Windmill palm overwatered and has fungus

[KPoff]

Hello all. Im sure there are many threads on here about this already but I’m just looking for some advice. I planted a windmill palm in my back yard on the west end of the house. I am in zone 8a/b and this palm gets morning sun until about 3 pm when it is in the shade. I live in West Texas where it gets 100 F during the day and 75 F at night. Basically June until mid to late September it will be that way. Anyways the windmill palm is planted in probably 30/50/20 cotton burr compost/native soil/sand. The bottom fronds appear to be getting spots that suggest overwatering. It’s been in the ground about 1 month. The nursery told me too much water which the soil feels wet. I had mulch over it which was probably the issue. I have Mediterranean and needle palms planted in the same mix in the ground for about 2 months now and appear just fine getting 8-10 hours of sun each day. I’ve sprayed fungicide, took off mulch and stopped watering. Is that enough or do I need to do something more drastic? I spent a lot of time prepping the spot, digging up st Augustine, etc. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I thought about digging it up and changing the soil but I don’t want to disturb the roots now. See pics.

[Leelanau Palms]

Is it getting irrigation spray?

[KPoff]

@Leelanau Palms it did at first. I’ve tried to adjust the sprinklers since then so they don’t spray on it. It’s tough to keep it all off it though because I want to keep the grass green too.

[KPoff]

20 minutes ago, Leelanau Palms said:

Is it getting irrigation spray?

It was for awhile. I’ve tried to adjust the sprinkler heads so they spray on it as little as possible though. I’ve read that can be an issue as well.

[KPoff]

1 minute ago, KPoff said:

It was for awhile. I’ve tried to adjust the sprinkler heads so they spray on it as little as possible though. I’ve read that can be an issue as well.

The top fronds don’t have the same issue as the bottom ones. Also the middle spear seems to be growing out pretty quickly so it seems to be pretty healthy.

[Leelanau Palms]

I wonder about irrigation related fungal damage. Overall, the palm looks healthy. Irrigation timing and spray pattern are worth attention. Transplant shock/root stress can result in senescence of older fronds. Also, consider the effects of high nitrogen lawn fertilization, which can result in a tendency for potassium deficiency. Langbeinite/sulpomag can gently address that.

[KPoff]

1 hour ago, Leelanau Palms said:

I wonder about irrigation related fungal damage. Overall, the palm looks healthy. Irrigation timing and spray pattern are worth attention. Transplant shock/root stress can result in senescence of older fronds. Also, consider the effects of high nitrogen lawn fertilization, which can result in a tendency for potassium deficiency. Langbeinite/sulpomag can gently address that.

Thank you very much for your feedback on this. I will look into the sulpomag. I’ve never heard of that. I’ll also try to keep all spray off of it.

[SeanK]

Looks like a nutrient problem.

[RJ]

It’s pretty hard to over water a trachy in the ground unless you dug a swimming pool for it.agree with Sean, think it was more of a nutrient issue. 

[KPoff]

5 hours ago, RJ said:

It’s pretty hard to over water a trachy in the ground unless you dug a swimming pool for it.agree with Sean, think it was more of a nutrient issue. 

Do you think even with my soil mixture and mulch on top?

[jwitt]

I think the palm is adjusting to that west Texas sunshine.  It will be happy with the watered lawn.

These leaves are not what one would expect in Midland. 

[RJ]

1 hour ago, KPoff said:

Do you think even with my soil mixture and mulch on top?

Assume you’re in clay like most of Texas , which they do just fine in. Unless it’s swimming or in total muck you should be fine. You do have to be careful in really poor draining soil not to make a bathtub, I always like to plant a little high. You can always add soil around it later. Much easier then going the other way 

[KPoff]

31 minutes ago, jwitt said:

I think the palm is adjusting to that west Texas sunshine.  It will be happy with the watered lawn.

These leaves are not what one would expect in Midland. 

Jwitt, what do you mean about the leaves not being what you’d expect?

[Chester B]

6 hours ago, KPoff said:

Jwitt, what do you mean about the leaves not being what you’d expect?

Your Trachy was grown in a more shady location, that's why it has floppy long fronds, and long petioles.  Now that its out in the Texas sunshine, once it gets settled it will start putting out shorter stiffer fronds with less space between the leaflets and much shorter petioles.

 

[jwitt]

@KPoff

Exactly as @Chester B said.  Your NEW leaves will take on a somewhat different look as they will get used to that high elevation sun.  The old leaves will not change. 

If you drink coffee, they would probably enjoy some spent grounds every now and then at the base there in Midland. 

Nice palms!

 

[KPoff]

I wanted to give an update on this tree if anyone is still following or could provide more thoughts. I’ve sprayed it with copper fungicide once, adjusted sprinkler heads so it doesn’t spray on it. Fertilized lightly with Jones organic palm food, using super thrive and just waiting patiently to see how it goes. I e attached recent pictures. It doesn’t look overwatered, but the bottom fronds look rough. The new ones look mostly good and the middle spear is growing so I’m thinking it should be ok. I really think part of it is getting beat up by this west Texas heat and wind also. It sees sun from about 9 am to 3 pm on the east side of the house. It was shade grown I believe before. 

[SeanK]

Just an FYI. Better to water dawn or dusk. Water on the leaves acts like a magnifying glass.

[LowDesertBoil]

I think it could be overwatering. I have a triangle palm that I know I over watered and it has that yellow spotting through the leaves. Mine is only one branch but I held back the urge and now wait for it to be bone dry! Windmill palms are a tough grow in this desert. I have one but it looks like the heat is doing what it does to bacon and eggs. They like shade in these areas. Heat is one thing heat+sun is another. Good luck, I hope he recovers!

[KPoff]

9 minutes ago, LowDesertBoil said:

I think it could be overwatering. I have a triangle palm that I know I over watered and it has that yellow spotting through the leaves. Mine is only one branch but I held back the urge and now wait for it to be bone dry! Windmill palms are a tough grow in this desert. I have one but it looks like the heat is doing what it does to bacon and eggs. They like shade in these areas. Heat is one thing heat+sun is another. Good luck, I hope he recovers!

@LowDesertBoil I let it dry out completely before I watered it again. I’ve seen large windmill palms in west Texas so I know they survive here.

[jwitt]

1 hour ago, KPoff said:

@LowDesertBoil I let it dry out completely before I watered it again. I’ve seen large windmill palms in west Texas so I know they survive here.

Once your palm settles in(2-3 years) it will probably get enough water thru the lawn. Until then(the roots fully grow) I would give a bit of extra water for the roots, maybe once or twice a week til October. 

I feel the spots are from water on the leaves in the full West Texas sun. Somebody mentioned magnifying glass.