Whether to fertilize my lipstick palm

[MiamiNorm]

Hello

Our potted and very slow-growing red palm from Costa Rica, continues to thrive, or so we think.  We planted it 7 years ago. 

I recently bought 8-4-8 palm fertilizer by Vigoro, and I ask if it would help or hurt this delicate palm. 

Thank you 

[PalmatierMeg]

Have you ever fertilized it? I assume you bring it indoors when temps are below 50F. I assume you fertilized it at some point over the past 7 years although it does look undersized and peak-ed. I grew green and red lipsticks from 3g to over 9' tall in about 5 years before I sold them. They got too heavy for us to roll their carts indoors and were touching the top of the birdcage.

All that aside I suggest you wait until the weather warms in March to fertilize to get best results. During cooler weather the palm takes in fertilizer little or not at all and its growth slows. Fertilizer is too expensive to waste nor do you want to force new growth on this uber tropical palm in mid-winter. If you haven't so far I suggest you heavily research care of this species here or on reliable internet sites. It can grow into a beautiful palm but you have to cater to its tropical needs. We can no longer do so and I decided years ago not to try more lipsticks. I do have a Cyrtostachys loriae - a solitary, robust and cold hardier species - planted in our south facing back yard that backs onto a freshwater canal. It survived Hurricane Ian and I'm hopeful it will survive winter in Cape Coral. Not a chance in h*** I could have planted our lipsticks.

[MiamiNorm]

Thank you @PalmatierMeg

Years ago I posted another question about this palm, and someone schooled me in the slow and delicate ways of the lipstick palms. 

Whenever we go below 50 here in Miami, which isn't often, we bring the pot inside. That baffles us because in Costa Rica it gets chilly/cold and they thrive down there; perhaps it doesn't get 50s cold. 

I haven't fertilized it, but my wife will use new palm soil when repotting it. 

I will wait to add the fertilizer until March, and we'll just keep watching it grow slowly. We brought 7 of them from Costa Rica in 2015,and this is the last of them. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by MiamiNorm

[MiamiNorm]

And yes, we brought it inside last night. 

[PalmatierMeg]

A couple more things about this species: never ever let it dry out. If it does, it's toast. I kept mine sitting in trays of water I monitored almost daily, esp. in dry weather. When/if we went out of town for more than a few days I asked our niece to check on them, which, I'm sure, was a pain to a woman with two businesses and a family. If we traveled in winter I sweated every cold front until we got home. No way could our 5' tall niece roll massive pots weighing 100s of lbs into/out of the house for us. But that's what you have to do because with this palm there are no do-overs. And I wasn't going to risk keeping them indoors in a dry house for a week or two. I don't keep houseplants and these make poor ones. One last tip: we kept these palms on our back lanai under heavy shade cloth. I've read they can take sun and maybe so but grown in shade they are the most gorgeous dark green.

Finally, a palm grower in Homestead told me lipsticks are highly prone to a lethal cold weather fungus. He said I should drench them in a solution of water and Dithane 45 (from Southern Ag) before cool weather arrived, then follow up every 2-3 months until spring. A few people on PT said that wouldn't help but I followed this guy's advice every Nov. and Feb. for all the years I had them. Never had problems with fungus. I also credit my diligence in caring for these uber tropicals. 

[Barry]

37 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

A couple more things about this species: never ever let it dry out. If it does, it's toast. I kept mine sitting in trays of water I monitored almost daily, esp. in dry weather. When/if we went out of town for more than a few days I asked our niece to check on them, which, I'm sure, was a pain to a woman with two businesses and a family. If we traveled in winter I sweated every cold front until we got home. No way could our 5' tall niece roll massive pots weighing 100s of lbs into/out of the house for us. But that's what you have to do because with this palm there are no do-overs. And I wasn't going to risk keeping them indoors in a dry house for a week or two. I don't keep houseplants and these make poor ones. One last tip: we kept these palms on our back lanai under heavy shade cloth. I've read they can take sun and maybe so but grown in shade they are the most gorgeous dark green.

Finally, a palm grower in Homestead told me lipsticks are highly prone to a lethal cold weather fungus. He said I should drench them in a solution of water and Dithane 45 (from Southern Ag) before cool weather arrived, then follow up every 2-3 months until spring. A few people on PT said that wouldn't help but I followed this guy's advice every Nov. and Feb. for all the years I had them. Never had problems with fungus. I also credit my diligence in caring for these uber tropicals. 

