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Posted

Hi there, I’m new to the forum – long time gardener, first time palm owner. 

We bought a small mid-century shack and we have very mature (5m+) palms all over the property. We’re in NSW, Australia. Sub-tropical, red clay soil with okay drainage on a hill. 

We only had one foxtail palm, last summer I noticed it had a fair bit of green growth around the bottom of it’s trunk, it wasn't throwing as many leaves as it should be and wasn't thriving. The house had previously been a rental for a long time and so the gardens were very untouched and wild. 

The foxtail had very dense and tall (1m) Ctenanthe Setosa around the bottom of its trunk, so the ground was never dry. I pulled out all the Setosa last spring, to start tidying up. 

 

My two questions are;

1 – Do you think I sent the palm into shock, taking it from a moist/damp environment into a fairly dry one? I have read Foxtails are susceptible to this.  

2 – Was this a disease that I didn’t get on top of? Is there a way to prevent it spreading to my other palms? Is there a fungicidal drench that would be helpful, or something else? What's the likely outcome here?

 

Any help would be most appreciated.

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  • Upvote 1
Posted

The green stuff looks like Lichen so nothing to worry about there.  The foxtail looked like it had started to form adventitious roots about 30cm or so from the ground, a sure sign of neglect. You hit the nail on the head, in my opinion, when the location went from moist to dry. You were right abut some palms disliking changes such as this.  The majestic looks fine but remember to keep  it wet. In the wild they grow on river banks or swampy places.  I am a firm believer in a regular feeding schedule as well as yearly doses of trace elements, potash and Epsom Salts, just to cover for anything they may be lacking the fertiliser doesn't provide. Hope this is a little helpful for you. Welcome to Palm Talk

Peachy

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1

I came. I saw. I purchased

 

 

27.35 south.

Warm subtropical, with occasional frosts.

Posted

Many thanks for the reply, @peachy  The above ground roots are a surprise, I had no idea what they were. 

I have some Eco88s fertiliser from my bamboo, do you think that would be an okay place to start feeding the palms? Or should I be getting more palm specific? TIA  

Posted

The first photo shows what looks like a dead palm to me. Unless you see a green spear emerging...

  • Like 1
Posted

Foxtail palms can handle a bit of dry periods when they get older and if the other palms are doing better it suggests a disease or something . Unless you see any new growth coming out , I would remove it . In your area they should grow well . Neglect can weaken palms under certain conditions . I would start with regular watering and mulch around the garden to help the dry soil absorb water. You are coming into summer there so a very good time to fertilize . I use organic fertilizer only on a few of my palms . Harry

  • Like 2
Posted
On 10/8/2024 at 2:37 PM, PalmTimeGirl said:

Many thanks for the reply, @peachy  The above ground roots are a surprise, I had no idea what they were. 

I have some Eco88s fertiliser from my bamboo, do you think that would be an okay place to start feeding the palms? Or should I be getting more palm specific? TIA  

I use Power Feed and Seasol for scheduled feeding and rooster booster when planting. Also I throw rooster booster around before I mulck

Peachy

I came. I saw. I purchased

 

 

27.35 south.

Warm subtropical, with occasional frosts.

Posted

@PalmTimeGirl I've had quite a few young Foxtails (6-12' tall) get an upper trunk rot after cold fronts below 0C.  I'm not sure of your winter temperatures, but it's entirely possible that it just caught a fungal disease.  Either way, unless there is a spear growing that isn't visible in the photo...the palm is dead and should be removed asap before it collapses.  If it is a fungal rot in the trunk it probably has no upper trunk strength and might be a risk to nearby plants, fences, children, small ferrets and other woodland animals.  :P

  • 3 months later...
Posted

@sgvcns oh, it's undoubtably dead. I'm just trying to narrow down the cause and I'm new to palms. 

@peachy good tip! Do you have tall palms? Most of mine are over two stories, I'm just curious about the feeding amounts for large palms... 

@Merlyn no, no frosts here. We're sub tropical and in a big mild bowl. We're know for the most temperate weather in Australia. And the palm is long gone, I've sent a chunk of it off to the lab to query Ganoderma or other diseases but thinking it was changing it's environment from wet to dry to quickly.  

 

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Anyone interested, I took a sample of the palm and sent it off to Sydney Botanic Gardens lab for testing. The results haven't come back yet, but the lab replied from the trunk images it was looking more like Thielaviopsis Trunk Rot , here's a link.

  • Like 1
Posted

@PalmTimeGirl Thielaviopsis is a common upper trunk rot.  I lost several young Foxtails to it after cold fronts, and one ~5m tall Queen to it.  Pruning palms early (while the frond or stem is green) is commonly blamed for infections, since it opens up a cut in fresh tissue.  Dirty pruning tools are also a quick way to spread Thielaviopsis from plant to plant.  

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