Question
recently bought yard high pachypodium. Gave it half litre of water after 2 weeks. It is under a door window with no direct sun although light. Now leaves are spotting blue black wrinkling, then yellowing and falling off. Noticed a resin like droplet on one of the leaves. The plant uprooted a bit on the way home from nursery by car so I had to press down on soil to compact the stem. Would appreciate your suggestions on how to save it if possible.

Answer
Maria,

This plant comes from the plains and desert of Madagascar and is commonly known as a Madagascar Palm. It loves the sun and needs to be up on a stand where it is in front of the window and getting actual sun. If you are in a tropical area it can go outside in a shady area so it does not get sunburned. Indoors the light is never strong enough to sunburn it.

Is fairly easy to grow both indoors, as well as outdoors in warm climates and can grow at about 10cm (4 inches) a year. In the winters it is deciduous loosing it's leaves if it is not getting enough sun, except in very tropical areas So with the shorter days and the decreased sunlight it may just be dropping it's leaves normally. Mine sits in a large south facing window where it gets lot's of sun and it never drops all it's leaves.

It needs a draining sandy cactus potting mix and regular water when the plant has leaves, contrary to popular belief, it likes a lot of water in the warm summers, as long as it's planted in a very well draining sandy soil. So it could be not enough water that is triggering this leaf drop. Try giving it more water if the soil is dry. Do not allow any water to sit in the drain tray under it. Empty that drain tray an hour after watering it so it is never sitting in water. That will cause root rot. Indoors it is best to err on the dry side, or it is prone to rot.

You said you had to firm the soil around it after transporting it. That tells me that it was recently repotted and will not need repotting again for 4-5 years. It also tell me that it is probably in regular potting soil and not cactus soil. If so get some sand and remove a cup or 2 of soil off the surface and replace it with sand up to just below the rim of the pot then water it and the sand will wash down through the soil. That will support the tree better. Don't forget to empty that drain tray.

It is a fairly slow growing plant, but in 10 years it can easily outgrow its indoor location, requiring a 'pruning'. Though branching is usually a response to naturally injury, or something that happens in older specimens, one can stimulate branching by cutting off its top. It has amazing regenerative properties.

Repot the plant every 4-5 years; this is quite tricky given all the spines. The best way is to wrap several layers of newspaper around the trunk where it is to be handled. Make sure when you repot it that you do not go to a pot with a diameter more that 1.5 meters or 4 inches larger than the previous pot. Right now judging from it's height it should not be in a pot with a diameter more than 12-14 inches. Too large a pot will keep it too wet and cause root rot.

It is not dying unless the trunk gets soft and mushy, usually from too much water. Then it is too late. If you are afraid it has root rot jiggle it from side to side. If it is wobbly it may have root rot and not many roots to keep it stable in the soil. In that case give it lots of sun and keep it dry #only five it a cup of water when the soil has felt dry for 10 days# and it will slowly grow new roots. Never water if it feels moist. If you have more questions write again. Good luck.

Darlene