Leaf burn on montgomery palm

[GMann]

The leaf is the newest from the spear on this very young Montgomery Palm Could this be a result of over fertilizing? The fertilizer I used is Lesco Slow Release Palm and Tropical Fertilizer from Home Depot. If so what can I do to minimize the damage? Pull up all the mulch that the fertilizer was put on top of? Water it heavily?

If it is not because of over fertilizing could it be due to a nutrient deficiency? i.e. manganese?

[Ben in Norcal]

Looks like sunburn to me.

[GMann]

I thought that too, but I thought Montgomery Palms were fine in full sun.

[Ben in Norcal]

Was it just planted out? I'm not familiar with these palms, but would think any palm would need adjustment going from (say) a greenhouse to full sun.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Does not look like fertilizer burn to me (and I've seen my share as a fertilizer salesman for the last 20 years). GMann, here's my opinion. The leaf wasn't ready for full sun and burnt , probably due to conditioning. If it were just planted that might be because it was growing in partial shade before planting. But it could be that the leaf unfurled in a dark, cloudy, wet period and then the sun came out and roasted it. I have seen some of that on my plants. And if the roots are soggy, its likely the plant cannot take up the water very well (they really need a root zone with plenty of aeration to absorb water...ironically). So, its most likely just cosmetic damage and once the tree has gotten established, it probably won't happen any more.

[quaman58]

Agree, it's sunburn & should acclimate over time. Sometimes up to a year..

[GMann]

Thanks for the feedback, Here's the history of the palm: it was a very small straggling looking Montgomery triple. When I first got it, it was in pretty bad shape. I planted it in one place about 1 year ago.

This is what it looked like (on the right):

It started to recover and do better, then about 5 months ago I moved it to a location where it probably gets a bit more sun. In that location it was doing very well and growing fast, until a few days ago when that leaf started to turn brown.

Edited August 7, 2015 by GMann

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

You can really see how it's better off than when you planted it a year ago.

[GMann]

Yes those Montgomery palms are extremely fast growing. In fact the new photo really doesn't do it justice because it is focused on the one leaf that looks bad.

[foxtail]

Agree, it's sunburn & should acclimate over time. Sometimes up to a year..

A year... That killing me.

[NorCalKing]

I have a couple of leafs on my King Palm that has a couple of similar spots after that killer 107 we got here a week ago.