Sick mule palms

[Shawn l]

I have two mule palms that are showing the same issues.  Brown spots in the leaves.  I’ve sprayed them with copper fungicide, checked moisture, and kept them in more sun.

I have them in a mix of sand, topsoil, and potting soil.

any thoughts?

 

[Allen]

Are these indoor and are you spraying the fronds when watering?  What conditions have the palms been in for the last 3 months? (Indoor/outdoor/temps)

[Shawn l]

Allen, 

I received these 3 weeks ago and transplanted them to 3 gallon pots as they are larger 1 gallon plants.

I have not been misting them when watering and the min temp in the house is 68.

They are not drooping, curling, or turning at the tips.

maybe some type of transplant shock?

[Shawn l]

More black streaks through other fronds today after 6 hours in 80 degree sun.

[Allen]

15 hours ago, Shawn l said:

Allen, 

I received these 3 weeks ago and transplanted them to 3 gallon pots as they are larger 1 gallon plants.

I have not been misting them when watering and the min temp in the house is 68.

They are not drooping, curling, or turning at the tips.

maybe some type of transplant shock?

Yea I'm not sure.  I'll let someone else go thru the potted thing but in that last pic I'm not liking that black looking base of the frond. Things to check and maybe post to help someone.   Is there a new spear?  Were roots white.  Maybe overpotted/shock but I'll bow out of it as I'm not sure.  Soil mix too mucky?  Just giving hints what might contribute.  

[Shawn l]

I did a full transplant last night including
- inspected and washed the roots and removed any that were suspect

- I let them dry out and applied fungicide directly to the roots

- used a smaller pot and palm miracle grow soil

if they don’t live after this not much else I can do

[PalmatierMeg]

Where are you? Are they indoors because of winter? I don’t know how root sensitive mule palm seedlings are but I wonder if you are killing them with kindness, worrying them to death. I’ve learned that messing around with palm roots is tempting trouble. 

You did the following: unpotted it, rinsed away all soil, picked away at the roots, cut the roots, dried out the roots, sprayed the roots, repotted in straight Miracle Gro (potting?) soil. That’s a lot of handling for a 1-leaf seedling. Rule of thumb: don’t subject palm roots to trauma. A Bismarckia seedling flat-out dies from such treatment.

I hate to recommend you do more to the traumatized seedling. I’ll just say that I don’t recommend Miracle Gro soils for anything except filling a ditch. Their soils turn to black sludge when wet and should be mixed with coarser mix, perlite, coco coir to loosen it and help it drain.

[Shawn l]

Update on the mules:

One of them is looking very strong.  Has gone pennant and a new spear is growing.

the other strappling turned completely brown but now has some green halfway through.