I don't think it should be soggy, these are desert palms. I think you should just keep the soil from being dried out the first week or so. I think you should let the top of the soil dry out for a day or two.

If it is really soggy right now you might want to take it out and repot it in dry soil and start over. The soil should be firm, not squishy and wet. You know how when the soil is wet, it is darker than when it is dry? If the soil is a darker color (meaning it still has moisture in it) I leave it alone. If it turns the light gray color (meaning the moisture on the surface of the soil has dried up) I give it some water.

They are really tolerant of drought, but when they are young, they might need a little extra water. You know for sure if the top of the soil is dry and the leaves start getting brown on the tips and then moves to the rest of the fronds that it's time to give it some water.

I have a hard time knowing for sure when to water as well, but the good thing is that they are tolerant of drought, so they'll forgive you let them get too thirsty.

I asked the eBay seller and they told me:

"No. Still much better off to water it at least every other day for first week or two. The Mexican Fan Palms run into much more trouble after transplanting when they don't get enough water than when they get too much."

He's basically saying to keep watering it because the shock from transplanting it is greater than any problems it could have from losts of water. He's also told me that they are very forgiving when it comes to watering and don't mind wet roots.

I also asked if I should repot it and he say no, because at this point it would cause great stress on the roots. I added rocks at the bottom, sand, and perlite to the potting soil when I potted it.

He's said:

"The rocks at the bottom, the coarse sand and the perlite are all very good additives. Very hard to tell from the pictures but as long as the container is not a heavy pot of mud it would be better to keep things as they are because the Mexican Palm is very forgiving of heavier soils and repotting could cause a lot of stress to the roots"

Not sure what to do? Should I ignore his instructions and just let it dry out for 3-5 days? If I repot it, it could hurt it. Also, what if I end up killing it from under-watering since its newly transplanted?

So much conflicting advice. My family recommends just letting it dry out 4-5 days before giving it more water.

Today it seems to be drying out slightly more than yesterday. The very top of the soil is dryer than before. The soil is still ver moist though. Approaching fall temps in the 70s-80s here in my sunroom are sure to slow down the drying time, I've mentioned this to the seller, but they still recommend watering every other day as stated above.

Well, I'm not an expert, the eBay seller probably knows more about them than I do. You're probably best off taking his advice, it's been 20 years since I got mine so I don't really remember problems with transplant shock or how much I watered it the first few weeks.

I really think you want to avoid boggy, swampy soil though. I'd keep the top of the soil that dark wet color, but not swampy. Even most non-desert plants don't do well in swampy conditions.

Sorry, I understand the stress of getting a new plant and worrying about keeping it alive.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate all the help you've been able to provide. I may just let it dry out a little, or I may only add a little water, and not much. It's still wet today.

If you got a plant with healthy roots, it will be hard to kill it by overwatering it IF your soil is very well draining… but soil that is very well draining should never be soggy (should be impossible to make it soggy unless you have poor drainage in the bottom of the pot).. by the way, next time do NOT put rocks at the bottom of the pot… good way to clog up a pot- that might seem counterintuitive, but rocks allow soils and sand to clump and compact in-between them and before you know it, your pot hardly drains at all… best to just fill the pot with the same soil from top to bottom… but the soil should be VERY well draining (eg. get cactus soil and add some pumice to it and you will have perfect palm soil).

Your seller is correct that repeatedly repotting a palm will likely kill it (palms do NOT like their roots messed with), but if your soil is sloggy and poorly draining you may have to take a chance and carefully repot it again in a pot with larger drainage holes (multiple holes per pot is best) and just fill it with a good soil. … no rocks. Then you can water it daily if you want with little fear of overwatering. The good thing about cactus soils (unless loaded with peat) is they are not only well draining, but they also tend to be good at keeping some water in them (thanks to pumice or perlite) so even if you forget to water for a while, there still should be some water in them available for the plant…. though new palms initially do need to be watered more often as their roots have not grown new rootlets yet that are the things that are so efficient at absorbing water.

Washingtonias are very hardy palms, but they do not like being moved around much when small and are just as sensitive as about any other palm… not until they have a trunk do they become super hardy and amenable to being transplanted easily over and over.

A week or so ago I bought a smaller W. Robusta and I bought the Miracle Grow potting mix for Cactus, Citrus, and Palms. It was holding a lot of water and has had possible Transportation Shock. Everybody told me not to use that MG potting mix because of the peat. The MG potting mix even says Fast Draining on the front, so that's what I thought would be good since everyone said to get that type of potting mix.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/washingtonia-robusta-fronds-shriveling-dsvw-vd~3342105[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/washingtonia-robusta-fronds-shriveling-dsvw-vd~3342105)

So I went out and bought generic potting mix and now this soggy soil is happening on my new big palm. I can't seem to win. I'm hesitant to repot this W. Robusta because I worry it will go into decline. It so far hasn't.

I searched all over for a non-MG cactus potting mix, but every store I have been to only sells the MG kind. It's elusive and I even looked for Scott's cactus fast draining potting mix. No store near me has it. I could buy it online, but of course that'll at least take3-4 days to get here. And that's even if I find a suitable non-MG non-peat cactus potting mix.

I even mixed a lot of Coarse sand, and Perlite in with the potting mix it would be okay. The pot only came with what holes it has, if I were to punch holes into it I would have to disturb the palm and take it out. The pot has 5+ drainage holes and slots (where the water can drop through) on the bottom. It seems that it is pretty decent at draining the water out of the bottom. Its called a Self-watering pot. I've actually never heard of a pot like that before. I empty the tray when it gets any kind of water in it.

I can see if I can dig out the stones since they're on the outer rim of the bottom. Could I just leave the palm in there, and then when I find some good cactus potting mix can I mix it in there? I could just dig several small holes as far down as I could and drop it in? I could then push the soil back over and smooth out the soil at the top of the pot. Would that be okay?

Would it be a good idea to invest in an Aqua Globe so the palm takes what it needs?

Here's another thought, you could take it outside and let the sun dry it up a little. If it's really soggy though that won't be fast enough. If it's like a marsh I personally would replant it. Otherwise I'd leave it in the pot.

With my yuccas, I put potting soil in the bottom of the pot (about an inch high) so rocks don't get in the holes, then I fill the rest of the pot with a mix of 2/3 pea gravel and 1/3 sand. It drains real fast. It makes the pot really heavy though. You probably want a richer soil for your palm too.

I think an Aqua Globe would be unnecessary, just water (slowly) when the top of soil is dry and only till water comes out the bottom of the holes.

I don't think I would call it a marsh. The soil just seems moist or somewhat wet. When I dig my hand into it, it feels wet but not like mud. A lot of water flowed out the bottom when I first watered it. I watered it yesterday and water came out quickly as well. I didn't water it today so it could dry out.

Should I get a hairdryer and try to dry it out? I could hold the hairdryer about a half-inch away from the side of the pot and hover it along the sides of the pot to dry it out.

Here's how it looks right now:

Also, is it normal for the leaves to yellow and brown. The bottom leaves are yellowing at the ends. So far so good with the top and middle leaves. The top and middle look good actually, still retaining their original appearance. It seemed to already be doing this before I got it since it looks as if the seller cut the end off (probably to clean up the brown dead end).

I can't really tell how wet it is from the picture. Maybe the leaves are just yellowing from transplant shock. I can't really tell you for sure. Maybe someone else on here could tell you.

try www.palmsnorth.com as well there are some people on there that are really knowledgeable about palms.

Thanks, I just created an account.

I'm no expert, but I'd bet the generic potting mix is peat-based as well, I believe most are. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'd just add copious amounts of perlite for better aeration and improved drainage. My robusta is in the same MG Cactus/Palm soil, but it's growing in a clay pot which dries out a lot faster than a plastic one. I had a Pygmy Palm in a large self watering container and it ended up dying from root rot.

I'd definitely stop watering them and let them dry out, watering everyday just seems unnecessary since the soil is already damp, the roots can suffocate in saturated soil. Are they outdoors?

Edit: Yellowing/Brown bottom leaves are completely normal, it looks healthy from what I can see.

My W.Robusta is in my sun-room near a south-facing and west-facing window. It stays warmer in there all or most of the time. Once it gets colder I'll bring all my plants in.

The generic potting mix I ended up using wasn't a special mix for cactus, citrus, and palms though. It was just regular old generic potting mix. So they put peat in every kind of potting mix then?

