Majesty Palm on death's door

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by Kaila Mercer, Aug 22, 2018.

  1. Kaila Mercer

    Kaila Mercer New Member

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    Hi! I bought a couple Majesty Palms several months ago, which was a poorly researched decision. I didn't transplant them until about a week ago (and they've been looking sickly for at least a month+) yellow fronds, looking dead and dry despite watering). But when I did, two of them just popped apart, having rotted in the middle. Examination of the root ball showed a bunch of small worms and tiny flies in the roots. No signs of root rot or bad smells. The second set of palms was doing better, and I didn't examine the roots as closely, but they looked healthy. I initially thought I was underwatering them, so I may have over compensated, but nothing has seemed to make them better. They've been living in a room with windows on three sides and southern exposure filtered through a shade tree. I'm kind of lost, I haven't been able to find any info on the bugs (scale, mealy worm, etc don't seem to fit the bill). I have small flies at the base of the plant, but don't really resemble fungus flies. Any thoughts what might be happening, or how to save my palm? Or at least not kill the next one...
     
  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    People who could help with this might have more to go on if you could reply with photos of the plants and the bugs. See Attach photos and files.
    Welcome to the forums.
     
  3. Kaila Mercer

    Kaila Mercer New Member

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    Thanks! And I appreciate the suggestion! Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the bugs before burning then with fire. If my palm doesn't make it, I'll try to get some pictures.
    However, I stumbled across an article that I think has identified my culprit -root aphids! Apparently a growing problem among indoor gardeners; when your fungus flies are more than fungus flies. I've purchased some nematodes, to be delivered tomorrow. We'll give them some time and I'll post back. Thanks again!
     

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