Palm trees! Do you have ever seen these trees, if yes then you will be also familiar with their tall height? These tall trees can grow up to many feet. You will see these plants grown frequently everywhere in hot weather countries. If you also live in such a hot country it will be so easy for you to grow them in your garden.
Palm trees have shallow roots as compared to other plants. Their roots and stems are weak and sensitive. Most often a problem that is faced by gardeners growing palm trees is that they give too much love to this plant. In case of extra care such as overwatering can easily damage your tree.
These trees have the quality to withstand water shortage not only in the winter season but also in hot weather. Even these tres can withstand drought conditions also. So overwatering palm trees is not safe for them. Due to this, you will lose your tress very early.
Overwatered palm trees have distinct leaves. You will notice yellow, brown, and dark-colored spots on your leaf’s edges. Brwon spots at the edges will also begin to appear. The leaf will look crispy and crunchy and fall to the touch.
Every palm tree has its requirements and qualities. Not every tres require excessive water. To save your tree from excessive water damage, stop watering immediately. Move your plant out of its container or pot. Carefully examine the roots and separate the damaged roots. In case of damaged roots, treat them with fungicide and repot with fresh oil.
Signs of overwatered palm tree
It is important to know the signs of overwatered palm trees. Sometimes palm trees may have some resemblance to overwatered trees. Therefore must know the signs before treatment and treat accordingly.
Discoloring of leaves
The first and most important sign you will receive after overwatering your palm tree is discoloration. Overwatering can damage the charm and beauty of those tall palm trees.
Overwatering stops the oxygen and other nutrients supply to your plant. Thus plants suffocate to due excessive water. When roots are receiving no supplements and nutrients then they will certainly affect leaves also. In this case, your leaves will turn yellow and brown.
In the case of yellow and brown leaves, quickly trim them off. These burnt leaves consume a large number of nutrients and hence also damage other healthy leaves.
Pests
Types of pests circling around your palm trees indicate the problem. There are some pests that love cool and humid environments. Other types of pests attack your plants when it is dry and in drought.
Whiteflies and mealybugs love the cool and humid environment. You will see be circling them around your plant when it is overwatered or standing in water for a long time.
If you observe fungus gnats around your plants, it indicates that the plant’s soil is dry and it has been a drought.
Root rot
Palm trees have Sof and sensitive roots as compared to other growing plants. These tresses cannot withstand overwatering conditions.
In the case of overwatering palm trees, their roots get rot. Root rot is a dangerous condition in plants. Root rot can stop the oxygen and other nutrients supplied to your plants hence causing complete damage to your plants.
Carefully examine your palm tree roots by taking them out of their pot. check if
- Is there any foul smell coming from the roots?
- check if roots are weakly scattered or frayed?
- Note if the roots are discolored and mushy?
Pale and limp leaves
The palm tree is known for the beauty of its fresh and luscious green leaves. They have large vibrant and broad green leaves.
But all of sudden when your palm tree leaves started to get pale and lose their beauty, it will hurt. Overwatering can discolor your leaves and make them pale.
whenever you see that leaves are weak and limp it indicates that their stem is weak. Leaves lose their strength when due to weakened stems. Plant’s stem gets weak when there is no oxygen or nutrient supplies id providing to them. Overwatering can stop the supplies of oxygen and nutrients to the stem hence plants lose their strength.
How to save overwatered palm tree
Palm trees have the quality to withstand water shortages. Even they can survive well in the winter season. In hot weather drought conditions can also cause no damage to them.
For indoor palm trees, you can check the signs of overwatering and treat them accordingly.
Mild case
If you have detected the overwatering problems caused to your palm tree very early then it will be good.
The first thing to do is to improve the aeration of roots. Whenever roots are clumped together they cannot absorb the nutrients well. There improve the aeration and condition of roots and stems.
Improved oxygen and nutrients supply to roots is the first step toward improving the health of plants. Better oxygen to roots does not cause to stagnate them and also prevents root rot.
Before watering always check whether the soil is dry or not. It will be a good idea to observe the soil’s dampness by inserting a finger into the soil. If you feel dampness then don’t water it even if your look plant thirsty.
You can improve the condition of mild overwatered palm trees by:
Distilled water
Tap water has an excessive amount of fluoride in it and in case of over-watering this fluorine will be too much dangerous for the palm trees. It has been proved by studies that distilled water is ideal for plants’ good health. This water can less amount of harmful chemicals toxins and salts.
Humidity
Palm trees do not like excessive water, usually, they like a humid and cool environment. You can keep the vibrant leaves happy and in good condition by misting
Light
As palm trees usually love a cool and humid environment therefor hot weather or direct sunlight is not good for them. Keep them in cool indirect sunlight or shady place. Direct sunlight can cause their leaves to burn. Discoloration can also be caused due to excessive sunlight.
Fertilizer
Excessive fertilization can also cause the discoloration of leaves and therefore leaves look sunburnt. Indeed fertilization is necessary for proper growth but excessive fertilization is not good. Plam tree enjoys a slow mixture of nutrients to absorb slowly and easily.
How to save overwatered palm trees ( in severe cases)
Palm trees once get destroyed then at that time don’t panic.
You are in quite the right place to save your plan from any other damage.
You can also read more about the disadvantages of overwatering in the monster plants.
Step#1: Change the pot
Whenever your plan tree gets damaged by overwatering the first thing to do is to change the pot.
Take a paper and put the palm tree over it. Closely examine the roots and wash the soil attached to them.
Step#2 Treat root rot
Take the palm tree out of the pot and examine the roots. Be gentle while doing this. Take a sharp sterilize scissor to cut the damaged roots. Separate the soil attached to it with a water shower.
After doing this, dispose of the damaged soil in which the palm trees were planted. Wash the pot thoroughly with bleaching powder or hydrogen peroxide solution.
Step#3 Repotting palm tree
After taking out the palm tree from the pot then carefully wash off the spoiled roots. Carefully prune off the spoiled roots and stem before repotting it. Let the roots to be dry for one day before repotting. Chose a rehydrated potting mix. Add some sand and pea gravel to act as mulch.
Step#4 Add some sand to potting mix
Palm trees usually do not like much water to stand in. They can survive in low water conditions. Palm trees can also survive in drought situations as well.
Growing palm trees in such soil that is made of 80% sand can thrive well. In this way, the soil absorbs more water and no damage will be caused to your palm tree.
Step#5 Use fungus and fertilizers
Using a fungicide for indoor plants is useful. It is not harmful to indoor plants. In case of fungus infection, these fungicides cause no damage to your indoor plants as well as a palm tree.
It is useful to use a fertilizer for the proper growth of your plant. Moreover, fertilizers boost the natural growth process of your indoor plants. It is advisable to use fertilizers whenever you see new growth in plants.
Step#6 Move to a shady place
Always try to keep your palm trees in a shady place. direct sunlight can more quickly dry out your plan tree. Therefore it is good to keep them in a cool or shady area where they use less water. You can move your palm tree to a shady area when it gets started to heal.
You can add perlite to the potting mix to improve the aeration of the soil. Improve aeration can boost the growth of palm trees. Always use distilled water instead of tap water, you can use melted water or irrigation water for the proper growth of palm trees.
- Add some sand to the potting mix to improve the drainages.
- Use a probe or meter to check the moisture level before watering.
- Plant those palm trees together that have the same requirements such as succulents.
- Never allow standing water in the palm tree.
- Always water your palm tree when its upper soil is completely dry.
- Check the moisture level by dipping the finger inside the soil.
