Humic Acid effect on palm trees?

[PalmX]

The fertilizer I like to use on my other plants offers a product for healthier roots that contains Humic Acid in it.

I do use it on my Aroids and Philodendrons with great success, but was curious if anyone has experience any possible side effects when using it on palms? Specifically with palms that are potted. 

[sonoranfans]

I have been using a 17% humic fulvic acid plus kelp product on my yard, palms and plants, for 14 years.  https://www.natureslawn.com/product/natures-magic/   I have used dried humic acid powder and mixed it in water to deliver but the dried form lacks the fulvates/fulvic acids as they are only stable in a liquid.  There is literature out there, I haven't seen a test with genetic controls(use clones) but again not much is funded that isn't patentable. That said, I have used humic acid 2x a year typically and I always plant my new palms with a good dousing, but no fertilizer.  Humic acid suppresses harmful nematodes which is a problem in sandy florida.   Overall I have had good growth with my overall gardening practices and the humic acid treatment is something I will always do in sandy soil.  We have a real wet season so I put it down 6-8 weeks before the wet season comes.  Flooding rains will rinse it away so consider its better to apply it a few weeks before the hot/wet season.  The final decomposition products of mulch are Humic acid and fulvic acid and their salts(fulvates).  This way you are not adding anything to the soil that you don't -eventually- get from mulching, just more concentrated than you will ever get from mulch and its delivered immediately.  I dilute the 17% humic  in a sprayer or 1/2 cup per 5 gallons water in a watering can.  Humic has many soil functions including chelating and rinsing away excess salts and metals.

On potted palms its a must and perhaps 3x a year to rinse out excess fertilizer salts which tend to accumulate even faster in pots than in soil during the dry season.

[Phoenikakias]

Unless you use a very light medium and water the heck out of the plant. I use this method on malagasian palms, which would otherwise not survive in my summer hot conditions. When I mean light however I mean really light ingredients such as leca, pumice, seramis, pine bark, lava. I use only slow release fertilizer not under 6 months and plants up to now never displayed any nutritional def. Whether they will ever become root bound is questionable, but I am happy seeing them survive grow larger.