Lipstick palm drying up ?

[Kris]

Dear Kathy  

thanks for those sweet words of encouragement.

Dear Al in kona  

those Lakka palms of yours are very beautiful indeed.

how old is it.to judge as when my baby will produce

off-shots !

Dear Bo Goran  

How old is your lipstick palm ?

It looks terrefic !

[bgl]

Kris,

The two palms in post #30 and 32 have been in the ground for almost 10 years, and they were probably about 10 years old when I planted them, so an educated guess would be that they are right around 20 years old now. Overall height about 25 ft/7.5 m.

Bo-Göran

[Kris]

Dear Bo Goran  

thanks for that Info,and that was a super fast reply

considering it to my standards  

Love,

Kris.

[Kris]

the first still shows that pot you are seeing is the size

in which this lakka palm is inhabiting for the moment_

the second still of a pot is about 2 and half to 3 times the soil

capacity of the first still pot.after shifiting the lakka baby.i will

post those still too_

Love,

Kris  

[Kris]

I tried to sock the red stem with ample water & after an

hour or so.i tried to pull it out.

But it did not move a bit.root ball fully jammed.it should have been in it for quite a while in the local nursery !

so i had to do what had to be done_break open the cement

pot,using construction tools...

here is the picture of the first stage of work_

[Kris]

half load washed river sand was purschased for all the

planting purpose_

[Kris]

Now to the mixing part of the soil_ingredients are..

1.washed river sand.

2.Red sand_to give a clayee sought of effect.

3.Coir & coir dust.

4.Bone meal.

5.Few Di Amoniam Phosphate Grannuals.

the mixed ratio_is to make the soil in the pot more porous,

since the rains here,bring in high humidiety levels_following the

winter season.the soil should dry-up easily.since i lot 2 Lakka

palms on previous occassions.

Here is a still of the mix_

[Kris]

here is one of my ranch hands,while the other one is gone

to his native village town due to pongal festival !

so this time i had to assist this guy and quite often go &

wash my soiled hands before touching my new camera.

this was bit hectic !

Here is a still for you !

[Kris]

Now lets see the new pot that is filles first with coir &

coir dust.purely for proper drainage & coolinf properities

during summers_

[Kris]

Now this layer of a inch consists of washed river sand_

[Kris]

the lipstick baby is getting ready for its new housing !

[Kris]

Look at this baby in the new pot with all the needed new

nutritians_isnt she Sexy ?

[Kris]

Please give this guy a big hand,without his assistance it

would not be a possiblity.since this lakka palm was heavy

though it did not have a massive trunk.all the assistance i

need was got from this guy.hence i felt that he should be

posted along with my lakka baby_

[Kris]

A final close-up of this beautiful palm,And i fell that Bo goran

must be happy.since he suggested me that the present pot

size was way too small.if i need the suckers to grow i must try

a big container or better still ground it.but for the moment i

did not want to ground it.and our summer is fast approaching.

Bo this is the best i can do to our loved palm !  

Love,

Kris.

[Kris]

Hey Guys  

Have you all see it !

Love,

Kris.

[Walter John]

Hi Kris

You makes us all happy (crack us up) with your fondness for palms and your lipstick sweet thang is something to behold.

That was terrific the way you showed the stills of the stages of replanting. Excellent.

Will you sit the pot in a water tray now ?

[Al in Kona]

Aloha Kris - thanks for showing the steps taken in repotting your Cyrtostachys renda palm.  It should like it's new pot with much more room for the roots to expand.

 

You had asked how old my Cyrtostchys renda was in above posts # 37-39.  It was planted out as a very small size plant in a 2 or 3 gal. size container about 8 years ago if my remembrance is correct.  It has only been fertilized a few times and I do try to remember to give it some extra water occasionally, especially when rains are lacking.  However, it has experienced some pretty long periods without being watered so I know it can withstand short dry periods - guess the roots are deep enough to bring moisture up when needed.  I'm sure it would be bigger still if I was a faithful waterer and supplied regular fertilizer but I'm happy with it and I don't really want it to grow any faster at this point in time.

[bgl]

Kris,

That looks great, and I'm sure the palm will be very happy in its new home! When it begins to send out suckers that will be pushing against the pot, you know it's time to pot up again, but my guess is that will be at least a couple of years from now. Best of luck!

Aloha,

Bo-Göran

PS. Sorry, I must have missed this thread last week when you put up the picture of the repotted plant!

[Zac in NC]

Very nice looking palm Kris. That is one I wish I could grow, sooooooooooooooo beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zac

[Kris]

Dear Wal  

this update is specially for you to see how this baby is doing !

and this baby has put out a new spear and its on the verge of opening up...i will give updates on that too.

and Wal thanks for reminding me of this thread and its very sweet of you to enquire of this palms well being.

Lots of love to you !

