Is This Root Rot on my Majesty Palm?

5 years ago

I posted this in Houseplants about 20 hours ago and it's not showing up. I don't know why, but I really need any answer!

I got this Majesty Palm from Home Depot a couple of weeks ago. I repotted it about a week ago, obviously raised and widened it a few inches from the grower's pot. I used half potting soil, half cactus/succulent soil, and a tiny bit of dirt from the hillside where a ton of our giant Aloe grows green-green-green. I also gave it ample drainage. I wondered if it was too much maybe.

I'm in Los Angeles where we are having a record-breaking heat wave. I've been doing my best to keep it moist, but Friday one side got scorched (as seen in the picture) -- it peaked at 123 degrees --so I turned it to the shade today. The other side may be affected today, as it hasn't been much cooler. Just keeping my eye out and watering it when it starts drying out.

So here are the issues, and I may be paranoid? I usually am -- fair warning.

Yesterday, I noticed that one side of one of the stalks was darkening, possibly working its way up? I'm not sure because I hadn't noticed it before. Does this look normal? Is it too dark? Normal color? I get nervous it's root rot and keep reading about how easily these plants die from that. I've already nearly lost my dragon tree, and thank goodness, thanks to this forum, I saved it.

Also, I didn't plant the stalk super tight into the soil and wonder if that was a bad thing. I bought more soil today to maybe fix that.

I realize this palm is not indoors and I am posting in "houseplants," but I purchased it as a houseplant, then saw more of these outside in the sun at Home Depot.

Any info is much appreciated.

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Comments (5)

Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
5 years ago
Normally a Majesty palm (Ravenea rivularis) will take full sun and as much water as you can give it. The record-breaking temperatures would stress any plant. Move the plant away from the glass while the weather is hot -- it is likely the reflected glare that toasted the frond tips.

I'm not sure about the darkening of the stalks -- that could be sunburn. That could occur if the plant just came out of a greenhouse, but it will adjust. Most problems show themselves in the leaves first, and except for the one scorched leaf, the leaves look fine.

Soil should be pressed firmly around the rootball to avoid air pockets. Check to be sure drainage is good. Keep soil damp, but not soggy. In Madagascar, this palm will grow alongside rivers and IN shallow ponds, so it will be difficult to overwater it. Most people do not give them enough water. Ordinarily one would not include garden dirt in a potted mix. You never know what's in it and it can tend to be heavy. However, unless it was a large portion of the potting mix, don't disturb the plant by repotting again.

Later, when the palm is better established in the pot, you may lightly fertilize it, and continue fertilizing periodically until temperatures become much cooler and growth pauses for winter. Then ramp up again in spring.

A well grown specimen will develop a very fat trunk base over time. And it's not really a houseplant in Los Angeles -- feel free to plant outdoors when it outgrows the pot. Enjoy your palm!
User thanked Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
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Original Author
5 years ago
@kiminpl You've just made me feel a whole lot better and given me a plethora of useful information. I thank you so very much! :)
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I have never noticed a larger pot size allowed a palm go grow faster.. if anything, they usually grow slower in pots too large. But you should not be concerned about a Majesty growing to your ceiling height... rarely if ever happens no matter how well you care for it. They are not that fast a palm... they may grow leaves at a fairly good rate, but even in perfect climates in the ground it takes them many many years to grow that tall. In a pot, probably never. In fact, in indoor situation, most people's palms don't last even more than 2-5 years. But if you keep it outdoors as much as possible and water it well, you might beat the odds. These palms like a LOT of water (live in nature with roots or and sometimes stems in the water). Fertilizer needs of potted palms are WAY under a palm in the ground, so be VERY EASY on the fertilizer (maybe once a year at the most). If you can keep your palm alive long enough for it even for develop a trunk, you have done better than 99.9% of the others who try to make this an indoor palm. If you can keep it alive in a pot once it trunks, I suspect at best, 10-15 years before it is tall enough your ceiling will be a concern. Pot size would only have to get towards 25gal once it has a pretty good trunk on it. It could survive in a pot that size for a long time (I have seen people's fairly outdoor healthy palms in 15 gal pots that have 10' of trunk on them)
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If you went from a 9 1/4" pot to a 12", that's large enough for now. I'd be more worried about over watering with the soil type you have. i have a 6 foot f. benjamina that's in similar soil (not moisture control though). since the best time to repot would be around June, I've had to leave it that soil for the winter. But I've drilled a few hundred holes all over the sides of the pot, propped it up a few inches off the ground and installed wicks into the soil to help drain perched water (thanks to Al for all of that). Just saying, there are things that can be done to "get away" with that type of soil until a full repot can be done with correct soil at the right time of year. if the plant has spider mites, you'll see tiny brown, black or red specks. Look to see if they move. If the infestation is severe, check all other plants too. Spraying weekly with a 50/50 water / 70% isopropyl alcohol mix should at least keep their numbers down. But you have to really drench all of the fronds, top and bottom along with stems. Lastly, about the light, I know you say it receives direct and indirect sunlight, but as mentioned, if the plant is not directly in front of that southern window, it's most certainly not recieving enough light.
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Generally the spear should pull out reasonably easily. I still feel that the slope it's on would lessen the chances of root rot. These palms come from colder climates where wet and cold would be common. Another possibility is some insect may have got into the base of the crown and be eating away at it. In that scenario the spear would be very hard to pull out until it was eaten right through. See if you can find any information on that. I know that some beetle larvae can cause a lot of problems. I don't really know much about Lethal Yellowing, we don't get it here (and hopefully won't!). Going by many comments made about it Coconuts are the main ones affected.
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Agreed, I live in zone 2b so there are only about three months of the year when the weather is good for outdoor palms. I did have her outside for quite a bit before the repotting and when she was inside I had her in my living room which is basically all windows. I definitely will not be getting any new Majesty palms after this one but I'm really concerned about the pests because I do not want them to continue killing the palm and/or spreading to my other plants.
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pj_orlando_z9b
5 years ago
Maybe I'm missing something but I not seeing anything wrong with it at the base. Mine is in the ground here in Orlando and I have lots of decaying material near the trunk. Some black as well. The dried fronds could be for many reasons. Transplant alone could be a culprit. They do like higher humidity so the dry air alone could be contributing to it. I think your plant is showing normal signs of adjusting to it's new home.
User thanked pj_orlando_z9b
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Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you pj, more reassurance that I am going okay here. :)
Matt z5b - Greenhouse 10a
5 years ago
Where do you live? Lay off the water for a couple days unless it continues to be over 100 F

Is This Root Rot on my Majesty Palm?

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Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)

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Is This Root Rot on my Majesty Palm?

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Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)

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