I just got into the whole plant thing and found a nice looking palm tree near the garbage at my apartment building. Having recently boughten some plants I realized that this tree probably cost some money and was maybe worth saving. That being said, I brought the tree inside. Description: (Please let me know what kind of tree this is) It has a couple of dead fronds (maybe 5 out of 12ish) and a couple of new ones sprouting out of the middle. The tree is maybe 3 feet tall with a trunk of 18 inches, possible 5 inches in diameter. The dying fronds are drooping, brown and yellow, and all of the fronds are a little sappy looking. (perspiring) Reason to worry: After reading a bit, I began to get worried as to the reasons that the tree was discarded. I am particuarly worried about insects! I hate bugs, and am sceeved out at the idea of a mite infestation in my house. Do I really have anything to worry about? Or will the bugs stay in the tree? I just dug in the soil a bit and saw some bugs crawling around. Is all hope lost?
Looks like Phoenix roebelenii, Pygmy Date Palm. It appears to be infested with scale which would explain the presence of honeydew on the foliage.
If I saw little bugs crawling in the soil, and this is also infected with scale, can I save the plant? I was thinking about repotting the plant after completely washing off the entire tree & roots; in fresh soil. At the same time I would cut all of the fronds off except the new ones. What do you think?
I would repot the tree into a slightly bigger container but would forgo the bare-rooting as it may induce further stress to the tree; replacement of some of the existing soil should suffice. Also, I would remove the fronds that are mostly brown - generally those seen in the first picture (Palm Tree 007.jpg) near the bottom, to the back and to the right. What remains can be treated with multiple applications of insecticidal soap in the usual manner. Try to remove by hand all the adult scale before treatment. Scale can be difficult to treat but persistence is the key. Good luck.
