AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
Question QUESTION: I bought a plant because honestly I thought it looked cool, but it didn't have an identifier in it. I will attach a picture but basically it looks like a type of palm but I'm not sure, I tried to look it up, closest I came was possibly a sago palm but not sure. It has a large center "trunk" that looks something like a big pine cone that comes out of the dirt and when I bought it had 6 frond type branches growing from it. Then it grew a number of new "branches" from the middle with the start of leaves on them (you can see in the picture). I put it outside one afternoon/evening on my balcony thinking more sun would be good for it (I had done this a couple times before and it seemed good), but I forgot to bring it in this time-- and I live in Austin, and the heat has been awful. My balcony doesn't get much direct sun -- is small apartment balcony and has some tree cover-- but got too much I am afraid :(
The new little leaves which haven't uncurled entirely got burned I think.. I'm afraid I've ruined the plant though the actual branches still look green and the old ones do too, though some of those leaves turned light.
Is there anything I can do for it?
Thank you! IMAGE: Plant
ANSWER: Erica,
Your plant is an Zamia integrifolia, it is in the cycad family.
It is in a pot that is very large for the size of the plant. The pot should be no more than 2-3 times larger than the base of the plant. You absolutely must not water this plant until it is very dry. In this large a pot it is difficult for the plant to dry out between waterings. The discoloration you see on the leaves culd be from being too wet.
At this point the most you can do for your plant is to be patient and wait. As the leaves mature they may grow out of it or the sunburn may become less noticeable. If not the only thing you can do is cut those fronds off but I would wait at least 6 months before going to that extreme.
You need to limit it's exposure to sun in the future. If you have additional questions feel free to write again. Good luck.
Darlene
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QUESTION: Darlene,
Thank you very much! I will wait and see what happens and watch the watering. Should I keep it out of direct sunlight all together or just not out in the balcony heat and direct sunlight? Also, should I transfer it to a smaller pot? If so, should I do that now or wait?
Thank you again!
Erica
Answer Erica,
It should only go out in the morning or evening for 2-3 hours. It would love to be out 24 hours a day but only if you can rig up something to shade it during to hot early afternoon sun. It could go under a taller plant that would would shade it so it wouldn't burn. It is a tropical plant so the heat won't hurt it, it is just sunburning that you have to protect it against.
If you have a problem allowing the soil to dry out and it seems like it is never dry then yes you need to repot it into a smaller pot to protect it from root rot. Now is the best time to repot. You should never repot any houseplants in the fall or winter, only repot in spring and summer whe the roots are more actively growing. It will dry out faster if you can figure out how to keep it outdoors and protect it from sunburn. It can be outdoors as long as night temperatures are above 50 degrees. Good luck.
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