Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

Can my P. Elegans be saved?


Stvn86030

Recommended Posts

Hi fellow Palm enthousiasts,

 

I recently put my P. Elegans outside to enjoy the summer, but I fear it doesn’t do him any good. To start to make him get used to the sun, he’ll only get full sun in the early morning and late afternoon. Humidity is low around 45% at midday, but 70% at night.  Temperature between 50-65 at night and 70-85 during the day. Maybe the soil was too wet, and needs to dry out before watering it again.

Unfortunately the leaves are slowly turning brown, and are already very dull. Does anybody know what can be the cause? And can it be saved?

Thanks in advance!

IMG_6384.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s most likely sunburn. If it was indoors then it would be very susceptible. Even if you are only giving it a few hours of full sun, it would probably be too much. Better to acclimate indoor plants slowly and in a diffused sunlight condition. Remove it from the direct sun location and it might be saved. However, the burnt leaves will never recover. They will need to be replaced by new growth.

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

It’s most likely sunburn. If it was indoors then it would be very susceptible. Even if you are only giving it a few hours of full sun, it would probably be too much. Better to acclimate indoor plants slowly and in a diffused sunlight condition. Remove it from the direct sun location and it might be saved. However, the burnt leaves will never recover. They will need to be replaced by new growth.

Thanks for you reply and comforting words! Unfortunately I can’t think of anything to create a tall enough diffused sunlight, so I’ll try to keep in the shadow as much as I can for now. How long do you think it’ll need before I can slowly put in the sunlight again?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's definitely sunburn.  Ptychosperma Elegans can take full sun here in Florida, but it's easy to burn any palm going from indoors to outdoors.  The leaves are "etoliated" i.e. stretched out larger than normal, and that's just the palm's natural response to being indoors with lower light.  Extra water might help, but try to restrict it to a shady area or only early AM sun.  Also consider that a white wall near it might reflect a lot of light too.  I don't know if that's the case for you, the wall next to it looks medium grey.

For recovery, it really just needs to grow an entire new set of leaves that are sun-acclimated.  That might take the entire summer.  The existing fronds, once burned, will not turn back green.  One way to create some shade is a couple of posts in the ground with window screen over them.  I think regular window screen is about 50% light block, which might help it acclimate without burning further.  Actual nursery fabric would be better, but I have a random roll of window screening that I use to make temporary shelters.  A couple of PVC pipes or 2x2 wood hammered into the ground and a couple of zipties to hold the fabric up could make a temporary screen.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They will be fine. Don’t cut anything off until it is completely crispy brown. They will resorb nutrients from the burnt fronds and be fine. I have several started as seedlings in the ground in full Florida sun doing fine with the sun. They do seem to love water so don’t hold back there. You might have to endure an ugly season or two but they will be better for it if you don’t cut off the ugly fronds until they really are crispy and brown. Palm specific fertilizer always helps. 

  • Like 2

Parrish, FL

Zone 9B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, ruskinPalms said:

They will be fine. Don’t cut anything off until it is completely crispy brown. They will resorb nutrients from the burnt fronds and be fine. I have several started as seedlings in the ground in full Florida sun doing fine with the sun. They do seem to love water so don’t hold back there. You might have to endure an ugly season or two but they will be better for it if you don’t cut off the ugly fronds until they really are crispy and brown. Palm specific fertilizer always helps. 

What Bill said. 👆👆👆

I just planted one out in full sun as a small 3G. I pulled it out of my greenhouse so I knew it was going to burn in the location but i don’t care. Sure enough….doesn’t look good after a month or so but it didn’t stop pushing a new spear either. I’m just going to live with the crappy look for awhile. Hopefully by the end of Summer it looks ok. 
 

-dale 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...