Windmill palm fronds look burned

[dmalysh]

I planted 3 windmill palm trees in February this year. So far, two of them are doing good. The third one - not really. The fronds keep dying off from the bottom up. They start from burns at base of fronds(see photo) and then just turn brown completely. The palm keeps pushing new shoots out though, so I guess it has a chance of survival.. Any idea of what that could be and how to help the palm tree recover?

Edited June 14, 2019 by dmalysh

[Brad Mondel]

Most likely it was shade grown at the farm and now those fronds that were grown in the shade will burn up and be replaced with new ones that can handle the sun. It should be fine.

[AZPalms]

Yep, sunburn. Look how long the fronds are from the trunk, shade grown. Even my shadier areas of my yard here in Phoenix, the oldest fronds burn up every summer. It’s a cycle I live with. 

 

[dmalysh]

It all makes sense now.  The new fronds don't seem to be affected. I was getting nervous that the old fronds were dying off at a higher rate than the new shoots were coming out.. Glad to hear that's what it is and the palm tree will adjust to the new full sun location.

 Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated

Edited June 14, 2019 by dmalysh

[pj_orlando_z9b]

It looks very healthy. Just a little sunburn. Just rub some 30+ sunscreen....just kidding.

[dmalysh]

40 minutes ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

It looks very healthy. Just a little sunburn. Just rub some 30+ sunscreen....just kidding.

If that could help, trust me, I'd do that lol

Edited June 14, 2019 by dmalysh

[russd58]

Curious how your windmill palms are doing and what frequency and volume of water you settled on? I have a 45 gal that we planted April 2019 in Austin, also in clay, and I had the same concerns, how much water and how frequently. I was very careful to not over water and have had some brown tips and lower fronds browning from the bottom of the leaves but had lots of new growth this spring. I was afraid of the wet feet issue that I've heard about. Also, I lost 2 other palms in the same location years ago. Thank you!

[Allen]

48 minutes ago, russd58 said:

Curious how your windmill palms are doing and what frequency and volume of water you settled on? I have a 45 gal that we planted April 2019 in Austin, also in clay, and I had the same concerns, how much water and how frequently. I was very careful to not over water and have had some brown tips and lower fronds browning from the bottom of the leaves but had lots of new growth this spring. I was afraid of the wet feet issue that I've heard about. Also, I lost 2 other palms in the same location years ago. Thank you!

I don't think you should worry about overwatering a Trachy in clay in summer in Texas.  You should more worry about underwatering.   I have trachy where if you dig down 1' the bottom of hole will fill with water.  They do great.

Edited June 28, 2020 by Allen

[Darylrsv4]

Resurrecting an old thread.I’m having the same issue with my windmill palm. It’s been high 90’s to low 100’s for the last month and a half here in So Cal.

I typically have my drip set to run 2-3 X’s a week for 15 mins. at a time. 

Should I water more , less or as is? 

Appreciate it. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by Darylrsv4

[SeanK]

Take down the cement wall.

[Allen]

1 hour ago, Darylrsv4 said:

Resurrecting an old thread.I’m having the same issue with my windmill palm. It’s been high 90’s to low 100’s for the last month and a half here in So Cal.

I typically have my drip set to run 2-3 X’s a week for 15 mins. at a time. 

Should I water more , less or as is? 

Appreciate it. 

The palm is small and in seemingly poor health.  Don't know what the soil is like?   When was the palm planted and was it field grown or potted?  My drip is .9 gph drip line and I have about five drippers on healthy palms that run for 2 hours in clay soil every 3 days now that it's cooler, every 2 days when hotter. 

[Darylrsv4]

31 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Take down the cement wall.

Not possible. I live in an HOA community and it’s throughout the sub division.

[Darylrsv4]

4 minutes ago, Allen said:

The palm is small and in seemingly poor health.  Don't know what the soil is like?   When was the palm planted and was it field grown or potted?  My drip is .9 gph drip line and I have about five drippers on healthy palms that run for 2 hours in clay soil every 3 days now that it's cooler, every 2 days when hotter. 

I believe it is clay but honestly don’t know what is common in So Cal? I’m a transplant from Chicago, so not sure.

I bought from a nursery and it was in a wood box.

I do  not remember how many gph my drip line is. 

I check my soil every few day and it doesn’t seem to dry out like it should considering the temps lately.

I have a Sago and a Pygmy 10’ away from this Windmill palm in the same soil and they’re doing just fine.

 

[Allen]

5 minutes ago, Darylrsv4 said:

I believe it is clay but honestly don’t know what is common in So Cal? I’m a transplant from Chicago, so not sure.

I bought from a nursery and it was in a wood box.

