HELP New Sylvester Planted Issue

[FLman2021]

I have a large Sylvester Palm that was planted 3+ weeks ago and the fronds are starting to shrivel up and turn brown. Is this just transplant shock? Over or under watering? My soil is very moist.. I water every other day, some times I skip a few days because the soil is moist 

[KDubU]

Can you take a picture of how it’s planted? Eg how deep. Also how are you determining the soil is moist, finger test or water meter? Also how large? I had a large Pindo planted and I watered it twice a day for the first 20 days or so as that what the installer told me to do. I don’t have a Sylvester so not sure what the problem could be.

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, FLman2021 said:

I have a large Sylvester Palm that was planted 3+ weeks ago and the fronds are starting to shrivel up and turn brown. Is this just transplant shock? Over or under watering? My soil is very moist.. I water every other day, some times I skip a few days because the soil is moist

If you can post a photo of the whole palm that will help a lot.  December/January isn't the best time of year to plant palms, unless you are in South FL.  But it should be okay as long as you aren't in a "zone pushing area" for a Sylvester, like North FL.  We had a pretty significant cold snap on the morning of December 26th and all night on the 26th-27th, so some palms may have latent damage from that event.

Regarding transplant shock, it's pretty common to have the oldest set of leaves go brown a few weeks after transplanting.  The palm is "eating" the old leaves for nutrition to power root growth, and reducing the leaf area to conserve moisture.  If it's more than the lowest / oldest set of leaves browning then there could definitely be a problem.  A full photo would help.

[FLman2021]

I am near Sarasota area, here is the picture.

 

i use a hygrometer I ordered on amazon. 

[Palmfarmer]

You are overwatering i am pretty sure. How i do it is that i dig down around a fingers lenght into the soil, when the layer at the bottom where i dug down is just a bit moist/getting dry i water. I dont measure the amount i do it by feel and make sure to get it watered in pretty good. I think its mostly fine to water "too much" in one go at longer intervalls than to water too much by watering too often. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Palmfarmer

[96720]

Didn’t they tie up the fronds? Phoenix palms a pretty tough the heart is the main thing to worry about. More than likely it will be just fine 

[FLman2021]

It’s drooping and the fronds are dry and shriveling up.

 

here is a picture of before it happened, the day it was planted. 

[JLM]

Wow, it looked amazing when it was put in. And also, DO THEY KNOW HOW TO GET A GOOD ROOTBALL?? Jeez theres hardly anything there, no wonder why your palm is struggling so much, its barely has any roots! Hopefully it can grow some out. What nursery installed it?

Edited January 30, 2021 by JLM

[DAVEinMB]

@FLman2021 how long has it been in the ground and does the nursery offer any time frame guarantee? I would definitely reach out to them and show them the same pictures

[FLman2021]

Yes they gave me a guarantee and if it doesn’t take then they will replace it. It’s been in the ground roughly 15 days. Can anyone tell me for sure what they think is going on? Is it just transplant shock? 

[DAVEinMB]

@FLman2021 it definitely looks like transplant shock but that is a very rapid decline. My best guess is the foliage is shriveling up because the roots aren't absorbing water. This could be from the transplant itself and root acclimation, potential damage during transplant, or fungal issues from over watering. I lost a trachy to a combination of transplant shock, over watering and a poor draining area of my yard a couple years ago. The symptoms were stretched out over months not days tho. You may want to consider removing some of the outer, older foliage and monitor center spears and new growth, if any.

Has drainage ever been an issue in this area of your yard? Phoenix do not like wet feet. 

[FLman2021]

Ground is very moist It never seems to be drying.

[Ben in Norcal]

This is pretty easy to diagnose, I think - that root ball is tiny, nowhere near deep enough.  Whatever company this is, they suck.

It might recover, it might not - but it's going to look pretty unsightly for a while.

[FLman2021]

Ya I’m not happy. How long do you think it will look like this for? 
 

what do you think the probability of this tree recovering? 

[Merlyn]

I'd agree with Ben.  That is a tiny, tiny rootball for a palm that size.  I'd definitely contact them regarding the rapid decline.  They left a lot of fronds on there for the available roots.  It may survive, but it would be better to contact them now and send them photos.  That way if it keeps going downhill over the next couple of weeks they can't claim it was not covered or not their fault. 

On the plus side, I have seen some similar-sized Sylvesters (say that 5x fast!) look absolutely horrendous for 2 months after planting in the middle of big parking lots.  I really thought they all were going to die.  Another month afterwards and all of them (10 or so) were growing new fronds.  Go figure...

[FLman2021]

Thank you for all the comments and opinions 

[sonoranfans]

On 1/30/2021 at 2:08 PM, FLman2021 said:

Ground is very moist It never seems to be drying.

If they severed those roots all at once recently taking it out of a field they also should have taken off 70% of the leaves.  That would have removed your instant gratification, but it would increase survival chances.  If that happened, the people you bought this from dont know what they are doing if they dug it out without removing most of the leaves.  Roots take up water and leaves lose it.  The roots are gone and need to grow back at this time but losses through leaves continue on.  If you have a lot of clay in your soil, this is the wrong palm for planting in grassy area that gets regular irrigation.  

[FLman2021]

Should I remove the lower fronds? 
 

I think there is a fair amount of clay. 
 

will this palm survive ? 
 

what should I do? 

[aztropic]

Fronds are already dried. Don't disturb the evidence! If you start cutting fronds, planting company will blame failure on you. At this point, it's a guaranteed planting,so now,you're in a waiting period to see if it starts growing again. If they end up replacing the tree,THEN have them cut alot of fronds to help with establishment.

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

[sonoranfans]

2 hours ago, FLman2021 said:

Should I remove the lower fronds? 
 

I think there is a fair amount of clay. 
 

will this palm survive ? 
 

what should I do? 

I would just let it die and plant something else when they guarantee it.  Sylvestris must have high drainage in rainy florida.  You should plan to replace it as it will never look as good as planted in soil that is continually wet.   Tell us where you are and we can suggest replacements based on your zone.  If you insist on wanting a sylvester, dig a huge deep hole next time put mostly sand in and then elevate the planting site 6-10" with some concrete hardscape pavers.