Bismarkia Nobilis burnt leaves ,by the sun?

[nicebutdim]

Thes two pics show the dryness and shrivelling of the leaves ,which I can,t believe is caused by the sun.The plant has been outsice now for about 5 weeks and to date I have cut off three damaged leaves, it was doing ok indoors and sprouting a new leaf .It surely has had enough time to acclimatize to being outside I would have thought.In the house it was always in the sunniest window and didn't seem to suffer.Does anyone have any ideas?

[mikefromniagara6b]

I can only speak from my limited experience with my palms ...

Some palms are very sensitive to changing light intensity. Chinese fan palms will burn for me every time... even if gradually acclimated. I leave them in full shade when I bring them out for the summer. Washingtonia robusta (and Phoenix canariensis_CIDP and P d) is (are) the exact opposite - they do not even blink ... unless it is new fronds that grew in the house in lower light then I sometimes lose them.

Perhaps bismarkia falls into the same group as the sensitive Chinese fan...? In which case only the fronds that develop outside this year will be ok with sunshine this year. As you know, the next two months are the strongest sunlight of the year for us...

Maybe it is best left in shade??? Or at least partial shade if it has to do the inside/ outside trip...

[Gaz]

I recall from the experiance of others that this is a very tender palm, was it out for the recent cold snap and if so what was your lowest temperature?

We had a couple of 3C nights which may have been enough to damage a Bismarkia.

[nicebutdim]

I recall from the experiance of others that this is a very tender palm, was it out for the recent cold snap and if so what was your lowest temperature?

We had a couple of 3C nights which may have been enough to damage a Bismarkia.

No it doesn't get left out when the temp is below 5 or 6 ,I have had one before ,that lasted believe it or not one week ,before it went downhill. I have had this one since last June or July.I have seen pics of these in Florida under brilliant sunshine which is what I thought they really need.I started to get burnt leaves before the plant went outside but I put that down to being kept dry as I know they don't like to be kept wet,this is where I went wrong with my first attempt,so I only watered it once in about 6 months from Oct to about March.

[mikefromniagara6b]

Did not realise it started to do this before you put it outside when I replied...

No chance of pests like spider mite is there? Eaily found by misting the leaves and looking for webs.

Or root damage... if the plant is near pot bound tip it out of the container gently and look for rotting or healthy roots ... the latter being nice and firm and lighter in colour. If it was kept too wet for a while it might...

Mike

[vivi]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but thats exactly what happened to mine,the leaves hung on for months getting drier until it was only fit for the compost heap get yourself a new easier palm to replace it

[Neofolis]

Whilst Bismarckia nobilis will cope with drought much better than many palms, the medium should still be kept moist for optimal health. Many younger bizzies will produce bronze leaves that stay bronze coloured, not as a result of poor health, it is either a genetic or environmental characteristic. If it not a bronze colour and actually seems to be chlorotic or even necrotic tissue, it is more likely to be a nutrient deficiency, either caused by lack of available nutrients, by root damage or poor medium in the pot. I would suggest re-potting, particularly if the medium has been kept on the dry side and has become hard or compressed through root growth or general decomposition. After re-potting, in a very well draining, airy medium, I would give it a normal amount of water and fertilizer, but also add a little chelated iron, with the initial feeding.

[Dave]

I've been struggling to get them to grow from seed into reasonable sized plants for some years. Last year I bought a cheap one from B&Q to see if size makes a difference. I've had this effect on the leaves of mine for quite some time, overwinter or in the spring. I think it is either a low temperature effect or under-watering. I'm certain it's not scorching by sunlight, as it happens to mine indoors at the times of the year I've mentioned.
I think you will find the new leaves will be fine when they emerge this year given temperatures above 10C and with good watering. Eventually you will have to cut the scorched leaves off, as they will not recover. The trouble is that they are plants that sulk, so you may find it won't grow very fast; for the early part of the year at least.
The other thing with the leaf colour is that it responds to temperature. High and they go that glorious blue to white, low and they become pink. Reminds you of litmus paper.

