I planted this in March. By end of June it looked great.

End of June

I returned from a short trip after July 4th and all of the fronds looked fried except for the frond emerging from the spear.

Now

I have been deep watering. I’m genuinely at a loss. It’s getting water. How could it take such a drastic turn in less than a month.

I have never grown this particular palm so I can’t really help. It sure looks as though it is struggling. I am sorry you are having a problem , I hope it pulls through. It has been quite warm for the last week. Harry

What is "deep watering"?

Here in Atlanta we had weeks of scorching heat but the weather's flipped. It's raining ever day.

By deep watering, I hope you are giving it about 10 gallons of water, at least 2 or 3 times a week for a new planting. A half hour time on a 1 gpm drip line isn't going to cut it. Appears it needs more water than it was receiving now that temps have risen.

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

4 hours ago, aztropic said:

By deep watering, I hope you are giving it about 10 gallons of water, at least 2 or 3 times a week for a new planting. A half hour time on a 1 gpm drip line isn't going to cut it. Appears it needs more water than it was receiving now that temps have risen.

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

I was doing about 2-3x of slow pencil thin water from a hose for about 30 minutes. I just looked at the soil and it’s pretty wet.

AI said that the fronds may be dying to give the two née fronds energy to grow. I cut about 3 fronds off last week because they looked they were dying, but I think that was a mistake since the other two started to dry out within a few days. The center spear and fronds look healthy. So I guess thats good news.

Just a little disappointed because this is right in front of my house. The flame thrower and teddy bear palm look perfect. Temperatures have been higher but relatively mild for what we’re used to, today it hit 100 degrees. Maybe its shock from the heat?

4 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I was doing about 2-3x of slow pencil thin water from a hose for about 30 minutes. I just looked at the soil and it’s pretty wet.

AI said that the fronds may be dying to give the two née fronds energy to grow. I cut about 3 fronds off last week because they looked they were dying, but I think that was a mistake since the other two started to dry out within a few days. The center spear and fronds look healthy. So I guess thats good news.

Just a little disappointed because this is right in front of my house. The flame thrower and teddy bear palm look perfect. Temperatures have been higher but relatively mild for what we’re used to, today it hit 100 degrees. Maybe its shock from the heat?

Hello :), I would say it was shocked, maybe the palm doesn't used to it. If you say the center spear is healthy then soon it will be alright, just cut out all the dead fronds and remained the good ones!

Water it regularly but don't overwatering it, because it will get use to it over time.

@SCVpalmenthusiastthe "eating" of the older fronds seems at least normal, but I would have left the oldest ones on until fully crispy dry. At this point it might just be adapting to hot and dry. The old fronds do look a little bit stretched out, just in the spacing between leaflets...but it's hard to say for sure. If so that could explain the quick burning, at least partially. I'd do:

• Contact the nursery and tell them the old leaves are dying fast. If there's any kind of warranty make sure you get their input asap.

• Make sure your trickle of water is fully distributed on the existing roots and not just the nearby dirt. It'll take 6 months to really grow a lot of roots out into the surrounding dirt.

One other possibility is that it's getting too much water and has root rot. I'm on sand here in FL, so it's tough to overwater. Excess water just sinks down to the water table, which at my place is about 6 feet down. But in clay I have read of dug holes basically filling with water like a lake...and not draining out at all. I have never dealt with clay soil, so I don't have any suggestions on what do do or what not to do with clay. Maybe someone out West can comment?

I am closer to the coastal influence but it has been very warm here . I am about 30 miles from Valencia/ Santa Clarita area due west . I have a palm I want to plant in a sunny area but I think I may wait due to the heat , yesterday was 86f here and is going to be in the 90’s again next week. I have never had a drainage issue here except for one spot and that was cured with a Queen palm that sucked up the moisture in that corner. We hand water 3 times a week when it is like this and the ground isn’t soggy at all. Our palms love the water , even the Triangle palms. I think the OP’s palm is just settling in and probably will take time to start looking better. July and August are warm months in our area . Harry

On 7/15/2026 at 8:39 PM, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I was doing about 2-3x of slow pencil thin water from a hose for about 30 minutes. I just looked at the soil and its pretty wet

