Christmas Palm looks sick

[MitchInArleta]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I planted my Christmas Palm Tree here in the Valley of Southern California (Zone 10a) last June, and it was doing really well. Old fronds were nice and healthy and a new one popped out big and strong about 5 months ago. 2 of the original fronds have slowly been turning yellow, and last week, they abruptly went fully brown. The leaves on the healthier fronds are getting spots that are spreading, and one is even beginning to droop. We've changed seasons now, but I am still watering it twice a week in a way that isn't drowning it. Photos below. 

Can someone please let me know what to do? I want it to pull through so badly. I see a small amount of little insects on it, so I'm not sure if that's part of this, or if this is fungus, or what. 

[Philly J]

One of my fronds looks identical after a spider mite battle.  I think what happens is that the leaves are so weak and exposed to more leaf spot and blight when wet after a mite infestation, that is why we are developing those fungal blight spots.

[MitchInArleta]

21 minutes ago, Philly J said:

One of my fronds looks identical after a spider mite battle.  I think what happens is that the leaves are so weak and exposed to more leaf spot and blight when wet after a mite infestation, that is why we are developing those fungal blight spots.

How did you cure it?

[JohnAndSancho]

Spider mites are easy to get rid of. Hit it with a hose. They usually show up inside, not outside though. At least that's what I've read. 

[Philly J]

2 hours ago, MitchInArleta said:

How did you cure it?

I didn’t yet.  Copper fungicide if it spreads, but it’s the outer older fronds and not the new spears so I’m kinda letting it go I guess.

[MitchInArleta]

15 hours ago, Philly J said:

I didn’t yet.  Copper fungicide if it spreads, but it’s the outer older fronds and not the new spears so I’m kinda letting it go I guess.

I keep reading about that, so I will buy some on Amazon and try it. Hopefully it works and it gets to keep growing for the summer. Thank you!

[Philly J]

17 minutes ago, MitchInArleta said:

I keep reading about that, so I will buy some on Amazon and try it. Hopefully it works and it gets to keep growing for the summer. Thank you!

I am on the lookout on my leaves for the same spots you have to grow and start joining together into larger masses, if that doesn’t happen it may have stopped and maybe just be contained to those spots, hopefully lol.  I don’t know, me and you are on this journey for the first time with our Adonidia’s together haha!

 

mine is at my office, I’ll take a picture today of my damaged leaves when I go do palm maintenance.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Philly J

[MitchInArleta]

Well, I have done the copper fungus treatment every week for 4 weeks and this is what the leave looks like now.. it’s worse in most places or no change on one frond. I have no idea what to do...

[Tyrone]

They're fungal spots caused by cool temps. Adonidia are actually quite tropical. Once the black spot is there you can't get rid of it. It's there until the leaf falls off with old age. Apart from that your palm is healthy and as you are moving into the warmer weather it should start to pick up in growth. Maybe over time each new leaf will harden up a tad, but these palms are more suited to Southern Florida than Southern California.

[MitchInArleta]

1 minute ago, Tyrone said:

They're fungal spots caused by cool temps. Adonidia are actually quite tropical. Once the black spot is there you can't get rid of it. It's there until the leaf falls off with old age. Apart from that your palm is healthy and as you are moving into the warmer weather it should start to pick up in growth. Maybe over time each new leaf will harden up a tad, but these palms are more suited to Southern Florida than Southern California.

Thank you so much! It was doing incredibly well and the middle frond is actually new. Speared up and sprouted perfectly; made me really happy! It’s getting hotter, so hopefully it’ll be better by July, but what you said definitely makes sense. 2 questions.. 1. Should I keep spraying it with the fungicide? 2. Any watering tips? Again, it was doing really well and I was watering it modestly twice a week, fertilize every 3-4 months. 

[Tyrone]

I personally wouldn't worry about the fungicide. You've already applied a bit which should be fine. It's still a young plant so in time it could adapt better to your climate. I think your watering and fertilising regime is a good one. You may wish to give it a bit of a watering with a fish and seaweed extract every now and again. If its getting the right nutrients it can make the cell walls stronger and help resist any bacterial or fungal spots in later life.

