Root rot trachycarpus

[ZPalms]

I have a small maybe 2 year old trachycarpus seedling or something and out of the 3 that I have which were all planted the same the one never grew roots and just started to have root rot and the leaves started closing, I pulled it up and it had some black roots so I decided to soak it in hydrogen peroxide but thats all I did, I'm not sure if Im suppose to clip off the black parts or what and should I repot it in more perlite over soil and leave it in a shady spot?

[Rivera]

10 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I have a small maybe 2 year old trachycarpus seedling or something and out of the 3 that I have which were all planted the same the one never grew roots and just started to have root rot and the leaves started closing, I pulled it up and it had some black roots so I decided to soak it in hydrogen peroxide but thats all I did, I'm not sure if Im suppose to clip off the black parts or what and should I repot it in more perlite over soil and leave it in a shady spot?

Generally I leave response to these types of inquiries to people with more experience, but since you haven't had any replies I'll give my 2¢.

If it was my plant, I'd:

1. Gently wash out the medium

2. Mist the roots with H2O2

3. Dust the roots with powdered sulfur

4. Gently repot with a light, fast draining mix (perlite or pumice with chunky vermiculite and some coco coir or peat, whatever else)

5. Leave it in a bright protected spot and water it lightly every few days to keep moist, hoping for the best

I don't think I'd further traumatize the roots by cutting into them, but that's me. For non-palms I've found with rot, like Dudleya, Agave or Echeveria, I definitely cut into the healthy material to make sure I remove ALL the bad stuff. That's a whole different deal though.

I have also had good luck putting weak seedlings into the "ICU" until I see some spear movement, provided I don't believe they're infected with any pathogen. 

Here's a Brahea edulis seedling in the "ICU" with a couple sorry looking strap leaves sticking out the vents. A return to greenhouse conditions worked well for me to get a stalled Allogoptera arenaria seedling moving again.

I'm certainly no expert. Good luck.

[ZPalms]

16 hours ago, Rivera said:

Generally I leave response to these types of inquiries to people with more experience, but since you haven't had any replies I'll give my 2¢.

If it was my plant, I'd:

1. Gently wash out the medium

2. Mist the roots with H2O2

3. Dust the roots with powdered sulfur

4. Gently repot with a light, fast draining mix (perlite or pumice with chunky vermiculite and some coco coir or peat, whatever else)

5. Leave it in a bright protected spot and water it lightly every few days to keep moist, hoping for the best

I don't think I'd further traumatize the roots by cutting into them, but that's me. For non-palms I've found with rot, like Dudleya, Agave or Echeveria, I definitely cut into the healthy material to make sure I remove ALL the bad stuff. That's a whole different deal though.

I have also had good luck putting weak seedlings into the "ICU" until I see some spear movement, provided I don't believe they're infected with any pathogen. 

Here's a Brahea edulis seedling in the "ICU" with a couple sorry looking strap leaves sticking out the vents. A return to greenhouse conditions worked well for me to get a stalled Allogoptera arenaria seedling moving again.

I'm certainly no expert. Good luck.

Thanks for the responding to me! Do you think cinnamon would work? I dont have any powder sulfur! I'll give everything a try and hope to see improvement and I'll post a update here when and if I do! thank you!

Edited June 12, 2023 by ZPalms

[Rivera]

3 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Thanks for the responding to me! Do you think cinnamon would work? I dont have any powder sulfur! I'll give everything a try and hope to see improvement and I'll post a update here when and if I do! thank you!

You're welcome, just passing along what others have shared with me. 

No idea about cinnamon's anti fungal properties. Can't hurt? Powdered sulfur is easy to come by in a nursery/garden center. A friend showed me how to apply it using an "insect buster."

[Rivera]

I was reading A Bay Area Guide to Orchids and Their Culture yesterday and it mentioned the use of cinnamon on orchid roots.

I guess it's widely used as an anti-fungal for orchids, but there are also dissenters that assert it causes drying that contributes to root death. Trachycarpus are pretty tough though, and palms and orchids are certainly not one and the same.