Saving a neglected Trachycarpus fortunei

[JLM]

I found a severely neglected trachy at Lowe’s today. Managed to get it half price. The spear is still green and is firm, so I have some hope for it. Trachies are tough palms to begin with. This is gonna go in the ground today, as I can imagine it’s quite pot bound. I’m gonna go ahead and trim it up since all fronds are dead. Any suggestions on what else I can do?
 

Hopefully this turns into a successful rescue story! Here’s some pics from a few minutes ago:

[Harry’s Palms]

I have revived palms that look like that. It just takes a while. The green spear looks hopeful. Just keep it watered and sheltered until it shows growth. Harry

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I have revived palms that look like that. It just takes a while. The green spear looks hopeful. Just keep it watered and sheltered until it shows growth. Harry

Should i go ahead and plant in sun or keep in shade on the patio?

[Harry’s Palms]

I would keep it in mostly shade until it shows significant growth. Trachycarpus grow well in shade and it is less stressful . Harry

[JLM]

5 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I would keep it in mostly shade until it shows significant growth. Trachycarpus grow well in shade and it is less stressful . Harry

I’m gonna go check the roots to see if repotting will be necessary during its recovery time. Probably once it’s got a head of 2-3 fronds it’d be good to plant out after sun acclimation?

[Las Palmas Norte]

They don't do well at all in FL and that's likely the reason it looks like it does. Half price or not, an absolute struggle at best.

[SeanK]

Water and shade. Most likely, the store had it in full sun with no water.

[JLM]

36 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

They don't do well at all in FL and that's likely the reason it looks like it does. Half price or not, an absolute struggle at best.

They do just fine in north Florida. I’ve seen some outstanding ones scattered about. They won’t do well if they’re left to fend for themselves however.

[JLM]

30 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Water and shade. Most likely, the store had it in full sun with no water.

Would watering with fish emulsions every few weeks be fine? I figure a small boost like that wouldn’t hurt, but then again this case is a struggling one, so figured I’d ask first.

[Harry’s Palms]

I have never used it but some here do and they seem to like how it reduces transplant shock . I’ll wait for someone to respond that has used it in a situation like this. That spear has good color , you might mark the adjacent petiole with a sharpie to see if it is growing. Harry

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I have never used it but some here do and they seem to like how it reduces transplant shock . I’ll wait for someone to respond that has used it in a situation like this. That spear has good color , you might mark the adjacent petiole with a sharpie to see if it is growing. Harry

I may try it if things dont seem to be going well in a few weeks. For marking, gonna do that tomorrow morning if i remember to look for a sharpie lol

I checked the roots, didnt find a ton of root mass. Probably not a good thing, also tells me it was left without water for a long period of time. 

[DoomsDave]

@JLM I concur with all the others; keep watered and shaded. Since you’re in No Flo, it should still have a reasonable chance. They’ll take nasty cold; if you have good soil it should still do well. They’re not swamp things, they’re thirsty devils.

[MJSanDiego]

In my experience, the best product to reduce transplant shock is Vitamin B-1. It comes in a gallon container at The Home Depot. It's concentrated. Two tablespoons per gallon of water. And you can't burn the plant either. It helps the roots flourish quickly

[JLM]

7 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

In my experience, the best product to reduce transplant shock is Vitamin B-1. It comes in a gallon container at The Home Depot. It's concentrated. Two tablespoons per gallon of water. And you can't burn the plant either. It helps the roots flourish quickly

Looked it up, and if it’s the Western States brand, it is not available in Florida. I did find something similar in the Superthrive brand that also has kelp meal in it. I’ve never looked into kelp meal before, so im unsure. Thoughts?

[MJSanDiego]

23 minutes ago, JLM said:

Looked it up, and if it’s the Western States brand, it is not available in Florida. I did find something similar in the Superthrive brand that also has kelp meal in it. I’ve never looked into kelp meal before, so im unsure. Thoughts?

Yes the little concentrated bottle of Superthrive is also very effective I recommend that too. I have used it

[JLM]

14 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

Yes the little concentrated bottle of Superthrive is also very effective I recommend that too. I have used it

I’ll start off with that then. Tomorrow morning I think I’m gonna repot the palm with fresh soil, as thinking about it now, that soil was weird and probably not healthy. All my plants seem to think the Kellogg brand soil is crack so hopefully that along with the superthrive will give this thing the boost it needs to get going again. Thanks!

[MJSanDiego]

14 hours ago, JLM said:

I’ll start off with that then. Tomorrow morning I think I’m gonna repot the palm with fresh soil, as thinking about it now, that soil was weird and probably not healthy. All my plants seem to think the Kellogg brand soil is crack so hopefully that along with the superthrive will give this thing the boost it needs to get going again. 

I think you will have great success with the Superthrive for your situation. You mentioned that you can't get the B-1 there. While the B- 1 is a great product for reducing transplant shock, as I thought about it more, in your situation the Superthirve is more appropriate and will provide the most root stimulation. And those are strong palms so I believe you will have great success and your palm will be flourishing soon!

[Johnny Palmseed]

@JLM I wish you luck but man that poor thing looks like it’s been through hell. I’m not sure if half price is even reasonable unless they will still guarantee it for a year. I used to do this exact thing - buying misfits for a discount. It worked out about half the time but usually the neglected plants were less vigorous and far behind in growth. And I also ended up buying things that I didn’t need or couldn’t use just because it was a “deal”. So in the end, I probably would have been better off just buying the good plants for full price.