I was never able to keep a palm consistently happy unless I knew the watering depth. If the soil has some clay, watering depth is determined by time, not flowrate. Excess flowrate that isn't spread around the root zone can run off, evaporate, or channel in the soil. Faster flowrates tend to cause more channeling. Irrigation drippers can be used to great effect in dry areas. You get perhaps 10 degrees more heat there than in Alfredii's native habitat. To me it looks like classic desiccation in the hot season by underwatering. If you went away and watering was not automatic in your absence in the heat, there is the likely culprit. I would water for at least 1 1/2 hrs at low flowrates of 6 gph((3) 2 gallon drippers spaced around the root zone every 3rd day in the heat, less frequent when the high temps drop below 75. You can buy timers and drippers that can be attached to a hose. I have killed plenty of palms by just hand watering, automatic watering is needed and drippers tell you what the flowrate is so you can calculate the total water in gallons. Your palm does not have an established root system, they don't come that way. IF you want it to be happy, you will have to make sure its getting the right amount of water and wet a good root zone area for the first two years. When established they are a low maintenance palm aside consistent watering like most palms. Once roots are established it will carry a full crown like this.

I've seen these grown in the arizona desert and all over socal so it can be done. I don't recommend getting the tallest one as its roots have been bound for a long time in a pot. 15 gallons would be fine. I started with a 3 gallon and the above pic is the end of the 3rd full growing season.

Here is the 3 gallon 6 months after planting

Today its 30 foot tall, and just as wide with a 34-36" thick trunk

18 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@SCVpalmenthusiastthe "eating" of the older fronds seems at least normal, but I would have left the oldest ones on until fully crispy dry. At this point it might just be adapting to hot and dry. The old fronds do look a little bit stretched out, just in the spacing between leaflets...but it's hard to say for sure. If so that could explain the quick burning, at least partially. I'd do:

• Contact the nursery and tell them the old leaves are dying fast. If there's any kind of warranty make sure you get their input asap.

• Make sure your trickle of water is fully distributed on the existing roots and not just the nearby dirt. It'll take 6 months to really grow a lot of roots out into the surrounding dirt.

One other possibility is that it's getting too much water and has root rot. I'm on sand here in FL, so it's tough to overwater. Excess water just sinks down to the water table, which at my place is about 6 feet down. But in clay I have read of dug holes basically filling with water like a lake...and not draining out at all. I have never dealt with clay soil, so I don't have any suggestions on what do do or what not to do with clay. Maybe someone out West can comment?

I stuck a reebar about a foot down the soil and it was pure water. Perhaps ive been overwatering? I didn’t think it was possible. Im gonna take a week off watering. Let it dry out a little and then deep water. It’s definitely pushing a new spear so good news is it isn’t dead.

6 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I was never able to keep a palm consistently happy unless I knew the watering depth. If the soil has some clay, watering depth is determined by time, not flowrate. Excess flowrate that isn't spread around the root zone can run off, evaporate, or channel in the soil. Faster flowrates tend to cause more channeling. Irrigation drippers can be used to great effect in dry areas. You get perhaps 10 degrees more heat there than in Alfredii's native habitat. To me it looks like classic desiccation in the hot season by underwatering. If you went away and watering was not automatic in your absence in the heat, there is the likely culprit. I would water for at least 1 1/2 hrs at low flowrates of 6 gph((3) 2 gallon drippers spaced around the root zone every 3rd day in the heat, less frequent when the high temps drop below 75. You can buy timers and drippers that can be attached to a hose. I have killed plenty of palms by just hand watering, automatic watering is needed and drippers tell you what the flowrate is so you can calculate the total water in gallons. Your palm does not have an established root system, they don't come that way. IF you want it to be happy, you will have to make sure its getting the right amount of water and wet a good root zone area for the first two years. When established they are a low maintenance palm aside consistent watering like most palms. Once roots are established it will carry a full crown like this.

I've seen these grown in the arizona desert and all over socal so it can be done. I don't recommend getting the tallest one as its roots have been bound for a long time in a pot. 15 gallons would be fine. I started with a 3 gallon and the above pic is the end of the 3rd full growing season.