Is a "self watering pot" any different than a regular pot? I can't spot any differences. I know this pot has a lot of holes in the bottom and it even has slots in the bottom for water to get through. Its got a tray that removes to make it to easy pour the excess water out. I just check the tray everyday and empty it. I also sit the pot on-top of the tray so there's about a half inch between the bottom of the pot and the drainage tray. This way I can lift the pot to see how much water is in the tray.

Its good to know that the MG cactus/palm mix isn't too bad then. Should I then use the MG cactus/palm mix? I believe I could just attempt to mix in the potting mix by scooping out several small holes as far down as I could and drop the mix in. I could then push the soil back over and smooth out the soil at the top of the pot. If done right the roots shouldn't be disturbed to much if at all.

Would that be okay? Its the only way I can think of to get the MG cactus/palm mix (or other cactus fast-draining mix) into there without completely re-potting it. I could also mix in more perlite and sand as well. That way over time (after enough times of doing that) the pot would have quite a lot of MG cactus/palm mix in it.

Its good to know the yellowing/browning is to be expected. That makes me feel a little better.

I appreciate you help.

I'd say 99% of commercial potting mixes contain at least some peat. And as long as the pot is draining properly it's safe to use, no matter what kind it is. Your pot sounds a little different (better) than the one I had my Pygmy Palm in, which retained way too much water.

I wouldn't bother mixing in the MG Cactus/Palm soil, I don't think it's worth the hassle, I'd add more perlite to the mix before I did that, but if it meant disturbing the roots I'd just leave it how it is. Your palm shouldn't have any issues establishing itself in regular potting mix, it might sulk at first but eventually it'll take off.

My robusta kills off its older leaves as it's pushing out new ones. I like to mark the new spears with a sharpie so I know just how fast or slow it's growing.

Ok, that clears up that then. I wasn't sure if I should've mixed the MG potting mix in or not. So I won't worry about it then. I check the drainage tray everyday and it appears that it's done leaking out the bottom. I haven't seen any water since a day or so ago.

The soil still feels very wet or at least moist. It's definitely taking awhile to dry. Today was overcast, and barely over 60F, so it probably didn't dry much today (my Robustas are in my sunroom).

I will mix some perlite in there. I did today and I hope it helped. I accidentally snagged/brushed up against some of the roots when I did this. I didn't break any, just brushed through them because i didn't know they were there. I pushed the soil back in place after mixing in perlite, so I hope the roots weren't affected to much.

Today is doesn't seem to be declining really. I keep expecting it to decline like my W.Robusta seedling has done since a week or so go ago, after I potted it. The only thing I can think of is that my larger W.Robusta could be more adaptable and more able to cope since it's a larger specimen. It's still green and appears almost like it did when I potted it on Tuesday night. By now my seedling had lost 2 of its 3 fronds (they shriveled up). So, hopefully my large Robusta will pull through. It worries me everyday. But, it's nice to hear that others have done it and it's possible.

My W.Robusta seedling only has the center fronds, and thats not been too active as it's been. I still worry about it since the tip keeps browning, and then I snip the brown off, only for more brown to appear a day or so later. If it keeps on this track there won't be much left after long, and it's not sending out any more fronds! I wish it would send out a new one.

They really dont like being houseplants...

they are also one of those palms that likes

to be over potted or they will decline.

Also,when the roots are damaged they die

(they resprout from base) so be careful

about to much amending to the soil now.

I've seen other people keep them indoors, so I figured I could as well. And I've frequently read that they are very tolerant, adaptable, cold hardy, and drought resistant among other things.

That's why I've always liked W.Robusta. I've not had much luck here in getting my two robustas to take to there new home. Although it's still early days yet. I only potted my large one on Tuesday Sept 8th and my small one a week or so before that, so I'm hoping they both pull though all this.

I won't be doing anything to them now, I'm just going to let them dry out and see if they take to there new home. I'm afraid I might have done too much. But, people have said they're tough little palms, so maybe they'll be okay.

My first palm was a Trachycarpus Fortunei and I just potted it in some MG cactus/Palm potting mix (dumped about 16.9 oz of water in there after potting) and left it be. It had zero problems getting going. No troubles at all. And I knew a lot less then, then I know these days about all this.

