Indian Palms Are All Dieing

[aletta]

All the Indian palms in the garden are dieing one by one but all the other palms are fine.It's raining everyday so it's not due to a lack of water but visibly you would say so as each leaf in turn goes brown and dies.Any clues?

[chownah]

I had a palm that died in a similar fashion and the cause turned out to be huge grups eating the heart of the plant.

[udon]

Al, try posting here, http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/palms/ I'm sure these peeps will help you.

Let's know how you get on.

[The Skipper]

Were they recently planted?

Some plants won't survive if planted too deep, dirt covering the trunk can be a problem,

Some times potted plants can be rootbound, you may think you are watering but the water may be not penetrating to the rootzone.

Is it possible they dried out one time?

Could have been in the pot too long or had grown into the soil at the nursery, when sold the trees went thru trauma from the severing of the roots.

Did the gardener even remove the pots? I've dug up plants and found the lazy workers did not remove the container.

Fertilizer can burn the plant.

Insects?

Too much shade, sun or wind?

Edited August 12, 2005 by The Skipper

[aletta]

Cheers udon,i will check that link out.

The palms had been in the garden for five years and planted in the garden when about a foot tall.Plenty of year round water and sheltered so would imagine it's an insect thing.

[Diggerbasher]

Palms are very fussy plants and if the conditions are not to their liking they do tend to die quickly and are hard to resuscitate.

[udon]

Yes, I lost a beautiful "lipstick Palm" (red stem) before I found out about gardenweb.

[Sir Burr]

I lost a couple of these palms to ants. Never heard them referred to as "lip-stick" palms though. Thought they were called Cinese sealing-wax palms.

[Diggerbasher]

Are they the palms with multiple stems growing from the base?

Edited August 16, 2005 by Diggerbasher

[udon]

Lipstick palm

I lost a couple of these palms to ants. Never heard them referred to as "lip-stick" palms though. Thought they were called Cinese sealing-wax palms.

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[aletta]

Nice looking palms,how much do they charge per metre here in Thailand?

I have lots of the plain stemmed variety and they are tough as old boots.My father in law attacked one with a machete while i was in the UK and it regenerated from the base.He thought one stem was what i wanted,so he hacked off all the others.

Edited August 17, 2005 by aletta

[Jai Dee]

Nice looking palms,how much do they charge per metre here in Thailand?

I bought a couple of 2 metre high lipstick palms from a nursery in Ekkamai a couple of years ago... they were in 20" pots and cost 1,500 baht each.

I believe there's a yellow stemmed variety as well which is much cheaper then the red stemmed palm.

[udon]

JD, I think we both bought tham from the same place, mine was infested with ants too.

[udon]

Here's some better pix of the lipstick palm.

Burr, you are correct, it is also known as the sealing-wax palm.

Edited August 17, 2005 by udon

[aletta]

Nice looking palm.

[sbk]

Just noticed this one, sorry guys. In Koh Phangan, Samui and Tao we are being invaded by some beetle (can't remember what it is called) it is destroying the coconut trees here but I have noticed it goes for all palms. They have imported some wasp or bee from Vietnam that does eat the beetles but it only seems to have a short term effect on the beetles lifespan

from Samui Community magazine

Coconut Beetle Threat continues

Representatives from the People's Assembly in Bangkok visited the island to attend a seminar designed to find solutions for the problems caused by the now infamous Coconut weevils and black fanged beetles, pests that destroy the crown and leaves of the coconut tree, and are therefore damaging to both farmers and tourism all over the island. The seminar took place on 31st July, and was hosted by Mr. Prawich Nilvatcharamani, a Minister from Suratthani and a consultant for the Economic Development Department. He revealed that he had received many complaints from local farmers on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan regarding the damaging effects of beetle larvae that has now eaten and destroyed large numbers of young coconuts and resulted in heavy financial losses.

The pests are difficult to reach with chemicals, and in places like Tahiti and the Maldives, bees known as Asecudis Ispanariem, or Den Bien in Thai have been released to feed on the beetle. Unfortunately, these bees are not native to Thailand, and would therefore have to be imported from Australia, Tahiti, or Vietnam. Their release is also governed by the FAO, so approval is now being sought so that the bees can be brought to Samui and let loose on the beetles and their larvae. Coconuts are a well known symbol of Koh Samui, and previous studies that were carried out by international scientists following an article written several months ago in community magazine, highlits this problem and suggested a number of solutions. The government committee has now also concluded that the situation must be managed urgently and systematically in order to save Samui's natural emblem.

Source: Community, September 2004

[udon]

Price guide for the Lipstick Palm outside of Thailand.

A bargain.....

Source: Here.