I do  not remember how many gph my drip line is. 

I check my soil every few day and it doesn’t seem to dry out like it should considering the temps lately.

I have a Sago and a Pygmy 10’ away from this Windmill palm in the same soil and they’re doing just fine.

 

When you planted did you see white roots around the outside pretty thick?  If this palm was just recently planted it may have not been in top health.  You need to water more and make sure it saturates the root ball where it was planted.  To clarify, the drippers need to be on top of the original rootball that you planted.  

Next now that we are watering, take a marker and mark the new spear and the oldest frond there at the same spot in a line and see if that moves in a week. 

Also I would personally pull the rocks back 18" in a circle and dump a bag of wood mulch around the palm 4" to increase soil moisture until the palm gets going then you can put rocks back.  

[Darylrsv4]

33 minutes ago, Allen said:

When you planted did you see white roots around the outside pretty thick?  If this palm was just recently planted it may have not been in top health.  You need to water more and make sure it saturates the root ball where it was planted.  To clarify, the drippers need to be on top of the original rootball that you planted.  

Next now that we are watering, take a marker and mark the new spear and the oldest frond there at the same spot in a line and see if that moves in a week. 

Also I would personally pull the rocks back 18" in a circle and dump a bag of wood mulch around the palm 4" to increase soil moisture until the palm gets going then you can put rocks back.  

I just realized I didn’t answer your question about when it was planted. I had my gardener plant it in early spring. The fronds were nice and green when I got it.

I didn’t know to pay attention to the white roots around the outside. I’m still a newb to a lot of this, trying to learn as much as possible. 
 

So, don’t cut off the burnt fronts? Also, keep the soil wet? I was afraid to get root rot. 
 

Appreciate all your feedback, much appreciated! 

[Allen]

22 minutes ago, Darylrsv4 said:

I just realized I didn’t answer your question about when it was planted. I had my gardener plant it in early spring. The fronds were nice and green when I got it.

I didn’t know to pay attention to the white roots around the outside. I’m still a newb to a lot of this, trying to learn as much as possible. 

So, don’t cut off the burnt fronts? Also, keep the soil wet? I was afraid to get root rot. 

You should not cut off any fronds of this palm until they turn completely brown.    You can take a shovel and go out to about the edge of where you think the original rootball was and dig down a small hole about 6"-1' and see if you see healthy roots and if the ground is moist.   This palm is in pretty bad distress.  

[Darylrsv4]

8 hours ago, Allen said:

You should not cut off any fronds of this palm until they turn completely brown.    You can take a shovel and go out to about the edge of where you think the original rootball was and dig down a small hole about 6"-1' and see if you see healthy roots and if the ground is moist.   This palm is in pretty bad distress.  

Again, appreciate all of your help with this. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

13 hours ago, Darylrsv4 said:

Resurrecting an old thread.I’m having the same issue with my windmill palm. It’s been high 90’s to low 100’s for the last month and a half here in So Cal.

I typically have my drip set to run 2-3 X’s a week for 15 mins. at a time. 

Should I water more , less or as is? 

Appreciate it. 

Those conditions (weather/heat and planted area) are about the worst for Trachycarpus fortunei.  I'd opt for a Brahaea or some other better suited palm.

[Allen]

I just noticed your drip head right up against the trunk.  That might be spraying water on the trunk too much.  it might not be hurting but a better solution would be to run drip emitters about 1 foot from the trunk in a circle and a second circle 2 foot out to water the root zone more evenly so all the roots grow out in the soil and get water.  If you can connect 1/2 drip line you can use this:

https://www.dripdepot.com/item/half-inch-polyethylene-pressure-compensating-drip-line-emitter-spacing-9-inch-flow-rate-one-gph-roll-length-100-feet

or you can use the 1/4 line but it only has .5 gph.  You could run 2 circles using that at 12" and 18" out to soak it and place under rocks. 

https://www.dripdepot.com/item/quarter-inch-polyethylene-dripline-emitter-spacing-6-inch-flow-rate-half-gph-roll-length-100-feet-color-brown

 

 

 

[Chester B]

9 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Those conditions (weather/heat and planted area) are about the worst for Trachycarpus fortunei.  I'd opt for a Brahaea or some other better suited palm.

I have to agree with this. 
 

If you want to keep this palm put some decent size shrubs around to block and absorb some of the heat. 
 

This is how in typically plant mine. You want to incorporate them into the landscape. The second photo is a west facing wall. I’ve measured the temp of the wall and it’s often 150f in late afternoon. You can feel the heat coming off of it, but these three Trachys are growing well with ample water. 

[SeanK]

Go over to the wall at 3PM or 4PM. Put your hand on it. Is it hot?