I figured W.Robusta would be the same. But, they've proven more difficult or I'm over-thinking all this.

Jim, I potted mine back in 1996. About a year later I took it out of its pot and started cutting most of its roots off except for a large ball of roots under the trunk. It is still alive today. That said, it has only grown about 1 and a half feet since 1996. I think I basically turned it into a bonsai palm. It's roots still haven't out grown the pot since I did that. It just looks like a perpetually short Mexican fan palm.

Awesome! That's actually pretty cool since they grow so very large, quickly. But, nonetheless at least it's been thriving since 1996.

Yep, I'd imagine Jim is right though. If you don't cut their roots back, I doubt it would last very long in a pot.

Couldn't you just keep re-potting into larger pots? Such as, if it out-grows a 12in pot, then you'd drop it into a 14in or larger pot until it gets too large for that one. Or, are you guys saying you've got to cut the roots to keep them alive in a pot? Kinda confused slightly as what you guy's mean.

I guess I never actually used coarse sand after all. I used sand that I bought from Home Depot that I thought was coarse sand. I guess it wasn't really coarse sand. I used sand that is coarse. Walking into Lowe's today, I now realize what coarse sand really is, it's something like pebbles, not actually sand. Geez, now they're both potted now so I don't know what I can do about it now. If I re-pot them to add the coarse sand, then they may both decline. Here's what it really is:

That's probably alright that you used pebbles instead of sand. It will probably help it drain better. Don't worry about cutting the roots back or anything right now. You've probably got a few years before you have to worry about it.

How's the palm doing now?

No, I guess I failed to explain the situation correctly, sorry. What I meant was, I DID use sand (the kind used for laying down pavers, and etc). I thought that was what I was supposed to use. It was sand that was coarse to the touch.

I didn't realize that "coarse sand" is actually something different and that it's actually pebbles (see previous photo above).

So basically I DID NOT actually use "coarse sand", even though that's what I thought it was.

I guess I just basically mixed together sand, generic potting mix, and perlite. I made this mistake on not only my large Robusta, but also my little seedling that I bought a week prior. I made a separate thread about that experience.

Sorry for the confusion. If I try to undo my error now, it may decline due to re-potting. I don't think I would be good to disturb them now.

So far it seems like both my large Robusta and my seedling are doing okay. On my large one the bottom three fronds have browned and yellowed. They were bad, so I snipped them off cleanly with a pair of scissors. It currently still has the top 3 largest fronds, although one I had to trim the dead off of it.

I think it's fine either way, sand or pebbles. The pebbles help it drain faster, so if you want to have it outside, you don't have to worry about too much rain (like I do). Mine is planted in regular Illinois topsoil, it's not having any problems. Actually with all the heat we were having, I was watering it almost every other day.

They should be fine, they're desert palms, a little sand won't hurt them. I don't think those sand pebbles are necessary anyway, I wouldn't even bother with them unless it was for the top dressing, I believe that's what they're for.

So far it seems like both my large Robusta and my seedling are doing okay. On my large Robusta, the bottom three fronds have browned and yellowed. I was told this is normal, that they push out new growth and drop the old.

They were bad, so I snipped them off cleanly with a pair of scissors. I called a California nursery and explained the situation in great detail (everything that's here), and the lady instructed me to clean it up since it'll help the palm redirect it's energy to the healthy fronds it has and it'll look better.

It currently still has the top 3 largest fronds, although one I had to trim the dead off of it. I worry about it, since the soil is still moist. There is a shoot I can see in the center that's green and has hair-like fibres (like that's found all over Robustas).

Overall, both my Robustas look decent. I have since moved both my large Robusta and my seedling inside the house, on the bay window (south & west-facing) to provide a more stable climate than my sunroom. My sunroom was fluctuating temperatures since its dropping to the 40s and 50s at night here. In the house it's a constant 72-76F all the time. There they'll stay until May/June when it warms up again here in Toledo Ohio.

I'm hoping that with all the sun were supposed to get here that both my Robustas with just eat it up. All week it's forecasted in the 70s/80 full all day sunshine. I love it!

Jeff: So you didn't even bother with fast-draining cactus/Palm soil? You just dug up Illinois soil and it's doing fine? Is yours permanently outside then? I don't think the Illinois climate will support W.Robusta will it? Isn't it awfully cold there?

