Question
I recently purchased a 1 gal. king palm and transplanted to a much larger pot (approx. 10 gal.).  Recently the leaves have started to grow pale in color and some of the smaller undergrowth leaves are turning brown.  I have applied fertilizer and watered regularly.  The pot has good drainage and I can't seem to find what might be wrong.  The pot sits in our backyard with lots of midday sun.  I have cut back on the watering thinking that I have perhaps watered too much.  Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Answer
Paul,

First of all Paul, where do you live? This is not a house plant! This plant will be 25 foot tall in 10 years. It needs full sun all day. Moving any plant from a 1 gallon pot to a 10 gallon pot is extremely drastic but might be okay in this case if you planted it in a mix of 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 perlite for good drainage and 1/3 sand. The pot should have at least 3-4 drain holes and be sitting on the ground with no drain tray under it. Depending on where you live and how hot it is it can be watered as often as once or even twice daily if it is very hot. Since this is a tall palm tree type palm and not a house plant type palm I would expect the undergrowth to turn brown and need removed as the plant grows quickly. The pale green color may be because palms like acidic soil and need iron. I recommend you pick up an iron supplement at a garden center and an acidic fertilizer. This type of palm likes lots of water so I doubt that you have overwatered unless you have it sitting in a large tub full of water all day. It does not like sitting in a swamp. If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene