Transplant Shock on Needle Palm

[BigBilly]

I don't think my needle palm has transplant shock  but I was wondering, What would the symptoms be if it did get transplant shocked, i planted it on the 29th of July and it's been a week now.

Edited August 5, 2023 by BigBilly

[Dwarf Fan]

I am still a novice but I wouldn’t expect to see much change after only a week, also planting in the middle of the HOT summer is definitely going to be more stressful on a small Palm and it is gonna take (in my amateur guess) a bit longer to see any new growth, I would guess around a month before you see much new growth on a recently transplanted Palm during the hot time of year.

I just planted two L. Chinensis and it took a few weeks before I seen some central frond upward growth, keep in mind these were much older AND larger more established Plams, so be patient.

Also, I just got 2 Needle Palms delivered and they looked like they were in the dark for a while (lighter color on the bottom inch of new growth from the spear) and it has been 3 weeks now and there is still ZERO upward growth on either, but the light color has turned the same green as the other fronds so I am hopeful it is recovering from the shock of shipping and being in the dark cardboard box for who knows how long.

It has led me to believe that Needles are fairly SLOW growers but maybe shock has a big factor in what we are both witnessing.

Wait for the experts to chime in though because I am just a Noob.

Good luck with you new addition to your garden!

Edited August 5, 2023 by Dwarf Fan

[donnacreation]

It looks healthy.  Give it time to reestablish its root system and keep it well watered.  I planted 20+ needle palms 16 yrs ago and some are huge, especially those planted in full sun.

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Calm down Billy.  LOL. You sound like myself and most other plant people with a new plant. We want instant growth. All transplanted plants need a little time to adjust. Looks like you have some good Carolina red clay so it should do well. The plant looks great. It also looks like it was grown under some shade due to it's dark green color. You might want to give it a little (at least temporary) shade especially from hot afternoon sun until established. They naturally grow in shady understory. If you have a larger potted plant that takes sun set it beside the palm to provide that shade. If you don't have any portable shade just cut a couple of tree branches to stick down beside it and replace when their leaves fall off. If you have root stimulator give it a good watering with that. If you do not have root stimulator then cut some younger branches off of one off our native willow trees or a weeping willow, cut the branches into small pieces and soak them in water for a couple of days then use that water to soak the palm.

[BigBilly]

  On 8/5/2023 at 3:01 PM, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Calm down Billy.  LOL. You sound like myself and most other plant people with a new plant. We want instant growth. All transplanted plants need a little time to adjust. Looks like you have some good Carolina red clay so it should do well. The plant looks great. It also looks like it was grown under some shade due to it's dark green color. You might want to give it a little (at least temporary) shade especially from hot afternoon sun until established. They naturally grow in shady understory. If you have a larger potted plant that takes sun set it beside the palm to provide that shade. If you don't have any portable shade just cut a couple of tree branches to stick down beside it and replace when their leaves fall off. If you have root stimulator give it a good watering with that. If you do not have root stimulator then cut some younger branches off of one off our native willow trees or a weeping willow, cut the branches into small pieces and soak them in water for a couple of days then use that water to soak the palm.

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Sorry for taking so long to come back but I've been watering it every day, I know there are slow growers so I mainly got it for its hardiness. also, it's on the North Western corner of my house so it only gets the morning sun. I'm just worried I've heard of people with needles getting transplant shock and losing their foliage or spear pulling, Should've specified I was looking for ways to prevent that kind of transplant shock. 😓

Edited August 5, 2023 by BigBilly

[BigBilly]

Also do needle palms grow much slower than sabal minor ? 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Sorry I assumed it was in hot sun. Sounds like you chose the perfect sun exposure. You might want to make sure the soil is not saturated as that can cause spear pull and foliage loss. If you want to take a harmless preventative  approach, to those problems, you can spray or dribble on a little Hydrogen peroxide on the spear every few days till you see growth. I can only tell you growth speed of needle and S. minor from my coastal area. The S. minor are native here and grow fairly fast after the juvenile stage. I would say faster than needle "here" but they are also in their natural environment here.

[Bigfish]

Did you transplant from a pot into the ground?  If so, you shouldn’t see much, if any, shock.  Symptoms would include lower leaves wilting and dying more quickly than normal.  I would really only expect shock if it was transplanted from somewhere in the ground right straight to another spot in the ground, which would mean a lot of root disturbance.

[Phoenix_Canariensis]

  On 8/5/2023 at 5:47 PM, BigBilly said:

Also do needle palms grow much slower than sabal minor ? 

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so far my needle has put out 3 1/2 fronds, idk if thats faster than a minor tho

[SeanK]

I planted a Needle in full sun; I have 4 in afternoon shade. Definitely better color and growth with shade. Also, likes wet summers. Don't like wet winters so much. 

Let it settle in, then measure the growth next summer.

[Matt N- Dallas]

FWIW- The needle palms I’ve planted in mid summer in San Marcos, TX both had spear pull- from what I don’t know. I figure it was fungal or beetle attacks.  The needles planted in winter & early spring have been just fine. 

