Xtremehorticulture

Sago Palm Yellowing

Q. We have multiple sago palms in our yard and they have all done well for over 10 years. This year all the sago palms are turning yellow (pics below). Especially the largest one. We have not changed any of the fertilizer or care routine and the watering is the same as the previous summers. For some reason this year they seem to be really suffering. Reading online some websites say too much water, others say not enough, some say too much sun, others say not enough fertilizer or too much!  Basically I have no idea where to begin… 😐⁉️We love our sago palms and love the dark green evergreen foliage (they normally have) please help us save these beautiful plants.  A. It is  hard to begin. If they are healthy and growing in good soil they can handle a lot of sun and adversity. If the soil has been depleted (surrounded by rock mulch for instance) they can get quite yellow.  If the roots are drowning and the soil stays wet they can yellow. If they have root diseases (too much water, poor soils or depleted soil) they can yellow. I would nurse them along until October and dig them up, amend the soil, inspect the roots and check for rotting roots, correct the soil/watering problem and replant them. The yellowing created by a lack of fertilizer or the right kind of fertilizer is different from this kind of yellowing. This appears to be stress related. I think it is soil depletion which can be corrected by adding organics back to the soil. Use about a one inch layer of compost applied to the soil around them and water it in. You might also try adding wood chips, not bark, to the soil surface after the compost application.

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Can Sago Palm Grow in the Hot Desert?

Q. I understood that sago palms liked afternoon shade.  Can this plant handle afternoon sun with reflected heat and rock mulch? Sago palm or cycad in planter in desert landscape A. Sago palm or cycads will perform better with less care if they are planted in eastern or northern exposures rather than southern or western exposures. They will survive in your spot but will not look their best. They will grow in full sun and under some very tough desert conditions if the soil is improved, they are receiving the right kind of irrigation and fertilizer and surrounded by wood mulch.  Sago palm growing in partial shade in the desert When grown under these very harsh conditions they usually grow shorter fronds, the fronds are frequently discolored with a yellowish or bronze appearance and the fronds may even scorch or burn at the tips. When these plants are grown in more protective environments they look much better with more succulent growth, longer fronds, darker green with a lot less care. It would be incorrect to say they will not grow under some very harsh conditions but they will perform better and with less management in less hostile environments. Will it survive with rock mulch in an intense desert environment? Sometimes. But it will not have a long life expectancy and not look as pretty. Under rock mulch conditions with very little soil improvement I would give them 5 to 10 years looking okay after they were planted. 

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