Lipstick palm drying up ?

[Kris]

Dear friends

I have a problem with the red stem palm,

i had purschased it 2 weeks ago.now for the

past 3 days iam seeing that the leaves are

gently drying up.as for watering the pot is

watered every alternate days. and i have never

allowed the pot to dry-up !

then what is happening to my baby ?

the huge pot is placed near the main gate lighting

which works all night.and the pot gets diffused

sunlight i.e semishade condition.

my location is high humidity coastal region_

Madras. temperature is around 96 to 104 avg.

water is soft, free from salt i.e its palatable.

please help me out & ur info on this regard will

be greatly appricieated.

Love,

Kris(India).

[Dypsisdean]

Kris,

What is your coldest nightime temperature now?

[Kris]

Dear Dypsis dean  

here the night temperature is around 86 to 88f

and throught the year it does not go below 82f

on normal weather conditions.

love,

Kris.

[Dypsisdean]

Well, its certainly not too cold.

Without a pic, it is hard to know. Giving it water every other day should be good, I would think. Sounds like you are doing everything right.

What kind of conditions was it growing in before you bought it?

[Jim in Los Altos]

Hi Kris,

Make sure that you are thoroughly wetting all the soil in the pot. You want to keep adding water to the entire surface of the soil until it is freely running out the drain holes.

If you have recently repotted into a much larger pot it is critical that all the soil is moist because any dry surounding soil will pull moisture away from the palms rootball and the palm wil wither.

Good luck with your Lipstick palm. They're gorgeous when well grown as I'm sure you know.

Jim

[Kris]

Dear Friends  

Dypsis dean to your question,this palm was

bought from a reputed nursery which is situated

in madras,but its location was very very near to

the sea,i.e from the nursey just 30 steps you can

wash your feet in sea water.i think you get my point.

but the palm was placed in a grean net enclosure

creating a semi shade enverionment to all shade loving

plants are housed in this tent_fabric is small fishing net

design.& their are water sprinklers in the roof structure

from which water is sprayed in early noon daily. i happen

to see this feet while i was making my red stem purchase.

Now to jim i water this huge pot very sparingly i.e is

i or 2 jugs of water only.and only occasionaly i spray

water on the leaves may be once a week only !

and i have not re-poted or used any fertilizer or pest

treatment till now.it is still in as it was bought condition.

iam madly in love with this baby but iam scared that i will

lose her again,On previous ocassion due to over watering &

fungus infection.

And as for the photos of this palm,it will be possible only

after january_2006. that is day my digital camera will

be purschased.

thanks for that prompt reply & I love you guys.

Kris(India).

[Dypsisdean]

Kris,

These palms need more water than almost all other palms. As Jim said, you need to water it until water begins to run out of the drainage holes in the bottom. Since you said the palm does not receive any direct sun, the obvious problem is not enough water. You are probably over compensating because you think you watered your last one too much.

[Jimrsofla]

Kris,

As others have said, it is difficult to say without a foto.  I am not sure that it is "drying" out as you say if you are watering it as much as you say you are.  Most plants die because of too much water.  How is the soil in the pot?  Was it up potted recently?  Are there air pockets in the soil?  Is it too compact?  Perhaps the palm is suffocating - which had happened to my palms due to bad soli. Your climate should be ideal for C renda - with the heat and humity.

I had a C renda, potted, for many years in Key West Florida, zone 11.  It grew to nearly 10 feet tall.  It went through a bad stage and needed to be uppotted with new soil and proper nutrients, and I watered it less than you do.  It was also in full sun.

 

Good luck - they are magnificent specimens!

PS.  When I moved to Ft Lauderdale FL, zone 10b, we had one night in the upper 30's and within one week the C renda was dead!!!

[Gileno Machado]

Kris:

I'd move it immediatly to a place in the open where it would receive at least 2 hours of direct morning sun everyday and water it intensely on a daily basis.  The ammount of sun can be increased gradually by moving the plant every month to a sunnier and sunnier position. I have 3 C. rendas and they are still in big concrete pots. If you keep them in the shade for a long time (I've done this, inside the house) they do not develop well. If you suddenly move it to direct sun it will have the tips burned but the new fronds will emerge and the growth re-established. I guess these palms are slower growers than Dypsis lutescens, for instance, but they are not so adaptable to semi shaded areas. I think that difuse light is not enough, and they love direct sunshine (and lots of constant skyjuice !).

