It could be that the palm was not acclimated to full sun. Where it was in the nursery was probably shaded part of the day. The brown crown shaft is sunburn. And that's common on King palm trunks facing southwest--hottest sun. The other side is still green- right?
Also..they love water. And the rootball might be going too dry. Mulch it. Keep an even water moisture level. In time they will root into that clay. And when you see new fronds,fertilize lightly--half strength until you see it establish,then full strength for those lush green fronds.

I agree, it could be sun damage. King palms are very tolerant of full sun, but when they are grown in the shade of a greenhouse all their lives, they (and any other palm in that situation) burns in full sun. As long as the newly growing "spear" stays green and healthy, you should be okay. It will take the whole season to look nice again, but it will recover. Keep it well watered when it's warm out, but they don't like wet feet so don't leave it in standing water. I would save the receipt just in case though!
-Alex

I also have some serious clay soil. After killing my share of plants (palms included), I learned the error of my ways. I was very excited to plant my first palm, so I dug a huge hole and amended the clay soil to "improve" drainage. It turns out, by digging a huge pit and amending the backfill soil, I basically just created a bog. The soil in the hole just gets saturated with water from rain (or the hose) because it is way more porous than the surrounding area. Then it never drains out through the less porous underlying clay. The best way to deal with clay, is to dig the smallest hole possible, not to amend the soil at all, and plant the rootball slightly above grade. I don't know if this is your problem, but the first palm I killed this way just started to yellow and look wilted all the time. The top of the soil felt fine (dry even) but when I pulled it out the bottom of the hole was a sloppy mess and the roots had rotted.

Just an idea if you like it...Dig them up,and build up that brick another 3-4 layers high and fill with compost and topsoils. You will get more then enough drainage,the area you fill cant be more then a few yards of compost-topsoil so not expensive delivered or better, picked up, and later when the palms get larger they will thank you for your original effort of that layer of sand down deeper.
King palms are really great looking palms. Get them thriving and always a thing of beauty.

I agree, stanofh's suggestion is best. They like a lot of water, but not if it's going to stagnate around their roots.

What ever happened with your palm? I recently planted a few and am having the same kind of leaf browning/drying that you had. Were you able to save them? Did they recover?

The soil is in bad shape and needs to be replaced with palm/cactus soil and a little sand which will help with water saturation. Palms are easy targets for wrought and will kill the plant very quickly I've experienced this. Focus on the soil and drainage as this is the enemy of the palm

Once again,I will say what I have said a jillion times to a jillion posts here- More water!

Lack of water is 95% of all plant problems in the state,in gardens. Pots too.

King palms come from a mild temperate to subtropical climate.hence they do great in California winters...but its a wet all year climate they come from..and they seem to like growing near deep ravines,near streams. Who has that?...so,water them,water them,water them.

My palms are dying too. Looks like it's rotting, any ideas why? I have 5 of them. We planted them 2 years ago

My palms are dying too. Looks like it's rotting, any ideas why? I have 5 of them. We planted them 2 years ago

You have to give a lot more detail than "Looks like it's rotting,"

They look like all went dry and burned in hot sun. Shade grown King palms...need something to shade them in full socal sun.

Next time,don't buy them kept that way at the nursery. Sure they look lush under shade cloth..but that makes the transition to yard very difficult.

My king palm looks like it is dying and the base of the trunk is flaking off. Any ideas what it is and if there is any treatment? Thanks!

The one thing King palms cant take is going dry. Sometimes they get split trunk on fertilizers that push them too fast. But that looks like a very unhappy palm kept too dry. If you up the water- they can survive that and throw out nice fronds.

I am just a homeowner and limited experience with queen, King, Foxtail, and other varieties. i live in San Diego….and know the total frustration of growning palms, citrus, and other trees that ’seem’ to struggle. First First…King palms and Foxtail palms and avocado trees MUST have ’acid’ soil 6.5 or so! Second, heavy clay is surely a ’death-nail’! Third…Southern California ’water’ is awful and is slow death to plant and people alike (chlorine, chlorimines, ammonia and other chemicals). And if you plant/desire to grow a King palm outdoors in full sun, i recommend digging a hole three times the pot size but not ’deeper’ and in that hole—a mixture of peat moss, compost, untreated wood chips, 10% native clay soil, and ’some’ outdoor potting soil. Why Why?….just my experience after $1000 of failures! Next…if you dont use ’treated’ water (bottled or a home system that doesnt contain ’salt’)…water only once a week about two gallon watering cantainer ’until’ established!!! You can ’tell’ if the palm has small slow growth on the center leaf-spike! Then continue only watering sparingly ’every week’ for all the Summer months. After, youll be happy and just forget about that palm and after six months buy a slow release fertilizer just for palms and do that every three months. Remember Remember…the Southern California water is your ’adversary’ so use it sparingly and cautiously and dont ’drown’ your King palms with that chemical water. It will ’adapt’ over time and wait for the short rainy Seasons and look glorious!

That advice is sooooo wrong. King palms- the more water the better they get. Bottom line, no need for me to add nuthin.

Also….dont dont dont over water!!!! Clay soil…heavy sandy soil….too much and never drying out will ’rot’ the roots and then its over! Just wait until it gets hot and youll know ’when’ to water again. Remember Remember…after the King palms recover, begin to bring the soil ph ’down’ so that it can take up ’some’ nutrients and thrive. Remember Remember…’city’ water is your ’adversary!’

The ’soil’ was way too ’heavy’ and the roots are ’smothering’ …thus the trees can’t take up oxygen, water, and nutrients. Look at their struggle….slowing dying. Suggest…remove some heavy soil and dont water until you ’see’ some ’green’ on ’spike’….”then” ’wait’…..wait….wait….the palm will begin to recover and grow.Then…you will ’feel’ when it is ’time’ to water again and sparingly….

I think Joe is funnin us all.