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Lady Palms turning yellow and not growing

NewGardener1975

9 years ago

Hi everyone!

I planted 4 lady palms in my yard last November (I live in Berkeley, CA) and though they started off green, the leaves have now turned quite yellow. The plant doesn't look like it's dying, just yellowing. I have it watered with my drip irrigation and each gets about a half gallon a week. I also give it a little Miracle Gro Shake n Feed for Palms 3 times a year.

Also, I was hoping that the palms will grow taller than my fence and become a bit of a screen but it doesn't seem to have grown at all. Is there something I am doing that is stunting it's growth?

I've tried reading up on the net but not getting much. Hoping someone here can help.

Thanks!!

Featured Answer

tropicbreezent

9 years ago

A lot of tropical plants can take very strong sun while relative humidity is high. Take away the humidity and they'll burn, even with much lower levels of sun.

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Comments (6)

lzrddr
9 years ago
plant always yellows in sun (at least in most areas)... not a great plant for full sun for that reason.
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User
9 years ago
I was going to say that about the sun. (Your golden Cali sun is so strong too!) They do do best in either shade or protected from the midday sun. Also, 1/2 gallon of water a week sounds meager to me. These palms are big time water lovers with POOR drought tolerances. A species such as Chamaerops (European Fan Palm) would be a better choice for the location.
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Lady Palms send out runners under the ground that come up as new lady palms. They are a real pain to dig because they head out in all directions from the main clump. You will certainly be chopping off new starts as you dig. You can just stick these in with your clump after digging and they will sometimes make it, sometimes not. I have lots of them in 5 and 10 gallon pots using just Miracle Grow potting soil. Dig a clump of the tall spindly ones and tuck in some of the smaller ones around the bottom and as they grow it makes a nice looking, fuller bush. These too will start sending out underground runners in the pots so you so eventually you will need to find a place in the yard for them to spread out. They prefer shade to semi shade. They get yellow in the sun. I love the tropical look that they give a garden. Hope this helps a little. My ex and I had a wholesale garden business years ago and specialized in cycads and lady palms. Had millions of them! As much as I had to deal with them then I still love them.
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Thanks again for replying. First thing I'll try and do is get it into a bigger pot. Though finding one is going to be a real issue. I might need to have a barrel sawed in half and have holes cut in the base, because they normally don't make pots this big around here. And yes, Rajasthan is pretty much a desert (the Thar desert), so there is almost no humidity here. Mumbai being near the Arabian sea is very humid. I'll keep you posted about what happens when I've planted it in a bigger pot, though someone suggested the ficus I have which is loosing leaves is showing signs of a sulphur deficiency. Sulphur deficiency is rampant in Indian soils. It wouldn't be a bad idea to supplement with some Sulphur fertiliser, would it? Thanks again. Here is a link that might be useful: Sulphur deficiency in Indian soils
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10C or 50F is not a chance for a Washingtonia. I went through that and gave up 7B/8A climates and long terms survival for any palms other than Trachys, Sabals and an occasional Butia. Even in zone 11 here they don't look at their best. My Washingtonia was killed at 14F just one night of 14F and one day of 30F was enough for all my Washies. In fact Wash. filifera is not doing well in a rainy climate or a semi-shade or both, I would not take a chance either in a rural area zone 8 with any of the Washies. 8 years experience talking. Now I am in a zone 11 without much heat, so it may not be a true zone 11 since the low temps March the 11B but high temps are never above 80F. Even the 80F is reached a couple days a year for short periods. I would say Washies are best for zone 9 and up, maybe marginal for 8B. That's it. Your Washie is dead or dying and even if it comes back, it will not last long. The next winter will kill it. It is now too weak to survive. Move to a warmer zone. I lost too much money playing with borderline zones. Get your plants one or half zone below yours and you will be safe.
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NewGardener1975
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks all for the feedback. I think I may move this plant some place else then.
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tropicbreezent
9 years ago
I've got a couple growing in complete shade. They're slow, but look good.
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stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
9 years ago
Nice looking plants. That's quite an investment in choice palms. I have to agree though- they are not palms for full sun and staying green. UC Berkeley does have a row of a related Lady palm that might get a half day of sun. They have held green on that.
I myself have one that's just now recovering in part shade from a severe gopher attack two years ago. My plant just wilted,some canes died...and its just barely coming back. Ah,when it was on my porch, it was a showy plant. Also,one last- they like a liberal watering schedule. Some of that burn might be from too dry and sun rather then just the sun.
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