More rains in SoCal - How are you applying your Palm Plus?

[Christopher Dillman]

Wondering how everyone is applying their palm plus (13-5-8) around their Queens, Triple Kings, Jubeas, et al.

Palm Plus + soil conditioner. Palm Plus + GroMulch. PP w a dash of Sulpomag. All of the above?

Edited March 20, 2023 by Christopher Dillman

[Jim in Los Altos]

Just PalmGain in about two weeks. We’re expecting another blast of cold rain tonight and Tuesday. Down the road a couple of weeks, temperatures remain below average but I’m seeing a lot of new growth in many of my palms now except for the heat loving ones. 

[zero]

Can y'all send some of your excess rain over here?    We've yet to receive any measurable rain in 2023 - even the weeds are shriveled up!

[Jim in Los Altos]

3 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Can y'all send some of your excess rain over here?    We've yet to receive any measurable rain in 2023 - even the weeds are shriveled up!

I SO wish we could! This weather is getting tiring. Drought’s over at least. 

[GottmitAlex]

I'll be fertilizing today. Weather has been in the 70's  even though it has been drizzling.  Spring is already here we just don't know it yet.

[Tracy]

13 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

I'll be fertilizing today. Weather has been in the 70's  even though it has been drizzling.  Spring is already here we just don't know it yet.

Yes warm today, but all these storms have been warmer on the front end than the back side thus far this winter.  We are officially in Spring today and I was considering putting something down.  Given the amount of rain we are anticipating, I decided to wait and let the bulk of the rain come down, and maybe if it isn't too cold as the storm is departing and its more just intermittent rain then I'll consider it.  I have been using Palm Plus™ 13-5-8 with GAL-XeONE®.  So it's a maybe later this week for me.

[Christopher Dillman]

30 minutes ago, Tracy said:

I have been using Palm Plus™ 13-5-8 with GAL-XeONE®.  So it's a maybe later this week for me.

Where do you order your Gal-XeOne? Coming up empty with the Google noodle search.

[Matt in OC]

Too cold still, I think. Hopefully after this storm we can get moving. A lot of my poor companion plants have had it with this weather!

[Christopher Dillman]

10 minutes ago, Matt in OC said:

Too cold still, I think. Hopefully after this storm we can get moving. A lot of my poor companion plants have had it with this weather!

I see, so maybe I don't need to be in such a hurry to beat the rains?

Always had it in my head to fertilize and top off with a soil amendment to palms before rains so that it soaks in. Temp will be in the 59 to 61 range in San Diego during the day with this latest blast.

[Tracy]

29 minutes ago, Christopher Dillman said:

I see, so maybe I don't need to be in such a hurry to beat the rains?

Always had it in my head to fertilize and top off with a soil amendment to palms before rains so that it soaks in. Temp will be in the 59 to 61 range in San Diego during the day with this latest blast.

National Weather Service was predicting another storm next week as possible but still too far out to say with certainty.   Temps should start warming by then though, so you will likely get another opportunity.   With the ground so saturated and storm totals forecast about 1.5 to 2 inches here in Coastal North County,  you risk wasting fertilizer lost to runoff if you jump the gun.

Regarding the fertilizer, I bought mine last Autumn at Ewing irrigation on Avenida Encinas in Carlsbad or Granghetto Supply at Rancho Sante Fe Road and Encinitas Blvd.  here in Encinitas.  Both carry it normally. 

[Christopher Dillman]

9 minutes ago, Tracy said:

With the ground so saturated and storm totals forecast about 1.5 to 2 inches here in Coastal North County,  you risk wasting fertilizer lost to runoff if you jump the gun.

Good to know! I will sit tight then. Grangetto's is great - never thought of checking for GAL-XeONE® there. Maybe they'll have Sulpomag there too. 

[James B]

It’s getting to the point where we have lost the month of March this year. I am a month behind all my plans vs where I would usually be at this time of year. This winter just won’t stop. 
 

Normally temps for me are high 60s to 90 as the high in  March with a few storms that will drop some snow above 3,000 ft with daytime highs in the mid 50s and lows in the high 30s. But those days are usually the outlier days that maybe happen 5-6 days in March. 
 

So it looks like I won’t be fertilizing until late April. Once I see consistent days above 70 I will move forward.

[Jubaea_James760]

7 hours ago, James B said:

So it looks like I won’t be fertilizing until late April. Once I see consistent days above 70 I will move forward.

Same here 😑

[Tahoma]

Im new to planting. Can anyone explain to me the significance of the timing that they fertilize? It sounds like the timing is crucial. 

