Root rot running a muck...

[Palm Guy]

Hi all,

Anybody have good experiences to share of palm seedlings surviving root rot or tips on treating it?? I need some help please!! My Foxtails, Clinostigmas and a few other species were in one particularly disease infested area of my shadehouse and many now have root rot.

I started off with about 12 Clinostigma samoense and now I'm down to four! I noticed that two of the survivors were in a sunnier spot so maybe that's why their doing slightly better? I committed the worst palm sin - I let rain hit my small seedlings. Most of the pots had drainage holes in but I believe the holes were not large enough to allow the water to seep through. They seemed to decline rapidly after the hurricane Bertha hit this summer. Then I went away for nearly a month and had somebody water them (i believe they watered them from above- definitely a no no)

Anyways, I basically removed the rotted roots replaced the soil and drenched the new soil with Banrot (very expensive stuff-I got desperate ). I also moved them inside and placed them on heat mats hoping the extra heat will help prevent transplant shock. Its been a week now and no noticeable growth has come about. I'm getting worried...the remaining four are somewhat strong but I do notice some slow leaf dieback, brown tipping (perhaps transplant shock??) How long till I will see some decent growth or recovery or are my efforts in vain?

Please HELP!

[kahili]

You did what I would have done. The only thing that might have helped is, while you had the soil off the roots, to have washed/soaked the roots in hydrogen perioxide for about 10 mins and then repot in clean soil/growing medium and a clean pot. Banrot takes about a wk to start working. Be careful not to use it again before 30 days. This probably goes without saying, but try to keep the soil on the dry side. Good luck.

[BS Man about Palms]

Just an aside. I've had WAY more tiny palms die from rot than drying out...... So I tend to "underwater".

[Palm Guy]

Kahili- thanks for the reply. I will take your advice and use the hydrogen peroxide in a few weeks if they worsen. Did you have much success with the Hydro Pero?

Bill - Underwatering the babies is the def the way to go! I'm running out of space though and I had to place these babies outside. Thought the shade cloth would've blocked most of the hard rain but apparently not!

[Dypsisdean]

For what it's worth, I think the best strategy is don't think in terms of under watering. Just don't water if the soil is already moist. Let the soil dry between watering. Check the weep holes, not the surface, and if it is still wet down there it's not time to water.

[ariscott]

Definitely my problem this time of the year. I use very light mix for all my plants... (which presents its own set of problems in the dry season), but it is the only way to prevent rot in the wet season. I mix a lot of sand in my potting mix and it seems to work with the plants in the wet season. I put all my seedlings in my shadehouse and I can't baby them and water them by hand. But this year, I haven't lost too many (touch wood). In the monsoon, it might be a different story, but last year, I didn't loose too many either. So, just experiment with potting mix and see how you go.

Regards, Ari

[Kris]

Dear Michael

You have hinted that some of your saplings are living indoors,does that place have a over head cealing fan,if so use it.i have tried to do this in my house whenever we are expereinecing rainy seasons.and i will tell you that dry outdoors are the best but i live in tropics...it rains very suddenly..And the irony is that all seeds germinate exactly before our wet winters..so some sapling eventually rot,damp-off no matter how much fungicide i use !

love,

Kris

[kahili]

Michael, I use a product that is hydrogen dioxide, which is stronger than hydrogen perioxide, and has to be mixed with water, but it is very effective in certain situations. They are essentially the same. The way that it works is that the hydrogen perioxide has to come into direct contact with the spore in order to work. So you can apply it on a leaf fungus, or down a crownshaft (assuming that you can get to all the spores) and directly on the roots if they are exposed (like you had yours before repotting-but all the dirt has to be washed off first). It won't work if you have pythium or phytopthera (the root rots ) because it cant get in direct contact with the spores because of the soil. With a small amt of plants, its feasible to wash the dirt off and soak in hydrogen perioxide, but if there are a large amt of plants, then you have to treat with a fungicide such as Truban ( which is in the Banrot), Subdue or Alliette, and keep on the dry side.

Watering, or controlling the amt of water a plant gets, is, imo, the toughest part of growing.