Help Please - I Think I'm Killing My New Palm Tree

[Fruitcup]

Hi All!

I'm new to South Florida and I'm hoping someone in this forum can help me with my newly planted Christmas/Adonidia Palm Tree.

I picked up a Christmas Palm on June 12th from a garden center and it was planted that day by local landscapers. I was instructed when I paid for the palm tree to purchase a bag of palm soil and a bag of palm fertilizer, which I did. I was told to mix 1/2 of the fertilizer with half of the soil at the bottom of the hole for the tree and the other half for the top of it, which I had the landscapers do. Also, I was told by Lowes to add in a bag of Miracle Grow Organic Top Soil, which has nutrients in it as well. I have been heavily watering the tree daily as instructed and am nervous for a couple reasons.  

1) The leaves are fraying/breaking off on the ends and are also getting spots on them.

2) The landscapers planting the tree were skeptical about adding fertilizer to the newly planted palm tree and said in their opinion it's best to wait for six months to do so, but did as the garden center had advised.

3) Since the palm is in a raised bed, perhaps I have been overwatering it. 

I'm attaching pictures hoping that someone can help me figure out what is going on with my palm and what might need to be done so that I can make sure it lives.  The garden center does not guarantee their trees and this was an expensive purchase for me, so my fingers are crossed that I can fix the problem. 

Thanks!

[Looking Glass]

13 hours ago, Fruitcup said:

Thanks!

 

Let me put you at ease a little….  It doesn’t look like there is really anything wrong with your palms.   Adonidia merrillii/Christmas palms are hardy and ubiquitous in South Florida, and don’t require much specific care.  They are happy here.  Add a little TLC and they’ll be fine.  

I have at least a dozen overhanging my property from the non-green-thumbed neighbors, and they grow easily and seed profusely, even with no fertilization or irrigation.  They may get spots and tattered leaves, but it’s no big deal mostly.   I put manure and rich soil in holes all the time..l  On a base of sand, palms love it.  Water away if the drainage is good.  

I would not have put these in raised planters…  there is no need, and if all goes well, someday they will be 20-30 feet tall.   That’s a lot of leverage up there.  

Enjoy them.  Feed and water them.  More than likely, they will do fine.  Nature will cause spots and tattered leaflets at times.   

Sometimes palms will crump-out on you and die.  It happens.  Life can come to an end for many reasons.  Don’t worry too much about it for now.  Yours look pretty good.  In Naples you have many option for interesting palms.  Take it slow as you learn more.  

 

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Looking Glass

[Johnny Palmseed]

I agree with these comments. Your palm looks completely normal so far. The only thing that was not great other than the raised bed planting is I noticed was that you used a whole bag of fertilizer on this one planting? That’s probably too much depending on the size of the bag and the formulation. Since we are going into summer and you say you are watering well, it should be okay. And “palm soil” is really not a thing. If you used a palm specific potting mix to amend the planting, that was probably not necessary as these grow in the ground with no amendments whatsoever. Palm specific potting mix would be for container plants. Welcome to the forum. It is your best resource if you like palms.

[Darold Petty]

Fruitcup,  Welcome to Palmtalk !       

[Merlyn]

I'd agree with your landscapers, adding fertilizer during planting is usually not a good idea.  The normal recommendation here is to fertilize 1-2 months after planting.  This allows the palm to grow new roots into surrounding soil without risking burning the roots.  When you say "a bag of palm fertilizer," how big is that bag and what fertilizer?  It makes a big difference if it's an 8oz bag of Osmocote or a 40lb bag of 10-10-10 general purpose fast-release.  I've used the Lowe's Sunniland Palm, and the general dosage for an Adonidia triple would be roughly 2 handfuls 4x per year.

Overall though, the palms look okay.  There's always some "transportation damage," i.e. bent leaflets and some tattered leaf ends.  It's almost impossible to transport, dig, plant, fill in with soil, etc. without a little bit of cosmetic damage.  You can expect the lowest (oldest) fronds to die off relatively quickly as the palm "eats" the old fronds for nutrients to power new root growth.  This is also normal, so don't cut off the old fronds until they are dead and dessicated. 

