍

[Zeni]

1 minute ago, ZPalms said:

Great to see it alive  I was unsure what was going to happen after it was chopped 😍

Hehe, Trachies are definitely tougher than Cocos. This one survived a drought, heavy root disturbance, and decapitation.

I will guerrilla plant this in my neighbourhood in the ground. Clearly this Trachy is super tough and will survive on his own later on. 😄

[wimmie]

Goed gedaan, Zeni!