Kris  

[Kris]

And i failed to mention one thing to all lipstick's palm lovers

world wide_is that this palm is located near the Aircon of

my dad's room.and the summer sunlight falls on this palm

from morning 8.30 A.M to noon 2.30 P.M meaning full punch

sunlight it handles and temperatures are around 94 to 96

degrees farenheat for the moment.

and indoor temp's are around 90 degrees farenheat during the noons.

the palm initially showed signs of mild yellowing for about a week but now its putting out new spears around its body...

and iam watering this baby evey day but no over haed

watering.only water is poured to the roots zone only in the evenings at around 5.30 or so in the evenings.

here is a room temp guage_

[Kris]

This summer the lipsticks dried further ! i will post stills soon,since these are some old posts,so i had to bump them...

love,

Kris

[ariscott]

I can't see how it can dry up if you give it daily watering. It is very cool and dry here also. I have 3 lipstick palms in the ground - full sun (as full as they come), and I only water twice week. They are a lot smaller than yours too. They are on watering system so sometimes the water does get overheads (as they are small). i know I guy who used to grow his in pots... as long as you keep the water up to them, they should be fine.

I absolutely love them as they are tough in the tropics. They take all the sun and the water that I give them.

Regards, Ari

[Tampa Scott]

Kris, When you placed the palm in the larger pot did you break up the tight root ball a little ? If not, the water may not be getting to the compacted roots. The water may be running into the new soil and out of the pot and not into root ball. If you did not break up root ball try a saucer under pot so that when you water the tight root ball, it can wick up the water from the saucer. Good luck with it!

[tikitiki]

I have mine in a pot with no drainage at all mostly filled with peat and water. I have it growing in a peat bog like setting. No way it will dry out. it is in full sun and the bog/pot gets refilled as it rains.

[Kris]

Dear Ari,Scott & Tikitiki

thanks for all your suggestion & help...I will try to implement it.

Now gentlemen lets see some visuals of that palm,taken just couple of days back,and here the mercury has fallen slightly and the temperatures are now 98 to 102 farenheat on average..

I must tell you all that i have never let the soil in the pot to dry-up.but still the leaves shows signs of heat burn ?

Thanks & love,

Kris

[Kris]

...

[Kris]

this is a arieal shot taken from our roof top !

And sorry for posting the stills so late but i wanted to bump this post...your understanding in this regard is greatly appricieated.

lots of love,

Kris

[Kris]

these stills were taken in the month of May'08..i happen to find it just now !

[Kris]

...

[Kris]

you can see that the drying up of leaves is gradual in last month...no new leaves have come,since the day of purschase last year ?

What fertz works wonders other than regular watering....

iam using di-amonium phosphate every 3 weeks in diluted liquified form,not during summers.but no new spear is seen till this day...? the palm is simply sleeping ? No new grouth !

Love,

Kris

[ariscott]

Maybe your mix is too well drained?? I am rather puzzled. Mine are in the full sun all day... and in the build up, we can get 40 deg C day (104F). I have seen things like that happening around town, but usually due to lack of water. And they are usually in the median strip, which is really harsh environment with all the heat from the bitumen. I don't fertilise mine all the time either. I only give them slow release fertiliser twice a year.

Regards, Ari

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

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

My esteemed Kris:

I think that your adjustment time for the Cyrtostachys is about over, and it should commence flourishing. Feed it now and use Rootone (or the equivalent) for an even more rapid change to a healthy state.

I think that all is "OK" now!

Salutations to you,

Pablo

[Kris]

Dear Ari,Scott,Tikitiki & Pablo

Gentlemen,thanks for your suggestions & ideas....i will follow as suggested.

lots of love to you all,

Kris

[Kris]

Here's an Update !

Kris.

[PalmatierMeg]

Here's an Update !

Kris.

Kris, I'm surprised that lipstick isn't doing better in your climate. They need lots of water, even like to stand in it. They like heat and humidity which you should have. I keep mine in shade so it looks its best. And out of habit I try to use a loose soil mix. Could yours have a pH problem with its soil? My biggest concern will be winter and temps below 10C.

[Jose Maria]

Hi Meg,

I can inform that as far as pH in concerned, the lipsticks I have in my garden came from a garden with very acid soil, pH like 5.

And I guess Florida is the other way around, very basic soils.

Maybe using sulfur or some other acidifying soil amendement?

I agree wih you that they need humidity all the time . The only palm to die in a municipal park here during a dry spell was a lipstick one.

[PalmatierMeg]

Hi Meg,

I can inform that as far as pH in concerned, the lipsticks I have in my garden came from a garden with very acid soil, pH like 5.

And I guess Florida is the other way around, very basic soils.

Maybe using sulfur or some other acidifying soil amendement?

I agree wih you that they need humidity all the time . The only palm to die in a municipal park here during a dry spell was a lipstick one.

Thanks for the info, Jose. Mine are potted and doing well in shade. I can never plant them because it gets much too cold for them to survive here. They must come inside on cold nights & days.

[Dypsisdean]

Kris,

Your soil looks dry and lacking in any organic material. For these palms the soil should be nice and "black" and constantly moist.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Kris, I agree with Dean. Your soil was the first thing that I noticed. I would take a few inches off the top and add some good compost. I'm not sure where your C. renda is located, but they do best in full sun. I've never seen one of these palms burn from too much sun. They will grow in shade, but they will be much slower.