Etsy Old Man Palm - Help!

[MrTropical]

Hey everyone. I just received an Old Man Palm in the mail. It was purchased from Etsy. It came in a 3-gallon pot, but that seems large for the palm at this stage in its life. So as I was in the repotting process (downsizing), I noticed there are several rotten roots. Keep in mind I just received this palm 30 minutes ago, so this was not something I caused. The seller claims that I caused the root rot by removing the palm from the pot (?). Still trying to reach a resolution of some sort. In the meantime, can this palm be saved? Thank you.

[Harry’s Palms]

By looking at the pics , maybe this palm was field dug prior to potting. These are not too root sensitive so it may be ok unless the palm looks bad. I would keep it warm( room temp ) and not too much sun for a while with good , fast draining soil and regular watering until it comes around. Maybe some Kelp based organic fertilizer ( sparingly ) . These are pretty tough palms!  It would help if we could see a pic of the palm itself. Harry 

[MrTropical]

42 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

By looking at the pics , maybe this palm was field dug prior to potting. These are not too root sensitive so it may be ok unless the palm looks bad. I would keep it warm( room temp ) and not too much sun for a while with good , fast draining soil and regular watering until it comes around. Maybe some Kelp based organic fertilizer ( sparingly ) . These are pretty tough palms!  It would help if we could see a pic of the palm itself. Harry 

Thank you for the reply. It’s staying in a 75°F bedroom with grow lights for now. It is now in a 2-gallon pot as well. The palm is in a well-draining mix with sand mixed in. Also, I currently have a fan blowing on it (lightly) so things don’t stay too wet. 
Here’s some pictures of the palm…

 

[Harry’s Palms]

That’s a nice one ! It may be too early to tell , just keep an eye on it . Happy growing . Harry

[MrTropical]

27 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

That’s a nice one ! It may be too early to tell , just keep an eye on it . Happy growing . Harry

Thank you again, Harry. 

[MrTropical]

I don't normally do this, but given the seller's blatantly rude response, I feel that this is appropriate. For context, I reached out to the seller about the issue I described in this thread. I was civil and respectful in my message to him. He stated to me that this was my fault because I "did not read directions and removed the palm from the original pot". I replied and stated my intentions were not to up-size the pot, but rather *down-size* the pot. A 3-gallon pot seems excessive for a palm this size. I reiterated that root rot does not occur instantaneously. Then I get this as a response...he then tried saying it was "compression" from the box it was shipped in (?). This palm was shipped in a box nearly 3 feet tall. Also, he only mentioned "compression" once, not "ten times" as he claims. Shortly after, he cancelled the order and issued a refund. I assume he cancelled the order to prevent any feedback from being left on his shop. I guess the upside is that I received a refund. This response isn't very professional & business-like though. 



For those of you curious, the name of the Etsy shop is Exotic Palm Source and the owner's name is Anthony. That's who sent this response. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

The palm looks good up top but if some of the roots are rotted, that could be a concern for later. Root rot is certainly not caused by compression or removing it from the pot. The sellers response is pretty inappropriate. You didn’t post your actual comments but it seems over the top, especially calling you an idiot.

[MrTropical]

1 hour ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

The palm looks good up top but if some of the roots are rotted, that could be a concern for later. Root rot is certainly not caused by compression or removing it from the pot. The sellers response is pretty inappropriate. You didn’t post your actual comments but it seems over the top, especially calling you an idiot.

I'm hoping for the best.

Also, it appears the seller has blocked me on Etsy so I can't go back to the original conversation, but here's a screenshot from earlier today with the comment I made before his inappropriate response...


 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

That is such a disrespectful response for a seller. I’ve only ever sold 1 palm on etsy but I know that as a seller it’s priority to ensure your plants are in good health before they ship and at least try to make sure they arrive safely too. As you said, root rot does not occur overnight, and for a tropical palm such as an old man it should not occur over the days it was shipped either. Meaning the palm probably already had the rot and seller didn’t bother to make sure everything, including roots, looked good. Also their reply is completely ignorant to the fact that not only did you downsize it but also that root rot should not be left to happen for the sake of not disturbing the roots. good luck with your palm I think it’ll make it just fine though

[Johnny Palmseed]

19 hours ago, MrTropical said:

I'm hoping for the best.

Also, it appears the seller has blocked me on Etsy so I can't go back to the original conversation, but here's a screenshot from earlier today with the comment I made before his inappropriate response...


 

The guy sounds like a complete jackass. Making blanket statements like “Digging around in the roots will definitely kill the plant-there’s no doubt about it.” is ridiculous.

[MrTropical]

3 minutes ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

The guy sounds like a complete jackass. Making blanket statements like “Digging around in the roots will definitely kill the plant-there’s no doubt about it.” is ridiculous.

100 percent. 

[MrTropical]

6 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

That is such a disrespectful response for a seller. I’ve only ever sold 1 palm on etsy but I know that as a seller it’s priority to ensure your plants are in good health before they ship and at least try to make sure they arrive safely too. As you said, root rot does not occur overnight, and for a tropical palm such as an old man it should not occur over the days it was shipped either. Meaning the palm probably already had the rot and seller didn’t bother to make sure everything, including roots, looked good. Also their reply is completely ignorant to the fact that not only did you downsize it but also that root rot should not be left to happen for the sake of not disturbing the roots. good luck with your palm I think it’ll make it just fine though

Absolutely. This is my first bad experience on Etsy in the 3 years I've used it. I've never dealt with something to this degree on any platform. 

Thank you, I sure hope so. It's a beautiful palm. 

[Harry’s Palms]

I am glad you at least got compensation . The seller has a very short sighted attitude that will inevitably hurt future sales. To work with a customer is a necessary part of selling just about anything . I really think you have a good chance of that palm surviving. Harry