Here is the 3 gallon 6 months after planting

Today its 30 foot tall, and just as wide with a 34-36" thick trunk

I put a bar about a foot down and it was watery and slick when I pulled it out. Maybe I’ve been overwatering? I think I shouldn’t have pruned the fronds. I see a new spear and I think the palm is drying the other fronds to have energy to push the spear out. Ugh valuable lesson I learned. I just hope my HOA doesn’t bitch that it looks like I have a dying palm in the front.

7 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I am closer to the coastal influence but it has been very warm here . I am about 30 miles from Valencia/ Santa Clarita area due west . I have a palm I want to plant in a sunny area but I think I may wait due to the heat , yesterday was 86f here and is going to be in the 90’s again next week. I have never had a drainage issue here except for one spot and that was cured with a Queen palm that sucked up the moisture in that corner. We hand water 3 times a week when it is like this and the ground isn’t soggy at all. Our palms love the water , even the Triangle palms. I think the OP’s palm is just settling in and probably will take time to start looking better. July and August are warm months in our area . Harry

Yea we had a mild June, and even though im further inland we had a lot of June gloom. But perhaps the high heat shocked it, it’s definitely not a water issue. If anything I’ve overwatered. My other exotic palms look wonderful. Im hoping it pushes these new fronds and then it adapts. I had a similar issue with my king palm, and now it looks amazing.

On 7/17/2026 at 4:19 PM, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I stuck a reebar about a foot down the soil and it was pure water. Perhaps ive been overwatering? I didn’t think it was possible. Im gonna take a week off watering. Let it dry out a little and then deep water. It’s definitely pushing a new spear so good news is it isn’t dead.

If it's sludgy in the ground then it might not be draining. In FL sand that's never a problem. I'm not sure what to suggest, other than backing off the water volume to a regular smaller amount? I'd guess a fungicide that's good on root rot would help. Maybe Aliette or a similar aluminum tris type? It's a surface and systemic and good for Pythium and Phytophthora.

What kind of soil is in the raised bed and under it? Did you amend the soil with organics or perlite? The area appears sloped and raised so it should drain away, but if its not penetrating deep it will just runoff. A bar that goes through mucky surface soil will come out with muck on it, the last soil it touches on the way out, even if the depth is dry. Drainage tests are highly recommended in heavy clay to determine if extensive site preparation is needed. Could be you have low drainage soil and the water is wetting the top 4-5 inches but leaving underneath dry, sloped ground can be tricky with low drainage clay soil. I would dig the garden area near the rootball, closest to the wall facing the street(downhill from the palm) and see if it really is wet at depth, say 15"). The crisping of the leaf tips doesnt look like overwatering to me. Yellowing without crinkled leaf tips would be more the expected overwatering issue. I am thinking its clay soil because its sloped int he general area. This would have to be heavily amended with perlite and some organics to ensure fast drainage. Half an hour is not going to penetrate deeply int he soil if it has a good amount of clay. I grew palms in clay desert for 10 years.

1) must determine soil drainage by digging a hole and adding water to the hole to 18" by at least a foot wide and seeing how long it takes to drain after filling it up.

2) drip irrigation is really a big advantage in drier climates in clay soil if you don't want to constantly be attending to your palm

3) Never water during daytime heat, evaporative losses are potentially massive in a dry climate

4) Small gravel is a loser in drier climates as it allows more evaporation, larger size 3/4" granite or other stone rock does much better at retaining moisture.

Yikes, this is a drought tolerant palm so you may need to look at other possibilities like gophers eating the roots. I’m in Rancho Cucamonga and I have both triple digit heat and low humidity. I water mine daily in summer and I let the hose run. But the amount of water I give overall is less than I give to my Roystonea or Archontophoenix. I had a 7 foot tall Bismarckia taken out by gophers. I’d keep giving it a robust amount of water to see if it is able to power through. Once happy and healthy they are always throwing 3 spears at a time and will regrow the crown within a year.

