Need help with newly planted Bismarck

[tminnick]

Need opinion on problem with a newly planted Bismarck .  The center (newest) frond is turning light brown (yellowing?). There is also a new sword about 2 foot long in the center, but can't yet tell if it has a problem.. Below I've listed the pertinent information and 2 pictures.

• Purchased palm from large wholesale nursery.
• Palm was in 30gal container (hard to believe when you see picture) Obviously needed to be transplanted!
• Over 9 foot tall with 14 fronds, about 1 foot of trunk.
• Moved and planted by experienced installer about 3 weeks ago. (along with a 7 foot ct Sylvester)
• Watered daily for first week (at least 20-30 gal per time), then every other day 2nd week, now every 3rd day.
• Also misted the fronds each evening.
• No fertilizer added.  Soil is almost all sand, 400 ft from ocean.

My concerns/question:

1. Do you think the center frond problem is transplant shock?
2. Could it be a result of over/under watering?
3. Should I supply some 8-2-12-4 fertilizer now or wait a couple of weeks?

Palm is really gorgeous and would hate to loose it if there is something I could be doing now to help the issue.  Been reading all I can, but some say to fertilize lightly when planted other say not to fertilize for 90 days. Any expert help would be greatly appreciated. Just moved to Florida and this is my first endeavor at planting palms. 

Hope the pictures help. 

[Ben in Norcal]

Do you know if there was any root disturbance during planting??  These plants are exceptionally root sensitive.

Welcome, as well!

[tminnick]

Ben,

I watched them plant it and there was no cutting of roots or any damage at that time.  I saw the palm at the nursery and it had been sitting in that location for a long time so I would imagine there might have been roots growing out the bottom of the container but I was not there when the nursery loaded it on the trailer so I don't know for sure.  When they planted it from the container I did not see any roots protruding from the container which I thought unusual since it was obviously container  bound.  Below are 2 pictures from where it was in the nursery (it's located between the 2 large Bismarck's).

[Kim]

You really need to hear from Florida palm growers who are familiar with the sand conditions.  I can't imagine a Bismarckia needing that much water, but in sand, maybe it does?  As Ben noted, these palms are extremely root sensitive; I've been told even sliding the roots out of a pot can cause them to bleed.  You can skip misting the fronds, not necessary, and could enhance potential fungal problems.

Mark that center spear with a sharpie pen, drawing a horizontal line across it onto another stem.  That way you can see by the mark if the spear pushes upward overnight. Beautiful palm, I sure hope it adjusts.

[Mike Evans]

Well everyone already stated how root sensitive this palm is. As Kim stated, do not spray water up in the crown.  It is typical, if the roots are cut, that it will go through shock.  The roots were probably grown into the ground, or out of the pot, as you stated it was sitting there for awhile.  Forget about the sandy soil, probably the best thing for you right now.  You need to focus on fungus down in the heart.  Get a good fungicide like M45 (Dithane) or if you cannot find it, use copper.  Spray or pour down the leaf spear into the heart.  Keep and eye on the new leaf spear and give it a tug every few days to see if it is loose or wants to pull out.  If you can pull it out in the future, pour fungicide down into the heart.  I have saved many of them with a fungicide treatment, but have killed a lot of them in the past from disturbing the roots too much.  It is hard to see the damage from the pics.  Last resort, you may talk to the grower/seller & explain the problems that occured during moving & planting.  Good luck, not all palms are this sensitive.

[empireo22]

Hello, and Welcome. glad to see a neighbor on here. may sound funny but i remember seeing these get planted. I'm a block away.

[richnorm]

I think you may have a dead palm there! Mark the spear as Kim suggests.  There will be enough movement overnight to determine whether the growth point is still alive.

[Mohsen]

Welcome Tony...

I hope your Bizzie get through this...I just planted one few month ago and after some research and using experienced friend's idea here, I decided to buy a smaller one as it would increase the chance of transplanting and I also I bought the one that there was nor roots came from the bottom of bags ...I even left some part of the bags in order not to disturb the roots...

now its growing but still very small :

this is the thread :

 

when I plant them :

now :

 

[Insomniac411]

On 4/2/2016, 10:11:51, tminnick said:

Need opinion on problem with a newly planted Bismarck .  The center (newest) frond is turning light brown (yellowing?). There is also a new sword about 2 foot long in the center, but can't yet tell if it has a problem.. Below I've listed the pertinent information and 2 pictures.

• Purchased palm from large wholesale nursery.
• Palm was in 30gal container (hard to believe when you see picture) Obviously needed to be transplanted!
• Over 9 foot tall with 14 fronds, about 1 foot of trunk.
• Moved and planted by experienced installer about 3 weeks ago. (along with a 7 foot ct Sylvester)
• Watered daily for first week (at least 20-30 gal per time), then every other day 2nd week, now every 3rd day.
• Also misted the fronds each evening.
• No fertilizer added.  Soil is almost all sand, 400 ft from ocean.

My concerns/question:

1. Do you think the center frond problem is transplant shock?
2. Could it be a result of over/under watering?
3. Should I supply some 8-2-12-4 fertilizer now or wait a couple of weeks?

Palm is really gorgeous and would hate to loose it if there is something I could be doing now to help the issue.  Been reading all I can, but some say to fertilize lightly when planted other say not to fertilize for 90 days. Any expert help would be greatly appreciated. Just moved to Florida and this is my first endeavor at planting palms. 

Hope the pictures help. 

So now that time has passed,  do you have an update?

[amy]

On 12/6/2017 at 3:40 PM, Insomniac411 said:

So now that time has passed,  do you have an update?

 

[sonoranfans]

Watering the crown of a bizzie and every day watering the root area is never necessary here and it could easily kill the palm.   When I planted my little 3 gallon in 2010, I watered it every 3 days and never watered the crown.  Its 25' overall today, its one of the fastest fan palms out there.  Its practically a bullet proof palm, except for palmetto weevils and too much water.  But it could be that it had a big root going into the ground and they hacked it off to deliver it.  this cant happen with a 5-15 gallon and they are so fast growing why the need for a 30 gallon.  In ten years the 5 gallon will be as big or bigger than the 30 gallon.

[Merlyn]

I was thinking the same thing on the original post. 20-30 gallons every other day seems like enough to drown any palm, especially a root sensitive one that probably got roots hacked off when it was picked up off the ground.  I've planted only 3 Bismarcks, all from 1-3 gallon sizes.  Fast growers for sure, and they get a daily dripline of about 1 gallon per palm.