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Help! What is wrong with my Dwarf Betel Nut?


eacdmd86

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I noticed it started taking a turn for the worse in the last two weeks.  The leaves are all starting to brown.  It does have a healthy looking spear growing out now.

I noticed some aphids on the underside of the leaves, so I hosed the palm off last week.  When I soaked everything down, there were carpenter ants all over the place.  I wonder if they are living in the roots?

Then again, we got some 43-45 degree nights around Christmas.  Would that cause this?  I had some other plants really brown up as a result.

I just don't want to lose it.

 

First two pictures are New Years Day, last one is today a week later.  Looks way worse.

Screenshot_20230106-155144.png.bbb207b239e08b2b5e0352b456bee4d9.png

 

Screenshot_20230106-155157.png.48cae7e2e09f5510e88c71a7d1c02116.png

 

 

This is today:

PXL_20230106_204955949.thumb.jpg.b9a507df1cc3bd3a6c016dc5262b2698.jpg

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If it got that cold, then most likely it is damage from the weather. These need warm temperatures year round. At least that’s my experience.

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Yeah it did.  I brought all my potted palms inside for the weekend.  My clusia trees lost half their leaves over the course of this week.

 

I thought these were good down to 35*F?  Will it recover on its own or do I need to treat it with anything?

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It wasn’t just the nights, but there were like 3 days with highs in the 50s, not the usual snap back to daytime 70s.  That did hurt the uber-tropical stuff.  That white thing looks like a mealy bug.  I have a problem with them on young palms, but can never tell if they weaken the palm, or attack weak palms.  I don’t like ants in young palms either, as they are always farming and protecting sapsucking pests in return for their honeydew.  I bet if you peel back some leaf bases you’ll find more mealybugs.   When I see that, I nuke the plant with topical and systemic insecticides to get rid of all parties.  

Might want to check the crown for rot also.  Peroxide-anti fungal treatment for that.  

Tonight is supposed to cool down to 58 or so.  

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Definitely cold damage. I have a dwarf and it looks just like yours when exposed to mid 40 or below . Luckily they produce new leaves quickly in the spring and summer. Mine is also a magnet for spider mites in the spring when it’s dry. 

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Yup, that looks like cold damage.  I saw that on a bunch of semi-hardy palms and cycads a couple of days after the Christmas freeze.

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Definitely cold damage, but odd from our experience here in Lakeland.  Ours see below 40F regularly and have very little damage:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/76409-florida-christmas-freeze-2022/?do=findComment&comment=1094357

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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18 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

It wasn’t just the nights, but there were like 3 days with highs in the 50s, not the usual snap back to daytime 70s.  That did hurt the uber-tropical stuff.  That white thing looks like a mealy bug.  I have a problem with them on young palms, but can never tell if they weaken the palm, or attack weak palms.  I don’t like ants in young palms either, as they are always farming and protecting sapsucking pests in return for their honeydew.  I bet if you peel back some leaf bases you’ll find more mealybugs.   When I see that, I nuke the plant with topical and systemic insecticides to get rid of all parties.  

Might want to check the crown for rot also.  Peroxide-anti fungal treatment for that.  

Tonight is supposed to cool down to 58 or so.  

I have this stuff from Home Depot I was going to use: Bonide.  This stuff should do the trick without harm?  Actually bought last week in prep for dealing with the ants and mealy bugs.  Got the same mealy bugs on a carpoxylon out front.  Will mix for topical and then systemic application.

14 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Definitely cold damage, but odd from our experience here in Lakeland.  Ours see below 40F regularly and have very little damage:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/76409-florida-christmas-freeze-2022/?do=findComment&comment=1094357

Yours look basically untouched.  Wonder why mine got so beat up.  We were definitely not as cold as Lakeland.

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Just for my education...

I've heard some people say that cold damage affects only the newer growth like the newest frond and spear.  Some plants seem to get damage all over, like my hibiscus.  Is there generally a rule of thumb for palms or does each respond differently?

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36 minutes ago, eacdmd86 said:

Just for my education...

I've heard some people say that cold damage affects only the newer growth like the newest frond and spear.  Some plants seem to get damage all over, like my hibiscus.  Is there generally a rule of thumb for palms or does each respond differently?

In my yard the newest fronds usually take less visible damage than older ones.  And spears seem to take the least physical cold damage.  But...crown infections always start with the new spear dying, so maybe that's why some people say that cold damage affects the newer growth first? 

As an example, my Coccothrinax Barbadensis in the front yard really didn't like 20+ hours below freezing.  The oldest couple of fronds look really horrible, but the newest ones and the spear look pretty good.  The same thing happened last year, and a few months later it had gotten a crown infection and needed some hydrogen peroxide + Daconil treatments to start growing again.

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1 hour ago, eacdmd86 said:

I have this stuff from Home Depot I was going to use: Bonide.  This stuff should do the trick without harm?  Actually bought last week in prep for dealing with the ants and mealy bugs.  Got the same mealy bugs on a carpoxylon out front.  Will mix for topical and then systemic application.

Yours look basically untouched.  Wonder why mine got so beat up.  We were definitely not as cold as Lakeland.

I use the same imidacloprid, but the Bioadvanced one.  I’ll also use insecticidal soap to spray the leaves.  I also will sometimes spray badly effected areas with bifenthrin (Ortho Home Defense), though this will kill any insect the walks across it, even beneficial ones.  

Sometimes, for ants alone, it is best to just bait the colony with a gel or liquid bait, and let them eat up without disturbing them first.   

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