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, Tahoma said:

Im new to planting. Can anyone explain to me the significance of the timing that they fertilize? It sounds like the timing is crucial. 

The simple way to explain it is that if you start fertilizing too early and the ground is cold, you are wasting fertilizer because the palms can't absorb it through their roots.  The other risk of fertilizing too early in the season is that if you stimulate growth early and then get a cold spell, the new growth which is almost always more fragile than established leaves, is more likely to sustain damage.  With palms you don't want damage at the growth point, as its an invitation for fungus and bacteria to enter the meristem which can be fatal. 

The same is true in Autumn in places that get cold in winter.  Timing fertilizing to provide what the plant will need before it gets cold, but not pushing it to have new growth opening as cold temps arrive.  Almost everyone will recommend using a time released fertilizer that also provides micro nutrients which lasts for several weeks to a month.  Hence the references to at least a couple of products in this string that fit that description.  Other factors may need to be considered such as soil type when considering what fertilizers or supplements as well as which palms you are fertilizing.  That is another big topic I won't attempt to expand.   Because temperatures are important, timing might vary a little in coastal Southern California versus inland as well as points further north.  Your best guidance is comparing to when other peers in the Central Valley begin and end fertilizing successfully.

Others may want to elaborate on my comments or mention other considerations I missed on why the timing is important. 

[Rivera]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

The simple way to explain it is that if you start fertilizing too early and the ground is cold, you are wasting fertilizer because the palms can't absorb it through their roots.  The other risk of fertilizing too early in the season is that if you stimulate growth early and then get a cold spell, the new growth which is almost always more fragile than established leaves, is more likely to sustain damage.  With palms you don't want damage at the growth point, as its an invitation for fungus and bacteria to enter the meristem which can be fatal. 

The same is true in Autumn in places that get cold in winter.  Timing fertilizing to provide what the plant will need before it gets cold, but not pushing it to have new growth opening as cold temps arrive.  Almost everyone will recommend using a time released fertilizer that also provides micro nutrients which lasts for several weeks to a month.  Hence the references to at least a couple of products in this string that fit that description.  Other factors may need to be considered such as soil type when considering what fertilizers or supplements as well as which palms you are fertilizing.  That is another big topic I won't attempt to expand.   Because temperatures are important, timing might vary a little in coastal Southern California versus inland as well as points further north.  Your best guidance is comparing to when other peers in the Central Valley begin and end fertilizing successfully.

Others may want to elaborate on my comments or mention other considerations I missed on why the timing is important. 

👆This is a very good explanation. 👍

Here's a photo of a double cyathea cooperi from above. It's not a palm, obviously... but it's pouring outside right now, so this is my best example to illustrate a point. 

Ok, it's also a terrible photo. But you can see three healthy bright green fronds arching over a bunch of bronzed or even totally blackened and defoliated fronds. We had substantial early and mid-season rains this year, followed by some cold and remarkably still nights. This plant eagerly pushed growth with all the extra moisture and mild temperatures only to be injured badly by the cold that followed. Fronds still furled were unharmed, but the newest growth emerging at the top of the canopy was the most tender and the most exposed. 

Now, this is a fast grower here and the most recent rains along with longer and warmer days and nights have led it to push new growth quickly. Many palms are slow and more vulnerable in this way.

Ideally, a tender plant would have been more dormant during those cold nights instead of holding a canopy full of fresh leaves, and thus suffered less damage. Aside from the rains, the ready availability of nutrients is an influence, and that's the subject of conversation here. I fertilize organically, and I don't have the same substantial changes in ground temperature here in coastal San Francisco compared to people in other places, even just 30 miles from here, so I'm not going to weigh in on that particular point. Furthermore, some plants are year-round growers here given a bit of moisture. I may choose to withhold water and fertilization, but it's generally humid and I can't help it if it rains.

Temperatures have warmed here now, and even if it gets a little chilly, I live on a stretch of coast that is very exposed to coastal winds. The winds move quickly where pressure systems meet, and there's just no cold damage here when the wind is blowing. By mid-March, I'm not thinking about how cold it might get. While I've only had a garden here for a few years, I've been a surfer here for much longer and am well-familiar with our unique seasons.

I had a surfer friend who was a meteorologist and could offer a lot more on this subject, but he became addicted to drugs and I lost him as a surf-buddy, friend, and meteorological resource. So in layman's terms, no cold still nights means no high-density super-chilled layer of air pooling into the unfortunate "cold-basin" in my backyard. Your situation may vary. Microclimate is a determining factor.