Perpetually yellowing suffering Queen

[Christopher Dillman]

At my wit's end with this one ..

Queen here that I have been adding Palm Plus + soil amendments three times a year for the past several years. It gets plenty of water in and around the canopy area {drippers}.

And still – it remains as yellow as a canary.

Maybe one new frond every two years. And when it shoots, it snaps like this ..

Another close up of the yellowing ..

My instincts tell me to pour this all-around the root base.. thoughts?

My other thought - cut off all the fronds (I guess keep one for aesthetics .. ?) that will allow the new shoots to come in quicker.

That's all I've got left for ideas - Welcome new thoughts from the experts here!

 

[sonoranfans]

magnesium, Mg and potassium, K are needed as well.  Queens are just about the most micronutrient needy common palm there is.   That one looks like its been years in the making.  They are also susceptible to frizzletop from Mn deficiency though that one doesnt show it.   If you are determined get some humic acid and give it a few repeated deep soaks a week apart.  Humic will stimulate growth in soil microbes which are critical in the uptake of nutrients.  Good luck!

[Darold Petty]

Here is an impolite, tough love comment;

  This appears to be severe potassium (K) deficiency,  the most common macronutrient problem.  You have been doing everything right, yet no improvement.  You also have other queen palms that appear OK,  behind the house and solar panels.  Therefore you have issues with just this one palm.  I would remove it, and sooner than later.  Anyway, why queens in Encinitas ?  You're in an extremely favorable microclimate,  plant something more exotic or beautiful.  Howea is a vastly better palm.

Life is too short to deal with unsatisfactory plants.  As I grow older I have become much more ruthless about discarding plants that no longer please me.   Good luck !   

[Christopher Dillman]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

I would remove it, and sooner than later.  Anyway, why queens in Encinitas ?  You're in an extremely favorable microclimate,  plant something more exotic or beautiful.  Howea is a vastly better palm.

If money was no object, I see your vision. The thought of crane-ing in another giant palm will postone my retirement.

Need to do what I can to bring it back to life.

Shove a helping of magnesium down its throat as well? Also curious about remove the yellowing fronds to trigger new growth faster - welcome your opinion on that as well.

[Christopher Dillman]

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

magnesium, Mg and potassium, K are needed as well.  Queens are just about the most micronutrient needy common palm there is.   That one looks like its been years in the making.

Is there a magnesium off-the-shelf product/brand you recommend? And liquid drench based.. or pellets?

What are your thoughts on adding the liquid chelated iron?

[PalmatierMeg]

Pull it out and replace it with a palm that evolved in your mediterranean climate. Even a mule palm. Cali palm growers can recommend species, i.e., Jubaea, Rhopalastylis spp, Parajubaea, Howea and more. I can't grow them in FL. Maybe someone will actually recommend a palmate palm to shake up the balance in your yard. Now you are wasting, time, money and energy trying to revive a weedy, needy palm with a death wish.

[Christopher Dillman]

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

magnesium, Mg and potassium, K are needed as well.  Queens are just about the most micronutrient needy common palm there is.  

Just realized I had this in the shed - unopened.

Drench the base of Queen with this stuff?

[Christopher Dillman]

2 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Pull it out and replace it with a palm that evolved in your mediterranean climate. Even a mule palm. 

Way out of my budget, but thank you. Need to do whatever I can to rescue it.

[Harry’s Palms]

At my old house I had three Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana that were growing well but always a bit yellow. I added SulPoMag as directed for about a year and the palms looked a bunch better. Make sure you break up the soil around the base of the palm and amend with a good top soil . Top it off with wood chips , a good layer . You will have to rake the wood chips out of the way when you work in the fertilizer , I use a claw . Then redistribute the chips. 
 Syagrus R. should grow like weeds where you are , at least 4 new fronds a year. I have had to remove under performing Queens before , just something in a certain palm sometimes. Harry

[Christopher Dillman]

23 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I added SulPoMag as directed for about a year and the palms looked a bunch better. 

Thank you! Any off-the-shelf brands of it you recommend? And should I go liquid drench, or granular?

[Johnny Palmseed]

1 hour ago, Christopher Dillman said:

If money was no object, I see your vision. The thought of crane-ing in another giant palm will postone my retirement.

Need to do what I can to bring it back to life.

Shove a helping of magnesium down its throat as well? Also curious about remove the yellowing fronds to trigger new growth faster - welcome your opinion on that as well.