[Dwarf Fan]

Update my Needles are still not moving either BigBilly and they are still in the grower pots so I take it:

1. They are SLOW growers when young.

2. They take a while to recover and are sensitive to stress/shock.

My much older and in ground Sabal Minor is pushing our new fronds like crazy in August it LOVES the heat and lots of water! I would say in my unfair pretty biased comparison that Sabal Minor is much faster than a Needle.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Dwarf Fan

[WSimpson]

  On 8/5/2023 at 12:51 PM, BigBilly said:

I don't think my needle palm has transplant shock  but I was wondering, What would the symptoms be if it did get transplant shocked, i planted it on the 29th of July and it's been a week now.

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I usually have success watering it heavily  and keeping the plant shaded until it stabilizes . Then you'll see a little growth and then I fertilize . I wouldn't fertilize after August , even though it's the hardiest palm in the world . When my Needle was small its spear pulled at least 1 year after being planted  , as I remember .  Then bulletproof .

😃

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Will Simpson

[BigBilly]

Oh yeah I forgot to share with everyone but good news, my palm is growing I fucked with the roots a little bit too much when taking it out of the pot but it's growing 

[Manalto]

  On 8/20/2023 at 3:11 AM, BigBilly said:

Oh yeah I forgot to share with everyone but good news, my palm is growing I fucked with the roots a little bit too much when taking it out of the pot but it's growing 

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Good to know. Root/transplant sensitivity is remarkably variable among palms, and plant species in general. For example, I found a Chamaedorea microspadix seedling in a pot where roof runoff had washed all the soil away next to one whose drainage was blocked, and it had been sitting for several days in water. They were both fine.

Those species that are tolerant of root disturbance tend to be the better candidates for commercial nursery production,  of course. One phrase I hear  from good nurserymen and women, when commenting on a stressed-looking plant, is, "It really wants to be in the ground." It makes me wonder sometimes what great plants we're missing out on because they resent life in a pot.

Glad to hear your needle is coming along. It's a quietly beautiful palm.

[BigBilly]

  On 8/22/2023 at 3:13 PM, Manalto said:

Good to know. Root/transplant sensitivity is remarkably variable among palms, and plant species in general. For example, I found a Chamaedorea microspadix seedling in a pot where roof runoff had washed all the soil away next to one whose drainage was blocked, and it had been sitting for several days in water. They were both fine.

Those species that are tolerant of root disturbance tend to be the better candidates for commercial nursery production,  of course. One phrase I hear  from good nurserymen and women, when commenting on a stressed-looking plant, is, "It really wants to be in the ground." It makes me wonder sometimes what great plants we're missing out on because they resent life in a pot.

Glad to hear your needle is coming along. It's a quietly beautiful palm.

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yeah I'm glad it's doing well i accidentally took off half of the root mass and i planted it during a heatwave, But it's been getting shade and water since i planted it 

[Leelanau Palms]

Any updated pictures?

[BigBilly]

  On 1/10/2024 at 7:28 PM, Leelanau Palms said:

Any updated pictures?

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it's doing well I'm guessing it's undamaged , We've had several days in the teens and it looks fine so far but I guess I won't know til spring. The fronds are lil compact from being tied up during an ice storm 

Edited January 10, 2024 by BigBilly

[Leelanau Palms]

Thanks for the update.  Good luck this winter!

[BigBilly]

  On 8/5/2023 at 3:01 PM, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Calm down Billy.  LOL. You sound like myself and most other plant people with a new plant. We want instant growth. All transplanted plants need a little time to adjust. Looks like you have some good Carolina red clay so it should do well. The plant looks great. It also looks like it was grown under some shade due to it's dark green color. You might want to give it a little (at least temporary) shade especially from hot afternoon sun until established. They naturally grow in shady understory. If you have a larger potted plant that takes sun set it beside the palm to provide that shade. If you don't have any portable shade just cut a couple of tree branches to stick down beside it and replace when their leaves fall off. If you have root stimulator give it a good watering with that. If you do not have root stimulator then cut some younger branches off of one off our native willow trees or a weeping willow, cut the branches into small pieces and soak them in water for a couple of days then use that water to soak the palm.

Expand  

Thanks for the advice 

 

  On 8/19/2023 at 11:50 PM, Dwarf Fan said:

Update my Needles are still not moving either BigBilly and they are still in the grower pots so I take it:

1. They are SLOW growers when young.

2. They take a while to recover and are sensitive to stress/shock.

My much older and in ground Sabal Minor is pushing our new fronds like crazy in August it LOVES the heat and lots of water! I would say in my unfair pretty biased comparison that Sabal Minor is much faster than a Needle.

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Also, I have got to say you're correct during the summer minor loved the heat and I was honestly surprised at how fast it grew given their reputation. 

[RFun]

  On 8/5/2023 at 12:51 PM, BigBilly said:

I don't think my needle palm has transplant shock  but I was wondering, What would the symptoms be if it did get transplant shocked, i planted it on the 29th of July and it's been a week now.

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I always suspected that Needle Palms weren't the greatest for transplanting (although I don't have experience with this).  Signs of shock would include the palm beginning to lose the outer leaves fairly quickly and the palm beginning to lean over.

Edited January 11, 2024 by RFun