mexican blue palm, what’s wrong?

[azcreek]

[aztropic]

Does not look good at all! My first guess would be root disturbance during planting into your yard from digging bare root or from the bucket. I've found Brahea to have EXTREMELY sensitive roots. I once grew a crop of them, ground planted in a community bed to 5 gallon size,and about half of them died when dug and put into 5 gallon pots as careful as I was. If you just yanked it out of the bucket,or had to break any roots when removing the pot from where it was growing in the nursery - there's your cause. Could also be over fertilization if you added fertilizer to the planting hole. Generally,you don't want to fertilize a newly planted palm unless using a time release fertilizer like osmocote, and even then, very sparingly. Definitely a problem with the roots, and you seriously may want to consider starting over with a fresh palm. This species is readily available locally,and wasting any more time on a palm in that bad a shape is crazy. For $90 for a fresh 15 gallon example at A&P nurseries or even cheaper at Tree land nurseries, it's a no brainer.🤷‍♂️ Once established, this is a bullet proof palm in Arizona.👍

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[aztropic]

Here is a picture of the trunk of the one seedling I left undisturbed in the original community bed.  It's 19 years old now, and apparently very happy. 😄

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Harry’s Palms]

I agree , the roots of the Brahea Armata are super sensitive! I had one at my old house . It was small 1 gallon size doing very well , only in the ground about 6 months . I spent a lot of time carefully digging it up to bring to my new house . It died! I replaced it for $20 , and now the replacement is getting nice , they are slow growers even when healthy . If you want a nice one , start with a healthy specimen . HarryHere in Southern California , this is 25 years

[Merlyn]

@aztropic and @Harry’s Palms I did not know that Brahea Armata were root sensitive!  Does that apply to others like Nitida and Clara?  I planted a double Nitida in the front yard...one grew and the other sat in 1g stasis for 2 years before withering away and dying.  I planted a silver Clara from the backyard 3 years ago, and it ended up being way too wet and shady.  In May I moved it to a full blazing sun spot in the front yard, and so far it seems to be at least surviving.  I had similar problems moving some Livistona like Fulva, Rotundifolia, and Saribus...and Licuala like Spinosa and Sumawongii.  Maybe my rule of thumb should be "If in doubt, all fan palms are root sensitive!"

[Harry’s Palms]

I’m not sure which are as sensitive as the B. Armata. I learned here that the Brahea can’t be moved . I have successfully moved Washingtonia R. and , I am told , Trachycarpus F and Chamerops can be moved . Harry

[Fusca]

28 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@aztropic and @Harry’s Palms I did not know that Brahea Armata were root sensitive!  Does that apply to others like Nitida and Clara? 

Yes, from what I understand all Brahea are difficult to move.  It can be done by trenching but it's a long process.  Sounds like you got lucky with your clara or it's just a matter of time for it.

[aztropic]

13 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@aztropic and @Harry’s Palms I did not know that Brahea Armata were root sensitive!

Yep, that's why I started some in their own individual 1 gallon pots this time around. These guys are actually ready for a bump into 5 gallon pots now. Transplanting from pot to pot is pretty safe and I don't expect to lose any. Trying to just dig one out of the ground at 5 gallon size is definitely a roll of the dice.🤷‍♂️

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[BayAndroid]

I bought a Brahea Super Silver in the spring and it has not moved since I planted it in the ground. In fact, the lower fronds have all slowly dried up. I'm trying to make minor modifications to nurse it back to health, but I wonder if the roots were unhappy with the move into the ground..? I have it in a raised bed, so drainage isn't an issue. 

[Harry’s Palms]

They do like sun , even when they are young . I am inland about 20 miles and mine has been in full sun on a south facing slope since very young . It is not “super silver” but it has thrived . The first five or six years was very slow , and twenty plus years later it is getting much faster. Harry

[Merlyn]

On 10/28/2024 at 9:13 AM, Fusca said:

Yes, from what I understand all Brahea are difficult to move.  It can be done by trenching but it's a long process.  Sounds like you got lucky with your clara or it's just a matter of time for it.

Yeah, it was definitely going to die where it was, with no sun and too much water.  I just looked at it, the newest frond is about half the length of the older ones, you can see it just peeking up out of the center with a ~1 inch long petiole.  There's a new spear next to it, and neither were there in the May photo.  So I guess it's growing!

[Fusca]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Yeah, it was definitely going to die where it was, with no sun and too much water.  I just looked at it, the newest frond is about half the length of the older ones, you can see it just peeking up out of the center with a ~1 inch long petiole.  There's a new spear next to it, and neither were there in the May photo.  So I guess it's growing!

Looks good!  I wasn't so lucky with mine about that size.  I did the best that I could when I moved it here in March 2022 but it didn't survive.