King Palm - What to do?

[Briggs]

Our 5 beautiful queen palms are doing well, but the King Palm planted 8 mos ago is struggling.  I'm an experienced gardener, but new to the world of palms.  We are in the dry California Delta area (zone 14).  Our summers are hot, dry and windy,  and after planting the King Palm, I read that it doesn't like the wind.  We have clay soil and my landscaper amended quite a lot at the time of planting.  I feel like this is a water (soil) problem though ... and struggle as to whether it should be moved?  Where to go from here?  I an open to suggestions and welcome your comments as I've invested quite a lot in this tree and find it distressing to watch it struggle.  

[Silas_Sancona]

27 minutes ago, Briggs said:

Our 5 beautiful queen palms are doing well, but the King Palm planted 8 mos ago is struggling.  I'm an experienced gardener, but new to the world of palms.  We are in the dry California Delta area (zone 14).  Our summers are hot, dry and windy,  and after planting the King Palm, I read that it doesn't like the wind.  We have clay soil and my landscaper amended quite a lot at the time of planting.  I feel like this is a water (soil) problem though ... and struggle as to whether it should be moved?  Where to go from here?  I an open to suggestions and welcome your comments as I've invested quite a lot in this tree and find it distressing to watch it struggle.  

Briggs, First off,  Welcome to the forum..

As for your question/ concerns, you might re-post up in the " Palm Discussions" area of the forum.. Believe  @Ben in Norcal is close by you and should have some great advise to pass along to help you out.. Growing up south of you in San Jose, neighbors who grew Kings experienced many of the same issues, esp. this time of year. 

Nathan

[Ben in Norcal]

That's a sun issue.  Almost certainly, that king was shade/greenhouse grown, and they can't be planted out in the open and deal with our summers, without acclimatization.  The heat, dry, and wind is too much for them - at least if you expect them to look good.  That said, it will pull through.  Do not move it at this stage as it will likely do more harm than good.  Keep it wet - these are a rainforest palm - and don't cut off unsightly fronds until they fall off.  If those plants lose many more fronds, they will die, likely via susceptibility to pink rot.

If you have any way to shade them somewhat this summer from our brutal afternoon sun, that would help.  Otherwise keep them wet and wait for them to push through/become acclimated.  Really though - don't cut off those fronds...it's going to be touch and go for this clump as it is, going into 4-5 months of summer heat.

[Briggs]

Ben, Thank you so much ... nursery nearby told me the sun wouldn't be a problem, but I agree it's HOT in its location.  I will try to create shade for the next several months.

[Ben in Norcal]

12 minutes ago, Briggs said:

Ben, Thank you so much ... nursery nearby told me the sun wouldn't be a problem, but I agree it's HOT in its location.  I will try to create shade for the next several months.

What nursery, out of interest?  Most know little about palms - e.g. Lowes and HD sell kings with "Drought Tolerant" labels on them, as an example.  I mean, I guess they are - if you are comparing them to a water lily!  These are real rainforest species and need constant moisture throughout our growing season.

Some shade netting through to Halloween would do them a world of good...keep 'em wet and leave them be, and you will be rewarded!

[Briggs]

Perez Nursery in Brentwood.  I purchased it at Lowes tho and the garden manager said she lives in Discovery Bay and hers gets sun all day long & thriving. This is definitely discouraging and I so wish I had known about this forum and Inter'l Palm Society prior to purchase.  I am considering returning the palm to Lowes for a refund.  If I were to shade it & get it through the summer, will I still be dealing with this year after year?

[Gas man]

No you won't deal with it year after year.  The plant just needs to be acclimated.  

[Ben in Norcal]

21 hours ago, Briggs said:

Perez Nursery in Brentwood.  I purchased it at Lowes tho and the garden manager said she lives in Discovery Bay and hers gets sun all day long & thriving. This is definitely discouraging and I so wish I had known about this forum and Inter'l Palm Society prior to purchase.  I am considering returning the palm to Lowes for a refund.  If I were to shade it & get it through the summer, will I still be dealing with this year after year?

Perez don't know palms - nor Lowe's.

As the other poster says,  you just need to acclimate it.  If you bought the palm at Lowes, it is absolutely 100% shade or greenhouse grown, so needs to be acclimated.  You will note that the longer Lowe's have kings in stock, the shabbier they will look, if in sun.  It's the same reason - they have not been grown in full on desert sun like we have here.

Kings will eventually look good here, but will always appreciate a lot of water - and do tend to look their best in a bit of cover.  I plant them in a very jungle-like fashion so they can actually shade each other a bit.  It works well and is the look I am going for.

[PalmatierMeg]

If they survive this summer, they should be good to go. Looks like they are sending up new spears. The damaged fronds won't heal but be patient while the 5 palms (kings are solitary) grow out of their damage. That some nursery stuffed 5 solitary palms into a pot shows they don't know or care what they are doing. The two smallest/weakest palms might lose the competition for survival anyway. Don't shortshrift them on water. I have four King species and all grow in ferocious FL sun and I am 100s of miles south of you. They get tons of water during rainy season and irrigation during dry season.

[Darold Petty]

I would cut out the two smallest stems also.  Three stems are plenty if they acclimate and flourish.

Briggs, Welcome to Palmtalk !