Newly Planted Christmas Palm Trees

[Sunni]

I had several 25 gallon Christmas palm trees planted in my yard from the local nursery. It’s been about 10 days now and I’ve noticed the leave are starting to yellow, the tips are brown and all trees have white stuff which looks like a fungus. I was told to give each tree 5 gallons of water per day for two weeks, but my trees are in direct sunlight. I live in South East Florida the sun and heat down here is brutal. I purchased a soil moister meter and it says the trees aren’t getting enough of water. I have an irrigation system, but it don’t seem to get the job done. I’ve did exactly what the nursery told me, but it’s not working. So, for the last two days I’ve filled up a 5 gallon bucket and poured the water at the around the bottom of each tree. My question is am I watering too little? What can I do to get my tree looking healthy? How do I remove the fungus and get it to stay off the trees? The trees are in direct sunlight. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

10 minutes ago, Sunni said:

I had several 25 gallon Christmas palm trees planted in my yard from the local nursery. It’s been about 10 days now and I’ve noticed the leave are starting to yellow, the tips are brown and all trees have white stuff which looks like a fungus. I was told to give each tree 5 gallons of water per day for two weeks, but my trees are in direct sunlight. I live in South East Florida the sun and heat down here is brutal. I purchased a soil moister meter and it says the trees aren’t getting enough of water. I have an irrigation system, but it don’t seem to get the job done. I’ve did exactly what the nursery told me, but it’s not working. So, for the last two days I’ve filled up a 5 gallon bucket and poured the water at the around the bottom of each tree. My question is am I watering too little? What can I do to get my tree looking healthy? How do I remove the fungus and get it to stay off the trees? The trees are in direct sunlight. 

Take some pictures and post them. That will help. Have you contacted the nursery?

[Sunni]

6 minutes ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

Take some pictures and post them. That will help. Have you contacted the nursery?

Here are the pictures. 

[Billeb]

56 minutes ago, Sunni said:

I have an irrigation system, but it don’t seem to get the job done. I’ve did exactly what the nursery told me, but it’s not working. So, for the last two days I’ve filled up a 5 gallon bucket and poured the water at the around the bottom of each tree. My question is am I watering too little? 

Question: How fast is that 5G of water draining in the soil? 5G of water at once is a lot. If it’s super fast, you have very very well drained soil (probably too well drained). 
 

You say that you planted them…how was the soil you removed? Super sandy? What medium did you use to back fill the hole? 
 

Between the blasting full Sun and I assume well drained soil, my guess is lack of water like you suggested. Let some others pipe in from your area to see their thoughts. 
 

-dale

[Gottagrowemall]

Water the heck out of them and mist them around 3:00 everyday if you want them to look amazing. It won’t be needed in summer when it’s raining often but the older fronds will show the stress. Overall though they look good. They were probably used to getting tons of water where’ve they used to be. I’d up it to 30 gallons each and the only way you’re gonna do that is leave the hose on a slow stream nearby the base for a bit 

[aztropic]

The white fuzz you are worried about is called tomentum,and is a totally normal feature of that species. It is NOT a fungus...

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Sunni]

3 hours ago, Gottagrowemall said:

Water the heck out of them and mist them around 3:00 everyday if you want them to look amazing. It won’t be needed in summer when it’s raining often but the older fronds will show the stress. Overall though they look good. They were probably used to getting tons of water where’ve they used to be. I’d up it to 30 gallons each and the only way you’re gonna do that is leave the hose on a slow stream nearby the base for a bit 

Thanks for your feedback. I’m going to up the amount of water I’m giving them. 

[Sunni]

1 hour ago, aztropic said:

The white fuzz you are worried about is called tomentum,and is a totally normal feature of that species. It is NOT a fungus...

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Thanks! I was a bit worried. 

[NOT A TA]

If they're not grown in full sun and you put them in full sun here this time of year no amount of water is going to keep them from yellowing.  Also, do not expect the current leaves to rebound and turn darker green. The new leaves  that start coming out will be darker since those palms are big enough to be in full sun. Our UV index has been extremely high the past week or so and the plants are getting sunburned so to speak.  Just keep soaking them and they should be fine although they'll look kinda ratty for a few months.

In the future if you plan ahead a bit I've found they acclimate better if you plant them a couple weeks before the winter solstice. This allows the plant to slowly acclimate to the full sun as the day's get longer and intensity increases.

[Sunni]

11 hours ago, NOT A TA said:

If they're not grown in full sun and you put them in full sun here this time of year no amount of water is going to keep them from yellowing.  Also, do not expect the current leaves to rebound and turn darker green. The new leaves  that start coming out will be darker since those palms are big enough to be in full sun. Our UV index has been extremely high the past week or so and the plants are getting sunburned so to speak.  Just keep soaking them and they should be fine although they'll look kinda ratty for a few months.

In the future if you plan ahead a bit I've found they acclimate better if you plant them a couple weeks before the winter solstice. This allows the plant to slowly acclimate to the full sun as the day's get longer and intensity increases.

Thanks for your feedback. The trees were located in a shady area at the nursery and now in direct sunlight from sunrise to sunset. I have zero shade around my house which is why I’m planting trees. I do plan on getting a couple more trees, but will wait until the Fall.