New transplants are brown and falling after a week

[kbrivas]

Hi all. I need some advice here. 10 days ago, some workers came by the house I rent to dig up the old plants in this space and add these 3 palms. After 2 days, one was already turning brown with black spots and drooping, but I figured it was just transplant stress. I mentioned it to the landlord, who just recommended continuing to water daily. The other two trees were doing well at this point. I've been watering once a day in the morning since then, but I'm worried they might be drowning.

Over the last week, more has started turning brown and as of yesterday, it's starting to happen to the "healthier" one, too. The little guy at the back is still fine.

I'm in the Houston TX area, and I think they're in clay soil, but am pretty clueless when it comes to outdoor plants. It's super dense and can be squeezed into a moldable ball when wet. I feel like I could throw pottery with this stuff. I hate having the ugly dying leaves out front, but have been asked by the landlord to leave it alone for now so the ones that planted then can come back and take a look. That could be any time in the next month based on past experience. Any advice to help slow the death spiral that they're in? They look so bad!

[awkonradi]

Welcome to PalmTalk!  If those two palms were transplanted without big root balls, then they easily could show this much transplant stress.  Right now, I think watering at least briefly once a day is not too much.  I think those two palms may look rough for months, but then they may start to grow vigorously.  Washingtonia are tough, and they transplant well.  Do you have other Washingtonia in your neighborhood, understanding that Houston suffered a severe freeze in Feb. 2021?  Good for you for renting a home and caring this much about your landlord's palms!

[aztropic]

Believe it or not, in the end, both of those palms will be fine. When the landscapers return to inspect, they will probably trim off the yellowd fronds and the trees will continue to pump out nice green ones with hot weather arriving.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona