New Queen Palm Question for Ozzello

[TomW]

I have 3 transplanted queens in the front yard. Two are doing well but the third is yellowing after being in the ground 1 year. It is next to the driveway by 3 feet and turf on 2 other side by the same distance. I have fertilized with slow release and Epsom salts within the last two week. I noticed the yellowing prior to fertilizing and putting down Epson salts. Both concrete and turf are well inside the drip line. If I eventually have to take it out, I plan to replace with a sable palm but I really enjoy the gracefulness of the queens. What to do?

[Ozzello]

I have 3 transplanted queens in the front yard. Two are doing well but the third is yellowing after being in the ground 1 year. It is next to the driveway by 3 feet and turf on 2 other side by the same distance. I have fertilized with slow release and Epsom salts within the last two week. I noticed the yellowing prior to fertilizing and putting down Epson salts. Both concrete and turf are well inside the drip line. If I eventually have to take it out, I plan to replace with a sable palm but I really enjoy the gracefulness of the queens. What to do?

This is a difficult area to plant a tree properly. Could be several causes here, but I would place my money on there being an air pocket UNDER the root ball. I would carefully dig the tree, and bed the root ball. If you put the tree in the hole, and add more than 6 inches of soil before compacting the soil, you likely have this air pocket.

And no, 'mudding in' the tree won't fix it. Specially if you started the mudding in after half or more of the soil was added around the root ball.

At second thought, read my next post...

[Ozzello]

1 year is quite a while though, so the thing I would do before anything, is water the tree with a weak coffee solution, and spread some coffee grinds as well, about a handful. TV's average pH is 7.1, and being near the concrete of the driveway would make the area even more alkaline. This makes magnesium, manganese, boron, iron and phosphorus hard for the tree to utilize. Deficiency in any one of these causes yellowing.

[TomW]

Thanks. I will apply the 'coffee' solution soon. The tree looks rather healthy and the new growth, shooting up from the center, is dark green. But all the other fronds are more yellow than its sister palms.