I have a 4ft windmill palm on my bacony in dowtown Vancouver (Im on the 18th floor) and my palm looks like it is dying , Im sure it goes pretty dormant over the winter but most of the leaves are going brown. is there any way of telling if it is dying and or dead? I dont have a green thumb and have had it since last June . Any advice would be great , Thanks
Did you protect it from the freezing cold temps/ winds? If the crown centre is brown and comes out , you have lost the Palm. The inner top of the PALM must be alive for it to continue to grow.
Re: Balcony Gardeners Club on Facebook You could sneak a peek at your windmill palm's roots. I would expect that the roots should be light coloured, full and healthy looking. Even though the plant is outside and possibly dormant, it does need water. People sometimes forget to water plants during the winter. Also, being on the 18th floor, it may be quite windy up there. It could be dessicated - making regular watering all the more important.
Potted palms or any plant for that matter, are at risk of freezing root systems. It was a very rough winter and having the much more tender root system exposed will severely weaken or kill Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill palm). Cheers, LPN.
