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POTTED TRACHYCARPUS FORTUNAI HELLLPPPPPP

lauren.upthefuturelauren.upthefuture Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Hello there!

I recently bought a Trachycarpus Fortunai. I had it a few weeks and then potted it up last week (as I could see roots popping from the bottom of the pot. It's now not looking too clever. And is progressively getting worse 

The old pot was about 40cm diameter, the new is 60cm. It's a plastic/glass resin pot. 

I had to drill holes in the bottom, and while there are a lot of them, I'm concerned they're not wide enough. I used a mix of John Innes 3, a peat free compost (that has sheep's wool in it), and some horticultural gravel for drainage (again, perhaps it wasn't enough).

I've checked the moisture as deep as I can get my hand down, and it doesn't feel soggy (it's damp though). 

I added a slow release fertiliser that is specific to potted palms (not too much).

The fronds are now going crispy on the ends, and browning down the leaves. The oldest fronds seem worst hit, but it is starting to affect the inner ones, but not as bad. 

I live in London, and it's been hot here (high 20s for a few weeks). But the soil isn't dry. 

I've attached some pictures.

There is a lot of very contradictory info online (is it overwatering, is it stress, is it something to do with the fertiliser, is it the recent heat....etc etc). 

I thiiiiink it's lack of proper drainage in the soil (which is going to mean me taking it out again and adding a heap more drainage into the soil mix. At the very least maybe adding some more holes around the outside at the base of the pot. 

What do you guys think? All help gratefully received - Im worried its going to die :)


Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I think that's more a combination of wind damage and or the hot weather so I wouldn't repot it yet. Palms often look like that when they want to shed old leaves. Looking at the size of the trunk in relation to the size of the pot, I think the pot's still not big enough - it may be preferable to plant it into the ground if you have soil under the gravel.
    Be assured that you have done everything right as regards potting mix, don't feed it anymore and just wait - it's probably just sulking a bit because of the repotting. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • lauren.upthefuturelauren.upthefuture Posts: 2
    Hi there Lizzie, 

    Thanks so much for your help, and taking the time to respond. This actually makes me feel a lot better. <3 

    I would LOVE to pot it in the ground, however, I rent (like many here in expensive ol' London), so thats not an option at the moment unfortunately (and my landlord isn't getting the plant ha). It looked crazy in the pot it came in, I don't understand how it grew in it! 

    I'll keep an eye on it, and hopefully it will settle. It's just changed quite a bit since potting last week. 

    Fingers crossed anyway :) 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Another two ideas - if it's been windy as well as hot where you are, that could have caused some browning (particularly if some leaves got blown against the wall) , and if the ends of the leaves got touched/bumped while repotting that may have caused the browning (hard to avoid though, with something of that size).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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