I completely agree with Meg’s info to you. I have two over 8 ft, in the garage right now. They were 4” pots 6-7 years ago. Always sitting in tray of water and I use “Florikan” slow release fertilizer on all my palms. Expensive but worth it, usually get the 6 or 9 month bags. Like Meg, might be selling mine next year, going to be too big to fit in garage. I have another one about 4 ft from a sucker off on the bigs ones. To me they have grown pretty fast! We hit 38 degrees last night, they would melt at that temperature. I also have used the Diathane M-45 every month during winter, got the same advice. I had one years ago in Ft Lauderdale, grew great to about 3 ft, then got the fungus and died in the winter. So disappointing. 

[MiamiNorm]

Let's fast forward to today, where it's in the 50s, and her highness was brought inside as usual. 

We spoke of fertilizing, but found this thread, and we shall wait until March-ish. 

She looks bigger than the op in 2022, but she looks....burnt and not so green. She lives outside receiving indirect sunlight, and she has a dedicated irrigation line as of 2 weeks. Prior to that her watering and fertilizing was scarce. Her soil is the same as from 2022. 

 

Does she need new soil perhaps? A bigger pot that's transportable? Some fertilizer or food now? 

 

Thank you 

Miami

[MiamiNorm]

@PalmatierMeg

Hi.. Can you look at my post above, please? 

[PalmatierMeg]

Lipsticks cannot tolerate any kind of drought. Listen: Set the pot in a large tray of water several inches deep. Never, ever let the water dry out. I didn't mess with irrigation lines. This is hands-on palm care. You can't jerry rig its care to save yourself time and effort and expect it to grow well. Check and top off water in tray daily in warm weather. I kept mine on large rolling carts we could maneuver. I kept my lipsticks under 90% shade cloth in full shade. Your plant reminds me partial sun did not work with mine. Fertilize as recommended 2-3 times during growing season. Check your plant for insects and mites and treat accordingly (mites require expensive toxic miticides you can't find among the c**p sold at HD and Lowe's - try online for sources. Wear mask and gloves). I also suggest you obtain Southern Ag's Dithene 45 powder to mix in a pressure sprayer to spray for the lethal cold weather fungus I mentioned.. It kept my lipsticks fungus-free for years. This prima donna does not tolerate improper care and will happily keel over dead if neglected and abused. It requires care like that accorded to pets and babies and is a long term commitment

[MiamiNorm]

Thank you Meg 

So, in your eyes, my royal highness is parched or thirsty? Is that cracked and yellowish leaf from thirst? 

[PalmatierMeg]

Among other things. 

[Looking Glass]

I wonder if you could find a nice spot in the yard and bury a big water filled tub or huge pot, then plop another big (less big) pot into that and put that in the ground.   Depending a little on your micro climate…  but people do grow these in the ground quite successfully in Dade, Broward and even Palm Beach counties, without bringing them in.  Especially on the eastern edges of the counties.  

[MiamiNorm]

On 1/18/2026 at 9:29 PM, Looking Glass said:

I wonder if you could find a nice spot in the yard and bury a big water filled tub or huge pot, then plop another big (less big) pot into that and put that in the ground.   Depending a little on your micro climate…  but people do grow these in the ground quite successfully in Dade, Broward and even Palm Beach counties, without bringing them in.  Especially on the eastern edges of the counties.  

thank you LG

I have the pot with its own drip irrigation line with a spike that produces an umbrella of water. That runs for 20 minutes 3 days a week, and I see a good amount of water come out of the entire circumference of the spike.

Is that enough? Meg and you paint a picture that this delicate creature is ridiculously thirsty , and obviously root-rot is not a concern. No? Speaking of root rot, since the plant is still inside I just confirmed that the pot does NOT have the drain holes drilled out. Is this ok? 
We will be changing to a slightly bigger one that can still be carried, but plastic pots do reach a certain size limit, from what I've seen. So we may possibly own the biggest size available in plastic.

[MiamiNorm]

EDIT - our existing pot does indeed have drain holes

[Looking Glass]

On 1/22/2026 at 9:25 AM, MiamiNorm said:

thank you LG

I have the pot with its own drip irrigation line with a spike that produces an umbrella of water. That runs for 20 minutes 3 days a week, and I see a good amount of water come out of the entire circumference of the spike.

Is that enough? Meg and you paint a picture that this delicate creature is ridiculously thirsty , and obviously root-rot is not a concern. No? Speaking of root rot, since the plant is still inside I just confirmed that the pot does NOT have the drain holes drilled out. Is this ok? 
We will be changing to a slightly bigger one that can still be carried, but plastic pots do reach a certain size limit, from what I've seen. So we may possibly own the biggest size available in plastic.

I’m no expert in these, but they are swap dwelling semi-aquatic to aquatic palms.   People will grow them sitting in the water in ponds, or near air conditioning drainage runoff where they get almost continuous water.  I don’t think you can overwater them.   I’ve thought about trying one at the house, but I’m not ready for the effort yet.  

