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Windmill and epsom salt

15 years ago

Hi, I just purchased a windmill palm from our local nursery. They suggested putting a cup of epsom salt around the base about every six months's.He said that is what causes the tips of the fronds to turn black. I thought I read somewhere on this forum that windmill's didn't need the salt. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

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Comments (7)

turtile
15 years ago
Epsom salt contains Magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is very important for palms and should be a part of fertilizer in use. Epsom salt shouldn't be used by itself.

If you use a good fertilizer designed for palms (such as Carl Pool), you won't have a problem since the fertilizer will contain enough magnesium and many micronutrients to prevent deficiencies.
lascapa
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the reply. Yes I do use Carl Pool fertilizer, so I should be ok.
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My grandmother, who taught me most of what I know about gardening, put a tsp. into her watering can (2 gallons) every time she watered her flowers. I usually use a tsp per gallon once a month on my blooming plants, and on plants that are looking poorly. I don't want to start the "Epsom salts doesn't make roots grow" argument, so I won't go into what I was taught in college or told by the FL extension service guy, but I know that if plants' roots in Florida hit hardpan and start looking poorly, putting a cup of ES around them seems to help a lot. This is especially true for gardenias, for some reason.
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jimhardy
15 years ago
How big of a palm is this trachy?A cup sounds like alot unless its a seven footer.Epsom salt is a good idea in the north as a late fall pre-winter treatment.
lascapa
Original Author
15 years ago
Hello Jim, I have 2. One is 18 to 22 inch's and the other is about 3 1/2 feet. Thanks
flattie
15 years ago
I spread a little epsom salt around my windmills if they start to yellow. It greens them up. In moderation a few sprinkles of pure epsom salt do no harm and help with the Mg.
jimhardy
15 years ago
I used some on my trachys that were in the ground over winter as they were a little yellow,notice the color
difference before and after-

Of coarse the warmer weather didn't hurt either-LOL
lascapa
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the advice everyone. I can see it does help to green them up. I think I will keep an eye on them and see how they do through the winter. Hopefully they will survive there first winter in the ground.

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