Bottle Palm collapse

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:48 am

My Hyophorbe lagenicaulis' 2 fronds are twisting (out of plane) drooping lower every day.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7408699470/" title="002 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7408 ... 494c_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="002"></a>

Petiole bases seem to be shrivelling:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7408692940/" title="004 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8015/7408 ... 5d4c_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="004"></a>

Sending up a new spear though:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7408695836/" title="003 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7408 ... 474c_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="003"></a>

Anybody know what's wrong?

Barb

seedscanada · Post by **seedscanada** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:09 am

Maybe rot at the root or soil line, like my spindle had two weeks ago? It done 'n rotted out. It's gone. Mine that is..

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:26 am

That's a scary looking spider!

No idea what is wrong.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:57 am

Rot?
I've scratched soil away from its base, don't see anything weird.
Sorry your spindle rotted, Adam.

Spider?

Sheesh, didn't even see that when I snapped the pic.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:40 pm

I don't know Barb.........hope it pulls through. Plants are funny. Cameron sent me some Protea seed and it grow fine last year and started growing again this year.........I repotted it 2 weeks ago and both plants appear to by dying? This _ucks. I babied those and not they'll be dead soon.

PS, they look worst today than this photo.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 787c6f.jpg>

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:39 pm

Hmmm...my guess is a fungal infection in crown. Do you have any fungicide you can use there?
Again, just a guess.
For what it worth, my three bottles are doing quite well.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:27 am

Barb - I had something similar happen to my Chinese Fan Palm. Of course there were 2 plants in one pot, but they lived for years with no problem. Last winter one started to die down. No fungus, no insects, the soil seemed not to wet or dry. It seemed to look the same as yours does now. It didnt grow for months and months. Long story short, I had to spray it and soak it. Within 2 days it started to grow with vigour, and the one that was dying stopped doing so. IT still, almost a year later, has done nothihg, while the other is growing strong, but it isnt dying.

Turned out I wasnt giving it nearly enough water. I Put it in that pot like 10 years ago, in 100% orchid mix ( the crappy kind with a ton of compost and peat) and even when the soil felt "ok", it wasnt wet enough. I still dont understand how mine would "rot", when too dry

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:13 am

Seems like a root issue and if it is,that spear may never move again,
that is odd Barb-I am having a similar experience with one of my
Thai giant....it looks like a slow death is in the offing......

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:20 am

Mysteries everywhere it seems...damn!

I poured some 3% hydrogen peroxide down into the spear, also around its base/soil.
Soil feels cold to the touch, yet the dark brown pot gets morning sun. Strange
Been in this tall pot since last September.

Gonna check if the drainhole is plugged by a critter.

Then, rather than watch it die a slow death, I might repot it, washing off all the old soil.
If it's going to die anyway, can't do any harm trying that.

Tim, sad about your Protea.
Erik, put my name on one of yours

Jesse, maybe one became "dominant" ... do palms do that? yeah, rotting when too dry is an enigma.
Jim, sad to just watch it croak...are you going to dig it up and wash soil off roots?

Thanks for the input folks.
Will let you know...

Barb

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:37 am

From 4 years ago when it looked like this:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/3041520299/" title="DSC01835 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3046/3041 ... e544db.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC01835"></a>

cutting away to expose undamaged tissue...basically nothing left but a wet sponge!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7488332712/" title="001 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7488 ... 30b881.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="001"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7488341682/" title="002 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8160/7488 ... d11370.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="002"></a>

Even down here, when I poke, it's all soft and water runs out:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7488337594/" title="003 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7488 ... 54c1cb.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="003"></a>

RIP my favorite palm.

Barb

seedscanada · Post by **seedscanada** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:18 pm

Sorry Barb, what happened to mine exactly happened to yours.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:10 am

Thanks Adam.

I'm convinced the culprit was that new tall resin (fiberglass) pot that I moved it into last September.
Despite a large drain hole, and not watering too much, I think the soil stayed wet too long.
And temps were cool too, so roots didn't warm up at all.

