Help - Issues with lipstick palms

[bjorgo]

Joined up on this forum to see if I can get some help identifying the problem I've had with a few of my lipstick palms.

I've had 2 palms that seemed very healthy start turning brown, and then their stalks would just snap off with ease. They were quite mature palms approx 5-6 feet tall, now there isn't much left of them. (Pic 1). Upon inspecting the broken stalks, they would be quite damp, and almost rotten looking. See pics 2 and 3.

I then purchased another 2 lipstick palms to put in the front yard, and within 2 months, 1 of them has started showing the same signs as the other 2 that pretty much died in the back yard. Pic 4 and pic 5

The top of the main trunk just broke off, and it was all black and slimy. Pic 6 is the base of the trunk that broke off. It's turned a black colour.

I don't want to lose the whole palm like I did the others. Any suggestions? Is this a watering issue? A weevil issue? some other fungus or ?

Thanks in advance.

Location: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

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Pic 6:

Edited December 13, 2014 by bjorgo

[Kim]

I had a similar problem with 2 of my C. renda. I treated them with fungicide and gave them some good time-release fertilizer as well as a systemic. One is okay, the other died after I pulled it out and put it in a pot. There is sooty mold on the remaining problem lipstick, which needs treating again. Visit a quality agricultural supply for a consultation.

Edit: Looking at your photos again, the symptoms on your palms are somewhat different from what I experienced. The leaflets on mine never went brown in that way. But the stem looked bad, kind of like yours, and just snapped off one day.

[Josh-O]

Brad first of all welcome. Have you tried a broad spectrum fungicide? I'm curious to know the 2 lipstick's you bought were they grown in a greenhouse?

[PalmnutVN]

I'll go out on a limb here and say that I think that this is a watering issue more than anything else.

In tropical climates, lipsticks always seem to go like this if they are kept too dry. I keep mine in a bucket with the roots always 3/4 covered by water. They do tend to look their best when they are given direct access to water.

That said, treating it with a fungicide wouldn't hurt either.