Your issue has to be related to lack of good draining soil. I'm really sorry you are having this issue. In my part of Florida, these palms are relatively bullet-proof. Slow to get started but establish well and then take off. Mine has been in the ground 5 years. I got it as a little two strap seedling that I bought on eBay. It arrived with the bare roots wrapped in wet newspaper. I immediately planted it out and watered it every day for the first 2 weeks. After that, the twice weekly irrigation took care of the watering. It is now still not trunking. But, the leaves are huge and the palm is getting immense. I will try to get a picture this coming week to post here.

I still believe that if you can solve the drainage issue, this palm will perform well for you in your area. It has to be a soil or drainage issue.

19 hours ago, ck_in_fla said:

Your issue has to be related to lack of good draining soil. I'm really sorry you are having this issue. In my part of Florida, these palms are relatively bullet-proof. Slow to get started but establish well and then take off. Mine has been in the ground 5 years. I got it as a little two strap seedling that I bought on eBay. It arrived with the bare roots wrapped in wet newspaper. I immediately planted it out and watered it every day for the first 2 weeks. After that, the twice weekly irrigation took care of the watering. It is now still not trunking. But, the leaves are huge and the palm is getting immense. I will try to get a picture this coming week to post here.

I still believe that if you can solve the drainage issue, this palm will perform well for you in your area. It has to be a soil or drainage issue.

Yea it must be some issue. But I guess I can keep it scare people away for Halloween. It certainly looks creepy. I gotta joke because this is very disheartening.

I'm truly sorry you have had this experience... If you can resolve the drainage issue, I am nearly certain the Bacarriophoenix alfredi will perform well for you.

I still need to get some pics of mine to show you.

20 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Yea it must be some issue. But I guess I can keep it scare people away for Halloween. It certainly looks creepy. I gotta joke because this is very disheartening.

Does the soil still smell like rotting garbage? Has it started draining out of the "planting bowl" yet, or still mucky? The fact that it's even trying to open up a frond is remarkable. I've had palms recover from root rot, but it does take time. Realistically it'll have to grow a whole new set of roots, if they were severely rotted. If they were just drowning in water then it might take less time to recover.

I have clay and I have lost some Encephalartos, but my Beccariophoenix do fine.

I'm in Southern California. and have similar weather as you and the heat is not an issue at all. I got one a few years ago, dug it up, took another day to get in the ground and it has never once missed a beat. I have not even trimmed the original leaves because they are still a bit green even though they are 2 years old. It's a very durable palm in my experience. If you could, get it out of the ground, hose off the roots and repot in the backyard in the shade. It might stand a chance of survival.

Something just dawned on me. I did lose one years ago. Gophers chewed off all of the roots. Do you have gophers?

12 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Does the soil still smell like rotting garbage? Has it started draining out of the "planting bowl" yet, or still mucky? The fact that it's even trying to open up a frond is remarkable. I've had palms recover from root rot, but it does take time. Realistically it'll have to grow a whole new set of roots, if they were severely rotted. If they were just drowning in water then it might take less time to recover.

It doesn’t smell but every spear that emerges immediately desiccates as soon as it opens. I would probably try if it were in my backyard but this was my flagship palm. It’s coming down. I decided to replace it with 15-25 gallon alexander king palms.

7 hours ago, JimC said:

I'm in Southern California. and have similar weather as you and the heat is not an issue at all. I got one a few years ago, dug it up, took another day to get in the ground and it has never once missed a beat. I have not even trimmed the original leaves because they are still a bit green even though they are 2 years old. It's a very durable palm in my experience. If you could, get it out of the ground, hose off the roots and repot in the backyard in the shade. It might stand a chance of survival.

It was a 36 inch box. No chance I could do that, it weighed around 1000 lbs. I couldn’t even get it in the backyard without a crew of men or bobcat. I’ve already had a funeral for it in my mind. I will never buy a large specimen again. Better to buy 15-25 gallon palms.