Do you wrap it in burlap, wrap it with Christmas lights, and or box it up? That's cool though. I'm in the same midwest climate as you, just 2 states over in NW Ohio!

cm05: Thanks, that makes me feel a little better then. I've been worried about that. I'm just a beginner in all this, and I'm just trying my best. I enjoy it though. I'm just going to sit and wait to see how they do (my large Robusta and seedling). So far they're both still alive, so that's good! They don't seem to be doing too too bad. They are after all proving to be tough little palms. It's been since last Tuesday since I potted my large Robusta, and a week or so since potting my seedling. Both still green.

My robusta isn't planted outside. I just used regular soil to pot it in. I do have a needle palm in the ground here though that is surviving (that's the best I can say for it). I just planted a Sabal Minor McCurtain in the ground this spring. We'll see how that goes.

Okay, never mind.

I got home today and I guess my large Robusta isn't doing as good as I thought. I looked at it, and it seems that one of the 3 largest fronds is squeezing together (which I interpret as it's the fronds dying, since it happened to my Robusta seedling's fronds which arrived with 3 fronds and now has only 1 small one).

I also noticed that the center largest frond is looking grim too. I'm now in panic mode. I don't know what I can do! It's been getting slightly worse everyday, first the bottom 3 fronds and now this.

Is it not getting enough water? What the heck, first I thought it was too much water, but now I don't know what it needs! The soil seems like it is wet.

Is it not enough Sun? It's in the bay window, and it's been sunny day and yesterday. It's been 75ish all day in the house.

I don't understand, all this time it's been decent and now it's getting worse? I thought by now it would be acclimated to its new pot? It's been since last Tuesday.

Can anyone help me with what to do?

Thanks.

When I first got it last Tuesday it looked like this.

I don't know, if the soil is wet I wouldn't think that it needs more water.

If it was sent bare root it probably

suffered some root set back,it needs

warmth and bright light to recover.

Heres a pic of mine in the garden.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm220/orbea641/orbea641056/DSCF0118_zpsuqiisw59.jpg

I contacted the seller and I've informed him of the situation and he recommends at this point to water it everyday for 3-4 days and prune off the two dying fronds. Then he says to contact him with an update then. I did as he instructed in hopes it will pull through.

Jim: Yes it actually was shipped to me bare-root. It seems every Palm I've bought from online (eBay) has been bare-root. I bought a W.Robusta seedling that arrived bare-root and it struggled right from the beginning. Lost 2/3 fronds, but still it's main frond is green.

I potted my large Robusta last Tuesday (1 week ago). Up until 2 days ago I had it out in my sunroom, and it unfortunately got down in the 40s a couple days ago. Not sure if that affected it. I hope not. It was warm during the days but chilly at night.

I watered it quite a lot on Thursday and have held off watering since then to dry out the pot. Now I wish I hadn't. The seller recommended from the beginning to water it at least every other day for the first week or two.

So now I contacted him and he said to water it 25oz of water a day and prune off the 2 dying fronds. He said this will allow the Palm to better concentrate on its healthy fronds and recuperate a little easier. He said water it everyday for 3-4 days and then contact him with a status update.

I moved both of my Robustas to my bay window inside the house until May/June when it warms up. Now they'll receive a steady temperature of 72F-75F all the time, and lots of light. The bay window is both south & south-west facing.

I hope it recovers.

Jim, I was hoping you would jump in soon, I was out of ideas :(

It's okay though, I'm grateful for any advice/help I can get. I appreciate all your help, and everyone's really. Throughout all this I've received so much help with all this, info I had not known before. So I'm appreciative of any and all help I've received. If I e eventually have to buy another and start over, I now how to better go about it next time.

I didn't take into consideration that yours was shipped bare root. I don't really know what kind of effect that has on the plant. I bought mine at a Lowes or something when I went on a trip to Phoenix. Getting it established was probably a little different than getting a bare root one established.

My Sabal Minor McCurtain was shipped bare root and I watered the heck out of it, but they seem to like that sort of thing any way. I planted it outside this year and it spent hours at a time partially underwater with all the rain we had this spring. I thought it would rot but it didn't. S. Minors grow in swampy areas though.