[aussiearoids]

There are some large Lipsticks growing in a public garden just south of me in Ingham , they are planted in a shallow pond , and thriving .

[Phil]

Kris,

You understand that this species is not the easiest to grow, but with your temps you should be able to do it.  The first thing I'd do is call the nursery and find out how long they had it and what they did to keep it doing well.  Typically, striking plants like this sell quickly and they might not be able to add much.  But, somebody grew it to the size you purchased.  Talk to them.  The importance of this is that you are doing something wrong, and you don't know what.  If they grew it, you can too if you give the same culture as they did.  The things to consider are: light, water, soil, fertilizer and air circulation (temps should not be an issue for you).   It's near impossible for someone the other side of the planet to advise you accurately without being right there with you.  My suspicion is the problem is drying out with not enough water, but I can't be sure.  Do a little research there and you'll probably come up with the right culture for your plant.

Phil

[Kris]

Dear Dypsis Dean,Jim,Gileno,Aussiearoids & Phil.

Thank you very much for your timely advise & info's

on this Lakka Palm.

and as you guys advised me i will try out few changes,

and also i will contact the nursery as to know what am i

doing wrong with my Palm.

Thanks a lot folks !  

Love,

Kris(India).

[Exotic Life]

Kris,

I have one litthe question for you, i have read in your signature that where you live you don't have frost at all. I can remember that you have show some pics of your plants/palms, but they standing in a container. May i ask why you keep them in a container and not in the ground ?

If i see some palms here in conatiners they are mostyl more yellow and brown because the container dry's out very quickly. In the ground al my palms are better and more green. Maybe that can be also a reason ? Because you live in a hot climate ...

Robbin

[ariscott]

Kris,

I know I am new in palm world, but not to this one. My dad always had one in his garden, as I was growing up... so I know it needs a lot of water and full sun condition. I never know any that died of rot. Although, it does like well draining soil, as most palms do.

My dad has one in the full sun and it does much better than the one in the semi shade.

Mine are in the full sun and I water it whenever I go pass it, which mean it can be 3-4 times a day... as mine are still in pots too.

Good luck with your palm. I hope it survives.

Regards, Ari

[The Palm Nut]

Hi Kris

In your climate you shouldn't have any problem growing this species. As others have said over watering is the least of your worries, poor drainage not good but still unlikely to kill it. And if you were living in a climate like mine, four months of no water during winter has had no effect on it, as you can see from the photo. These are tough palms provided you keep them warm.

Mike

[Kris]

Dear friends thanks once again  

Exoctic Life_ i want to share the reason why i have

lots of plants in containers ?

i must tell the entire soil or floor region has be

occupied by the heavy weight tuskers_i.e mango tree,

neem tree,sapota,gulmohar-recently feled,etc.

they are around 40 plus old and where ever i dig

the soil i see well established heavy roots_as seen

in horror movies(Evil death_1).

and when i place new plants or palms,just in 6 months

time the plant starts to droop and leaves dry-up.

and all the fertilizers are sucked in by the big well

established trees.so i missed some of very rare verities

which are dear to me.so now iam container growing my

palms & cycas..

Now to Ariscott_my lipstic palm is in shade & i water it only

alternate days since the pot is big.Now i will change the

watering schudule and to full sun condition.

i need some time to give you guys a correct feedback on

what are the effects of the new changes.

thanks for your suggestions & advice.  

Love,

Kris(India).

[Kris]

Dear Friends  

I have met the nursery man and talked about my

problem of sealing wax palm gradually drying-up !

they have lots of these red stem of similar age groups

they are all doing fine,except mine.

they identified my problem that i should immedietly

remove my palm from the shade of a huge tree,since

it is heaviely raining now in madras.

these huge trees give out heat & Co2 at nights which is

not suitable to my red stem.

and they gave IndoFil (Broadspectrum_Fungicide) just to

prevent root rot due to heavy rains.

I have implimented the above conditions & keeping my

fingers crossed !

Any progress i will immedietly inform our members.

Love,

Kris(India).

[Alan_Tampa]

Kris, what is the pH of the water you use.  Alkaline water is trouble for many palm species.  

