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How to Care for Palm Trees with Epsom Salts

By: Elizabeth Knoll

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21 September, 2017

Palm Tree image by SISS-Solutions.com from Fotolia.com

Many gardens have soil that is deficient in magnesium. Palm trees require micro-nutrients to thrive, and this includes magnesium. They are inefficient at extracting this nutrient from the soil. Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) is an excellent source of magnesium for palms. Increasing the magnesium in the soil will make more available to the palms for extraction and prevent premature yellowing of the leaves. Epsom salts are safe to apply and will not easily burn your palm.

Look over your palm trees. Look for yellowing of the fronds. If the yellowing is just at the ends of the fronds, it's a classic sign of of magnesium deficiency.

Many gardens have soil that is deficient in magnesium.
Increasing the magnesium in the soil will make more available to the palms for extraction and prevent premature yellowing of the leaves.

Apply 4 to 16 oz. of Epsom salts per 100 square feet around your palm. Spread it out under the entire canopy of the palm to ensure coverage over the entire root system.

Water the Epsom salts into the soil. Irrigate with enough water to dissolve the salt without creating excess runoff. You don't want to wash the salt away before it has a chance to be absorbed into the root system.

Apply more Epsom salts every two months, or more frequently if the fronds are still yellowing.

of Epsom salts per 100 square feet around your palm.
Apply more Epsom salts every two months, or more frequently if the fronds are still yellowing.

Apply Epsom Salts To Palm Trees

Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) help tackle the symptoms of magnesium deficiency in landscape palm trees like windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10. Specialized commercial fertilizers like kieserite correct magnesium deficiency in palms, but packets of Epsom salts are easier to find in stores. The major sign of magnesium deficiency in palms is yellow bands along the margins of the oldest leaves, clearly differentiated from the green centers. On alternate months, apply 2 to 4 pounds of Epsom salts per tree along with a product that contains micro-nutrients for palm trees. Epsom salts attach to excess fertilizer salts in houseplant potting soil and help remove them. Stop when the water appears through the drainage holes and wait until it's drained away.