Robellini Leaves Curling

[HKEstes]

We moved to Central Florida a couple of years ago and never had any previous experience with Palms. About a year ago we had three Robellini Palms planted and have watched them continue to get worse and worse as time went on. At first I assumed it was shock from transplanting but now about a year later they should be well past the shock. The two palms on either end of the grouping are looking the worst with the curling leaves and fairly sparse compared to the fullness when initially planted, but the middle is starting to show signs of leaves curling as well. I have been fertilizing them quarterly with the fertilizer shown in the photos. We had new sprinkler heads added to water the palms when our lawn is watered twice a week. 

Our "soil" here is nearly all sand. The trees behind the palms are Scrub Oak and we have Cedar Bark Mulch spread around them but not up against the trunks. 

Any insight to what is going on with these palms and how to turn things around would be greatly appreciated. This was not a small investment and I do not want to loose them. 

 

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, HKEstes said:

We moved to Central Florida a couple of years ago and never had any previous experience with Palms. About a year ago we had three Robellini Palms planted and have watched them continue to get worse and worse as time went on. At first I assumed it was shock from transplanting but now about a year later they should be well past the shock. The two palms on either end of the grouping are looking the worst with the curling leaves and fairly sparse compared to the fullness when initially planted, but the middle is starting to show signs of leaves curling as well. I have been fertilizing them quarterly with the fertilizer shown in the photos. We had new sprinkler heads added to water the palms when our lawn is watered twice a week. 

Our "soil" here is nearly all sand. The trees behind the palms are Scrub Oak and we have Cedar Bark Mulch spread around them but not up against the trunks. 

Any insight to what is going on with these palms and how to turn things around would be greatly appreciated. This was not a small investment and I do not want to loose them. 

I didn't see evidence of what you are fertilizing with so you might want to change fertilizer to Florikan or Palmgain that is specific to palms that includes micronutrients.  Others in your area can give you more specifics on what's recommended for your soil.  Phoenix roebelenii appreciate lots of water although they are pretty tolerant of drought conditions for short periods.

[Jim in Los Altos]

You say your soil is almost all sand. That may be the problem since Phoenix roebelenii like consistently moist soil and no drying out between waterings or rain. Make sure the soil (sand) is not ever drying out and use a good slow release palm fertilizer to replenish what gets washed out of the palm’s root zones after heavy rains. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

These palms don’t look that bad and are most likely underwatered. You could water these every day and they would not be overwatered. The sandy soil is not the greatest but it can be improved over time by adding bagged soil products (obviously would have been better done at planting) or the decay of the mulch over time. The mulch (pine bark, not cedar) will take years to improve the soil but it will help with moisture retention. You can add some bagged soil to the area, water in and allow it to filter down. This will also take time as you will not want to add too much at once.

[happypalms]

All the above are correct more water. @Jim in Los Altos @Johnny Palmseed @Fusca There on the money, I have sandy soil and see the same with one in a dry area I have. These two in my garden have about 550mm in the last two and a half weeks and are good examples of a robellenii well watered I can say that for sure.

 

[HKEstes]

Forgot to include the photo of what I was fertilizing with. 

[Fusca]

Here's one of mine after seeing 14" of rain in a 30 hour period!

[Merlyn]

@HKEstes welcome to Palmtalk!  The oldest fronds turning the reddish brown color is fairly normal for this time of year.  Mine in the backyard are "eating" the oldest fronds and are just starting to pick up speed.  Don't cut off the old fronds until they are dry and dessicated light brown.  

The leaves bending at a sharp angle seems like maybe low water to me.  Could you post a photo of the watering setup?

[Mazat]

13 hours ago, happypalms said:

Alle oben genannten Angaben sind richtig, mehr Wasser.@Jim in Los Altos @Johnny Palmseed @Fusca Da ist es genau richtig. Ich habe sandigen Boden und sehe dasselbe bei einer Pflanze in einem trockenen Gebiet. Diese beiden in meinem Garten haben in den letzten zweieinhalb Wochen etwa 550 mm Wasser bekommen und sind gute Beispiele für eine gut bewässerte Robellenii. Das kann ich mit Sicherheit sagen.

 

they look excellent, literally. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

13 hours ago, HKEstes said:

Forgot to include the photo of what I was fertilizing with. 

Never heard of this brand before but the ratios look pretty good. Although it probably has more Nitrogen than optimal. I would use this during the growing season (March-September) and use a K-Mag type during the winter (Available at Site One or Howard’s) in order to limit fresh growth when you don’t want it. Personally, I think you are off to a great start since most people aren’t even aware of palm specific fertilizer.

[Mazat]

14 hours ago, happypalms said:

Alle oben genannten Angaben sind richtig, mehr Wasser.@Jim in Los Altos @Johnny Palmseed @Fusca Da ist es genau richtig. Ich habe sandigen Boden und sehe dasselbe bei einer Pflanze in einem trockenen Gebiet. Diese beiden in meinem Garten haben in den letzten zweieinhalb Wochen etwa 550 mm Wasser bekommen und sind gute Beispiele für eine gut bewässerte Robellenii. Das kann ich mit Sicherheit sagen.

 

 

14 hours ago, happypalms said:

All the above are correct more water. @Jim in Los Altos @Johnny Palmseed @Fusca There on the money, I have sandy soil and see the same with one in a dry area I have. These two in my garden have about 550mm in the last two and a half weeks and are good examples of a robellenii well watered I can say that for sure.

 

now i know why it died after winter in my big pot in 2024, i gave it too little water, every time i thought i was overdoing it. we use a bio fertilizer and all the plants around it looked and still look healthy .... only ph.roebelenii did not

[HKEstes]

Thanks to everybody for the responses. Appears to be a concensus that they are just not receiving enough water. I have started hand watering a couple days when the sprinklers do not run. Hopefully will see some improvements. 

Thanks again. 

 

 

[Merlyn]

16 minutes ago, HKEstes said:

Thanks to everybody for the responses. Appears to be a concensus that they are just not receiving enough water. I have started hand watering a couple days when the sprinklers do not run. Hopefully will see some improvements. 

Thanks again.

FWIW - I have a Roebellini double with ~6' of trunk at the front of my house.  I used to call it my "tropical bed" because I had a lot of bananas, philodendrons, bird of paradise, and other water-hungry stuff.  So all that stuff (and the Roebellini) got completely drenched with big fan sprayers-on-a-stick and popups every morning for 40 minutes.  About 2 years ago I converted it all to dripline with individual drip emitters and a couple of small low-volume fan sprayers.  The Roebellini was happy with both setups, and is still growing just fine.  I think once yours gets fully established (it's probably about there now) then watering may not be as much of a concern.  I guess the point of my comment is that it's unlikely you will overwater them in a high spot like that.

I'd consider giving them a handful of Magnesium Sulfate each, as most Phoenix palms have continual problems with Magnesium deficiency in FL sandy soil.  I bought a 50lb bag from one of the big box stores a few years ago and just habitually do that around December and March.  They tend to get yellow leaf tips during the winter, and it seems to help.