Evil Dead, a very early Sam Raimi film, starring the greatest movie actor of all time, Bruce Campbell.  Is this movie popular where you live? (this is in reference to the giant roots comment you made of your neem and other trees in your yard)

Alan

[Kris]

Dear Alan  

iam not shure of the ph value of the soil or the

water that i use.I use well water and drinking

metro-water,but the results are the palms appear

some what weak and their grouth rate is very

meager.when i see some Biz at our forum

members gardens & nurseries i feel a bit sad

at my palms.i tried even fertilizers & miricale

grow but no use.

now i feel that as U said that our water must be

akakline,we do not have proper agency who can

test the soil or the water.but when we drink its

quite sweet and not saltish.

Now to the Movie_Evil death_1,2.

i love this movie and people in india do also

like this movie,perticularly the first part.

and every movie libary do stock this movie.

and i read in news papers that women folks

tend to faint for a perticular scene,when the

tree roots try to_R_ a women in the ending

part of the movie.

after this review the movie is more curiously watched.

i think this review actually boosted the viewership

ratings for this movie.if not horror movies other than

exocisist & omen,none is repeatedly watched here.

Love,

Kris.

[ariscott]

Kris,

you can buy water tester from the aquarium supplier or shop. At least it will tell you whether you have alkaline or acid water.

The nursery or hardware shop usually sell soil tester.

Good luck, Ari

[Kris]

Dear Friends  

Some good news and bad news !

Good news first_my lipstick palm stopped drying up

and all the new leaves are opening up in a healthy

manner.it is clear that it is picking up.

Bad news is that i do not know the reason how this

change occured_

1. i have changed the location,since it was below a huge

   dicot tree 40 to 45 years of age.quite massive(very shady)

2. now it is in a open location and it is raining heavly And

   this will last till 1st week of december.and the average

   temperature is 77 to 82 farentheat only.

So i donot know for shure is it the rains that has refreshed my

 lipstick palm or change of location(open air status).

Since i have not done anything special/care for this palm.

And from the month of january u will have photos of this palm,

kindly bare with me for the moment.

Love,

Kris(India).

[Phil]

Kris,

I think the sun helped.  But, rain water is basically salt free and very beneficial to plants.  Perhaps your house water is high in salts??  Whatever, keep doing what your doing and see how it goes.  I was once near the habitat in Southern Thailand for this species, and it gets lots of rain and is very wet.

Phil

[Kris]

Dear Guys  

Some good news the friend from U.S Chicago,has arrived

with my new canon digital camera 3IS_Power Shot series.

from now on Dean i will try to upload palms that i cross here

in madras & around.

Now to my Lipstick bebe which had dried up earlier.

here are some pictures of it,but now its picking up !

Love,

Kris.

Now what has happened to it ? Any guess !

[Walter John]

cut away the brown leaves Kris, you will be able to observe it's growth much easier.

[amazonman]

Looking good Kris, i love lipstick palms  

Wish i could keep them here though  

[PALM MOD]

Kris,

Congatulations on your new camera. I know you have been anticipating it for a very long time. We look forward to all kinds of pics from India now.

Your Lipstick baby looks alive and well. I would trim it up also.

[bgl]

Kris,

Good to hear you have a camera now!

About your Cyrtostachys renda: the soil looks somewhat dry!? This is a palm that likes plenty of sun and plenty of water. Also, a healthy C. renda will send out suckers up to 30-50 cm away from the main plant, so it needs a lot of space to expand. Why not put it in a bigger pot? And yes, just cut off the brown fronds!

Bo-Göran

[Kris]

First of all thank you very much for those kind words &

suggestion.

Wal_ certainly i should clean that baby,but all wanted to

see what was wrong so i retained those leaves just for the

stills.

Amazonman_ you want believe that this Lakka palm is my 3

attempt,if you are living in brazil,i think even you could give

it a try ?

Dear Dean_ you are my encouragement,so a very special thank you sir,

may be 6 to 8 months back if i remember you welcomed me to our forum,that PM of your is very special

to me,there you mentioned kris participate in our forum

actively & the camera will soon be on its way_that came true !

Dear Bo Goran_thanks for those kind words,and iam following

your advice given at inisitial stages,may be that is the reason

that palm must have survived.we watered this palm initially 3 to 4 days once.now we water it alternate days & only in the

evenings.while in the mornings only gentle showers that

drench the leaves to make it feel cool.from next month it is

starting of summer season here.i think it will need daily

watering ! And as for the pot size iam testing the sunlight

intensity of that current location,if it is okay them i will shift

this palm to a huge sized cement pot.but after that it would be

very defficult for me & my workers to shift it.so iam just waiting !