1 hour ago, James B said:

Yikes, this is a drought tolerant palm so you may need to look at other possibilities like gophers eating the roots. I’m in Rancho Cucamonga and I have both triple digit heat and low humidity. I water mine daily in summer and I let the hose run. But the amount of water I give overall is less than I give to my Roystonea or Archontophoenix. I had a 7 foot tall Bismarckia taken out by gophers. I’d keep giving it a robust amount of water to see if it is able to power through. Once happy and healthy they are always throwing 3 spears at a time and will regrow the crown within a year.

Bizmarkia= gopher candy! Ask me how I know . They are the roots to mine right to the trunk. Harry

no palm without established roots is drought resistant compared with an established one. Alfredii is drought tolerant once it establishes deep roots. Planted in march 2026 this one has another 2 years to get those roots established.

14 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

What kind of soil is in the raised bed and under it? Did you amend the soil with organics or perlite? The area appears sloped and raised so it should drain away, but if its not penetrating deep it will just runoff. A bar that goes through mucky surface soil will come out with muck on it, the last soil it touches on the way out, even if the depth is dry. Drainage tests are highly recommended in heavy clay to determine if extensive site preparation is needed. Could be you have low drainage soil and the water is wetting the top 4-5 inches but leaving underneath dry, sloped ground can be tricky with low drainage clay soil. I would dig the garden area near the rootball, closest to the wall facing the street(downhill from the palm) and see if it really is wet at depth, say 15"). The crisping of the leaf tips doesnt look like overwatering to me. Yellowing without crinkled leaf tips would be more the expected overwatering issue. I am thinking its clay soil because its sloped int he general area. This would have to be heavily amended with perlite and some organics to ensure fast drainage. Half an hour is not going to penetrate deeply int he soil if it has a good amount of clay. I grew palms in clay desert for 10 years.

1) must determine soil drainage by digging a hole and adding water to the hole to 18" by at least a foot wide and seeing how long it takes to drain after filling it up.

2) drip irrigation is really a big advantage in drier climates in clay soil if you don't want to constantly be attending to your palm

3) Never water during daytime heat, evaporative losses are potentially massive in a dry climate

4) Small gravel is a loser in drier climates as it allows more evaporation, larger size 3/4" granite or other stone rock does much better at retaining moisture.

I have holes. You can see there’s some water, it’s about a foot deep.

I haven’t deep watered since Wednesday. I’m super bummed out. I contacted the nursery they suggested more water. But I don’t think its a water issue because there’s definitely water reaching the root.

This area is known for heavy clay. Should I put the hose in this hole and let it run for 45 minutes?

Im already considering a replacement. This is going to cost me 2k+ removal of the dead palm. At this point, I may just give up. It’s getting too expensive buying these pricey palms and then paying to get them installed, just for them to look like dog 💩 in a few months 😓

8 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I have holes. You can see there’s some water, it’s about a foot deep.

I haven’t deep watered since Wednesday. I’m super bummed out. I contacted the nursery they suggested more water. But I don’t think its a water issue because there’s definitely water reaching the root.

This area is known for heavy clay. Should I put the hose in this hole and let it run for 45 minutes?

Im already considering a replacement. This is going to cost me 2k+ removal of the dead palm. At this point, I may just give up. It’s getting too expensive buying these pricey palms and then paying to get them installed, just for them to look like dog 💩 in a few months 😓

I cannot tell from the photo. Let the hose run on high flow and see if the hole fills and then how fast it empties, time it. I see no organic material there, did you amend the soil with some garden soil? The surface soil should be obviously wet for several hours after watering. WHen you first plant a palm the soil needs to drain but also it needs to retain moisture, it should feel wet near the surface 2-3 inches down. The whole raised bed should be 1/3 added organic material -like garden soil- mixed with the native soil. I understand your pain, I lost a $600 palm back when I started here 15 years ago. Generally the planting advice I have had is make the hole 3x the width of the rootball and the same depth(no organics under the rootball). Back fill with the well mixed 1/3 organic material and the rest native soil. I see a lot of coarse sand and pebbles there, not the kind of soil that holds water. I would try to water it more, flood it and see how long it takes to drain. Preparation of the site is critical for new palms, I would not plant anything else in that hole witho0ut serious amending if this BA doesn't make it. Fully amend the raised bed with organics before planting any other non desert plants. It seems you are new to to this, everyone makes mistakes in the beginning. Preparation of the hole can mean life or death to a new palm. Your palm hasnt grown any roots yet. You can still replace the soil around the rootball with 1/3rd organic mix. I would do that and wet it down good and put mulch on top(not small stones) for now.

