Brown spots on yellowish leaves

[Mical23b]

Is my new baby (4.5ft) Canary Palm dying?

 

I purchased two palms about 3 weeks ago and had them planted, however, since then one of them has unfortunately started to get yellow is and some of the leaves have brown spots and dry.  

P.S. Since planting I have used some Palm Tone fertilizer and Palm nutritional Spay, but doesn’t appear to have help. 

Any comments welcome

 

Thanks in advance 

[TheMadScientist]

Photos would help give more accurate suggestions.

[Mical23b]

[Mical23b]

1 hour ago, TheMadScientist said:

Photos would help give more accurate suggestions.

Thanks added, thanks.

[TheMadScientist]

Are the lawn sprinklers spraying over the top or at least into the crown area?  Reason:  I killed (12) 5 gallon CIDP grown from seed that I had set on a 1 foot tall planter.  The sprinklers were needing to come on like at 4 am to minimize evaporation, so I wasn't paying attention.  Crown rot happened pretty fast.

[Mical23b]

13 hours ago, TheMadScientist said:

Are the lawn sprinklers spraying over the top or at least into the crown area?  Reason:  I killed (12) 5 gallon CIDP grown from seed that I had set on a 1 foot tall planter.  The sprinklers were needing to come on like at 4 am to minimize evaporation, so I wasn't paying attention.  Crown rot happened pretty fast.

That is great info. I too have sprinklers on approx. 4am for the same reason, however, I have noticed the crown leaves currently look the freshest out of all of them.  It seems the outer leaves have been more affected. Nevertheless, I’ll adjust my sprinkler timer to minimize the risk.

2 QUICK QUESTIONS: 

1) Do the pictures I supplied show signs of the tree dying (from your experience)?

2) How often should a palm of this age be watered, (both within the first month and thereafter)?

Thanks in advance

[awkonradi]

I don't think that CIDP is anywhere close to dying.  I doubt your palm needs more nutrients.  MAYBE it needs more water, especially if your weather has been hot.  I think really soaking it once a week, through the heat of the summer, while it is growing more roots, probably would not be too much, as long as it is not in a low, swampy place in your yard.  I note the surrounding grass is lush, so nutrients and water in that area do not seem poor.  Do listen to others wiser than me about those spots possibly arising from too much water on the fronds.

[Merlyn]

A couple of comments/questions:

• Where are you located?  If you are in FL the summer thunderstorms should be (finally) kicking in this week, so additional watering might not be necessary.  I have a dripline setup in my yard, and give my Canary about 1.5 gallons per day split up in 4 drippers around the perimeter.  If you are in CA or elsewhere it might need more watering since you don't live in a swamp. 
• The palms are planted very high, I can see a few roots visible in one photo.  Generally you want the "root initiation zone" at ground level.  If you plan on keeping a raised mulch bed around them, then it's at the perfect height.  Just cover up the exposed roots with a bit more dirt and mulch.
• Lawn sprinklers hitting palms are a big problem, at least with city water.  Palms don't mind rainwater in the crown, but the chloramines in city water are a potential problem.  The spotting might be from the sprinkler.  Adjusting sprinkler aim, or changing a big rotator for a smaller short-distance fan sprinkler are options.  They also make conversion heads for standard yard sprinkler to dripline, about $10 at Home Depot.  Watering ON the existing rootball is critical, i.e. close to the trunk but not directly on the trunk.  It'll take months for the palm to grow roots outside of the pot size you bought it in. 
• Fertilizing is best done at least 1 month after planting, to avoid burning new roots.  I'd use a granular timed-release, about 1lb evenly sprinkled under the canopy.  In FL a good recommendation is PalmGain 8-2-12, but it's been out of stock recently.  I also use Lesco Palm 13-3-13, HD Vigoro Palm 8-4-8, or Lowes Sunniland Palm 6-1-8.  I generally avoid foliar sprays.
• The spots are most likely a potassium deficiency (the third number in the fertilizer NPK).  Older fronds get translucent yellow/orange spots that turn to dead/brown spots over time.  This is a common deficiency, and also happens shortly after transplant.  The palm "eats" the oldest fronds to power new root growth.  So don't cut off the old fronds, it just deprives the palm of nutrients that it's reclaiming from the old fronds.  Cut them off when they are brown and dessicated. 

Overall it looks okay for a recent transplant.  Sometimes you get mechanical/physical damage during planting, but as long as the oldest fronds are the only ones yellowing/spotting then there's no reason to worry.  Just keep up on the watering on the existing rootball, and give it some timed-release granular fertilizer in a couple of weeks.