[MiamiNorm]

43 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

I’m no expert in these, but they are swap dwelling semi-aquatic to aquatic palms.   People will grow them sitting in the water in ponds, or near air conditioning drainage runoff where they get almost continuous water.  I don’t think you can overwater them.   I’ve thought about trying one at the house, but I’m not ready for the effort yet.  

thanks again LG. 
Someone else up top, Meg, and you mention that they need to be practically submerged in water, and that's interesting because we've seen these palms in Costa Rica and Panama in streets, malls, and just out and about. Our palm was brought over from Panama, where it rains often yes, but not to the amount to call these "aquatic" or "semi-aquatic". 

[Looking Glass]

Whenever I get a new palm (to me) that is somewhat exotic and uncommon (to me, or my area) I like to read up on the palm’s natural habitat, where is naturally thrives and reproduces unassisted.  I’ll pay attention to the annual temperate variations in that specific growing area,  rainfall patterns over year, the sun exposure and intensity, the soil conditions and pH, and whether its growing in lowland swamps, misty mountains, or rocky costal edges.  Then I see if I can mimic those conditions to some degree.    It’s not always possible, and some plants show surprising flexibility to conditions, while others do not.   

Native Distribution	Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo.

[MiamiNorm]

On 12/24/2022 at 12:09 PM, Barry said:

I completely agree with Meg’s info to you. I have two over 8 ft, in the garage right now. They were 4” pots 6-7 years ago. Always sitting in tray of water and I use “Florikan” slow release fertilizer on all my palms. 

 

Barry

Which FLorikan mix did you use? I see 12-6-6 and 20-4-9. Meg and searches suggest 3-1-3 or 5-2-5. I don't want to buy generic palm fertilizer since this species is....special.

thank you.

[wimmie]

About twenty years ago, with a friend I was on a tour visiting big importers of (sub)tropical plants in the region of Aalsmeer overhere in Holland. To my surprise, one of them had six foot tall Cyrtostachys renda/lakka, prized in the Howea forsteriana range! And two hours later I had a beautiful red palm in my kitchenroom. That's a space with bright light and I gave the palm lots of water, food and misted it every day! I thought that to be the right treatment because the botanic garden in Leiden had one with it's feet in the pond where they kept their Victoria regia. After a year I sold it at a good prize, a decision I regret until today because I have never seen it in the trade since!😡

[PJP]

I fertilize mine every 90days with 8-2-12 and minors 0-0-22.  I have several 15ft trees and several in the 7-15 gallon size.  I can’t seem to help myself and always pick up a few each year.  2 of my big palm live in a 400 gallon plastic tub with a large aquarium heater.  I wanted to experiment and see how they would do when they were 15 gallon size in submerged water.  Well 5 years later they are now in 65 gallon pots.  I just rescued a large one however it’s in a pot and I have to decide what to do with it next.  I’m in Fort Lauderdale and agree with everyone as it gets cold you have to protect.   I rub outdoor mounted electric heaters for the 2 in pond.  The one in the large pot I move via skid steer onto my covered deck and run a gas outdoor heater.

[MiamiNorm]

1 hour ago, PJP said:

I fertilize mine every 90days with 8-2-12 and minors 0-0-22.  I have several 15ft trees and several in the 7-15 gallon size.  I can’t seem to help myself and always pick up a few each year.  2 of my big palm live in a 400 gallon plastic tub with a large aquarium heater.  I wanted to experiment and see how they would do when they were 15 gallon size in submerged water.  Well 5 years later they are now in 65 gallon pots.  I just rescued a large one however it’s in a pot and I have to decide what to do with it next.  I’m in Fort Lauderdale and agree with everyone as it gets cold you have to protect.   I rub outdoor mounted electric heaters for the 2 in pond.  The one in the large pot I move via skid steer onto my covered deck and run a gas outdoor heater.

 

 

 

PJ
You own these monsters in FTL? Wow. Congratulations to you on your patience. Damn.
It's a beautiful plant, but damn it requires a lot of work.
May I ask what the purpose of 0-0-22 fertilizer is? I just looked it up, and I see that it doesn't contain the usual N-P-K. Instead it contains other elements that the plant needs. Is that right? Why not just buy the magnesium or manganese on its own, for example??

And do you apply both fertilizers every 90 days?

[PJP]

University of Florida IFAS Blog fertilizer recommendation as well as Steve Stern who ran an exotic nursery in Homestead.  I mix the fertilizers 4 (8-2-12) to 1 (0-0-22) ratio. I use this mix on all my palms.  The Cuban palms get extra KMag (0-0-22).