2 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I cannot tell from the photo. Let the hose run on high flow and see if the hole fills and then how fast it empties, time it. I see no organic material there, did you amend the soil with some garden soil? The surface soil should be obviously wet for several hours after watering. WHen you first plant a palm the soil needs to drain but also it needs to retain moisture, it should feel wet near the surface 2-3 inches down. The whole raised bed should be 1/3 added organic material -like garden soil- mixed with the native soil. I understand your pain, I lost a $600 palm back when I started here 15 years ago. Generally the planting advice I have had is make the hole 3x the width of the rootball and the same depth(no organics under the rootball). Back fill with the well mixed 1/3 organic material and the rest native soil. I see a lot of coarse sand and pebbles there, not the kind of soil that holds water. I would try to water it more, flood it and see how long it takes to drain. Preparation of the site is critical for new palms, I would not plant anything else in that hole witho0ut serious amending if this BA doesn't make it. Fully amend the raised bed with organics before planting any other non desert plants. It seems you are new to to this, everyone makes mistakes in the beginning. Preparation of the hole can mean life or death to a new palm. Your palm hasnt grown any roots yet. You can still replace the soil around the rootball with 1/3rd organic mix. I would do that and wet it down good and put mulch on top(not small stones) for now.

I filled the hole with water, it stays there for a while. I just did a drip watering for 30 minutes.

My gardener planted it, what should I tell him to amend the soil? Do they have to dig up the soils and replace it with organic soil?

Good advice here . I would wait it out now . Continue watering , as long as the palm isn’t sitting in muck and the watering is reaching the entire root ball. I have had palms linger for a year before showing good turn around. I would add wood chips to the surface to help insulate from the heat and reduce evaporation. I have wood chips everywhere around my palms . Don’t give up just yet! Years ago I would get “dead” palms and revive them . As long as I saw green at the growth point , I would try. I had many success stories! Harry

3 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I filled the hole with water, it stays there for a while. I just did a drip watering for 30 minutes.

My gardener planted it, what should I tell him to amend the soil? Do they have to dig up the soils and replace it with organic soil?

yes if your gardener did not ammend with 1/3rd do it now. Dig up all around the palm 3x the width of the rootball then mix that soil with garden soil from a garden supply 33% garden soil and fill it back in. This should always be done with any new palm. 30 mins dripping is not enough still, go for 90 mins at 4 gallons per hour. The palm didn't look great as delivered, this is often the case as they sit under nursery care in a pot. Planted and watered properly it would be fine It appears to have only declined over time. So how long did it take to drain after you filled it?

22 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

yes if your gardener did not ammend with 1/3rd do it now. Dig up all around the palm 3x the width of the rootball then mix that soil with garden soil from a garden supply 33% garden soil and fill it back in. This should always be done with any new palm. 30 mins dripping is not enough still, go for 90 mins at 4 gallons per hour. The palm didn't look great as delivered, this is often the case as they sit under nursery care in a pot. Planted and watered properly it would be fine It appears to have only declined over time. So how long did it take to drain after you filled it?

It came in the 36 inch box he planted it in the soil it already had, he did not amend it. I’ll tell him to amend it with garden soil. He did that with the smaller 15 gallon palms and they’re thriving.

AI seems to believe it doesn’t have the roots to support the other fronds, so its using the energy to push a new spear. But its not dead, it just hasn’t established roots.

I’ll do slow 90 minute drip, how often would you say? 3x 4x daily?

1 minute ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

It came in the 36 inch box he planted it in the soil it already had, he did not amend it. I’ll tell him to amend it with garden soil. He did that with the smaller 15 gallon palms and they’re thriving.

AI seems to believe it doesn’t have the roots to support the other fronds, so its using the energy to push a new spear. But its not dead, it just hasn’t established roots.

I’ll do slow 90 minute drip, how often would you say? 3x 4x daily?