That makes sense then. I wasn't sure what to do. Some people on here said let it dry, and the seller told me to water it like crazy (25oz each watering). The seller told me to water it every day or two for the first week or two. I just kinda thought maybe I'll just see what happens and let it dry out. I'm kinda wishing now that I had followed his instructions and kept watering it.

So now I'm just going to water it as he says and hopefully it improves. My seedling seemed to be doomed but then I snipped off the dying fronds about 3-4 days ago and it's still hanging in there with 1 green frond. So it's possible watering it was what I should been doing, also I think both of my Robustas have had transportation shock as well. That can't help matters.

at least the seedling has stabilized. hopefully you got it through the hardest part for it

Yes, I hope so. I hope the large Robusta stabilizes soon.

I've been giving my Robusta seedling a decent watering alongside my large Robusta. The seedling has seemed to stabilize somewhat. At least in my opinion. I lost 2/3 fronds 2-3 days after potting but once I trimmed those 2/3 fronds off it seemed to stabilize to what it looks now.

I noticed that it's tip is slowly turning brown/yellow. I snip it off and it turns brown/yellow again. I haven't snipped it in a while and it seemed to slow. But, I look at it everyday and it seemed to get a little worse. I'm afraid to snip any more off now since its down to it's last fronds.

Should I keep trimming the brown/yellow? I worry about it. It's getting plenty of water (until it comes out the bottom 6 drainage holes I punched in). Could this be caused from too much water? Too much sunlight? I doubt it's too much sunlight since Robusta are desert palm trees.

Should I leave it be? Stop watering? Maybe it's still feeling the transportation shock from when I got it.

It's showing little activity otherwise.

I'd make sure the soil doesn't dry out at this point, but not water logged. I personally wouldn't keep snipping off the dead part on the single leaf, but maybe someone knows better than I do. If deterioration has slowed, I'd think that is a better sign than if it was still rapidly losing leaves. keep checking the new spear and see if you can tell if it's gotten any longer. It probably won't start growing again for at least a month after you transplant it. If the spear is growing at all, I'd say you are on the right track.

My robusta seems to go through periods where it goes dormant and then all of a sudden it starts making new leaves like crazy. There doesn't seem to be a particular time of year when this happens either. In contrast, my sabal minor seems to grow slowly all year round, it never seems to go dormant.

Do you have any idea of how to see how much it's grown? I read somebody on here used sharpie to mark how much its growing. But, I'm hesitant to do that since I worry it might poison the palm.

The Leaf is really green, especially at the bottom where it's growing from the "trunk". So I think it's very possible it could be growing.

It would be nice if it grew another leaf so I didn't have to worry as much. I've been keeping it very wet since I thought maybe I wasn't giving it enough water. But, I think I'll let the soil dry out a few before I give it more water.

I just eye it. Before long you'll definitely know. I guess you could always use a ruler, it'd probably be difficult to get it measured exactly. I'd just wait. you'll know. You're still in the game as long as the spear doesn't turn brown. But I wouldn't expect much growth until at least a month after you transplant it. Even then, like I said, they seem to grow when they want to. At least mine does. I'm sure there's a more scientific explanation for when they grow and what makes them start growing.

Since this is the only leaf on it, this would be called the "the spear" right? If it pulls out it's dead. I planted it in the pot (powerade bottle) on Sept 2nd or 3rd (It actually arrived on Sat August 29th where I put it in a 10in pot, but 2 of its 3 leaves shriveled up). So maybe sometime in early October then, I might see some activity hopefully. Except for the browning, it done like else. Actually I think it has opened quite a lot since putting it in the powerade bottle. It was shriveled up like a straw like the other 2 leaves.

The spear is the leaf that looks like a point coming out of the center. It doesn't look much like a leaf at all until it starts to open up. Generally, yes, if the spear pulls out it's dead, though there are some people who have ways of bringing them back from that.

Well, I guess there is technically no spear on my seedling then. It only has the 1 single leaf you see in the picture. When it once had 3 leaves, this was the center one that was unfurling at the time. Now since its the only one left, it has seemed to open up and is green (with the exception of the light bit of brown at the top).

This single leaf is all it's doing, it doesn't look like it's even trying to send out more. Hopefully in the near future it will.

Hopefully. The fact that it isn't shriveled anymore is a good sign though.

True, that's what I thought too.