Thanks to every one who has taken pains to respond to my

quries.

Love,

Kris.

[Kris]

Dear_Wal,Dean & Bo Goran  

Here are some stills of the same Lakka palms

after mild trimming,since the leaf strands are still

in good red color.so i did not chop those things.

just sissor trimmed all those brown leaves.

And thanks very much,i have learnt to safe guard

this baby from the timely help rendered by our

forum members.this has saved me a small fortune.

Thanks/Love,

Kris.

[bgl]

Kris,

Your Cyrtostachys looks great!!

I decided to take a couple of photos of the base of some of my Cyrtostachys, to show how far the suckers will travel from the main stem.

Here's one; the little green sucker in the lower right is from the mother plant in the upper lefthand corner, 80 cm away!! (Almost 3 ft!!). Turns out my estimate above of 30-50 cm was much too conservative!

Bo-Göran

[Dypsisdean]

Looks great Kris.

You have to be a lot happier than when this thread started.  

[bgl]

And here's another plant, with a more mature sucker; on the extreme right, from the main stem, all the way to the left. Again, about 80 cm.

[Kris]

(Dypsisdean @ Jan. 29 2007,01:06)

QUOTE

Looks great Kris.

You have to be a lot happier than when this thread started.  

Dear Dean  

Thanks very much_i mean every thing and iam

now the happiest man on earth.

and i think i must speak my heart that i do not know

why i feel very comfortable & at easy when i make

conversation with you,Bo & wal.as though you guys

are my relatives.i could have spoken this in a P.M

but i felt that there was any need to hide how i feel  

Dear Bo Goran_thanks for those lovely stills & for the pains

you have taken to explain Me & our forum members about

how much area this beautiful palm needs to flex its foot

muscles_i meant its off shoots.great photography & i can

emagine how old that lipstik baby of your must be..

Now i must decide wheather i must shift this palm into a

bigger pot or just place it in the huge ditch that we have dug

for tail pot palms,CIDP & Chelian wine palm.

Iam unable to decide since lot of good things are happening

at break neck speed.so i will put this descission on hold.

since summer is fast approaching.we guys are gona sweet like

hell.

Thanks/Love,

Kris(India).

[Trópico]

Yeah! Right on, Kris! Let's see those palms and views of India!  

[Kris]

(Trópico @ Jan. 29 2007,08:41)

QUOTE

Yeah! Right on, Kris! Let's see those palms and views of India!  

Hey Man  

iam certainly working on that area !

want some time_friends..

Love,

Kris  

[Kathy]

Good to see it's recovering Kris!  It is a beauty.  And congrats on the new camara.  We so look forward to new pics of your part of the world.  I always feel like I've traveled after seeing member's great photos.

[Al in Kona]

Hey Kris, your Cyrtostachys renda looks pretty good after trimming away the brown leaves - looks like it's on its way to recovery.  I'm enjoying your recent photo posts and now that you have a digital camera to use you will find it even more fun to take pictures of those "few" palms you have!  

The below pics show one of my Cyrtostachys renda palms.  Most of the suckers on these palms, as you can see, are of the vertical type (grow up vertically right next to a main stem).  However, then there are what I would call a horizontal type sucker (as Bo's above post shows) - it tends to grow out horizontally for some distance before it then grows upright.  If you are growing this palm in a container, then these suckers can, of course, be removed.

 

And as for removing these horizontal type suckers from a mature Cyrtostachys planted in the ground, I'm wondering at what point can they be cut off to then start a new plant?  Has anyone done this and to what success rate?

[Al in Kona]

#2  -  shows mostly all verticle type suckers

[Al in Kona]

#3  -  Note horizontal type sucker to left . . .

[bgl]

Al,

The question of whether the suckers can be removed, and successfully repotted is an interesting one. It is one of the most common questions I get when we have visitors touring our garden. I don't have the answer, but someone told me (forgot whom!!) that it CAN be done. Having a reasonably goodsized rootball is crucial for success. It would surprise me if a small horizontal sucker has the necessary roots to support it as an indepent plant, though.

Bo-Göran