Orange Palm Leaves Signal Time to Prune

Q. The bottom layer of my palm fronds turned an orange - yellow color almost overnight. Is this from too much water or not enough water?

Palm fronds may turn orange before they become yellow or brown and then die. Its your signal to prune.

A. Neither. The cause of these fronds turning orange or yellow is natural. These orange and yellow colors are already there, masked by the strong green color that the chlorophyll provides. We see the same color changes with “Fall color”.

Canary Island Date Palm with lower fronds dying naturally.

            The bottom layer of fronds die naturally. As these lower fronds approach death due to old age and shade, some of the minerals in the leaves are absorbed back into the palm, first turning the lower fronds orange or yellow and eventually brown. Sometimes these color changes occur quickly and other times more slowly. How fast depends on how hot it is.

Fan palm with brown lower fronds in need of pruning and removal.

            The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium move out of the frond first followed by magnesium, chlorine, zinc and molybdenum. Lesser mobile nutrients are left behind which include sulfur, iron, boron, and copper. These mineral “remainers” dominate the content of palm fronds. This color change is your signal to cut and remove palm fronds.