What’s wrong with my Carpoxylon macrospermum?

[Brian]

I been noticing that the crown shaft of my C. Macrospermum is no longer green and is turning yellow. When I pull off a frond it’s very moist inside and starting to rot in places. As a preventative measure I gave it a dose of a systemic fungicide. Should I be worried and are there other measures I should take?

 

[realarch]

Brian, just some local knowledge, nothing scientific, but Carpoxylon seems to be one of those palms where you let the leaf sheath fall off naturally. I’ve known of several cases where friends regularly removed the frond and sheath prematurely, for that clean look, only to expose wounds on the trunk which lead to disease and eventual death. Those palms, in this case, were the size of yours and apparently succumbed for this reason. A lot of palms seem to be more forgiving when you do this, but Carpoxylon doesn’t appear to be one of them. 

Removing the sheath before it’s ready to fall off is probably the reason you see the yellowing on the crown shaft, and the decay on the old sheath is a natural process of dying. 

Eventually your palm will get so tall you won’t have to worry about the leaf sheath. 

Tim

[Brian]

@realarch thanks for the feedback Tim. I’m going to let the leaf sheath fall of naturally.

[PalmatierMeg]

I’ve managed to knock off Carpoxylons although I don’t rip leaves off my crownshafted palms. This species is tricky to grow esp. when small and prone to curling up its toes and croaking. I’ve got a large adult one that has yet to flower and I treat it with benign neglect - making sure it is hydrated and fertilized 2x per year. Otherwise, I leave it to its own devices and it seems to appreciate that.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

There’s nothing wrong with that carpoxylon other than maybe a potassium deficiency. Mine have looked like this and just needed some fertilizer.

[Brian]

11 hours ago, Mauna Kea Cloudforest said:

There’s nothing wrong with that carpoxylon other than maybe a potassium deficiency. Mine have looked like this and just needed some fertilizer.

That’s reassuring, thanks.

[Brad52]

I gave a brown leaf a gentle tug this AM and the leaf came right off so here is very fresh crown shaft.

[realarch]

That’s a beauty Brad.

Tim

[Brad52]

40 minutes ago, realarch said:

That’s a beauty Brad.

Tim

It’s got potential to be pretty but a bit crowded right now, I look forward to it being taller than the bamboo on one side and avocado trees on the other.

[realarch]

To me, the size of your palm or maybe a bit taller is when it’s most attractive. Carpoxylon are handsome palms but mine have gotten so tall the view is quite different these days. Enjoy the scale of yours while you can. 

Tim