Sabal Recovery

[Manalto]

This Sabal was planted in the winter of 2017. It seems to me to be slow in recovering and the yellow color concerns me. Am I just impatient? Today I'm going to enlarge the circle at the base for better watering and application of nutrients. Any suggestions to help it along and form a good healthy crown?

Edited August 13, 2019 by Manalto

[Jeff985]

I had one at my old house that had the same symptoms. It was planted about a year and a half before I moved out. It had about seven feet of trunk and about 50%-75%  canopy when it was planted. The fronds, even the newer ones were always yellow, and every time it produced a new frond, an old one died. I fertilized regularly with palm gain. At one point it had scales on it, so I treated it for that, which got rid of the scales but didn’t fix the problem. My latest theory was potassium deficiency caused by turf fertilizer so I canceled my lawn service, but that was only about a month before I moved out. I still own the house and go check on it occasionally so I’ll keep an eye on the palm and hopefully it gets better. 

[Manalto]

I applied magnesium (epsom) today on the recommendation of the nursery that sold me the tree. I also put a generous  top dressing  of rabbit manure and gave it a good soaking. Neighbors tell me ( I have been away since May until a couple of days ago) that there was an extended drought. I guess I should also mention that it was virtually leafless when it was installed.

[Manalto]

No suggestions? I guess I'm just being impatient and should wait a while longer

[kinzyjr]

@Manalto Have you had your soil tested?  You may want to go with PalmGain or another temperature activated, slow release fertilizer that is formulated for your area rather than the epsom salts, etc.  Sometimes adding too much of one nutrient can knock things out of balance and make problems worse.  Florikan seems to work really well here for anything that is yellowing.  Alabama may have its own blend.

[Manalto]

Thanks, Kinzy. The nursery who suggested the magnesium also is a grower and does maintenance in this area so their suggestion wasn't just boilerplate. However, my soil varies widely in different parts of the property so a soil test is an excellent idea.