I’ve posted about this plant before when it had a fungal problem. That issue resolved. I brought the plant inside in June because the weather in austin became too hot. With the addition of some plant food for palms (BGI Palmgain 8-2-12), it turned a rich green and generally thrived, a lot of new growth. A few weeks ago I noticed that the leaves, which had grown long, had begun to droop. I thought that maybe it wasn’t getting enough light so I moved it to a different window. The drooping got worse and the leaves began to lose the deep green color, turning very pale near the base of the most recent growth. The temperatures finally dipped below 90 a week ago, so I put it outside and added some of the same plant food. Two days later many of the upper leaves looked bleached, almost calloused throughout the middle . It looks to me like a kind of sunburn. I moved it to location without direct sun, but it looks like the damage is done. Does anyone have a thought on what went wrong? Was I right to move it outside because of the drooping, but wrong to put it in full sun ? Or was it the plant food? (I mixed 1/2 cup into the top couple inches of soil) What can I do? Should I cut the affected leaves off? It seems to have stabilized. Please see pics. thanks!
My first thought was root rot which would explain the leaves going limp and the sudden decline of the plant. Could that be the cause? Does the container have drainage holes?
There is a hole in the pot. I had not watered it any differently than I had been doing it since early June—about once a week until just a little come out the bottom. One other thing I had done in the week before I put it back outside was give it about a teaspoon of super thrive. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that at the same time as giving it the plant food.
Still, depending on the porosity of the mix, the medium could remain saturated near the bottom for longer than desirable. Just something to consider.