90 minute drip every other day so it drains. AI is correct except it doesn't know how long it was in the 36" box. The leaves it had when purchased looked like it was somewhat water starved which is common when they are trying to save money. A 36" box means you need to water deeply, greater than 3' so yes 90 mins or even 120mins every other day and cover the surface around the roots larger than the box size with some kind of top mulch that prevents evaporation. Not amending soil is a big mistake in most cases, and makes watering the root zone consistently more difficult. Nothing on your gardener but doesn't sound like tht person has a green thumb to me so you will have to to that part. Small stones on top and that coarse sand is not a good scenario for a new palm in the ground. The organic garden soil mixed intot he soil column adds moisture retention and cation exchange that holds on to nutrients for later release. Pebbles and sand have zero cation exchange, clay has cation exchange but your soil looks like a lot of sand and pebbles on top. Pebbles por s,mall stone cause rapid evaporative losses from root soil on the surface. Best to get about 3" of top mulch to retain the moisture better against evaporation and drainage of soil material material that doesn't hold water. The short watering duration must have also been a big factor as it wont be wetting the soil down there at 3'. I dont have a gardener and am retired, I do it myself with advice I have obtained over the years and from growing in the desert and in florida. In the desert a big wet spot notably larger than the root area was visible after watering. The clay in my yard in AZ was fine in particle size and held water well, it would pool up a little after a watering. You might also need a temporary 3" berm around your 36" box roots to force the water on your roots until they are developed(2yrs). If you have the right clay the berm could be made of clay but if water passes the berm use a plastic 4" deep edging from a big box store and bury 3" of its height. This is a very common technique on sloped clay ground to prevent runoff. Fill the contained berm area with water, then watch it drain and time it. It should take an hour for the water to drain. Roots will not grow into dry soil on the surface or in the depth. Heavy amendment is indicated for your soil. At least 1-2 32 quart bag of rich chunky(bits of wood, not too fine) garden soil, NOT "topsoil" which is garbage at big box stores.

Understand all these actions would not be necessary if the soil was ammended and the watering was at 6-8 gph rate for a couple hours. But the palm has been in the ground and water deprived. A container palm has no runoff, put the hose on the roots and the container prevents sideways runoff. Once in the ground, you have to make sure the soil around the palm is getting wet, that is automatically done in a container. I hope it works out for you.

One last thought, I have used the algorithms that AI uses for 25 years. Some things AI is good for but at this time I wouldn't use it to determine what the palm ID is, let alone its treatment when sick. Image detail takes lots of data and it may require data from that species which is not going to happen for at least a decade. The AI is only as good as the data at the upper bound, it cannot be better than the information content in the data. FOr example if you have two points where a road is located a few miles apart, you cannot know if the road is curved, its impossible. AI often involves 345 or even 10 dimensions(impact variables) so you have an ockhams razor problem of exponentially increasing data requirements as the variables grow larger.

As for not enough root mass: its always true that palms are planted with not enough root mass so they generally cut off a few older leaves before they sell/plant it. In your case that appeared to have already been done before planting as your palm had just a 5 leaves at 36" box size. The recent spear looks good! Keep it watered good every other day for a month and watch it grow. It will always need water every 3 days if the temps are ~95-100F and dry outside.