[MitchInArleta]

Awesome. Thank you so much!

[Johnny Palmseed]

5 hours ago, MitchInArleta said:

Thank you so much! It was doing incredibly well and the middle frond is actually new. Speared up and sprouted perfectly; made me really happy! It’s getting hotter, so hopefully it’ll be better by July, but what you said definitely makes sense. 2 questions.. 1. Should I keep spraying it with the fungicide? 2. Any watering tips? Again, it was doing really well and I was watering it modestly twice a week, fertilize every 3-4 months. 

I agree with @Tyrone that it was from the cool temps. I saw several young Adonidias around my area that looked just like yours, if not worse after our colder than normal winter. The older ones were not as affected. My young coconuts looked like this too. Central Florida is on the edge for these types of palms but they have become very common and easily replaced.

[RobSW]

I live in SW Florida just north of Naples.  I have an identical palm in the front yard.  Same brown spots and brown tips.  I was also told its a fungus but there is really nothing to do.  And that the spots can be from water so never spray the leaves?  They need even watering which they never get here, its either rain storms or drought.  

[spike]

1 hour ago, RobSW said:

I live in SW Florida just north of Naples.  I have an identical palm in the front yard.  Same brown spots and brown tips.  I was also told its a fungus but there is really nothing to do.  And that the spots can be from water so never spray the leaves?  They need even watering which they never get here, its either rain storms or drought.  

had the same issue due to a ton of rain. I don't know how much it rains where you are. Having good airflow is a big factor i think.

[lucas0315]

Have a Christmas Palm.  I have used copper fungi to help because of the cold winter, but there are yellow spots on the trunk of the palm.  what is this and how can I treat this

 

[sonoranfans]

On 3/2/2022 at 3:43 PM, RobSW said:

I live in SW Florida just north of Naples.  I have an identical palm in the front yard.  Same brown spots and brown tips.  I was also told its a fungus but there is really nothing to do.  And that the spots can be from water so never spray the leaves?  They need even watering which they never get here, its either rain storms or drought.  

If you water grass regularly and its in the grass that could be the issue.  As they grow taller sprinkler wetting of foliage will drop off.  There are a few multis of these with 3-4' trunk in my neighborhood, they look pretty good most of the time and can be easily replaced after a 15 year winter cold.  If you have to remove a dead palm, a small dead palm is the best choice.

[kinzyjr]

4 hours ago, lucas0315 said:

Have a Christmas Palm.  I have used copper fungi to help because of the cold winter, but there are yellow spots on the trunk of the palm.  what is this and how can I treat this

 

Welcome to PalmTalk.  Could you post a photo of the palm and give us a general idea of your location (nearest large city)?

[Mandyk83]

 I’m also having issues with my Christmas palms. The tips of most of the fronds are brown and tattered looking and they’re also developing these dry brown/gray spots. I’m in St Pete Florida. I’m watering every other day, each palm is on two 5 gallon drippers and the zone runs for 15 minutes. I’m having difficulty attaching a picture. I’ve used two different apps to try to convert a photo to a url but when I try to insert it, the little pop-up window just turns red like it’s not accepting it. 

[JohnAndSancho]

53 minutes ago, Mandyk83 said:

 I’m also having issues with my Christmas palms. The tips of most of the fronds are brown and tattered looking and they’re also developing these dry brown/gray spots. I’m in St Pete Florida. I’m watering every other day, each palm is on two 5 gallon drippers and the zone runs for 15 minutes. I’m having difficulty attaching a picture. I’ve used two different apps to try to convert a photo to a url but when I try to insert it, the little pop-up window just turns red like it’s not accepting it. 

There may be an easier way, but what i do is take the picture and text it to myself, then save it and upload it here. This forum has file size limits. 

[Chris W.]

Help! My Christmas Palm in St. Pete has tip browning, then progresses to half the frond browning and I’m afraid of losing it. What do I do? I took pictures but they won’t load to this page.

 

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Chris W.
Pictures added

[PalmatierMeg]

Did you get wind and rain from Hurricane Ian? Here in Cape Coral what plants were not slaughtered outright suffered severe windburn. Fronds affected did not turn brown until days or weeks later