Regarding water, it's been raining almost every day here in FL so a lot of extra water might not be necessary.  Ideally you'd let the top couple of inches of soil dry out in the planters and water as needed.  You could stick your finger into the dirt to check.  If it's wet and soggy then don't water.  If the top 2-3 inches are dry and it's wet below, it's probably about time to water.  You don't want the planter to totally dry out, but you also don't want it mucky.  Heavy watering daily (plus thunderstorms) might be too much.  The raised planter on the top of a rise will probably help drain excess water quickly, so you'll just need to find a good Goldilocks balance of not-too-wet/not-too-dry. 

[Fruitcup]

Thanks everyone. You are making me feel so much better. Hopefully it's just in shock or something from being planted. Since it was planted on June 12th, should I still be watering it deeply every day? I have a water meter coming today from Amazon. Should I start using this to determine when to water it? Thanks again!!!

[BS Man about Palms]

I answered watering amounts in the other thread and as @Merlyn noted, the size of the fertilizer bag. It is possible you could get fertilizer burn. If it was less than a 1 pound bag, I say let it ride. If you are talking much more, I would almost consider hand digging out the soil, not disturbing the roots, and replacing with palm soil again, minus the fert.

 

As some have noted, generally a handful of fert a few times a year for a Palm that size is PLENTY.

Hope for the best and enjoy. I think burn will show up in the first 2-3 months if it does.

[Looking Glass]

On 6/22/2023 at 11:26 AM, Fruitcup said:

Thanks everyone. You are making me feel so much better. Hopefully it's just in shock or something from being planted. Since it was planted on June 12th, should I still be watering it deeply every day? I have a water meter coming today from Amazon. Should I start using this to determine when to water it? Thanks again!!!

You don’t need a meter.  Use your finger.  Be aware of the weather and rain.  After a while you get a feel for when to water.  More in hot sunny weather.  Less in cooler winter weather.  

You water them a lot for the first month after they go in.  Then you can cut back.   In sandy Florida soils, water doesn’t hold.  In spring and summer the ground is normally bone dry 3 days after a deep soak, but constant summer rains give a helping hand.   Spring (or more accurately, late dry season) is very hot and dry normally, so that’s the heavy irrigation time.  

I’ve always enriched the planting holes with manure and added high quality, long acting fertilizer to the holes when planting.  Never had issues with transplant shock, but rather get transplant explosive growth.   But sandy soil isn’t prone to rot/muck issues.  Some of the growers of pretty rare palms around here do similar.  I’m super careful with roots during planting, and cut most pots open, rather than pull palms out.  

Sandy soil with seasonal deluges and extreme heat needs more fertilization and extra potassium and magnesium quite often.  But my neighbor has a dozen of these and they get no fertilization or irrigation and they are 18 feet tall now.  She operates on “survival of the fittest” gardening principles….  Her roebelenii palms barely cling to life, anemically, with the same care.  

I think you’ve got a lot of room for error with these, and you’ll be fine. 
 

 

[Fruitcup]

Thanks Looking Glass!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I only use an All Organic fertilizer, MicroLife 8-4-6 Ultimate All Organic Biological Fertilizer with over 70 minerals and micronutrients for all my palms and other trees and plants, both in the ground and in pots.  I do this in mid February, mid May, mid August, and mid November.  I also use MicroLife Ocean Harvest 4-2-3 as a foliar spray at the rate of 2 ounces per gallon of water, sprayed from a handheld spray bottle, and I use it periodically throughout the year.  I have really good results with MicroLife and highly recommend it.  You don't have to worry about burning your palms, or any trees or plants with All Organic fertilizer.

John

[Fruitcup]

Thanks Mr. Coconut Palm!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

7 hours ago, Fruitcup said:

Thanks Mr. Coconut Palm!

You are welcome.

John

[D Palm]

You probably do not need to spend a ton of money on fertilizer or organic matter for this particular palm. Generic brand palm fertilizer should be fine with this species. These palms will grow up thru sidewalk cracks.

Now you can buy more palms with all that savings!

WTF - Welcome To Florida!