Sickly Windmill Palms - Seeking Advice/Opinions

[TedNoah1]

Hello!

My Trachycarpus has been doing exceptionally well - until this weekend. Just mid week, I was inspecting the spear and foliage, everything was excellent! Today, I noticed the spearhead appears to be drooping, and one of the fronds opening up looked terrible. Upon inspecting it, the outer , freshly opened frond completely fell off. I looked quite closely at the spear and noticed there are bits of white around it. After doing some reading, it appears that it has a fungus? Based on suggestions, I treated it with a little bit of peroxide. And some of the experts tell me what they think it is? We had an insanely wet February, here, in the Virginia Beach region of Virginia. The sun barely came out the month of February....perhaps some rot?

Additionally, I had another one in a pot. I thought it had died due to root rot. To my surprise, I noticed the spear is green and healthy! Gave it a tug or 2 and it’s intact. Is that palm salvageable? That is picture 4 and 5.

[UK_Palms]

Small Trachy's can be susceptible to damage and a lack of vigour when they are younger. I have had a Trachycarpus Nova spear pull after winter, when a nearby Washie Robusta was completely undamaged. For some reason they are just a bit finicky at that size. Once they start getting bigger and trunking, Trachy's should grow out of it and be fine. It could also be an overwatering issue, but again that is something which they will no longer be affected by once they get bigger. Just hold off watering for now, make sure they get plenty of sun, and decent airflow. Don't let them dry out completely either. They should pull through. 

[TedNoah1]

Thanks my friend! It rained almost every day in February here, and was unseasonably cold many days also.  So much flooding. I think this is the result. Also, this one is 5 yrs old - is that still considered very young? Are there any treatments I should give it? What about the one in the pot? I thought that one was dead…

Edited March 28, 2021 by TedNoah1

[UK_Palms]

34 minutes ago, TedNoah1 said:

Thanks my friend! It rained almost every day in February here, and was unseasonably cold many days also.  So much flooding. I think this is the result. Also, this one is 5 yrs old - is that still considered very young? Are there any treatments I should give it? What about the one in the pot? I thought that one was dead…

Well given that you are in Orlando, it definitely isn't going to be a temperature issue due to 'cold days'. We have tons of Trachy's growing over here in the UK with no problems and we are a lot colder than Orlando. They also grow them fine in Scandinavia as well, which is waaaaay colder than your location. I can safely say that it has nothing to do with the temperatures you have had. Trachy's won't burn until it goes down to 15F and they won't look like your potted one unless it goes down to like 5 - 10F. I'm guessing you haven't had anything lower than 25F this winter...?

I also highly doubt that it has anything to do with your rainfall either, especially combined with your winter warmth where you are. Trachy's can handle a ton of water and are one of the best palms for dealing with saturated soils and standing water. The one in the pot should recover, putting on new growth and looking okay in a couple of months. Just be patient with it. Maybe plant it in the ground somewhere to increase its health and growth rate. You can always dig it up at a later time. Your other one that is in the ground looks a lot healthier.

As I said previously, Trachy's are sometimes susceptible to spear pulls and look a bit ragged in their early years. I don't know why this is, but it happens. I wouldn't worry too much as they should recover in spring/summer and eventually they will grow out of this issue as they start trunking and getting bigger. If you have a small Trachy that is susceptible to spear pulls, it will usually sort itself out once it has around 1-2 foot of trunk. They will also lose that 'lack of vigour' look as well. Again, be patient with them.

[TedNoah1]

Hello again!
I’m not in Orlando… I’m in Chesapeake Virginia… Or as I mentioned in the thread, the greater Virginia Beach Region. I guess my profile still says Orlando (better change that haha), but no, I’m in the Mid-Atlantic. At the end of January we had a small snowstorm, which isn’t a big deal for windmills, as they are all over the place in this area, unprotected and thriving. The big issue, was nearly a whole month of rainfall with temperatures hovering at or below 40. Usually, we average low 50’s in February. It just sat in water logged soil. I can’t think of any other reason why the spear looks that way. Or whether that is fungus. I’m surprise no one else has jumped in on this thread because people usually have a lot of advice here. As per the one in the pot, it hasn’t moved from the way it looks for eight months. Not gotten worse nor has it grown. Very strange.

[TedNoah1]

Is this actually bud rot?

[NorCalWill]

For the one in the ground, I wouldn't worry about it. I think it will grow out once the weather warms up.

The one in the pot looks like it needs help. I'd either plant it in the ground or into a deeper pot. Sometimes the roots of potted plants clog the drain hole so water doesn't drain. Maybe that's the issue with yours, I don't know. What are you fertilizing them with?

[TedNoah1]

On 3/31/2021 at 11:20 PM, NorCalWill said:

For the one in the ground, I wouldn't worry about it. I think it will grow out once the weather warms up.

The one in the pot looks like it needs help. I'd either plant it in the ground or into a deeper pot. Sometimes the roots of potted plants clog the drain hole so water doesn't drain. Maybe that's the issue with yours, I don't know. What are you fertilizing them with?

Thank you! I will try to either plant the potted one again or give it a new pot. It had originally been in a pot, then I put it in the ground, it did very well, and then ended up looking the way it is now. It’s been about 10 months it was taken out of the ground and put into that pot. Nothing has changed. The spear has grown a little bit. Based on suggestions from other people, I just started using copper fungicide. The one in the ground just lost its spear officially.. I treated it with copper fungicide and also hydrogen peroxide. I’ve been using Jobes palm fertilizer by the suggestion of a few other palm enthusiasts and the nursery that sold it to me.