Help with my newly planted Bismarck palm in Phoenix

[Jillio]

This was planted by a landscaper about 6-8 months ago and the original grinds started turning brown but the new ones looked ok. We have tried increasing water but it’s getting hotter and now the new ones growing from the middle look dry and yellow and unhealthy. I think it get 20 min of water every morning at 6 am. Anyone have any help or tips… I don’t think my landscaper knows what to do to make sure it doesn’t die  help! Is it look better to anyone then I am thinking? I am worried it’s too late already and 120 degrees is coming! 

[PalmatierMeg]

It doesn't look that bad to me. Bizzies love lots of sun and heat. Anyone from AZ chime in?

[Silas_Sancona]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:37 PM, Jillio said:

This was planted by a landscaper about 6-8 months ago and the original grinds started turning brown but the new ones looked ok. We have tried increasing water but it’s getting hotter and now the new ones growing from the middle look dry and yellow and unhealthy. I think it get 20 min of water every morning at 6 am. Anyone have any help or tips… I don’t think my landscaper knows what to do to make sure it doesn’t die  help! Is it look better to anyone then I am thinking? I am worried it’s too late already and 120 degrees is coming! 

I have an idea on what might be happening, but will defer to Scott @aztropic for assessment..   Will say, find out what  nursery it was purchased from,  just in case you need to contact them.

[aztropic]

Center spear has dried up. Sometimes this happens,especially after winter,but new spears SHOULD be coming up by now. Pull on the dead spear to see if it is rotted off (and remove it) If so -treat the hole with hydrogen peroxide in the brown bottle from walmart. How is this palm watered - spray or drip? Sometimes,overhead watering can cause rot problems. Also,daily watering is not good for ANY in ground plant. Would recommend a drip system that puts down 20 gallons of water,only once a week for that palm. More water over the summer won't hurt it,but daily water is not good for it,and it really doesn't need it. These are tough palms,and it really should recover, especially with the heat that's on the way. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Jillio]

It’s a watering system at the ground not spray but not a light drip either. It is connected to the same drip line that waters cactus and agave… does that change your opinion? How often? I wish the palm was on its own watering system but it’s not  any other thoughts with that info? 

[Jillio]

The dried out ones are still firmly attached but I think I see a new one starting maybe? Here is photo @aztropic

[aztropic]

If there is a new spear starting,then everything is fine and normal. No worries. Being on the same water line as cactus and agave's is ok, probably perfect, but ALL of them only need to be watered only ONCE a week. Daily watering will eventually cause rot in both cactus and agave.

(If the dead brown frond bothers you,you absolutely can trim it out,and the palm will look perfectly normal after that)

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

Edited June 20, 2023 by aztropic

[mnorell]

7 hours ago, aztropic said:

Center spear has dried up. Sometimes this happens,especially after winter,but new spears SHOULD be coming up by now. Pull on the dead spear to see if it is rotted off (and remove it) If so -treat the hole with hydrogen peroxide in the brown bottle from walmart. How is this palm watered - spray or drip? Sometimes,overhead watering can cause rot problems. Also,daily watering is not good for ANY in ground plant. Would recommend a drip system that puts down 20 gallons of water,only once a week for that palm. More water over the summer won't hurt it,but daily water is not good for it,and it really doesn't need it. These are tough palms,and it really should recover, especially with the heat that's on the way. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

I hate to disagree, but Bismarckia thrives with daily watering. Nowhere in the U.S. do they grow more beautifully (and quickly) than in southern Florida, typically in Miami receiving at least 60" of rain per year, most of that delivered daily in afternoon downpours during the wet season (summer/fall more or less). Then, sporadically with cold fronts (approx. every ten days) in late fall and winter. Springs are dry. (This is a rather typical tropical setup.) Also, in a study I found online, at least at one site noted that in native habitat at Antrema, Madagascar, rainfall averages approximately 59" (1498mm) per year, distributed mainly in the southern hemisphere wet season of November to April (May to October northern hemisphere equivalent). I'm sure this varies over its habitat, since the palm covers large and apparently diverse environments, but certainly in its early development/establishment out of a container, it should be given plentiful water until it has become established. Perhaps flood irrigation, over wider and wider areas as it establishes and the roots are able to run further out from the trunk.

Also, be careful of using drip systems because the fibrous root system of a Bismarckia (indeed, of almost any palm) grows both outward and downward in net-like fashion, soaking up water over a wide distance. A drip placed close to the trunk of a palm, particularly in the desert where soils are likely sandy and there is little lateral dispersion of water, is going to be terribly insufficient. I personally think this is why Bismarckia often grows rather more slowly than would be expected in the low desert, because the irrigation spec'd for them is too low and too concentrated near the trunk, since it is easy for inexperienced landscape designers/contractors, and homeowners as well, to jump to the conclusion that their blue color indicates they are desert plants and can take the watering minima of, say, Brahea armata; and because they are commonly interplanted with things like Agave and Yucca, which require very little water. In fact, most Agave, Yucca and cactus, at least here in the Coachella Valley, require zero irrigation once they have their feet in the ground.

The other possible issue is that of root damage, of which Bismarckia is known to be terribly intolerant. I often see these Bismarckia in large containers, marked at $300 or so dollars at the Big Box stores here in the desert with a dried out central spear. I would run, not walk, away from such a palm. I am growing my own Bismarckia palms here from one-leaf seedlings purchased from Floribunda in Hawai'i. Bismarckia is one of those palms that wants to grow in its home, uninterrupted, sending down its roots and just "staying put" there for life. 

[SeanK]

The Bizzie will need water 20 minutes twice a day. Agaves and cacti can go once a week. I never understand why folks plant palms in front of masonry walls that reflect heat. Can someone explain this?

[Silas_Sancona]

On 6/28/2023 at 2:52 PM, SeanK said:

The Bizzie will need water 20 minutes twice a day. Agaves and cacti can go once a week. I never understand why folks plant palms in front of masonry walls that reflect heat. Can someone explain this?

Not here this time of year... Water a majority of  succulent / cacti when night time temps are over 80 and you'll watch them melt into piles of goop..  Saguaro included.. 

  Only water these types of plants should get is what is provided via monsoon storms ..until roughly the 2nd week or so of September.  Then you can resume watering once every 2nd or 3rd week, container-bound specimens esp.   Planted stuff?  Most folks offer water once a month ..or not at all, letting nature do the work..

[96720]

I often see Bismarckia with a dead frond but the petiole is still alive so later if you haven’t been watching you see a dead frond way up  with the rest of the fronds actually it died right from the start but just wasn’t noticed!!