Leaf Spots

10 years ago

I recently bought a Christmas Palm tree at a nursery. It had some leaf spots so I asked them about it, and they said that it was normal for those palm trees to have them. So I went to another nursery to find other Christmas trees, and I saw that they also had those spots. But after one month after buying it, I check on the internet and find that these spots looke a lot like a fungal disease called leaf spot. The picture below shows the most damage of the leafs. The plant passed trough a few cold fronts this year where temperatures were around 32F. After the cold fronts passed I notice that it got more leaf spots.
I also found out that I have not been watering the palm enough, so some of the leaves look brownish at the tips.

I do not have much experience at growing palm trees.

I hope you guys can help.

Comments (3)

byron_1
Original Author
10 years ago
I just took a look at the leaf with a 10x magnifying glass and saw some big red colour mites.

For half an hour I watch as they drilled the leaf and sucked the sap. This is where the spots are coming from.

I used neem oil to control them. So my question is now, how safe is neem oil to use on palms?
Beach_bums
10 years ago
Those must be some tough mites to attack a palm! Wash the fronds with water mixed with dawn dish soap. Repeat again in a week. I don't know how safe neem is, I've never used it on my palms. Soapy water will break their life cycle with just a few applications.
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byron_1
Original Author
10 years ago
I went around town to see the condition of other Christmas Palms and they had the same condition. I think this is a common problem after the frost. I was able to use neem oil. The neem oil did harmed the leaves, but not a lot.

The new leaves coming are spot free, and the neem oil left a nice shiny appearance on the leaves.