The problem is that you might not be able to do that. Sometimes palms just die. Would you really need to replace it with a giant palm? Is it required by an HOA or something?

[Johnny Palmseed]

1 hour ago, Christopher Dillman said:

Just realized I had this in the shed - unopened.

Drench the base of Queen with this stuff?

Use it according to the instructions. Not sure if you mean to drench by pouring the bottle on the roots. And probably wait until spring since you really don’t want to stimulate growth in winter. Use the Sul Po Mag now.

[Jim in Los Altos]

No one’s answers your question about cutting off existing fronds. DON’T! They are still transferring some nutrients back to the palm’s growing point. Only brown dead fronds should be removed from any palm. Your Queen is exceptionally hungry and ready for a good dose of your liquid fertilizer. Queen palms are pretty forgiving and respond well to proper feeding. The existing leaves will not ever look great but new growth should improve greatly. I’d say double feed whatever the recommendations are on your fertilizer’s instructions. 

[Christopher Dillman]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

No one’s answers your question about cutting off existing fronds. DON’T! They are still transferring some nutrients back to the palm’s growing point. 

Thank you Jim for spotting my question!  And duly noted. The fronds certainly aren't brown and frizzled, so that's a good point. 

So that liquid 17-5-24 would do the trick? For now I can lay down Sul-Po-Mag pellets from EB Stone before the rains get here.

[Harry’s Palms]

6 hours ago, Christopher Dillman said:

Thank you! Any off-the-shelf brands of it you recommend? And should I go liquid drench, or granular?

It was about 30 years ago so I can’t remember . If you talk to a good nursery that knows palms , they can recommend the right choice . That’s what I did , went to a nursery that happened to have a palm specialist . I’m thinking it was granular that I mixed in around the base of the palm , try not to let it gathered against the trunk . Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

On 11/13/2025 at 3:48 PM, Christopher Dillman said:

Thank you Jim for spotting my question!  And duly noted. The fronds certainly aren't brown and frizzled, so that's a good point. 

So that liquid 17-5-24 would do the trick? For now I can lay down Sul-Po-Mag pellets from EB Stone before the rains get here.

I have used EB Stone fertilizer for palms on just a few of my palms . I like the product as it is organic and seems to work well . After over a year of regular treatment , my Chambeyronia doesn’t burn near as badly from direct sun . Over 90% of my palms don’t need any help . I refresh the top soil and wood chips regularly , but my Chambeyronia would burn badly during the hottest months . I increased the watering and added EB Stone every 3 months . Whatever you do will take time to noticeably change the look of that palm . Harry

[Christopher Dillman]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Whatever you do will take time to noticeably change the look of that palm . Harry

Duly noted. If I waited this long, happy to wait longer.

What are your thoughts also hitting the palm with epsom salts? Or will just the Sul-Po-Mag be enough?

Also curious if sprinkling Palm Gain additionally couldn't hurt as well.

Just trying to take advantage of all these heavy rains atm in San Diego. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

14 minutes ago, Christopher Dillman said:

Duly noted. If I waited this long, happy to wait longer.

What are your thoughts also hitting the palm with epsom salts? Or will just the Sul-Po-Mag be enough?

Also curious if sprinkling Palm Gain additionally couldn't hurt as well.

Just trying to take advantage of all these heavy rains atm in San Diego. 

If you are using the Sul-Po-Mag already, I would wait to use the epsom salt. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate so you would just be adding more magnesium. You can throw the micro deficiencies off the other way by adding too much of any one thing. Adding Palm Gain probably would be fine in a small amount since you are using several things at once. Like Harry said, you will need time to get it looking good again.

[rprimbs]

I tried growing a vegetable garden at my parents house in Encinitas years ago.  The corn was great, the tomatoes were great, melons squash were fantastic, and the broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage were tiny and stunted.  They barely grew more than two inches tall.  

Their soil was very deficient in potassium.  The queens just don't like it.  And if you are going to grow a vegetable garden there it is a good idea to get a soil test done, and amend.   I was just adding manure that I was getting free from Frank Konyn's organic dairy in Escondido, but that is not the ultimate way to garden.

[Christopher Dillman]

28 minutes ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

If you are using the Sul-Po-Mag already, I would wait to use the epsom salt. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate so you would just be adding more magnesium. You can throw the micro deficiencies off the other way by adding too much of any one thing. Adding Palm Gain probably would be fine in a small amount since you are using several things at once. Like Harry said, you will need time to get it looking good again.

Thank you Johnny!