Question
QUESTION: we bought 6 sago palms about 5 weeks ago. they are in 18'' wooden pots outside. 1 of the palms leaves have gone flat like a pancake. the rest are starting to yellow. i gave them a big drink when we brought them home, then i read not to overwater them. i watered them 2 more times after that, but haven't watered them in about 2 weeks. i live in las vegas,NV & our temp. out side is over 100 degrees. i bought palm food today & fed them a cup each with a gallon of water. any ideas what i can do? i called our Master gardener, they said check the wetness of the soil with a meter(which i was already doing). Please Help! I don't want them to die! they are in 18 x 18 pots. Thanks so much..

ANSWER: Hi judi, ok, I need you to followup with a little more info for me to help you out here; did you plant them? if not I'm going to suggest you repot them with new medium. Sagos don't like wet feet and some soil that nurseries provide are too compacting; repot them with a sandier mix and make sure there is drainage medium at the bottom of the pots to encourage directing the water away from the roots (to prevent the roots sitting in standing water after being irrigated). It sounds like the roots are stressing, which can lead to a quick death for the palm. Nick

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QUESTION: i did not plant them. they are in the original wooden containers. what kind of soil should i use? something for palms? or for cactus? i read sagos are more like cactus. what kind of drainage medium at the bottom? like gravel or rocks?

Answer
ahh, therein lies the problem, the soil probably has too much humus and is retaining too much water, thereby rotting the root system; immediately repot it with a lighter mixture and line the bottom of the pots with about 2 inches of peastone. I think this will turn them for you, what you should see is the new growth coming out of the crown healthy (the existing stressed growth will brown out and fall of). keep in mind Judi, that Sagos are very slow growers, so be patient and when you take them out of the existing pots be sure to clean the root system up, and if it is still damp, don't water it for awhile, let it heal, and hopefully it won't be beyond help. This is about all you can do at this point. good luck Nick