Correction of Cycad (Sago Palm) of Yellow Fronds

Q. My sago palms (actually cycads) planted in my yard are turning yellow. Can you tell from this picture what they need?

Yellow fronds of sago palm can arise because of its planted location, poor soil used for planting, and watering.

A. You have three choices about why the fronds are yellowing: their location (landscape exposure), needed soil amendments (including fertilizers), and improper watering. It is up to you to figure which one (or several at the same time) might be responsible.

            Judging from the pushing of new growth from the plants center, I think they are getting enough water during the week. Water this plant three times a week, not more often than that. Don’t reduce the weekly amount of water it is getting!

Notice the artificial grass that was installed. Removal of a lawn and replacing it with nothing that adds to the soil can cause yellowing of fronds due to a slow decline of organic matter in the soil.

            When you are watering, apply it to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. This will mean that you need to apply in a single application anywhere from 5 to 8 gallons of water. Apply this water through three emitters, located 12 inches from its trunk, to get a good distribution of water. Don’t split the application of water in the morning and another in the afternoon. That’s silly unless you see an enormous puddle of water when you irrigate. If water puddles on the soil surface, split the application of water into two applications an hour or less apart.

Rooting depth and how deep to water varies with the size of the plant. Taller plants need deeper (and less frequent) watering.

            This plant is originally from the richer soils of northern India. It evolved with these types of soils. It doesn’t like the extremely low organics of desert soils! Iron fertilizers should be added to the soil in the early spring but now is okay to do it. Be sure to add this composted soil where the soil gets wet. If the compost you are adding comes in a bag without a description, then it is probably low in fertilizers as well. Mix in the appropriate fertilizers to the compost before mixing it with the soil.

Late in the growing season requires spraying iron on the foliage several times about a week apart to be effective.

            Make sure any surface mulch is at least two inches deep. Using mulch adds one or two days of extra water! Mulch can be crushed rock or wood chips. Wood chips are better because they decompose in wet soil adding organics to it as the wood chips decompose. Crushed rock doesn't add any organics back to the soil. You should add organics to the soil (compost) every two years if the mulch is crushed rock.

Rock surface mulch adds minerals to the soil as it breaks down, not organics.

 Plants have to handle that.

            If a lawn was removed in the past three to five years this might explain the yellowing as lawn adds “organics” back to the soil. Removing the lawn also removes the “organics” added by lawns.

Lawns add organics back to the soil from its root growth and lawn clippings left to decompose.

            I don’t think this cycad will be better in a different location’ but cycads grow best on the north and east sides of a home. They prefer to grow with morning sun and afternoon shade.

Best Iron to Use is EDDHA Chelated Iron

Q. I’m starting to think about the springtime approaching and the need for fertilizing. Do you have an “iron Fertilizer” you recommend? We added the compost you suggested but I want to make sure we are on top of the iron needs of our plants.

Iron chelate fertilizer that works in all soils. Its a bit more expensive but it is a guarantee. The others will work most of the time.

A. The iron chelate I like to use is a little bit more expensive. The reason I recommend it is because of its stability in both highly alkaline and highly acidic soils. It works regardless of the soil or its alkalinity (soil pH). I consider it cheap insurance.

Severe iron chlorosis on a peach seedling. Chlorosis is any yellowing leaving behind green veins. Iron chlorosis occurs all summer long but it is on new growth. Iron should be applied sometime in the early or mid spring, before April in our climate.

The chelate I like to use is EDDHA iron chelate. It comes under several names but as long as the iron is bound to the EDDHA chelate then it is what I recommend. Other types of chelates and iron fertilizers stop working in highly alkaline soils.

This is another iron chelate fertilizer called EDTA. It works in most soils. It is the most common form of chelated iron fertilizers for plants because its more available and cheaper.

            If you are adding compost to compost amended soil then any chelate or iron fertilizer will probably work whether it is iron sulfate, brake filings, or iron chelates such as EDTA or DTPA This is because soils that have compost added to them usually are not strongly alkaline. The compost additions, along with water, usually lowers the alkalinity of the soil.

The chelated iron I prefer, iron EDDHA, works over all of the different soil pH or alkalinity.

            Any iron fertilizer or chelate MUST be applied and mixed with the soil in the early spring (sometime soon after February 1 in our Las Vegas climate). Soil applications get less effective as the growth begins stopping. By mid to late summer you must switch to iron fertilizers applied as a liquid to the leaves for acceptable results. This usually requires several applications to shrub leaves. Iron fertilizers applied wet to the leaves (foliar applications of iron) are not as effective and may need to be applied to the leaves of trees and shrubs several times to work.

Ash Trees Do Not Normally Need Applied Iron

Q. Should I give my ash trees the same iron treatment as fruit trees?

Will Green Light Chelate Cure Iron Chlorosis in Highly Alkaline Soils

Q. I used a product called Green Light. It contains chelated iron, copper and zinc for correcting plants that are yellow. Is this similar to the chelate you talk about for our soils?

Roses in the Hot Desert Do Well But Different From Growing in New Jersey

Garden rose not doing well in our
desert soils. They can do VERY well
if you just follow some simple advice

Q. This past spring I cleared a large "L" shaped area in my yard and planted 8 various rosebushes. They have sun from about 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m. They are watered in the evening and fed regularly. They are well planted with planting medium in large holes, and then mulched. All flowered during the spring and early summer.

Now, however, they are very spindly looking. The leaves left on them are brown and the stems are turning brown. There are no bugs that I can see. I tugged on them and they are still firm in the ground. Have they died and should I replace them, or wait until spring and see what comes back? Should I cut them back, and if so, how much? I do not want to cut too much off.