[Dave Brown]

Not grown this palm myself, but having seen this palm discussed on several forums it seems to fall in to the category of beautiful palm but not much chance of success here. Seems to be similar to Alocasia, love water when hot, and loaths it when not. and cannot tolerate water remaining around the roots. I have found a partial solution is to use the free-est draining mix you can find, watering very frequently in hot weather, but as soon as it cools down ease off and the compost can dry very quickly.

I think part of the problem may be they are potted up in a hotter climate and in moisture retentive mix suitable for hot conditions, so as soon as it gets here it remains too wet. The only option then is to completely withold water, then you run the risk of it completely drying out, causing damage.

Using a very open mix means there is less chance of overwatering.

[nicebutdim]

Not grown this palm myself, but having seen this palm discussed on several forums it seems to fall in to the category of beautiful palm but not much chance of success here. Seems to be similar to Alocasia, love water when hot, and loaths it when not. and cannot tolerate water remaining around the roots. I have found a partial solution is to use the free-est draining mix you can find, watering very frequently in hot weather, but as soon as it cools down ease off and the compost can dry very quickly.

I think part of the problem may be they are potted up in a hotter climate and in moisture retentive mix suitable for hot conditions, so as soon as it gets here it remains too wet. The only option then is to completely withold water, then you run the risk of it completely drying out, causing damage.

Using a very open mix means there is less chance of overwatering.

I've just knocked it out of it's pot ,broken a small piece of root but sealed the cut with silicone,hope that's alright.
The roots are wet at the bottom it seems to have been repotted with just an inch of peaty like compost at the bottom,the rest of the roots are a dense fine mass,impossible to unravel or poke a match between them.
I have put a layer of sharp sand at the bottom in place of the peaty stuff and hope it works

[GARYnNAT]

Fabulous looking Palm when you see a mature specimin in warmer climes but we just do not have the heat in summer or mild winters to do this palm justice. Mark at Todds had a couple that got damaged in a poly tunnel a few years ago at the same time I got my Livinstona chinensis, I had 1 and i think Helen had the other one. they were reasonable size plants but only the central spear seemed untouched by the cold, I kept ours in the lounge to recover but over the next few weeks it started to develop a smell, I tugged at the spear thinking it might pull but it seemed solid. in the end Nat was convinced the smell came from the bizzy despite me telling her ic could not be coz the spear was firm. she wasn't convinced so i gave it a hefty pull to prove the point....... it came away in my hand and boy did it stink, the whole middle of the palm had rotted out seem to remember Mark saying it had got down to -3c in the poly so not tht cold, i also had a Phoenix roebelenii that was in the same poly tunnel that had scorched leaf tips where the had been touching the plastic walls that has recovered and is fit and well oh and the livingstona that was outside unprotected with -7c temps, it only had the central spear when i got it but 3 years on is doing great, it gets an old duvet over it on the coldest nights and the tips of some fronds get frosted but it is still a great looking palm

Gary

[Mark]

I read last week in the Garden news weeky paper that our own Simon G of Amulree has just sold some to the Queen It said she see them at one of the shows and asked one of her flunkys to buy some: I think she had four delivered to Buck house in varying sizes.

Simon should ask for the seal of royal approval. Arise Sir Simon of Amulree.

[photonbucket]

I have one of these too. It started to wilt as soon as I bought it. I then repotted it and watered it regularly from beneath. It recovered and grew a new frond. It went through the winter being kept almost bone dry in temperatures around 3-5c. Just as the growing season started, the bloody thing has started to decline again.

A very frustrating palm..I won't bother again if this one dies. How do they keep them alive in the nursery? Incidentally, mine has no purple pigmentation whatsoever.

[Adrian]

Mine is doing well...oops sorry, wrong picture
Mine is pushing a new leaf, mostly open too, only leaf it has mind.
Mine gets through winter in the heated greenhouse but another of those palms that are just about growable but always look crappe, unless you live in Miami where this one lives.

[Dave Brown]

They are beautiful, such a shame it is a no hoper outside here,