[Johnny Palmseed]

On 1/30/2026 at 12:04 PM, PJP said:

University of Florida IFAS Blog fertilizer recommendation as well as Steve Stern who ran an exotic nursery in Homestead.  I mix the fertilizers 4 (8-2-12) to 1 (0-0-22) ratio. I use this mix on all my palms.  The Cuban palms get extra KMag (0-0-22).

I do the same thing. I have a problem with K deficiency in everything except my Pseudophoenix. My soil is a high pH calcareous coquina sand and this seems to help.

[Johnny Palmseed]

On 1/30/2026 at 9:16 AM, MiamiNorm said:

PJ
You own these monsters in FTL? Wow. Congratulations to you on your patience. Damn.
It's a beautiful plant, but damn it requires a lot of work.
May I ask what the purpose of 0-0-22 fertilizer is? I just looked it up, and I see that it doesn't contain the usual N-P-K. Instead it contains other elements that the plant needs. Is that right? Why not just buy the magnesium or manganese on its own, for example??

And do you apply both fertilizers every 90 days?

K-Mag usually contains a 2:1 ratio of K:Mg which is a generally recommended ratio for a potassium supplement. Adding Mg by itself can trigger a K deficiency and vice versa. 8-2-12 is a good starting point for most Florida palms but soils can vary and even the irrigation water pH can affect your results. We have restrictions for fertilizers in the summer here but 0-0-22 has no Nitrogen so it is able to be used during that time. Phosphorus is usually present in most soils and is usually unnecessary to be added. Potassium is an important component which promotes healthy growth without spurring excessive growth like Nitrogen.

[MiamiNorm]

thanks for all the input, but I'm continuing to regret bringing this palm from Panama.

I've read every reply 3 or 4 times, and I continue to pause when I go to search for a fertilizer. Do I go with 3-1-3,  0-0-22, 8-2-12, 1-1-1, 6-6-6, 0-0-0, etc. You are all very knowledgeable, but this species is like a child or pet, as mentioned by Meg. We've had it for many years and planted it in a small pot when it was inches tall. Now it's much bigger, and we'd like to continue with it after bringing it in many times whenever a cold front invades Miami. We've put some effort into it over the years, but the advice in your replies is....exhausting.

The advice given so far requires a chemistry degree, yet in Panama and Costa Rica this things grow wild on city streets or backyards without any care to the ratio of Manganese to whatever. Sure, both countries have volcanic remnants in their history, and perhaps the soil is super rich - even if it's a street sidewalk. We have a relative that has tens of these growing wild like weeds in his backyard in Costa Rica. He hasn't added an ounce of fertilizer, nor sprayed, nor watered. And the trunks of his are probably 3 inches in circumference or more - beautiful palms.

Can I start out with 8-2-12 for now? After reading some posts above, my wife has started to spray it even though it's inside after our latest cold front.

[Looking Glass]

An easy way to do this is to order 8-2-12 fertilizer with micros (you can order this from Palm Tree Saver) and Langbeinite/Kmag/sol-po-mag (from there or Amazon) and then just put it around your palms every few months.   It’s not that complicated.   In pots just be careful not to overdo salty fertilizers.  

Costa Rica/Panama’s climate nothing like South Florida’s.  It’s rainy season is long, like our dry season.  It’s not as hot in the summer and not as cold in the winter.  It’s more steady-warm.   The soil is not sand and alkaline limestone rock.   It’s about as far south from here, as South Florida is from Ohio.   

[MiamiNorm]

26 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

An easy way to do this is to order 8-2-12 fertilizer with micros (you can order this from Palm Tree Saver) and Langbeinite/Kmag/sol-po-mag (from there or Amazon) and then just put it around your palms every few months.   It’s not that complicated.   In pots just be careful not to overdo salty fertilizers.  

Costa Rica/Panama’s climate nothing like South Florida’s.  It’s rainy season is long, like our dry season.  It’s not as hot in the summer and not as cold in the winter.  It’s more steady-warm.   The soil is not sand and alkaline limestone rock.   It’s about as far south from here, as South Florida is from Ohio.   

thank you very much LG.

I have both of those in a cart, and I'm going to commit to this.
Do I alternate those 2? Mix them "4 to 1 ratio. I use this mix on all my palms" as PJP said above? = 4 of 8-12-12 to 1 of Kmag?

[Looking Glass]

16 minutes ago, MiamiNorm said:

thank you very much LG.

I have both of those in a cart, and I'm going to commit to this.
Do I alternate those 2? Mix them "4 to 1 ratio. I use this mix on all my palms" as PJP said above? = 4 of 8-12-12 to 1 of Kmag?

Some mix them for simplicity.  Some stagger the applications.  Whatever works for you I guess.   Dumping it in a bucket with a lid, and mixing it up, is a simple way to store it and scoop as needed.