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

90 minute drip every other day so it drains. AI is correct except it doesn't know how long it was in the 36" box. The leaves it had when purchased looked like it was somewhat water starved which is common when they are trying to save money. A 36" box means you need to water deeply, greater than 3' so yes 90 mins or even 120mins every other day and cover the surface around the roots larger than the box size with some kind of top mulch that prevents evaporation. Not amending soil is a big mistake in most cases, and makes watering the root zone consistently more difficult. Nothing on your gardener but doesn't sound like tht person has a green thumb to me so you will have to to that part. Small stones on top and that coarse sand is not a good scenario for a new palm in the ground. The organic garden soil mixed intot he soil column adds moisture retention and cation exchange that holds on to nutrients for later release. Pebbles and sand have zero cation exchange, clay has cation exchange but your soil looks like a lot of sand and pebbles on top. Pebbles por s,mall stone cause rapid evaporative losses from root soil on the surface. Best to get about 3" of top mulch to retain the moisture better against evaporation and drainage of soil material material that doesn't hold water. The short watering duration must have also been a big factor as it wont be wetting the soil down there at 3'. I dont have a gardener and am retired, I do it myself with advice I have obtained over the years and from growing in the desert and in florida. In the desert a big wet spot notably larger than the root area was visible after watering. The clay in my yard in AZ was fine in particle size and held water well, it would pool up a little after a watering. You might also need a temporary 3" berm around your 36" box roots to force the water on your roots until they are developed(2yrs). If you have the right clay the berm could be made of clay but if water passes the berm use a plastic 4" deep edging from a big box store and bury 3" of its height. This is a very common technique on sloped clay ground to prevent runoff. Fill the contained berm area with water, then watch it drain and time it. It should take an hour for the water to drain. Roots will not grow into dry soil on the surface or in the depth. Heavy amendment is indicated for your soil. At least 1-2 32 quart bag of rich chunky(bits of wood, not too fine) garden soil, NOT "topsoil" which is garbage at big box stores.

Understand all these actions would not be necessary if the soil was ammended and the watering was at 6-8 gph rate for a couple hours. But the palm has been in the ground and water deprived. A container palm has no runoff, put the hose on the roots and the container prevents sideways runoff. Once in the ground, you have to make sure the soil around the palm is getting wet, that is automatically done in a container. I hope it works out for you.

One last thought, I have used the algorithms that AI uses for 25 years. Some things AI is good for but at this time I wouldn't use it to determine what the palm ID is, let alone its treatment when sick. Image detail takes lots of data and it may require data from that species which is not going to happen for at least a decade. The AI is only as good as the data at the upper bound, it cannot be better than the information content in the data. FOr example if you have two points where a road is located a few miles apart, you cannot know if the road is curved, its impossible. AI often involves 345 or even 10 dimensions(impact variables) so you have an ockhams razor problem of exponentially increasing data requirements as the variables grow larger.

As for not enough root mass: its always true that palms are planted with not enough root mass so they generally cut off a few older leaves before they sell/plant it. In your case that appeared to have already been done before planting as your palm had just a 5 leaves at 36" box size. The recent spear looks good! Keep it watered good every other day for a month and watch it grow. It will always need water every 3 days if the temps are ~95-100F and dry outside.

There are sprinklers directly in front of it that turn on every day around 6 am for about 20 minutes. Should I start doing twice a day for 10 minutes so it absorbs better and prevents run off?

In clay soils 10 minutes is for grass and shallow rooted plants, not 36" box trees. This is nearly useless. drippers for 90-120 minutes every other day, never had any success with popups. It might get better if you amend the soil aggressively . I remember the landscaping guys set my auto irrigation to 10 mins and when I started by first garden there, I was having a bad time with my palms in arizona heat. The grass and flower popups were always run for 10-15 minutes but they were on a different station than trees. Trees used 4-5 hrs with a suitable arrangement of drippers. Popups for 10 mins would have killed all my trees in the heat and a few did die. Pop up heads are fine for palms in high drainage sandy soil like in florida for 30 minutes, but they are inadequate, almost useless for palms in clay. Depth of penetration is NOT determined by flow rate, its dominated by time to move vertically through the soil as slow watering continues the penetration is slow in clay regardless of flowrate. Some clay might need less time than others and I have assumed you did not have the impenetratable clay I had in AZ fromlooking at the coarse sand, and stones etc. Sloped ground is an additional complication that couples with low drainage rates to keep the depth dry. And ideally you run irrigation in the dark so post irrigation evaporation is low. Just to give you an idea I ran my irrigation in arizona clay for 5 hrs on larger palms. You waste lots of water running pop ups for a longer time on sloped ground, it mostly just runs off. Drippers are key for watering deeply and not jacking up your water bill with long irrigation schedules. Youve put too much money in to cut the corners, it makes no sense. Popups are great for grass and small plants, just about useless for deeper rooted trees in clay. You can run drippers off a hose with the right attachments(hose irrigation tubes and drippers. I would use 4-6 2 gallon/hr drippers arranged around the tree.