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[bazman49]

Hi, I am new to palm growing, in fact I am new to gardening in general. Most of the palms I have are starting to get black ends on their tiips and other black discolouration on them. I have a jelly palm,Trachycarpus, all the tips seem to be getting brown or black, I am guessing I have overwatered them (daily) but would accept any advice from you other members as I dont want to lose them. thanks in advance. I have them all in pots and am using multi purpose compost.

[Gaz]

Hi Baz

Did they take any cold weather over winter or were they sheltered away. A lot of palms dont like frozen roots.

A photo might help the palm boys id the problem more easily.

Welcome on board by the way
Gaz

[bazman49]

Thanks Gaz, I dont know about the weather thing as I have only just started collecting them, photo supplied as soon as I can find out how. Baz

[Mick C]

Hi Baz, welcome.

You can attach photos from your PC by using the 'Upload attachment' bit just below the text box when you are writing a post - click on the 'browse' button next to Filename.

[Dave Brown]

Hi Baz, and welcome to the forum

The problem with palms is they may not show what they are feeling at the time. It could be overwatering, dryness or over feeding. Unlike other plants palms don't wilt so if it is too dry it won't show for a week or two, by which time it may not be dry. If the compost is very stodgy and moisture retentive you may need to take more care with watering, allowing the compost to dry out a little between waterings. The best compost for palms is free draining then watered frequently, and most multipurpose is not really suitable, as it does not drain.

Good compost for most palms is about 50% peat/peatfree based mp, 20 loam based (john Inns No2 or 3) and 30% sharp sand, perlite, or vermiculite. The latter allows the drainage, and the loam gives stability, as peat can get too dry and be hard to re-wet. The mp on its own may be too moisture retentive. Slow release fertiliser is preferable to soluble for palms, as you are less likely to overfeed.

Tap the palms out of the pots to see the condition of the roots. If they are dark brown to black it is probably too stodgy compost and overwatering.

[bazman49]

I have now inc. a photo to assist any one in diagnosing my problems palms, I am assuming over watering or over feeding. any assistance would be appreciated.

[Mark]

I am not am expert on Palms...but I would go for over watering. Ade or Paul M are your palm boys I'm sure they will be able to help

A pair of scissors would soon tidy them up

[Adrian]

Its easy to over feed potted palms and thats the likely cause on the Trachycarpus (is it a nova?). Leaf tip burn is often down to over feeding.
The Chamaerops black spotting is quite common and out of all my Chamaerops I only have the one plant that doesnt spot. The cause isnt known, could be viral could be wet and cold, no one really has this nailed. I dont know what the burnt spots are, never seen that on any of mine.
Check your Trachycarpus for Red Spider Mite too, it looks like it has them or had them.

[Dover Dave]

Baz
Would you like me to take those poor things off you

[turtile]

The first one looks like fungus. I'm not sure but the second one could be salt damage.

[Dave Brown]

I have merged the two topics as they are totally related.

Baz, if you add a new post to the original topic it will bump it up to the top of the list. Editing the original post does not, so rather than start a new topic which has no link to the previous topic, put the new info in a new post. Makes it easier for those who may want to reply.

The black on the Trachycarpus is probably overfeeding, and normally affects the older leaves, but seedlings grown in the ground are less likely to show this. As I said in my last post give slow release fertiliser once in spring at the correct dose to avoid over feeding. Including loam into the compost helps a more stabilised root environment. Peat seems to leach out more quickly.

Chamerops that come is from abroad always seems to be in a slighty alkaline, heavy clay. That may be a start, if in peat based neutral to acid. but as Adrian said , don't think this has been regarded as a problem.

[Palmer]

Baz I’m no good at Palm problem solving but if I were you I wouldn’t use grit
To cover the compost, it’s very hard to tell if you need to water your Palm or not.

[Dave Brown]

Baz I’m no good at Palm problem solving but if I were you I wouldn’t use grit
To cover the compost, it’s very hard to tell if you need to water your Palm or not.

Plant Bizzy Lizzy as barometer plants. They wilt when dry but can recover if not left too long, and show you when your palm is too dry

[Adrian]

If your drainage is good then its virtually impossible to over water a palm, especially a Trachycarpus.
I cover my pots with stone or gravel, it slows down moisture loss, holds a little heat , stops weeds and looks good (IMO).
If you are worried about the moisture content in a pot then buy a moisture meter, they are cheap and you can get readings at different depths. I use one of these in very large pots inside where I cant flood the pot to make sure its well watered.