Sob.

Oh well, back to encouraging my seedling Bottle Palm to grow

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:40 pm

Thanks for the post-mortem and pathology report.
My bottles still look good. However, both of my triangles died in late winter. I suspect they were not draining as well as they should have. Live & learn.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:19 pm

Oh no Erik, both your Triangles?\
What an awful year for some of us.

My bottles still look good.

I'm now looking at a seedling bottle palm and wondering...ha ha...how old I'll be when he's as big as the one that died.

It's such a toss-up getting them into big tall and narrow pots and trying to not have too much soil "size" for the palm.

From now on, every big pot I buy will have 10 more drain holes drilled in its base.
Gawd, I'm getting too old to keep learning.
We all hate to lose a loved palm.

Barb

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:22 am

What soil did you use, the sunshine mix? Im starting to find that stuff really slow to drain. YEs, it does drain well, just sortve, slow. I usually wait a year before repotting, unless its an obvious choice to do so (like that CIDP you repotted last year).

You ever think of adding gravel/rocks in the bottom to falicitate drainage?

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 2:26 pm

I think I was out of sunshine mix when I repotted that last September.
Probably a serious error if I used the hanging basket mix.

You remember that CIDP repotting?

That poor CIDP has had TWO brutal repotting episodes in 4 or 5 years, but it still keeps on ticking.

adding gravel/rocks in the bottom to falicitate drainage?

I've always added a two inch layer of rocks in the bottom of all pots just to keep tall pots upright in our strong winds.

There was a discussion here years ago about using gravel/rocks beneath a plant in the garden.
Differing opinions, if I recall, on the effectiveness especially if soil is clayish in garden.
But for pots, I think it's a good idea.

I could send you a truckload of rocks, Jesse?

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:53 pm

sorry for your loss Barb........she was a beauty!

BrugsBunny · Post by **BrugsBunny** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 5:29 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:I don't know Barb.........hope it pulls through. Plants are funny. Cameron sent me some Protea seed and it grow fine last year and started growing again this year.........I repotted it 2 weeks ago and both plants appear to by dying? This _ucks. I babied those and not they'll be dead soon.

PS, they look worst today than this photo.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 787c6f.jpg>

This may help.

I would do it before you do a new transplant.

http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/ ... arden.html

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:16 pm

No return for that bottle unless the person/person's upstairs intervene....

Thats sad Barb-such a healthy vigorous palm in the earlier pics too...

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:54 pm

Yup, it's a goner for sure.
Attracted flies like a rotting "something" so I dragged it behind the building.
Stank to high heaven.

The entire "bottle" part went mushy like cardboard.
Now not even the flies go near it.

Thanks for the good wishes folks...onward, though the herd keeps thinning.

Okanagan desert-palms · Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:20 pm

Barb the exact same rot happened to my bottle palm you got for me. By the time you realize there is a problem it`s to late. I regularly spray hydrogen peroxide into the crown of my tropical palms after losing the big Bottle palm. Good that you had yours two years longer than mine.

John

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:34 am

Thanks John.

...and we both used such great soil that drains immediately...

It'll always be a mystery.

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:36 am

That a drag Barb,she was a beauty......

I will leave the Washy in the ground,if it doesn't grow by fall
its a candidate fro experimentation.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:41 pm

if it doesn't grow by fall
its a candidate for experimentation.

We've all learned so much from your experiments, Jim.
But maybe give him until next year...
I hope he bounces back by then.

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:42 pm

I think if it hasn't moved by Oct it ain't going too...
maybe at that point I have a look see whats what with the roots.

If a heat loving palm can't recover in these temps......

the thing is,they can look like they are alive for a year or two
when they are really dead-I had a Waggie that did this-it looked
like it had a chance for 2 years but when I dug it up there were no roots,

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:46 pm

dug it up there were no roots

Yeah, good point.
Just wishing about it won't create roots.
Know the feeling!

PalmsNorth.com

Bottle Palm collapse

Bottle Palm collapse

RIP Bottle Palm