[Harry’s Palms]

Yep , same here. I would go to nurseries and ask if they had any palms that were struggling , bring them home , and get them healthy . I still do it from time to time! Sometimes a palm like the OP’s would be given to me or I would give the nursery a couple of dollars. I never paid much , sometimes trade for seeds. Harry

[JLM]

7 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

@JLM I wish you luck but man that poor thing looks like it’s been through hell. I’m not sure if half price is even reasonable unless they will still guarantee it for a year. I used to do this exact thing - buying misfits for a discount. It worked out about half the time but usually the neglected plants were less vigorous and far behind in growth. And I also ended up buying things that I didn’t need or couldn’t use just because it was a “deal”. So in the end, I probably would have been better off just buying the good plants for full price.

I would’ve asked for 75% off but the ladies at the checkout started arguing about whether or not they applied the 50%, so I just took the 50% 😂

[Johnny Palmseed]

7 hours ago, JLM said:

I would’ve asked for 75% off but the ladies at the checkout started arguing about whether or not they applied the 50%, so I just took the 50% 😂

Yeah I remember trying for a discount one time and they said no. They just return the dead plants to the vendors. Some plants are not returnable so they will discount them but some are basically just held and sold by the BB store. The risk is all on the vendor.

[apriliarider15]

On 7/29/2024 at 6:12 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

They don't do well at all in FL and that's likely the reason it looks like it does. Half price or not, an absolute struggle at best.

They do pretty well where he's at. I'm just across a river from him and mine look pretty good. It doesn't even get supplemental irrigation. It grows just fine in the understory of our oak trees. I have several others in pots that occasionally get supplemental irrigation.

[Las Palmas Norte]

36 minutes ago, apriliarider15 said:

They do pretty well where he's at. I'm just across a river from him and mine look pretty good. It doesn't even get supplemental irrigation. It grows just fine in the understory of our oak trees. I have several others in pots that occasionally get supplemental irrigation.

I was wrong in including all of FL in my statement. Thanks for the clarification.

[JLM]

Having had a chance to look at the roots a little better tonight + repot with fresh soil, I wanna say it was actually overwatering that caused this palm’s decline.
 

The soil had these large white bits throughout the pot, which I investigated and found that those were rotting mulch pieces typically found in miracle gro soils. The soil at the bottom was water logged to hell, it held water like a sponge. 
 

As far as the roots go, definitely some rotted roots in there but several still retained their dark brown/goldish color. The rootball was the size of a 2.25 gallon pot, so I lowered the palm in the pot so there would only be a few inches of soil between the bottom of the roots to the bottom of the pot. This soil drains better from what I’ve seen, full of organics too, so hopefully this helps. Also getting some oxygen to those roots with the new soil + allowing it to dry more.

 

I watered with the superthrive tonight as well, and will do again next week. I plan to let this go several days in between watering and just an hour of extra sun in the morning compared to what it was getting.
 

With the upcoming heatwave and drier airmass coming in, the soil may dry out more efficiently, so I’ll be watching for that. Highs near 100F expected later in the week, so the heat without direct sunlight should definitely help this palm.
 

Fingers crossed that things only go up from here.

[JLM]

No growth in the last 9-10 days. Spear remains intact and still holding its color. We will see. It’s in the ground now with something propped up over it to keep it shaded. Gonna let nature take its course now except for the shade factor.

[JLM]

Ok well disregard the above update. Total spear pull. Gonna try trunk cut down below the rot point (smell was absolutely rancid) and do daily H2O2+Daconil treatments and allow it to get some sunlight so it’ll hopefully naturally disinfect.
 

Regardless, the outlook is not very great at this time.

[JLM]

Proceeded with trunk cut today and did not find any healthy tissue. This palm is dead.
 

Unfortunate, but it was a gamble to begin with. I am out $36, but I learned a lesson. Never buy things like this ever again unless it has more life potential than this thing did.

[DoomsDave]

Keep shaded and watered. Nudge the base with your fingers; it’ll be loose and wobbly to start. As it roots in it’ll get tighter and steadier.

[PalmsInBaltimore]

Shame it couldn't hold on, but I think you gave it all you could. I'm guessing the store probably had it around for quite some time and it just suffered for weeks or months in that terrible miracle grow soil

[PalmsInBaltimore]

9 hours ago, JLM said:

Never buy things like this ever again unless it has more life potential than this thing did.

Looking at that original picture, they should've given that thing to you for free for saving them a trip to the dumpster, especially if you were buying something else full price

[MJSanDiego]

Sorry man. It was a gamble. Even superthrive could not revive it.  If you like smaller slow growing palms, I would suggest Chamaerops Humilis. They are much easier to maintain and can handle temps from 10F to 115F with no cosmetic damage whatsoever. They are amazing palms

[JLM]

8 hours ago, MJSanDiego said:

Sorry man. It was a gamble. Even superthrive could not revive it.  If you like smaller slow growing palms, I would suggest Chamaerops Humilis. They are much easier to maintain and can handle temps from 10F to 115F with no cosmetic damage whatsoever. They are amazing palms

Thanks! I do have one of those in the ground. Very small still, and spear pulled after unprotected 18F but came back strong. Likely only spear pulled because its such a small palm still.

I am actually not super upset about losing this trachy, as i have like 8 trachy seedlings, one of which is now in the ground. Have a peek at my signature (immediately below this message) to see what all i currently have