Drench FULLY every 20-25 days in the winter. I mean water it. It drains thru. Water it again with a tray beneath to soak up into the soil. 85%drains thru. Water it five minutes later again. Now the plant and soil may weigh 2 -3 times as heavy. Dump excess water from the tray. Leave it alone for 25 days. Water based on weight loss. I

Adam funny you mention that. Ive just figured that out last year and its more reliable then the old "finger test". Some plants will be dry in the top quarter inch, while the bottom half is still soaked. Mind you ive havent lost a plant to rot in a very, very long time, if anything I have a habit of underwatering. This is way more helpful for seedlings in small pots.

This got to be easy to compare stressed plants' weight to healthy plants weight and appearance to those all around it.).

Certainly makes sense.

Bet you find your nursery work rewarding...I sure would.

Barb

Barb, I miss the greenhouse work so much. It's been three years away from there now. Fresh air, plants, getting dirty every day in the sun and 30'c January days.
Also the 45'c full sun August days, uhhh... after that, I'd go home to feel the need for no AC. Need jeans and a sweater at 25c in the house. Really.

But that is why I grow palms and yuccas here at home now. My own greenhouse production here at home.

😮

Fresh air, plants, getting dirty every day in the sun and 30'c January days.

Ah, that's what I could use every winter...all winter long.
There's nothing better for the soul than working in soil with plants, Adam.

The 45C sun days...that'd be tough.
...would've needed 2 layers of shade cloth 😆

But that is why I grow palms and yuccas here at home now. My own greenhouse production here at home.

You're doing what most of us aspire to.
Good for you. 😀

Barb

pulled it out of its pot to take a look ( was the original nursery pot ) and the roots look alright..kind of dry althougb I watered it heavy the day it wilted.. I am doing a little experiment with a mixture a friend told me about we will see if it works..

roots

Mike,
Good pic of the roots.
They do look dry, at least half of them.

Glad, though, that it wasn't what I suspected...such a hardened ball of soil that repels water.

If it were mine (and I thought it was dead/dying), after seeing those roots half dry, I'd plunge the entire root into a bucket of room-temp water.
A few drops of Thrive or Thrive-Alive (B vitamin) may or may not help, but use it if you've got it.
Would let it sit in the bucket for half an hour.
Then suspend the rootball so all the water drips out of the soil area, and replant in original or new pot.

I'm still puzzled by what happened after your comment: I watered it heavy the day it wilted.

Barb

I watered it every friday when I came home from work. the mix it was in was VERY free draining and the water ran through it almost as I was pouring it in. still I didn't want to overwater. the day I went in and found it wilted I dumped almost a gallon of rain water into the pot..that was the middle of the week and it was dry like that today. I took it out and gave it a look over. planted it in a slightly bigger pot without distrubing the roots much and watered it in. hopefully that will bring it back a bit.

sure hope that works, Mike, it's a beauty.

Barb

was a beauty..needs some plastic surgery now 😀

Mike, did your lady palm ever come back? Had same issue with one I had that had been fine and perfect in it's place inside the house. All of the sudden all fronds wilted over, plant looked sluggish and even a couple up and dried out crispy. Thought maybe pot I had put it in was too large for it, so pulled plant and ball out and repotted into something not as big and used better draining soil but still no improvement. Took outside yesterday and gave it a good soaking with hose (were on a well, so no issued with bad city water) let it drain for a couple of hours outside and back inside it came. Still doesn't look good. Running out of ideas.

Scott/Omaha