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Wodyetia woes

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May 22May 22

Hi, I'm trying to find a reason a Wodyetia bifurcata is showing yellowing and then browning of the leaf, starting at the tip then working its way up the frond until the whole frond is dead, moving from bottom fronds upwards. It's about 20 years old , east facing, 2 storey building on the west, I'm pretty sure it's not cold damage. Located in Brisbane. Soil pH is around 6-8. Thanks

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May 22May 22

Could it be Mn-deficiency?

Btw pH 6 is a completely different story from pH 8. The former is great news while the latter is very bad news and can lead to several deficiencies.

Zone 9b: if you love it, cover it.

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May 22May 22

@CBax welcome to Palmtalk! If it's just on the leaf tips of the oldest fronds, it could be a mild Magnesium deficiency. If it has progressed to the tips of newer fronds too (especially if it's progressive) then a moderate to severe Magnesium deficiency is likely. That's assuming that the rest of the fronds are pretty solid green and it's growing nee fronds at a "normal" rate. Make sure your fertilizer has a few percent Magnesium, and consider adding some Magnesium Sulfate (Sulphate). Here's a description page with some photos: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP266

If you see brown tips on new spears it might be a Manganese deficiency. Manganese deficiencies only show up on new fronds, though. It isn't progressive like you described.

Sometimes if a palm is in a grassy area the grass will consume a lot of the nutrients and cause deficiencies. Extremely large amounts of water (or no water) can also cause brown tips.

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May 22May 22

Even in Australia they get older yellow tattered leaves. They do like a good feed now and then. I would say that your one has drainage issues, thus causing the nutrient deficiency. They key to growing wodyetia is drainage.

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2 weeks later...

22 hours ago22 hr

Author

Thanks for the replies.

I tried a new pH kit and came up with 7.5 in 3 spots about 20 cms deep. Here are some better photos of the palm .

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16 hours ago16 hr

6 hours ago, CBax said:
Thanks for the replies.
I tried a new pH kit and came up with 7.5 in 3 spots about 20 cms deep. Here are some better photos of the palm .

7.5 is a high ph i wouldnt worry too much about the palms you have, it looks like potassium deficiency. But at 7.5 you shouldn’t really have an issue. Perhaps too much water and not enough drainage.